Sower Church: Recent Episodes
Sower Church, Lincoln, NE
Thank you, Alex. Would you buy your heads in prayer with me? Oh, good and heavenly gracious father. We are so thankful that you are wise and almighty. Even now, Lord, all of your plans are being unfolded in history on the earth and at the very center of it is your people. You have called us to play a part. God. I thank you for your people here in the city, your church here in Lincoln where the gospel is being preached, where those who are endeavoring to glorify Christ in all things are proclaiming your word this morning and your people gathering around the ministry of your word this morning. I thank you for your people all over the city and the unfolding of your plan all over the city as well as the world. And so God, would you help us in this time to take away from this meeting with you? The very truth that you which to plant deeply into our hearts and to shape us with and to make us more and more like your son Jesus Christ. It’s in his name that I pray. Amen. Good night. Well, this morning, if you are curious whether or not we are crazy here at sewer church. Why would we combine a passage on divorce and remarriage with a parable about a man named Lazarus and the rich man. Like, what’s the connection there? Where are these guys going? Why would they even do that? Well, there’s a couple of reasons why first we do like to teach through the Bible and so that’s in the Bible and we have to deal with it. That is our posture here. We want to teach the word of God. We don’t want to run from or shy away from passages that make seem difficult or maybe at first glimpse may not appear to make a whole lot of sense to us. We want to be faithful to the word of God because it is the word of God. That’s why we stand at the reading of the word of God. Secondly, though it appears that the two, the passage on divorce and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, though it appears there is no connection, there actually is a connection. They are very much related. In fact, the key is looking at verses 16 and 17, which we did not read, but I’ll read them briefly here to you and you’ll see why the two fit together. And verse 16, Jesus says that the law and the prophets were until John. Since then, the good news of the Kingdom of God is preached and everyone forces his way into it. What he’s saying is basically the Old Testament Revelation was given up until the time of John and John, the Baptist had prepared the way for Jesus to begin his earthly ministry proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God, which was taking place then now and he said everyone was forcing his way into it. And that’s a reference to the very tax collectors and sinners who were repenting and turning to God and the Pharisees are watching all of this and their charge against Jesus is that he has no regard for the law of God. So therefore, the reference to the law and the prophets, the law of God. And then in verse 17, Jesus says, but it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. I think we need to let that sink in for a moment because as evangelicals, I know we love the gospel and we do. It’s one of our core values that Christ would be exalted and everything because he has come. But the gospel is not an enemy to the law. That’s what Jesus is saying. And so Jesus is proclaiming good news and the tax collectors and the sinners are forcing their way into the kingdom of God. They are doing so not because Jesus is laying aside the law, but because Jesus is fulfilling the law on their behalf. Furthermore, Jesus is showing the Pharisees that though they were entrusted with the teaching of the law to prepare the people for his arrival. They were failing at it massively, they did not understood, they did not understand the law. They didn’t understand the purpose of the law and I would submit to you that that’s still the problem today. We just don’t understand the purpose of the law. It begins from the time we were young kids. It’s time to go to bed kids. Why do we have to go to bed so early? Why do we have to get up so early? Why do we have to eat our vegetables? Why do I need to clean my room? It’s gonna get messy again. We don’t like being held to a standard. We don’t like being told what to do from the time we were born. It’s been all about us. King me. And so we don’t understand law and then we grow up and we elect officials who also don’t understand the purpose of law. And so at a federal level, we have thousands of laws for this country and I’m guessing many of us don’t have a clue as to what all of those laws are. And then even on a state level and I did this fun thing, maybe I shouldn’t have done it. But I went and I researched some of the silly laws that are still on various state books. Want to read some of them to you again illustrates the point that we just don’t understand law in Alabama. It’s illegal to drive blindfolded. I mean, when did that law become an issue? And, and, and who, who was the poor soul that forced that law to be written? Right in Arizona. It’s still illegal for a donkey, for donkey to sleep in a bathtub. I don’t even want to go there. Right. I mean, an episode of Shrek or something in Kansas tire screeching is illegal. I mean, I don’t even know how you enforce that law. Okay. Then this one is crazy. In Kentucky, A woman cannot marry the same man four times. It’s a law. Evidently some poor soul needed four failures to realize like, man, you gotta stop this in Missouri. It’s illegal to wrestle with bear. I don’t know, the younger boys would like to see that one. Right. Me too. I’d pay good money for that. But I’m guessing a couple of guys lost and that didn’t work out, right. Got eaten by a bear or something. Okay. Last one in Montana. It’s illegal to give a rat as a present a wrap. Hey, I ain’t mad at that one, but I’m trying to figure out why is that a law? Okay. So again, you know, what’s the purpose of law? Like, why do we have laws? Why do we need laws? And I’m telling you human nature just doesn’t get it because we are so driven by desire to please self. But when you look at God’s law, when you look at His law and why he gave his law. God’s law reveals the character of God. The holiness of God. God’s law teaches us what we are supposed to love. It teaches us to love what God loves. That’s what His law does. It teaches us what to love. And when you look at how Moses in Deuteronomy six, summarized all of God’s law And then Jesus quotes Moses, right in Matthew 22 says the summary of all the law of all the law and the prophets is this that you would love the Lord, your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, not king me God, and then allow for others, the law being given for that purpose. And so Jesus recognizing that the Pharisees think that he is disregarding the law, Jesus shows them that you don’t even understand the purpose of God’s law. And so he highlights an example of where they were disregarding the law as it relates to marriage. And then he tells a parable for how their own character was, a betrayal of the character of God, which would have been clearly seen had they rightly understood God’s law. So we look at the first one in verse 18, it says everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. Now Jesus is recorded in Matthew five and in nine in Matthew 19 as giving more details um surrounding the subject of marriage and divorce. And then first Corinthians seven has some more instruction on this subject of marriage and divorce. And typically the church has landed in history on the position of the acceptable reasons for divorce, being adultery, abuse or abandonment. Now, the last two requires much more discussion and, and time to kind of unpack. Like what exactly do we mean by abuse and abandonment? And so we don’t have time for that today, but all of this flows from the seventh commandment which says, do not commit adultery, do not commit adultery. And the 7th commandment was put in place to help us protect our own purity as well as our neighbors purity as it relates to the heart, speech and behaviors. The 7th commandment is a restriction teaching us that you must place a fence around your own heart, desires your own speech and your own behavior as it relates to the marriage covenant, you must protect your own as well as your neighbors. The Pharisees didn’t understand, they simply did not understand it. And so what they were doing as they were granting certificates of divorce for very trivial reasons, extremely trivial reasons, let’s say a man. And this is based on looking at some of the first century and second century history, some of the writings of various rabbis, parasitical rabbis during that time. Let’s say a man had a dinner party, invited his friends over and his wife prepared the mill and the mill was terrible and it embarrassed the man he could then go to one of these Pharisees and require certificate of divorce. How hard is a person’s heart must be to divorce their wife because you had a dinner party and the mill didn’t go as planned. They do things like this on other occasions if a man just saw someone else that he thought was prettier or maybe even younger than his wife and divorce, his wife, seek a certificate of divorce. And the Pharisees would grant these certificates. Number one, if the man was wealthy and had influence and they granted him the divorce, then he’d be in the pocket of that particular person. By the way, this whole story, Jesus talking about divorce and remarriage and then talking about the rich man and Lazarus being laid at his gate has led some people to think that Jesus was talking about Herod who you know, John, the Baptist lost his head because he called him out on his divorce and remarriage, right? But I don’t think that’s who Jesus has in mind. He has the Pharisees in mind here. So they were allowing men to make a mockery of the law of God, granting certificates of divorce for various trivial reasons. And they missed the very character of God, the very righteousness of God. They missed the love of God that was supposed to be embodied through that lifelong commitment of marriage. You see, God speaks of Himself as being married, having a covenant relationship to his people. And in the context of that marriage, he gives laws to teach them what they are to love. And so I like to think of it like a train, a freight train because God is infinite. And when the scripture says that God is love and infinite. God having love is an intense and a very powerful love. But that freight train needs train tracks needs rails to, to ride on. And what the Pharisees were permitting was for the freight track, the freight train to get off of the tracks and to cause harm, which is what often divorce does a lot of heartache, a lot of pain. Many of you maybe you’ve experienced it, maybe someone you know, has experienced it. You know what I’m talking about that relationship between husband and wife, such a picture between God and his people meant to be a lifelong covenant and commitment to show us what the love of God is like through the good times, through the hard times various circumstances because that’s what we want, right? We want to know that in our frailties and our weakness that God doesn’t abandon us, that he’s with us, that he’s faithful. And that’s what we demonstrate in that covenant relationship, kids said, neighbor said, and it creates a stability. So this relationship was supposed to portray the faithfulness of God because God is faithful and these men were disregarding the law and therefore unable to show the faithfulness of God in that way. So then moving on from a practical example of how the Pharisees misunderstood the law. Jesus then tells a parable in verse 19, it says there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day on a pause there for a moment. Second parable that Luke records where Jesus uses the character, um uses a rich man as a character. Last week, Pastor Ben covered the rich man and the dishonest manager. And in that parable, the rich man represented Jesus or represent God. In this parable, the rich man represents the Pharisees. He’s rich and there’s a, there’s an air royalty to him. That’s why he uses purple and fine linen and says that he feasted sumptuously every day. I mean it plenty is well taken care of. And then in verse 20 says at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus covered with sores who desired to be Fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. No, Lazarus, the second character in this parable, he has a physical disability. He can’t even walk. Someone has to carry him to the gates of this rich man. When it says that Lazarus is looking at the rich man in his abundance. And he doesn’t even want really the mill that the rich man is enjoying. He wants the crumbs, he wants the leftovers. He wants the leftovers. Kids, sometimes kids don’t like to eat leftovers. I think somehow a leftover has changed the food. You know, like the quality, the goodness of the food has changed. It’s leftover now. It’s not the same mad. And then you get to college and you’re starving, you’re hungry, you’ll take leftovers anyway. You can get them right. But this poor man Lazarus, he’s, he’s physically disabled. He’s starving in his physical disability. He’s developed sores all over his body. And in the mercy of God. God has supplied this rich man with all of the resources to be able to help Lazarus. Enjoy just a piece of comfort in this life. God gives it to this rich man. Hey, you are made in the image of God and this man laid at your gate is made in the image of God and I’ve given you my law rich man and it teaches you what you are to love your neighbor, your God and your neighbor brought him to your gate. The man had all that was necessary to help Lazarus to treat his medical condition, make sure he was bandaged and cared for plenty of food. And every day, this man just ignored Lazarus dying outside of his gate. How hard does a person’s heart need to be to watch another image bearer die starve to death outside of his own gate. We’re not talking about the rich man needing to get into a boat or an airplane and travel across the world were saying, walk outside of your property and show the mercy and the compassion of God and you can’t, you won’t. But God is still merciful. And I love the contrast and the irony in the way that Jesus presents this parable, the man won’t show mercy, but it says that dogs came and licked his source. Now these aren’t like domesticated pets. He’s talking about, he’s not talking about the dogs that you have in your house, that you treat for fleas, that you make sure well taken care of that you make sure they have plenty of water and you’ve trained them. These are wild animals, wild dogs who otherwise might have been a bit aggressive towards Lazarus and his helpless condition and yet they come and they lick his sores to give him a small measure of comfort. What contrast and irony there an image bearer suffering, another image bearer having all that he needed to not only take care of his own family, but to also help the suffering man and he wouldn’t even do it. And so God has to use an animal to show mercy In verse 22. It says the poor man died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham’s side. We’re not even told about a burial he’s too poor and no one cares about his life. But in verse 23 I’m sorry. Um The second part of verse 22 it says the rich man also died and was buried proper burial into a tomb. But in verse 23 but the rich man in Hades being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side and he called out Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus, send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger and water and cool my tongue for I am an anguish in this flame. Wow, Lazarus not even able to have or receive a proper burial, but in death, he enters into the ultimate palace in paradise. When it says Abraham’s bosom is a reference to heaven when it says Hades is a reference to hell. So Lazarus carried in to heaven to be comforted by God. And the rich man suffering in hell is crying out and saying Abraham, send Lazarus the same Lazarus that stood outside of your gate, send him to have mercy on me. The one you didn’t even have mercy on the law teaches us to love what God loves. And through these examples, we see that God is faithful, we see that God is merciful, but right here, we need to see something else about our God. He is just God is just In Verse 25. Here is the justice of God but Abraham said, child, remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner, bad things. But now He is comforted here and you are in anguish. And besides all this between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who have passed from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there to us. God is just God gave the rich man every opportunity to show the faithfulness of God, the mercy of God and the love of God. And he would not because of his hard heart. And so God gives him his reward. He says that in this life, you received all of your good things. And I want to tell you as one modern day theologian puts it if in this life, if this is your best life ever, and I fear for you because there’s a hell of an eternity awaiting you as Christians for us. We know, but this life is temporary, it’s passing away. But the one that we were ultimately made for that we’ve been redeemed for it’s far greater. And so we aren’t beholden to possessions and things because we’ve got an eternal mindset to quote another theologian says, the wheels of God’s justice. They may grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine. Does not miss a thing just like last week with Pastor Ben. The reality that we must give an account. God is a good accountant, he’s not gonna miss a thing. So reading on here in this passage, the man said to Abraham, he says, and I beg you father, send him to my father’s house where I have five brothers so that he may warn them unless they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. They have the word of God. They have the law of God which shows the holiness of God which convicts of sin, which drives us back to God. Let them hear them. Some people can’t hear the word of God. Some people don’t even like the word of God being taught. They just kind of want to feel their way into the kingdom of God. And I’m gonna tell you right now, you can’t feel your way into the Kingdom of God. But this word, it will prepare your hearts for eternity. That’s why we teach it. That’s why we call you and challenge you to read it to allow it to shape your language, your prayers, your behavior, every aspect of your soul, allowing the word of God to be living and active in you in that way. It always baffles me because some people just don’t understand biblical history. God has been so serious about putting this word in print, writing it. And when he gave the law to Moses, he was so serious about it that he wrote it how with his own finger. And what does he do, Jesus? After he has ascended into heaven, he commissioned his apostles, his disciples to do what to pin these letters so that we can be clear so that we can be sure the very rails that God has given us to run on. That’s love. So he says, let them hear them. And so the rich man said, no, Father Abraham in verse 30. But if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And Abraham said to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead, if their hearts are so hard that they will not receive the plain teaching of God’s law and word, even if someone was raised from the dead, they will not believe even if a miracle like that occurred, they would not believe. And Jesus is speaking of what here, his own resurrection. And what happened when the guards reported back to the Pharisees that he’s not here, that he’s been resurrected. What did the Pharisees do? If you know your bibles, you know that they paid those men to be silent. Even if one were to rise from the dead, they still wouldn’t believe how hard must a man’s heart be? He doesn’t want to hear the word of God if he’ll divorce his wife for very trivial reasons, if he’s willing to allow a man to die outside of his own property without giving him basic needs. How hard must sin make our hearts to act that way. And I love it that Jesus uses as an example and as a parable people who are in close proximity to you, a spouse somewhere near your house. He’s not talking about hating someone on Facebook, which people do all the time or hating someone. You know that you think is the boogeyman thousands and thousands of miles away. He’s talking about people. You look at who you’ve become familiar with. There’s a spouse taking up resentment in your heart towards your spouse as a child, taking up resentment in your heart towards your parents as a parent, taking up resentment in your heart towards your child, that co worker that’s wearing you out, that neighbor who’s wearing you out. He’s talking about that context. Remember because the summation of the law is that you would love the Lord, your God and love your who your neighbor, the one closest to you, those around you. So what’s secure for hard and unloving heart? Well, based on the passage here and the multiple references to Moses and the prophets and the law, I would say the first step in curing a hard and unloving heart is to go to the word of God to hear it and allow God’s word to drive you back to the foot of the cross. Allow the word to indeed be a living and sharp sword towards your own heart towards King me, that brings you to the foot of the cross so that you look up and see your savior who paid the price for your selfishness and your sin, man. This is what that deserves me and he paid it for me. Secondly, while you’re looking at the word of God, while you are allowing the word of God to soften your heart, to convict you of sin, to expose to you the true rails that love is supposed to run on that you would then pray for others that love. Jesus said, even for your enemies is acted out and prayer for them that you pray for them, that you keep your heart soft because you’re praying. If you and your spouse are constantly at one another, then pray more, more, more pray for them. Pray, pray, pray, pray until something in new changes and then pray that something in them changes as well. Pray and then lastly be quick to obey God’s word. So one of the things we try to teach little kids, delayed obedience is disobedience, delayed obedience allows you to think that it’s not that important that it’s okay that you know, it really doesn’t matter if I go through with this. God really isn’t paying attention. God really doesn’t care that God really isn’t keeping account of how I live my life and it really doesn’t matter and maybe this person really does deserve my resentment. I’ll be quick to obey, be quick to put the word into action, be quick to do what it says. And I know the emotions, man, the emotions can be like the Missourians who like to wrestle bears, right? That the emotions can be like that bear. It’s like it did. I don’t want to put down this bear to do what God says. Um You need the grace of God in that moment and that’s why you, you look at His word. That’s why you pray and God, God takes care of that bear for you. So if you want to cure heart and unloving heart, you gotta be in the world. And you got to let the word afflict you, you gotta let the word teach you what it means to pick up your cross and to follow Christ and to deny yourself so that you can love God so that you can see others the way that God wants you to see them and you gotta be praying, you gotta be willing and quick to obey. And the reason why this is important, it’s because you and me, me and you, we were poor Lazarus, we were poor Lazarus outside of the kingdom of God. And before God’s law, we had no feet to stand on. We had no righteousness before holy and just God, we did not deserve to be brought inside of His kingdom. And then the good news was presented to us and the love of God picked us up, bandaged our wounds, cleaned us up, gave us a new heart, a new identity and made us Children of God. So let’s act like it. Amen. Amen. Let us pray. Father. I thank you that you are indeed merciful. You are a merciful God from that very first dreadful day and the history of this world when Adam and E ate from that tree and caused all of humanity to be placed outside of your royal and holy kingdom and palace. You didn’t leave us, you didn’t abandon us. You didn’t turn your back on us. You sent your son to come after us. You are merciful. You are loving God. I pray that every day that we have on this earth, that your love would change us and that others would be able to see how your love has changed us. It has made us love you and love our neighbors. God. We know, but we can’t do this in our own strength. But that’s why we look to you. We depend upon you. It’s in Christ’s name. I pray. Amen.
Amen Herbert Dow, who is pictured here Uh is founded a company in 1895 called the Dow Chemical Company. And what he had done was he had invented a way that you could cheaply produce a chemical called bromine. And so he would sell it for 36 cents a pound around the US. He couldn’t sell it in Germany because there was a company there that also produced bromine and they had a monopoly on the market. And they uh and so so he was just constrained to the U. S. And so he did that for nine years. But in 1904 the business was kind of struggling and he knew, you know what, I really need to expand if I, you know if I want to make a go of this. And so he began to sell bromine in europe. And because he sold it for 36 cents per pound and the German company sold it for $0.49 per pound. He gained a lot of sales very quickly and started expanding like crazy. Now this german company was obviously outreach here, this guys coming in and so gaining all these sales and so they’re like, you know what, we are going to put this little guy in his place and we’re going to undercut him and put him out of business. So they began selling bromine in the United States for 15 cents a pound to just try to completely and utterly undercut this guy, make him go out of business. Now this is where Herbert dow demonstrated his, his shrewdness. So what he decided to do was he decided to take as much loans as he possibly could, and he began buying as much of the german bromine as he could for 15 cents a pound. Repackage it, put a new label on and then resold it in europe for 27 cents a pound. Now, the german company couldn’t understand why this guy wasn’t going out of business. They just, they kept selling all this product in the US and and he just kept hanging around. And so so they decide, you know what, we’re gonna lower it to 12 cents per pounds. He kept buying it and then they lowered it to 10 cents per pound and he kept buying it. And by the time they figured out what he was doing, uh he had broken that monopoly in europe and then they kind of came to this agreement that they’re both going to sell it at a good market price. And uh and so Del Dow chemical company still exists today because of the shrewdness of this man by the name of Herbert Dow. And that’s a fun story because we kind of like the idea of a small business taking on this giant company outsmarting them and this man becoming very wealthy, right? And and uh and it’s just kind of a fun story if you read uh stories of the richest people in the world today right now. What you find is you find people like this, who are very trude and who are passionately pursuing building wealth with all that they’ve got with all of their resources, with all their time with all of their energy. They are focused on making money and they’re good at it and they are extremely wealthy and that is how you become really rich by doing that. But here’s a question for you, what is better than being the richest person in the world? What’s better than being the richest person in the world as being the richest person in heaven? And today we’re gonna look at how to build heavenly wealth, Jesus provides lessons in this story for us and we’re gonna start going through the story here in the particulars. But before we do that, we have to remember the context that this takes place in and the last couple of weeks. So Jesus here is telling a series of stories in the book of luke and they are all linked together. First you tell the story of the lost sheep and then the story of the lost coin and then the Lost Son, which is what we looked at last week and then there’s this story about the shrewd manager and at the on the surface it seems like these stories are not linked together, but they are and jesus is communicating a clear point about what’s of true value in all of these different stories, he shows them that eternity is what matters and the that using your resources and money on this earth for an eternal impact is what is true value. So in the lost coin treasure, eternal finding eternal life is finding a treasure living for the kingdom of heaven is what we should do and and what we should use our resources for. And so these are all tied together. Okay so let’s go back to the passage chapter 16 verse one. Let’s start looking at this more. He also said to the disciples. So he had, he had been talking to the Pharisees now he switches to talk to his disciples to reiterate this point of what’s true value. There was a rich man who had a manager and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions and he called him and said to him, what is this? I hear about you turning the account of your management for you no longer can be manager. Alright. So the first aspect of this story that’s important is that the master calls the manager to give an account. Okay. And and so have you ever had one of those moments where your boss calls you in like hey did you do this report? You know or hey did you do this job? Uh and and you know you you can kind of have a couple of reactions when it happens right? And here the manager has one of those moments, the boss calls him in to give an account and he knows he’s corrupt, he knows he was doing a bad job and he has one of those moments where it’s like the sinking stomach and it’s like, okay, I’m in trouble, right? And so, um, but but when your boss calls you in, you know, you can kind of have to reactions if you know you did a good job, if you know that you’ve been doing a good job, you put your your effort into that report of that job and you did a good job, you’re confident in that work. Well, when the boss says, hey, did you do this? You can say, yeah, I did. And there’s no fear because you know, you put forward a great or a good effort, best effort. Um there’s no fear in that. And maybe the boss says, hey, great job on that, right? Or maybe that you find out you made a mistake, whatever, but but you put in your efforts, so there’s no fear when the boss says, hey, did you do this if you did a bad job and you know, you didn’t do a good job. Well then there’s this other response, this other reaction, like the man, the bad manager here says, um, and that’s the sinking feeling. The fear, like, oh, okay, what is going to happen? I know I’m in trouble. You know, right now, it’s it’s tax season, everybody’s doing their taxes right? And so if you do your taxes honestly and you turn them in. And the I. R. S. Sends you a letter and says hey we’re gonna audit you if you you know there’s no fear in that. If you did them right. If you did them honestly if you’re cheating on your taxes, which a lot of people do. And the I. R. S. Send you that letter then there’s this oh no this is going to be terrible. I hope they don’t find out what I was doing. Uh That kind of fear. So if you’re not being a good steward then there should be fear, guilt, shame felt and and the purpose of bringing about repentance and change. That’s the purpose of guilt and fear. And so the manager of this story, he experienced that second option that okay yikes this is not gonna be good. He was afraid because he was a bad manager. He’d been taking advantage of. His master had been taking advantage of his position. We don’t know exactly what he did. Maybe he cheated, Maybe he stole. Maybe he’s just lazy whatever the case, he was not doing a good job. And the master heard about it and called him to an accounts And we too will have to stand before the all knowing Holy God one day and we will have to give account. God sees all he knows all. Everything will be laid bare one day. And we too can have one of those two options of what we respond with. We too could have joy and peace instead of fear because we’ve done what’s pleasing to the master. We’ve been a good manager. We’ve done. We’ve been faithful with what he’s entrusted to us, where you could have this fear and terrifying type of response. Now the story jesus is sharing here is he’s telling us and giving us how to be able to have that first option. How to be able to come before the master and have joy. Okay, Let’s go to verse three. And the manager said to himself, what shall I do since my master’s taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, I’m ashamed to beg I’ve decided what to do. So I’m removed from management. People may receive me into their houses. So summoning his master’s debtors one x one, he said at first, how much do you owe my master? He said 100 measures of oil, and he said to him, take your bill, sit down quickly, right, 50. And he said to another, how much do you owe? And he said 100 measures were, and he said to him, take your bill right down 80. And the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness for the sons of the world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of the light. So what happened here was this manager? The shrewd manager um used that last little gasp of his present position to prepare himself for the next stage of his life. And what he did was he cheated all the more he’s like, you know, all right, I’m all in on this cheating thing. He took advantage of the Master one more time. He had been a bad manager, he’d been taking advantage, had been cheating whatever stealing from his master. And so now he does it yet one more time and he did so in order to make some friends in high places, he uh he gave big discounts to these powerful people, these merchants, these business leaders, these wealthy men, he didn’t want to dig holes, ditches, didn’t wanna be homeless. So he cheated his master and some big favors, make some friends in high places. Now the story takes an interesting twist here. What what does the man the master say here, Jesus makes a point by saying the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. Now what? It doesn’t say he, the master did not approve the manager’s conduct, but he did applaud his shrewdness and said that hey, business people here on this earth are often more shrewd than the sons of the light. Often more shrewd than christians. And so jesus, he’s telling this to his disciples not to the Pharisees, his disciples and he’s making the point in communicating and challenging his disciples to approach eternal wealth building with the same zeal and fervor and savvy as the best business people, the best people in business today. So think about in our day, you know, Warren Buffett Alice Walton, Elon musk, Jeff Bezos, those types of business people and the savvy and the fervor and the energy and the zeal that they put into making money, jesus is challenging disciples to, to put that same kind of focus into building eternal wealth. So the main point, Jesus communicating in this story, it’s not about shrewdness, it’s about truly using your resources to build wealth for the next life. He’s talking about becoming a wealthy person in heaven, so use your money, your resources to build future eternal wealth. That’s the main point, that’s the main concept, that’s what this story is all pointing towards, and this concept is not unique, Jesus talks about this elsewhere elsewhere, you’ve heard the phrase, you know, store up treasures in heaven, that’s, it’s from jesus, uh first timothy 6 to 18 through 19 says commend them and do good, be rich in good deeds and be generous and willing to share in this way, you will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of what’s truly life. So there’s this concept throughout scriptures of building a treasure building wealth building for the future for eternity, And that’s what Jesus is talking about, and then he goes on to describe, and to give us an idea of how to do so that we’re not left without some of these um ways to do this. Okay, so verse nine he says, and I tell you make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. This is gonna go through a series of different points here, but the first one is use your money to make friends in the Gospel, use your money to build friendships. And it’s uh it’s very interesting, he says make friends like, what does that mean? He’s talking about how, you know, we’ve got money, we’ve got resources. And so can you use that to build some friendships? Can you take somebody out for dinner to build a friendship? Can you take somebody and buy something for someone? A gift makes way for a person, Right? So, so you’re you’re doing this with people who are not christians so that you have a chance to communicate christ with them. So you have a chance to have a friendship with them and to win them to christ right? Use money so as to communicate the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. And he also gives kind of the why behind it, which is a very interesting thing to think about. He says, if you do that, those who believe those who follow christ those who are saved and are and going to heaven will be the people that then welcome you into that eternal dwelling. Think about that, What an incredible picture. You know you you utilize your worldly wealth, the resources you have in this this life the money in this life in the gospel in making friends and then there’s people who give themselves to christ and follow and become disciples of christ and when they die they go into heaven and then when you die you’re gonna have this welcoming committee and I’m picturing in my mind, I have no idea what it’s gonna be like. But picturing in my mind, you know like you’re you’re coming in and there’s this, you know these people you’re seeing who they are. Oh yeah all these people that you know that you had an impact on and they’re they’re so excited that you’re there welcoming into eternity, cheering screaming, you know that like the sports kind of thing, right? Like come on in and and it’s an incredible picture friends with which you will have for all of eternity because of what you’ve invested in this earth, eternal rewards, treasure in heaven. Okay, He also describes using money to bless and to serve people. And this has also found out so proverbs 1125, whoever brings blessing will be enriched and the one who waters will himself be watered this concept of generosity and blessing and using your your your money and resources to bless and serve other people, it is so good. Not only does it um build eternal wealth, but there’s also a blessing here in this life to you bring blessing you’ll be enriched. The wonder waters, will himself be watered. This. This concept is it’s good to help others. It’s good to give and to bless feels good for sure. But it also builds this eternal wealth too. Okay verse 10. He goes on to further explain what it means to be a good steward, a good manager. One who is faithful and very little is also faithful much and one who is dishonest and very little is also dishonest and much if then you who have not been faithful with the unrighteous wealth who will entrust you to true riches. And if you’ve not been faithful in what is another’s who will give you that which is your own. So the third point he is making here is a good manager is faithful with the responsibilities. We’ve been given a good manager is faithful with the responsibilities we’ve been given. Now what are some of those responsibilities God has given us a lot of responsibilities. We’ve got friendships, we’ve got marriage kids, if you’ve got kids, there’s work responsibilities, church community group and money, there’s others. But those are ones that I thought of that responsibilities God has given us that we need to be faithful with. And if we can’t manage what God has given us. If we can’t be faithful with the little things God has given us. We won’t have more significant responsibilities given to us and provided to us. But notice here it’s not the amount, right? And he’s talking about money if you’re faithful little be faithful with much. It’s it’s not the amount whether you have a lot or little, it’s how you manage what you’ve been given. God is the master. He’s the one who owns it all. He’s he has it all. And he’s entrusted some to us. And there’s some of us in this room who come from privilege and have a lot. There’s some of us in this room who have very very little. It doesn’t matter whether you have little with you a lot. Are you being faithful with what you’ve been entrusted? How do you manage what God has given you? That’s the question here. He says. If you’re faithful with that a little bit, God won’t trust you with more your faithful that little bit. You’re demonstrating that you are a good manager. A faithful manager, a good steward and there’s and you’re building wealth from the life to come Verse 13. No servant can serve two masters for either. He will hate one and love the other or he’ll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. So a good manager is one who serves gone want to build wealth for this life to come serve God and not money. Now listen up. You can have both God and money. But you cannot serve both God and money. You get that. You can have both. God and money, but you can only serve one. You can only serve God or money can serve them both and how you spend shows what you treasure. Right? So look back, think back have you been spending the resources God has given you? Who did you serve? You don’t have to be rich to serve money. You don’t have to be poor to serve God. It’s a matter of the heart. How who are you serving? That’s the question verse 14 The Pharisees who were lovers of money that reveals where they were at heard these things and they ridiculed him. They were listening and jesus communicating to his disciples but they were listening in and they loved money and so their response to this was making fun of them ridiculing and he said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men by God knows your hearts. But what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God, God knows your heart. It’s impossible to hide from God. Now. You may be able to hide your heart and motivations from the people around you. You may be able to hide that from the people in this room. You may be even able to hide it from your family, but you cannot hide your heart motivations from God. He knows he knows whether you serve him or whether you serve money or possessions or security or wealth or the bank accounts size or the retirement accounts, God’s value system is different than what we see around us the world around us. It’s like how’s your how’s your retirement account doing right? The world values the new car, the six figure salary, the big house, the investment portfolio, the bank account, all that kind of stuff. But God looks at the heart, are you being faithful? Are you serving him? That’s what matters. And so jesus lays out here, these different aspects of what it means to build wealth for eternity and to be a faithful manager. Now, as you’re sitting there having gone through this story, you may be feeling a variety of things. You may be feeling guilt. You may have realized that your priorities have become misaligned. You may even be wondering, okay, yeah, I want to be a good manager, but how can I possibly do that? I want to be faithful with little things, but I struggle with that. Right? There’s good news and the good news is the Gospel. Even if you’ve not been a good manager, even if you’ve been serving money or been unfaithful with what you’ve been given, jesus offers a better way through, The Gospel has offers us an opportunity to turn from those things and to turn to him and to receive his grace and his power and his help to turn away from the power of money and to follow him. So then we have by his grace the ability and the power to build eternal wealth. It’s not found in ourselves, it’s found in him and his grace. And so the first step is to really to yield and to surrender to him. That’s the action point. Surrender and serve the Lord can’t do it on our own. We cannot be these good managers, these faithful stewards, faithful servant. We can’t on our own. We need jesus. And so some of you have realized maybe you’re not a great manager or you’re more like the bad manager here who serves money um instead of the Lord and I encourage you and I challenge you, surrender to him, embrace his grace for a better way, a way that leads to true reward, not just money here in this earth a true reward. Building wealth for eternity serve the Lord and invest in the eternal bank. Use money and faithful actions to build wealth in this life to come by being a good manager, a good steward in his power and his strength turn and surrender to serve him. Some of you who are serving the Lord right now have realized that your heart is maybe drawn towards worldly wealth, those kinds of things, I encourage and challenge you to surrender and serve the Lord jesus can help you so that when you give an account to the master and you stand before him, you can be filled with joy knowing that you have served him, can you feel with joy knowing that you devoted your life and your resources and your time and your effort energy to building wealth for the life to come. What’s better than being the richest person in the world, being the richest person in heaven and jesus. The Master can help you the money here in this earth like it’ll it’ll burn, it’ll go away. You cannot take a single dollar with you when you die and enter into attorney, you can’t it stays all here may benefit some others, may benefit your descendants etcetera. But it will not help you one single bit size of your account when you die. Absolutely is no longer any value when you die. What will be revealed is your the balance of your bank account in heaven, right? You’ll see how much treasure you’ve stockpiled in heaven and and there will be incredible joy. We will be astounded and overwhelmed I think as God pours forth his blessing and reveals, hey, your faithful here, your faithful there and there’s just gonna be this astounding reward that you’ll be shocked and filled with joy at because of these actions and how you use your money here in this earth God values those things and it’s building an eternal treasure. So surrender to him and serve him by his power. Use the resources, you have to build eternal wealth. Let’s pray Emily, Father, We thank you for these stories. They’re so powerful and they help us help us to connect and to understand what is of true value. And that building wealth for the for eternity is what we really need to be about. We’re here on this earth. We need you, we need your help, we need your grace. We cannot do it on our own, so we surrender ourselves to you. Lord. Once again, we say, fill us with yourself so we can serve you in jesus name. Amen.
Two things I regularly pray for my Children, my wife and I have five Children and two things that I regularly pray for them is first that they would know the Lord that they would know the love of God, that they would know it in such a way that it would change them, that it would ruin them for anything else other than a life committed to the Lord, jesus christ. And then the second thing that I’m constantly praying for them is that they would know how much the mother and I love them. I pray these things because I’m reminded of how I grew up, ignorant and oblivious to these two realities. Um I didn’t know the Lord growing up as a young child. So his love was not something that I was well acquainted with, although his blessings were all around me and although a very real sense this love kept me and kept me to a place where I would eventually come to know the Lord. But then when I also think about my relationship with my parents, the ingratitude, the inability to see the small sacrifices and the little things that they did that were tokens of their love for me that were expressions of their deep care and concern for my life that I took for granted. But later in life I realized how special it was. And so I’m thankful by the grace of God that I have a very good relationship with both of my parents and so when I think about today’s teaching and this story, the parable of the prodigal son we are dealing with family matters. We have a wayward son a forgiving father and a prideful brother and we have in this story, jesus telling it wrongly. I might add, when you think of the cultural circumstances, the cultural realities of his day, he tells it intentionally wrongly to drive home one point and that point is this, that God is more willing to embrace repentant sinners than you and I are even willing to admit that we’re sinners. This is the third parable that he has told to the same group of people in the same setting to make that point clear. And he uses family Story of a family, a father with two sons. And so before I impact that more, let me pray for you, let me pray for us. Let me pray for our time, Father in heaven, this is your world, you are God Almighty, you rule and you reign and this is your word that you’ve given to your people. I pray Lord that as your faithful ministers all over the globe on the sabbath day, open your word that many would be reminded of your great love, the great truth and power of the gospel of your son, jesus christ who gave his life to save many. I pray God that in places where there is great darkness that the light of this word would penetrate and have lasting impact, pray God that you would raise up faithful servants in every single place on this globe who will run the race with endurance, who will make disciples, who will continue to carry on this legacy of proclaiming, christ God, we want to see you glorified in our lifetime and in the lifetime of our Children’s Children. So God, this morning with our time work mightily, we ask it in jesus name, Amen, Amen again. This parable known by many as the parable of the Prodigal son. It may be the famous or the most famous of the parables that jesus told the parable of the good samaritan might be up there. A lot of people know about that when people, even outside of the church are familiar with that parable, but this parable here is incredibly popular. It is quite famous this story of the Prodigal son and again, it is a story dealing with a family and a family situation and now Jesus tells it based on a relationship with the father and two sons and I want to say from the onset that ladies don’t check out because this story and the principle behind it applies to everyone. It applied to everyone in that crowd. But jesus specifically chose to tell it in this way because the history of God and his people was one that they understood as a father with his son. That’s why even the prophets would utter from Egypt or out of Egypt, I have called my son Speaking of the people of Israel led out of Egypt by moses by moses, but eventually jesus would also fulfill that that picture again, he’s only telling it and using a father and two sons to illustrate a point and that being the relationship between God and his people. And as we think about the characters in the story, the younger son obviously identifies with the tax collectors and sinners. This is early on in chapter 15 of Luke. They are the ones who are being drawn to Jesus and then the older brother in this story, obviously he relates to the Pharisees and the religious leaders. They are the ones who are offended. They are the reason that Jesus has told three consecutive parables driving home the same principle that God is more willing to receive repentant sinners. Then you and I are willing to admit that we’re sinners. And it is the reason why I say to you that Jesus is intentionally telling the story in a way that is culturally wrong because he wants to make a point so clear. So let’s look at it. He begins by saying that the younger son Verse 12 comes to his father and says give me the share of property that is coming to me and he the father divided his property between them. And then not many days later the younger son gathered all that he had and took a journey into a far country and there he squandered his property and reckless living and when he has spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate and no one gave him anything. So we have here the wayward son, he comes to his father. He essentially says, I cannot wait until you die to receive my inheritance. I need it. Now that’s offensive. That is the wrong way to do things. And the father obliges. He gives him the inheritance. That is the wrong thing to do. But he does it, it gives it to him based on the old testament, Law and covenant? The older son would have received the double portion and the younger son, and this situation would have received one third of his father’s inheritance, which two thirds then would go to the older son. So it gives him a third of all that was owed, or all that belonged to. The father gives it to the younger son. But then it says that not many days later this younger son gathered all that he had and took a journey into a far country and there he squandered his property in reckless living. Now, why does he go to a far away country? Well, what do you do when you want to do something that you know you shouldn’t do. You go away from people who know you people who might tell you that what you’re about to do is wrong and you hide so that you can get away with it so that you could indulge your sinful heart. That’s what he’s doing. He understood that if he were to sell any of his family’s holdings, that would have been given to him that that was against old testament law, that he wasn’t permitted to do that. That’s what the whole story, the book of ruth is about dealing with property in exchange of property. He goes to a far away country so he can get away with it right in that human nature. Isn’t that what we do? How many times have we seen the cookie crumbs leading to a corner or closet? And some kid has taken a cookie without asking before dinner and it’s eating in secret why he knows it’s wrong. So the younger son knows he’s not supposed to get rid of his family’s property, Goes to a far away country. No one who might possibly be able to identify him with his family and call him out on the wrong that he is about to engage in and to live and indulge all of the sin that he desired to indulge in this younger son has a love for the world. He in his selfish and gratitude. He is blind to the vast ocean of his father’s love for him. He cannot even see it. He has offended his father by demanding his inheritance before his father’s death. His father has given it to him. His father has been good to him, his entire existence. He cannot see it. He doesn’t have the gratitude to give thanks to his father for all that his father has done for him. And so he goes and he squanders it because he loves this world. He wanted the pleasure of this world. He wanted to be accepted by this world. He believed that this world would satisfy the deepest longings of his soul. But as the story goes on, the money didn’t last. The pleasure didn’t fulfill like it, promised circumstances of life begin to pile up and to overcome him to the point to where he goes and hires himself out to a pig farmer. He’s so hungry that he’s eating the pods that are to be given to the pigs. Again, this example, this illustration by jesus is so offensive to a jew, pigs are unclean to work in that industry meant to be unclean to eat what pigs would eat. This man had fallen so far from his father’s graces and to be in that situation, when you hear me use the term unclean to a jew, that meant he could not step foot into God’s temple, He could not come and be among the congregation of God’s people because his lifestyle had rendered him unclean, he was outside of the fold Continentally, He’s dead to God. So in verse 17, the wayward son says he came to himself, wow! He came to himself. I love what jesus is getting at here. He was so entrenched in his rebellion and love for the world that he lost himself. He lost sight of where he had come from, who his father was. He lost sight of what was right and what was wrong. He lost his mind, that’s what it looked like, right? Not intentionally insane. But he’s at a place where he is not looking like the same human being that others understood him to be. And it says he came to himself, his mind change. That is code for repentance, wow, I am messed up. I have lacked gratitude towards my father, towards the goodness of my father. And when I think about the days of living in my father’s house, even his servants are well compensated, well fed and they are joyful. If I could just be in their place, I would be better off. And so he comes to himself, he begins to rehearse as it were a prayer of repentance, Verse 18, it says he he says, I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you and in the original greek that last phrase, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you could actually be translated to say, my sins are so many. They reach all the way up to heaven. His mind has changed. His heart has changed. He says, I’m no longer worthy to be called your son, treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and he came to his father, the forgiving father, the wayward son. And I’m going to forgiving father says. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him again, jesus, You’re telling the story wrongly. No dignified, wealthy individual would have endured that type of family Shane brought upon his name because of the ways of that younger son and then would have had the audacity to run in his dignified state to greet him a long way off. What are you getting at, jesus? It’s getting at the fact that God is more willing to receive a repentant sinner than we are even admitting, acknowledging that we’re sinners. The father has been watching the father has been waiting for this moment when his son’s eyes would open to the love of the father and he saw it. He remembered it in the context of a hired worker, hired workers, a joyful, well fed, well compensated in my father’s house. Some of you think to have a great influence for jesus. You need a massive platform. You think you need to be, you know, have a great following, but it was a hired worker full of joy at working in the father’s house that turned a wayward son back to the father, your faithfulness to God, your ability to have contentment in christ right where you are, have an amazing impact on the people around you, but back to his father, dignitaries didn’t do this, they didn’t run like that and and then to embrace a guy who probably looked and smelled like he had worked with pigs. He embraces him, kisses him, I want him to know he loves him. The sun isn’t even given an ability to express his prayer of repentance, that he’s been practicing all the way there and the fathers already embracing him. It’d be like that sometimes, you know, it’d be like that sometime. I know that’s not grammatically correct, but you’ve been a place where you realize you’re in sin, that kind of sin. That makes it hard for you to hold your head up or lift your head up or to open your lips and utter a prayer. And in that moment when you you finally decide, I got to confess this to God, I’ve got to go to him and immediately just a sense of peace. God reminding you, bringing to memory gospel truth that jesus paid for that sin are you are now a son in his kingdom and how just disarmed all of the condemnation. That’s why we can say therefore now there’s no combination for those who are in christ jesus, I’m telling you it be that way sometime. So the father embraces him, the sun praise his prayer. He says Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Now, before we moved too quickly to correct the sun here, let’s stay here for a moment because this is true. He had dishonored. The father’s name is squandered. Whoa of his possessions that the father had given him. He was not a beaming and shining, shiny example of righteousness and goodness. He was far from that. But you know who else was like that? The same tax collectors and sinners who are in this crowd that the Pharisees don’t even want to be near. They were like that. Possibly some of us felt like that been there. You know what it’s like. Maybe even now some of you are in that place when you look at your sin and you consider the holiness of God and the goodness of God, just don’t feel worthy. I think it’s important to not just move on too quickly there to correct the sun, but to do what jesus did in telling this story, allow the father to work through the holy spirit to bring the correction because that’s the lasting correction. We can’t change that God can know and God will because he’s so willing to embrace repentant sinners. And so the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him. The best robe, put it on in, jesus, you’re telling the story wrong, this man does not deserve that. The best robe was reserved for the distinguished and honored guest. You know if, let’s say some celebrity was coming to your house to watch the super bowl later today, right? You you want you you want to preserve like this comfortable chair, you’d want the proper setting, you want your friends to know that he was coming and then you would want them to know that he is the distinguished guest in your home, right? Not a guy who’s been working with pigs, living like a pig. And yeah, the grace of God, the goodness of God, the love of the father. We just can’t comprehend that martin Luther said, you know the first line of the Lord’s prayer, our father in heaven, he says if I understood that prayer would change my life if I could just understand it, I don’t think we understand it. I mean we understand the love of God, the Pharisees. The religious leaders clearly didn’t understand it. That’s why jesus is telling the story in this way to try to help them to understand it. This is an incredible display of love and forgiveness. I’m gonna be honest with you. People have offended me for far less than what his son has done to his father and it’s been hard to forgive them. Can you relate to that some of you are holding onto unforgiveness right now for things far less than this. It brings out the best robe he puts a ring on his hand. This is more than just some bling bling kids is more than just that, right? There’s some bling to it. But this ring signified authority. He was being charged with making decisions on behalf of the father. So yeah, it was some bling, but it was some legit authority to to put shoes on his feet. Another luxury. The father is removing all condemnation. The father is removing all sense of unworthiness. The father is restoring, receiving an unworthy sinner and he’s pouring out all of his love upon him with these small tokens and expressions of that love. If you and I could see it, you and I could understand it. That this is what God has for us, this is what he has for us. In christ it goes on and it says that the father commanded that the fattened calf be brought. They were to kill it. They were to eat and celebrate, you know, people didn’t eat meat every day. I need meat every day. My wife has learned to love me in spite of the fact that I need meat every day. But people would take a calf and they would fatten it up and they would save it for a special occasion. And so this calf had been being prepared for special occasion. And the father, seeing the center return says, we must rejoice, this is it. This is the occasion for the son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And it says they began to celebrate. That was a party. I love it, jesus, I love it. He tells his stories and it’s a picture of a heavenly reality. How many times does he speak of banquets and feast in the kingdom of God? Yeah, have a glorious hope. We have a glorious hope. So this is the wayward son returning to the forgiving father and now enter entering the scene is the Prideful brother Verse 25 says. Now his older brother was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing and he called one of the servants and asked what these things mean. He has what these things meant. And he said to him, your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back, safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him. But he answered, his father, look these many years, I have served you and I never disobeyed your command yet. You never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this. Your brother was dead and he’s alive. He was lost and is found the prideful brother. He’s blind to the vast ocean of God’s love. He’s unable to accept and to receive the fact that God is so willing to receive repentant sinners and in the process, he’s unable to see his own sinful pride and says that he was in the field and he drew near to the house, but he wouldn’t go in himself and inquire and find out what was going on. He would much rather call to one of the servants tell me what’s going on cause I don’t really want to go in there. That in and of itself is an indication that he had a problem with the father. Just didn’t understand. The father probably didn’t understand the goodness of the father. The love of the father was something he certainly did not understand. But the real hero of this story is the father. He’s waiting for the wayward son to return. And now he leaves a party. A party. That is an expression of his joy of the returning of this wayward son. He leaves that party to go and try to win a prideful and obstinate son who won’t come in, who won’t come in. He goes out to him when I first began to see what jesus was saying there. It humbled me? Because clearly the prideful son is an analogy for the Pharisees and religious leaders. A man who are jealous of jesus, men who have slandered jesus, men who have nothing but bad things to say about jesus men who would go on and plan the arrest and murder of jesus. And Jesus represents the father in this story. And what does the father do to those very men? He goes out to them and invites them to come in to the party, the same man that he knows all these things about. He knows that they are doing these very things. He knows this because he is not only fully human, but he is fully God. And he is pleading with these Pharisees, come and celebrate what God is doing. He extends an invite to them knowing their sinful hearts. You ever met someone that you thought, man, I would never invite them to church? Of course, I don’t expect you to say that out loud, but in your heart, you heard me right? You heard me right? God is more willing to receive a repentant center then you and I could ever imagine there’s just something about his divine nature. It says that God is love is so much deeper, far more wider reaching than we could ever imagine. So Jesus is demonstrating the heart of the father and he’s appealing to the Pharisees and the Pharisees are clueless. They are blind to the love of God, which ultimately reveals that they’re not really Children of God until they repent. Do you understand that? Because the Children love what the father loved. One of the interesting things and cool things about attending a husker football game. They got this new thing now, what they call it, like Simba cam or something like that, you know, Simba the little Lion Lion King. And it’s all these parents holding up their Children that they’ve brought to the husker game, football game. Little kids, little kids who can’t tell you what um you know what, what plays are being run on the field, Who can’t tell you, you know, the score of the game, don’t know what’s happening on the field, but are being shaped by what their parents love and who will one day grow up and be what lovers of husker football kids just love what the parents love when they see their parents taking joy in something, when they see something having an impact on them, emotionally impacting them, whether good or bad they sit, kids are impacted by, that reminds me of, you know, my dad’s Jamaican and like growing up around my dad, guess what I love Jamaican culture and now my kids have a love and an affinity for Jamaican culture and the younger kids, even though not all of them enjoy Jamaican food. They will try it and they might respond to dad, I’m not that Jamaican, but but they’re willing to try because they see the love and the joy that that has about it. That’s why it’s so important for your dad’s to be in church and to bring your kids with you and to open your bibles at home and to read the word and to show that you have this love for God, he’s more important to you than anything else. Henry Skakel, he’s a old, dead christian saint, but a wise one, he said this, he said. But if God is the object of our love, we should share in his infinite happiness without contamination or the possibility of it being diminished, we should constantly rejoice and beholding the glory of God and receive comfort and pleasure from all the praises with which men and angels extol him? It should delight us beyond all expression to consider that the one who is beloved in our own souls is infinitely happy. Code word. Get into that party and celebrate the joy and the happiness of the father. That’s what I saw last night with these dads and their daughters dancing on the dance floor here, no rhythm in the room at all. Dads who you couldn’t pay in any other circumstance to do that. But man, were they joyful, were they passionate and it just added more and more joy and celebration to the room because their daughters were happy and the daughters saw that their dads were happy to be there. No dad made their daughter feel like it was a chore to be there. It was amazing and the dad is happy that his wayward son has come home and his prideful brother, he can’t participate in the happiness of his father. Likewise, the Pharisees can’t. They are struggling. They have a hard time participating in the love of the father and seeing how God was accomplishing his plan of redemption through jesus drawing back to himself all of these wayward sons and daughters, they couldn’t celebrate that. They couldn’t celebrate it. They bought into a way of thinking that led them to value separation from centers in a way in which was more condemning and judgmental. What do I mean by that? So for the Pharisees, if someone was lost in that particular situation, there was no way back and you needed to stay separate from them as a christian, we are called to come out of the world, but coming out of the world doesn’t mean that we just hit a button and say beam me up scotty, you know like I don’t need to be around people anymore. It means that the values of the world no longer drive our lives. The things that are most important to this world are no longer the things that are at the top of our list of priorities. But christ is obedience to him, walking faithfully with him and in him and with his people. The Pharisees couldn’t see that. I mean jesus was not condoning the sin of the tax collectors and sinners of his day. He was not cheering them on on the path to destruction in hell. He was calling him back to the father because God is more willing to receive a repentant senator. Then we are at acknowledging our own sin. So in closing I want to leave you with this with these questions to ponder are you like the wayward son? I mean I get it. You may be here this morning, but in your heart you are far from the father. You have a love for this world. You’re blinded by his love for you until you lock the gratitude and the devotion to him. That follower of jesus is expected to give because your heart has wandered far from him. So do you need to come home? Are you one that needs to come home this morning? See man, I know I’m here, but mostly it’s because I’m obliging people. I’m smiling kind of getting along. But I know in my heart of Hearts man, if I’m honest, I’m in sin, I love my sin and I don’t know a way out your life the younger son and it’s time for you to come home others of you. You have a faith in christ where you struggle in relationship in community with others. I think you need to hear that it’s time for you to join the celebration. You need to learn how to love people who are at different places in their walk with christ than you are or maybe a bit quirky and weird, but you need to learn how to join in on the celebration, what God is doing and how to draw more of that out of people. I’d encourage the good that God is doing in people’s lives, learning the grace and the wisdom of speaking the truth and love and building others up, spurring them on to do good works for christ. Lastly, we all need to consider what needs to change in our lives. That would help us to be in a position like the father to be on the lookout. For those who need to come home have the ability and the capacity to care about those who aren’t in the room. What needs to change? Let’s go back to the love of the father, a set of hearts and our minds on that. Let’s stay in there and allow that to be the driving force. Amen. I mean, let me pray for us that close this out father. We sang a song this morning declaring that your mercy is more for some. That’s too good to be true for others. They can’t comprehend the value of such a declaration. But Lord all of us desperately need you to make this clear to make it obvious, but there’s far more to you and to your love for us and to your love for your, your people, then we have understood. so father, if that means some in this room this morning hearing the call to come home Lord, I pray that that phrase, we’ll just ring out over and over again in their soul, come home. And if it’s slower to love to love to to learn how to love to have an enduring love towards others in your family. God I pray that love Love would just continue to echo and echo and echo in our souls love the Lord most importantly and pray that as we wrestle with these things as we consider these things, the reality of jesus christ, suffering on that cross for our sin would come into higher definition for us. It would be the foundation of our love and our doing in this life. God we ask that you would solidify all of this in christ’s name. Amen.
Thank you bro. Thank you, john, good morning, welcome. My name is Mike, one of the pastors on staff here at sewer church. It’s an honor to be with you this morning and I’m excited to look at this passage. I just disclaimer, I spent my childhood with sheep, my dad had market lambs at the Adams County fair, we would show market lambs sheep in colorado and and I spent many summers of a bad teenage attitude grumbling and complaining about sheep and what they were doing. And the thing about me is I was this size in high school and you have to get like really low to show a sheep. So they flex their back, it’s like a bodybuilding contest for sheep. And and I always lose to these, this little batik blonde girl would beat me every single year. Um and so I, this is sheep, my childhood, there’s a lot of memories in this passage for me. And so it’s good to, it’s good to spend time look at this passage. And if you look with me at parables, there’s a parable, the lost sheep and then the parable, the lost coin. And then next week dan will button up this three parable story set, jesus is rolling out with the parable of the lost son. So I get the honor of looking at the first two parables, the lost sheep and the lost coin. And so how do you read parables? How do you get handles of what’s up of a parable, jesus parables and what do you do with them? And so the parable is supposed to have one short 10.1 short point And so the short point from today’s passage is that I’m looking at that. I hope you can grab onto and walk away with is you should be able to see the heart of God towards sinners. The heart of God towards centers and these two parables. And so if you bow your heads, let’s let’s pray. And I’m gonna ask for some help to do this. Well Lord, I thank you for luke 15 verse one. I thank you for all of these verses. We gotta look at the word of God is powerful and effective. It’s alive and it can change our lives. Lord, I ask that you just help the word of God to fall in hearts that are soft and tender that want to hear from you. I ask that you just really instruct us, convict us, challenge us and change us. Lord, I ask that the Holy spirit would genuinely change our hearts and our disposition. As we look at these passages as you see where we were, what is happening in the all the characters in this. In these scenes, we look at Lord and we hear the story at the heart of God would ring loud and clear through this word into our eyes and we would see that and make that part of our lives. I pray you just really just imprint our souls as a congregation with these parables Lord, we love you and commit this time to you in jesus name. Amen. Okay look at me at luke 15 verse one page 5 10. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him and the fair season describes grumbled saying this man receives sinners and eats with them, this man received sinners and eats with them. So if you remember last week we looked at some of the most hardest statements, jesus said some of the hardest words and hardest soundbites, jesus dropped about the cost of discipleship. I have to deny your own life, have to give everything you have have to you know, expect persecution from even your close family relationships. He laid an incredibly high standard of discipleship and the cause and effect of those hard words created a bunch of soft hearted centers who were sitting and gathering and spending time with jesus. So why were the tax collectors and sinners drawn to jesus? You should think that way. He says mean things to them, he calls them out on their stuff. He’s he’s got a very hard stance on sin and their famous sinners. The notorious sinners of their cities and they were drawn to jesus just had a morality that was more demanding than the religious leaders of the day. He had a higher standard for morality of what it meant to be following God and right in God’s eyes and what God valued than the religious leaders of his day, there’s that preaching saying hard words make soft hearts, but soft words make hard hearts, Jesus had plenty of hard words and he had a high standard. He called his people too. But the people couldn’t. They heard he was there and they came running. Jesus drew sinners. If you think even back to the same hard words to sin, Jesus’s sermon on the mount, his public address, his first grand opening massive sermon that you hear soundbites through throughout the rest of the gospels. Matthew 56 and seven. He takes the more a lot that the religious leaders were teaching about public sin and he made it even more higher, unreachable and made it the private sin, the private sin of lust, the private sin of coveting the private set of anger. And he said the end of that sermon, the sermon on the mountain, You must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect, but we all know no one’s perfect. Jesus had incredibly high standard when it came to sin. And he was very tough on sin. And the biggest wildest centers of the city would flock to him. Just didn’t draw people to him because he was soft on sin. And he had soft squishy sermons. He drew people to him because he was hard on sin and called them out. And they loved, they felt loved by him, Jesus has a purpose statement in Luke 1910, he said the son of man came to seek and save the lost and this is evident all throughout the gospels, Jesus seeking and Jesus seeing these people saved those who were once lost. Verse three. So he told them this parable. What man among you, having 100 sheep if he had lost one, does not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors saying to them, rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost. And if you hear that and you hear my story about some childhood memories and you’re like, what are we talking about sheep? For I haven’t seen a sheep in years, I haven’t touched a sheep since I was a kid at a, at a petting zoo and it almost bit my finger and I got scared. I mean sheep, what’s with these christians, sheep could have picked a better animal. We’re talking about sheep. We don’t see sheep in Nebraska. But you have to realize that this this, this context of this historical, you know, lens that these people are hearing these, this parable through, it was very common that shepherds would have communal shepherding. So they hang out and talk like we see when, when the angel visits the shepherds, they would be together if all their little flocks and the amount of pasture land that was gray Zobel was very limited and like it is today, like it is back in this day and they would have multiple flocks with multiple shepherds in this area. And if one of them lost a sheep, he would say to the other shepherds, hey, watch my, watch my, watch my sheep, I’m gonna go find that stray. And at the end of the day, the other shepherds would bring all the flocks to where they need to be kept at night and the city would hear mike’s out looking for that sheep again. I wonder if it’s that, that your link, I wonder if it’s Betty that, that you lamb got lost. We’ll see. And here comes Mike late in the evening carrying his bed and we’re like, well, well done shepherd, you didn’t lose that sheep, Good job, do your job. This is a normal celebratory part of life in Israel at that day. Even today, a friend told me from first Service, he remembers doing a tour of Israel and he looks over, he sees a random shepherd chasing a random sheep that’s running away. Even today, men and women. So there’s this cultural lens that this was common for them, The seeking, the finding and the celebrating of that which was lost. But who is jesus speaking to, jesus target audience of who he is speaking to? Is it the, is it the fair, is it the Pharisees it describes. Is it the famous centers, is it the tax collectors? Who is his target audience? Is it us today in the year 2023 jesus target audience. The scandal of this parable of who he’s speaking to, is he speaking to the religious people, the scribes and the Pharisees? So Jesus is self declared good shepherd and john 10 14, the good shepherd and the scandal here in this parable is that the scribes and the Pharisees were considered the under shepherds of the shepherd God. These men had a total apathy and a lack of care for the sheep of Israel. If you contrast that with Jesus who cared too much. These men cared too little. There’s a famous saying among the day of historians will tell you that the Pharisees said there’s great rejoicing in heaven when one sinner is obliterated, obliterated. There’s this, there’s this hatred towards famous sinners in the city, they would not teach them the word of God describes, will not teach them with the word the law says the Pharisees, the culture hated them and ostracized them. The Pharisees will not eat with people who are famous sinners. The only with good people, jewish people, not people who fell out of the jewish faith. They, if you are a notorious center, a tax collector, you wouldn’t, your witness in court was considered invalid? Your canceled by your culture, your canceled by the religious leaders of your cultures religion and they had nothing to do with you. They talked to me about you and they wouldn’t spend time with you. A new contrast that with jesus, who cared too much for these sinners, these tax collectors who spent his time with notorious sinners. But the fact the scandal is, these shepherds of the scribes in the fair seas were failing at their job. I don’t know if you get a job reviews, I get job reviews and if you got this scathing job review that God gave the Israel the leaders of Israel in in Ezekiel 30 for you would be worried. Ezekiel 34. It is on page 4 21 in your house bible And when I was writing it, reading it this morning, I underlined all of it so that no verses would feel left out. I underlined all of it. But Ezekiel 34 is a scathing reproach of God to the shepherds of Israel at that time. It is one of the most brutalist passages to read. If you’re a pastor and as we read it together, you’ll be like dang, that’s not fun. Let’s read it together. Ezekiel 34 picking up in verse one, the word of the Lord came to me, son of man prophesy against the shepherds of Israel prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds. Thus says the Lord God, oh, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves should not shepherds feed the sheep, you eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool. You slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep the wick. You have not strengthened the sick, you have not healed the injured, you have not bound up the strayed, you have not brought brought back the Lost. You have not sought, and with with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beast. My sheep were scattered. They wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them, verse Seven. Therefore you shepherds hear the Word of the Lord as I live, declares the Lord surely, because my sheep have become a prey and my become a prey. And my sheep have become food for all the wild beast since there was no shepherd. And because my shepherds were not searching for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep. Therefore you shepherds hear the word The Lord. Thus says The Lord God behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep. I will require my sheep at their hands and put a stop to their feeding the sheep no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths that they may not be food for them, verse 11 for thus, says the Lord God behold I, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out and my shepherds seeking out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered. So I will seek out my sheep and I will rescue them from the places they have been scattered on on the day of the dark of clouds and thick darkness, and I’ll bring them out of the places the peoples and gather them from the countries will and will bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel by the ravines, and then in all the inhabited places of the country, I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. They shall lie down in good grazing land and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel, I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will may Make them lie down, declares the Lord God, I will seek the lost. I will bring back the straight, I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the weak and the fat and the strong, I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. If you look at verse 22, I will rescue my flock. They shall no longer be pray and I will judge between sheep and sheep, and I will let and I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David and he shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd and I, the Lord will be their God and my servant. David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord. I have spoken if you were a jewish leader in the day of Ezekiel when that was said, you would take that very poorly. You would not appreciate the words of the prophet Ezekiel. If you are a jewish leader and you hear Jesus calling himself the good shepherd and hearing him using this parable, it would be a scandal. He is calling you out on your hypocrisy, your hatred and your apathy and your general discontent for people who are far from God. So what kind of sinners are in this parable? What kind of sinners are we looking at? Well we have sinners and sinners, sinners and so we’re gonna start with sinners. Sinners. It’s funny, Jesus knows all and and he knows that all have sinned and and to me it seems funny that if you’re a little sinner or a big synergies isn’t really concerned about being with you like in this global pandemic of sin, everyone’s contagious, everyone’s caught sin. And jesus not worried to worry about sin. He’s walking and he’s got the antibodies of sin in his blood and he’s not worried about being a uh center that has a mask or center that has vaccinated or a sinner who’s not mask and not vaccinated, jesus not concerned because he sees everyone as sinners and he’s there to fix the biggest problem. They have their sin problems. But the first group, the sinners, their their thoughts and their attitudes are far from God and they heard about this christ who has a strong standard against their sin, their morality and they want to spend time with him and their famous sinners. They’re the kind of people that everyone in the city knows their dirt. Everyone in the city knows their story, Everyone the city knows what got them here and everyone, the city is surprised that jesus, a religious man is spending time with these sinners. This this famous prophet, this rabbi, this guy who knows so much about God, can’t read the book in front of him that this is a famous center sitting across from him having a meal. So you have sinners at this parable. We also have tax collectors which are career sinners, they’re considered traitors to their jewish culture. They’re working for the occupied occupied country of wrong that’s oppressing them. They are taxing, extraordinarily taxing their coworkers. Kind of like Black Hills. Energy is doing some things to us right now. It’s your utility bill and you’re like what the heck! That’s, it’s amazing what is happening in our, in our city. It’s amazing what’s happening in these cities by these career centers, these tax collectors and they had an immoral lifestyle that went along with their occupation. They had to work with Rome roman occupying forces. And I’m assuming the win in Rome phrase came from tax collectors when in Rome, go to or jesus my boss when in Rome, get drunk at the temple with my boss. I mean the romans were notorious centers and they work for them and they spent time with them on and off the clock and they were sell outs for their local jewish people, oppressing them, taking their lands, their their crops, their homes, they were they were taking advantage of their people and they were barred from giving alms at the jewish temple. They weren’t allowed to come to church and give money. These jewish people, their their testimony in court was invalid. Their hated at every place they turned except for when they turned to jesus. And the next in this parable we have the scribes and the Pharisees, and these are career religious people. And they were not associated of sinners. They didn’t teach sinners the law, they were taught not to care about godless sinners. And they were mad that jesus associated and cared for and taught godless sinners. So in this purple, we have all kinds of sinners, proud and humble sinners and private and public centers. We have it all. And why are the Pharisees and the scribes offended by jesus. Well their denial denial sinners, the people that had an inflated view of self and their goodness and a deflated view of God and his righteousness. Next, Jesus jumps into a second. Parable verse eight We read or what woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it. And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and saying, rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Biblical scholars connect the dots for us that these coins were just 10 days wages, it’s two weeks of income and she lost a day’s wage. It wasn’t just that they said these 10 coins probably represented a marriage dowry, she needed to have these 10 coins to get married. This is a life altering 10 coins that would change her status in her country and her social status and her financial security. This was a life altering coin that she lost. And there’s some similarities in these two past. These two parables, a lost sheep. The lost coin. One thing is just the structures are saying both have, there’s a lost nous, there’s a searching, there’s a finding and there’s a great rejoicing, there’s also another similarity about both these that both these in the high level of the economy of the day. We’re not very pricey objects. One day’s wage and one sheep were not that high end thing wasn’t like they lost their Tesla. They didn’t lose anything fancy here. This is like that. It’s unfortunate. You’ll live with it. Move on. It’s not like this is earth shaking wealth exchanging hands that is lost. But the difference between these two parables A lost sheep. The lost coin parables a sheep is a pitiful, helpless animal. Its instincts are virtually useless and it’s got pathetic defenses. You’ve never seen a sheep do a good job of defending itself against a predator. Both had great value to the people that were searching for them. The man spent his time pursuing his sheep. The woman spend her time practically pursuing a good thing. I’m gonna skip the gender joke because none of us laughed at the first service about men and women’s differences and what we lose and stuff. They’re lost sheep. Pastors jokes don’t always work, guys, I’m sorry, lost sheep. The lost sheep wandered away, lame struck weak and it wandered away. The coin lost touch with the woman unintentionally got lost. But let’s let’s notice the last part of these. This passage in this parable. The rejoicing parts verse seven is the first rejoicing part in the first parable. Just so I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who need no repentance. That is flying in the face of the opposite of that, that the jewish teachers were teaching at that day about annihilating Centers and 99 angels rejoicing and that is not an accident, that is intentional flying in the face contrasting the heart of God vs the heart of these people. And then verses nine and 10 and when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and saying rejoice with me for I found the coin that I had lost. Just so I tell you there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents this whole rejoicing doesn’t sound like only people that repents need to rejoice all need to repent and rejoice the sinners. The scribes the Pharisees, the tax collectors all need to repent. All have sent all have gone astray. Like we looked at in Isaiah 53 back on christmas day, both parables have an immense amount of joy found in them. If we want to have the hearts of God towards God’s heart, when he sees humanity, when he sees people, he sees the world and he sees people when we have a heart for God, When we want to have the same heart that God has, we should have the same joy. The same excitement that new faith, new converts bring into a community group, bring into a church, when people in your community group are trying to share their faith and people become saved and they’re making mistakes, saying things, christians don’t say when their testimony includes swear words, it’s exciting for me to hear people share their faith And if it’s a person sharing their testament for the first time and you’re like, yeah, that’s great. Maybe a few less customers, but that was great brother, you know, like kids say the darndest things, Baby christians say the darndest things and they’re cute. Hold them, kiss those little baby christian cheeks, take photos with them, give them space and pack them full of food of God’s word. And don’t be mad at christians, baby christians, people new to church new to Christianity that make mistakes. If we have a heart for God for the lost for the lost sheep, the lost coin, we should realize the reality that there are people that come to our church that have never heard that community devotion before. They’ve never sang that song before. They’ve never heard that prayer before. They’ve never looked at that passage before in luke or x Ezekiel, they’ve never done that before. That’s why we try to give some problems to help them navigate through this book. That’s a big book. It should remind you of where you were when God first called you and just celebrate the fact that there’s new converts, baby christians, pre christians coming to your community group coming to this church. And that’s a good thing, people that hear the word of jesus, they are drawn to it. It’s a bigger scandal for us to have a church with no baby christians in it than it is for a church that has baby christians coming and doing what baby christians do. If you have the heart of God for the people around you, you should rejoice greatly when you see people and these two parables from the Lost are being found, you should rejoice greatly because jesus came to seek and save the lost. Your heart is the same as your saviors to seek and save the lost. The last nine months. I was reflecting on this with some of our pastors about just what is happening in our culture of evangelism. It seems like our world, the world is so bad at friendship. It is shocking how bad friendship is in this world. People can have a horrible thing happen in their life. They post something online. And if I’m a friend that’s lost, supporting a lost friend ought to do is send in a sad face of teary face emoji, I’m done. That’s it. People in our world are such poor friends because of technology. They think they saw a picture, sent a quick little text message. Sorry, hugs and kisses sad face emoji, that makes them a good friend. Our world is is aware of the loneliness and the depravity of what’s happening on the country around the world. Our world is aware and they’re looking for answers. Our world is struggling and they’re looking for answers, they’re lost sheep and they know it, they’re lost coins and they know it and they intentionally walked away and they intentionally walked away. They walked away because they’re wounded and a predator got ahold of them or they just got distracted and people moved on and life moved on and they are lost and they’re looking for help. I’m amazed if just some analogies, if the evangelism isn’t your thing, you don’t like swimming in the waters of evangelism because it’s too cold and people are too harsh and mean, the pool got warm the last nine months. It feels like a jacuzzi in my opinion, sharing with people and I’m not, I am not an evangelist. Like you’re an evangelist. I am not, I have a spiritual gift assessment Many of you guys took and it wasn’t high on that either. But I’ve been jumping into the water and it’s warm. It’s like if you play basketball and the rims 10 ft high, 10 ft high and someone lowered it at the Y. M. C. A. To that six ft thing. And like I am the man. You know, that’s what if Angela’s like right now people texting calling, you know, befriending people saying, let’s go grab coffee. No one does that. We had a, we had a family over for a house for dinner and it wasn’t that great and my opinions are, you know, and they’re like, that was the best meal I’ve had in like years. That was amazing. Men and women. It is amazing how low the bar is for friendship and just relationships in our culture. The waters are warm. The hoop is lowered. If you’re not a baller, get on the court. This is the time. This is our time christians because there’s lost sheep and lost coins and no one’s looking for them, no one’s pursuing them. If you have the heart of God, the sea can save the loss like This passage talks about, come on church, this is our time. The point of this passage is God’s heart towards us. God’s heart towards us and we should see that heart and get excited about that heart. I my father is a pastor and he’s preached sermons growing up and he multiple times. He’s used this story, the hound of Heaven. This poem from Francis Thompson, talking about the Holy Spirit pursuing us, the hound of Heaven. I like to read it to you. It says this. I fled him down the nights and down the days I fled him down the arches of the years. I fled him down the labyrinth of ways of my own mind and in the midst of tears I hid from him and under running laughter up vista hopes I sped and shot, precipitated a down, titanic gloom of charmed fears from those strong feet that followed followed after ah found ist blind ist weakest I am. He whom thou sickest! The Holy Spirit is still pursuing people today. And christians that are following and walking humbly with the Holy Spirit are joining him in that pursuit. Today, God’s heart towards us is to seek and save the lost. We see that same heart in psalms 1 39 verses eight through 10. We see a seeking suffering savior. If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed and she’ll you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell on the uttermost parts of the sea. Even there, your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. God’s heart is to seek and save the lost and in that seeking and saving, there’s a suffering that follows. I understand that I know that jesus carried the cross of calvary so that he’s able to carry you and I the lost sheep. But the heart of God is you and he’s coming for you, we see the heart of God to reach the nations all throughout the bible. The heart of God to reach the nations later in Ezekiel 36 and that same vein, you see that about him, gathering the lost sheep and all over the nations of the world. And it’s a beautiful passage. I put a new spirit in a new work in the people’s lives. I I love the heart for the nation that God is helping grow in our church here today. If you if you look at these three prompt visuals, one is from the Joshua project. It looks at the amount of money and man hours that are being sent on the mission field America is the largest mission agency on the planet America, the second largest one is South Korea, the second largest country that’s sending money and people and the amount of green countries are fairly saturated with a significant church christian presence over North America. South America, Southern africa, Australia. You get what you see. The green on the map is from the Joshua project. You can download the Joshua project app or the website. This is where 99% of the money and missionaries are going is green and yellowish countries. Yellow is just beginning new works and red is unreached, unengaged people groups. I don’t know who you hang out with and Lincoln this week. But if you say to your friends and people you see this week, hey, you know anything about jesus Christianity, Your friends aren’t gonna look at you like who’s jesus? I haven’t met him. You know, Christianity, they have no idea what I’m saying. So red countries, they have no clue, jesus and Christianity is the statistical disproportionate amount of money and man hours, men and women hours that are being sent overseas as missionaries heart to seek and save the loss. If you go to the next slide here, this is the United States in our population and the amount of saturation we have of who prescribes to be christians. Obviously we’re not checking out of trying to reach locally here. We sent out sam a couple of weeks ago, we’re gonna keep reaching out effort in Nebraska, that’s not changing. We’re not checking out, we’re not spiking the Gospel ball and saying we’ve arrived, there’s plenty of work to do in our backyard, but if you contrast the United States, which is more saturated with, with the, the next slide here, this is Thailand, this is where I think seven people are going in our church for a 10 day mission trip in Thailand how they’re the population and like 1% of the country adheres to be christians, which is amazing who is jesus, They never heard of him before. What is Christianity? They have no idea there is a disproportionate amount of money and man hours that are spent overseas and we want to be strategic as a church and invest in the four corners of the outreach all over the globe. I think it’s not a coincidence that there’s a 3.5 story cross in front of our church. This is a massive cross. None of us bought and paid for, installed the church before us that gifted us this building. Someone in that church had the heart to buy and vision and pay for that cross. That is the tallest structure in the neighborhood and the four corner crossing is designed so that the gospel go to the four corners of the world, that is the heart of jesus to seek and save the lost the heart of God is for the lost nous that they would know him, we’re gonna try to lean into that more as a church, Isaiah 53 all have all of us like sheep have gone astray, we have all turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. If you’re here listening as we conclude, there’s different camps you can be in, you might be here saying like you know like I am that stray sheep, I am that lost coin christians in this church are pursuing me and I think the holy spirit God guys pursuing me and I’m figuring things out and that’s good, that’s okay, we want to celebrate that process of where you are, we have some great resources out there, there’s a great are you born again, resource out there, we can give you that’s been very helpful for people to kind of understand vocab and language and definition of what’s happening. It is a great tool out there. We have we have people here that love to buy a cup of coffee if you can talk and hear your story and continue to have conversations with you many are coming to christ and that’s encouraging but today is the day of salvation count the cost way the cost, but commit christ committed to you. If you are a teenage christian, you’re not an old O. G christian, but you’re not a baby pre christian, you’re you’re an adolescent teenage christian, I challenge you to have the same heart that God had for the loss when you see and hear lost nous in your community groups, in your church rejoice like those bridesmaids with the lost coin rejoice. Like the community of people rejoice when the shepherd brought back that lost sheep be rejoicing when baby christians act like babies and say baby things, rejoice with them. There’s a great spiritual multiplication class that we offered last summer in august uh Dallas led it for us. It we’re gonna offer it again March april and may, I think I’ve done like niners so tan ish evangelism courses to like learn how to share your faith in effective ways and this class has had the longest standing implications in my life. I am texting Dallas a couple of times a week, like sharing the, sharing my testimony as the kids piano teacher today, oops shared with one of my neighbors again today, oops, you know, like it’s actually happening and I’m not like making myself do it, I forgot all about the class, but the principles of the bible and what we learned in the Book of acts as we spent those 10 weeks looking at it have impacted my personal life and when I open my mouth and share people, I’m not like conjuring up courage to say things the word of God, understood rightly apply in your life rightly gives you the same heart of God for lost Nous. If you want to jump in that class, we can sign you up, just let us know we’re bugging you to sign up for those classes. Church doesn’t have to be your top gift to sign up for that class. If you’re mature christian continue to chase strays like the the good shepherd, jesus, the heart of God is chasing strays, the heart of God is finding lost Nous. If you want to join us with praying like luke tend to saying to pray to the Lord the harvest to send out more workers, more laborers into the field, you can set your alarm on your phone and be praying that prayer with us with me also that God will give us more workers more labors to reach and disciple more people. If you want to get alarms on your phone from the bible Joshua project app or the International Mission Board, I have to pray for unreached, unengaged people groups, you’re welcome to do so. But in this parable in these passages, we see the heart of God on full display and it’s a heart that loves and values you, you are immensely more valuable than a lost sheep or a lost coin, God sent his son, his very best jesus christ to reach you, it is in the B team or the C team he sent the A team jesus christ to find you and lead you to him, God’s heart for people is you to seek and save the lost as we follow God and we know more about God, we’re going to develop that same heart as christians as we mature in our faith, a lack of evangelism in your church and apathy to the gospel outreach and sharing of new people is not a theology problem. It’s a it’s a theology and live ology problem. It’s a discipleship problem and I love the heart that is happening and growing in our church, the heart of God is becoming your heart church of seeking and saving the loss of fishing for men. And that’s the thing we should celebrate. We should always celebrate people become new and take first baby steps in their faith and we should pay that God helps us take baby steps of opening our mouth and serving and texting a friend, calling someone, sending someone a funny mean that you haven’t seen for a while think of all of your faith journey, you you met God and got saved and really that happens in a vacuum where you’re walking along and like what’s this? Oh, it’s a book, I’ll read it. I’m gonna pray to receive christ. I’ve heard that testimony once in my life, heard a lot of testimonies many of you, there’s an on again off again, start stop relationship you had with God and there was people that came along beside you in front of you and behind you, showing the way pushing away, chasing you down God’s heart is for the nation’s God’s heart is for you, your neighborhood. God’s heart is for the lost. That’s about our heads. And pray Lord thank you for today as my personal prayer has been in our, my, my prayer time. Lord, I pray. We would be a church, that whole has a burden for the lost this heart. For evangelism, Lord of opening our mouth and sharing our faith with people I think, for the people who have gotten saved things, for the people who are in the process of getting saved or to ask that you just do work in people’s lives, especially all of us here in this room. Help us to hear and understand and obey and have the same heart as you do, jesus. We pray this in jesus name. Amen.
Thank you Chloe, thank you for coming this morning. My name is mike when the pastors on staff here at church, it’s honor to be with you this morning. It’s my honor to be able to spend some time looking at the word of God with you. I’ve spent some time this last week studying and praying preparing some thoughts for this passage and I just really do think it seems like if you think of the messaging of Christianity to non christian people, they’ve they’ve heard about a Christianity and they heard about it and they tried something they’d like, I tried that when I was younger, I tried that and I didn’t get that job or I tried that Christianity and then my dog got sick or I tried that Christianity and then I found out there’s hypocrites in church. I found I tried out Christianity and they seem like they just won a lot of time. I tried Christianity, talked about money, I tried Christianity and it didn’t work for me. And as I studied the passage and think about this passage and think about all the different paradigms, what you’re thinking, what you’ve said as people, I really do think we have been sold to Christianity that doesn’t exist biblically, we take american Christianity and we really try to doctor it up and round off the rough edges and take Christianity and package it and distribute it at mass consumption political, politically correct Christianity, a Christianity that like looks good, feels good, plays well with others. There’s this Christianity that I think is an american Christianity, especially on Youtube that is not biblically sound. Um, and I find this passage jarring, sobering, humbling words of our savior, jesus talking about what to expect. So there’s no gotcha, no hooks, no, but wait, there’s more, there’s none of this. I tried this before he lets you know exactly what to expect as you go along your christian life. I find it very sobering and heavy to work through this passage individually. I like to pray and commit this time to the Lord and ask that he would multiply if you bow your heads with me. Let’s pray and ask God to show up in this passage here and encourage our hearts. Lord, thank you for thank you for laying out the cost of discipleship here in luke 14 I ask that you just really instruct us. God help us to have our expectations calibrated correctly on what you say, christ help our, our spines to stiffen our resolve to settle, help us to know exactly what it looks like following you and we wouldn’t be surprised or taken, you know, or distracted or just discouraged and feel defeated as these challenges come along. That christ highlights for his would be followers. I said should encourage us and instruct us and convict us and open our eyes. We can see wonderful things in your work. If you don’t show up God, it is not worthwhile showing up here. We just love you and commit this time. You just name, we pray amen, I love the doctor luke who wrote this book luke 14, page 5, 10 in your house bibles, I love dr luke’s uh technicality as he goes through this passage in verse 25. If you look at me now, great crowds accompanied him, jesus and he turned and said to them and he jumps into a scathing reproach. It seems a very brutal passage, some of the most challenging things that jesus said, we’re looking at this morning and you see this rhythm jews would preach and do miracles and more and more crowds would come and then jesus would raise the expectations as the crowds expected as the crowds rose, the expectations rose and jesus goes and he goes right at it. That’s just straight initially. Let’s just acknowledge that is different than what we see in american Christianity. The larger the church, the easier it is to go. I’m reminded of uh messaging and branding. I’ve heard about some churches and it reminds me of a gym here in town. Uh, zero entry fee, zero cancelation fee if you like, you know, drop weights, People, you know, judge you. There’s like, you know, no judge, free zone. Uh, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s really doctored up, like anyone can be here and it’s okay just to be here. And if if you’re healthy or unhealthy, that’s fine. We’re just glad you’re here. Uh and if you stay unhealthy, that’s fine. We’re just glad you’re here. You get what I’m saying. So I, I I love how jesus raises the bar as the crowds rise, he raises the standard, uh look at verse 26 if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and Children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple, jesus laying out, there’s a cost, there’s a relational cost is how I package this first liability of being a follower of christ, it’s like you’re driving down the interstate on the highway to heaven and there’s an exit ramp here and it’s like get off here, if family and friends and relationships are gonna matter to you more than christ and many people hit the hit the blinker and get off on that, that exit and you’re like, I hate my family, preaching pastor, I, I don’t have good feelings about my family, that’s easy for me, I I don’t, you should meet my family mike, this is, but the jewish culture had this huge honor shame thing as a primary large jewish audience and it was incredibly important for these jewish boys and jewish girls to care for their father and their mother, their father in law and mother in law, honor and shame is incredibly honoring, to take care of your parents, incredibly shameful to not take care of your family. And so jesus went after the highest human loyalty, they could have to their culture, to their country, into their home family nucleus unit and said, if you love those people more than me, you cannot be my disciple. Do you understand what I’m saying, jesus saying, if you love those people more than me, you cannot be my disciple. Now, obviously the bible not saying hate your family all throughout the bible, there’s all this strong family values, God created the family, he created men and women in the south, the institution of marriage, which is, which is a huge hallmark institution in the bible that is living throughout the whole bible into our society today, it says honor your father and mother, it says, just got down and welcome the kids to him, paul said, if a man does not provide for the needs of his family, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever Ephesians four and five say respect and love and care for your spouse, like God, care for the church, like husbands, care for your wife, like God, care for the church, there’s a high standard of family care and Godliness in the home throughout the whole bible. So jesus not saying hate, he’s speaking in hyperbole, which is a shocking, jarring, memorable statement to just really kind of shake his large jewish audience to think our relationship is going to be more important to me than falling christ family relationships in their context, just relationships in our context. If you were to take this passage and put a modern spin on it would be like if you if you if anyone wants to come after me and does not hate his instagram his facebook, his youtube, his social media, his phone, his ipads earbuds uh he cannot be my disciple, our entertainment, self centered american society moving on. But the first exit, the first exit ramp seems to be a relational cost of following christ if you’re gonna follow across, there’s a relational cost. Now some of you, you might have grown up in the church and mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, all your friends, they’re christians so this doesn’t relate to you, this relates to old testament, new testament jewish people. But it’s like if all your jewish friends are going this way, your people, you party with people, you’re hoping to get married with your friends, your family, they’re all going this way and then you turn and you start to follow christ as a jewish person, There’s relational offense, you’re stepping through that that matter. There’s a relational cause and effect of following christ for those people. People from the first service came to me afterwards and said mike yeah, that relational cost to fall in christ as the first convert in my family that hurt tears in their eyes emotions is a real thing when you’re the first to turn and become converted and follow christ in your family there’s a real cost because they didn’t sign up for that you’re their son or their daughter and it’s like that’s not how I raised you, that’s not what we value as a family, what are you doing? You betrayed us, you’ve abandoned us, we’re going this way and you’re what you’re judging us, you’re better than us, there’s a relational cost in following christ christ, want to highlight that for you as a follower, so you’re not alarmed or taken back by the relational cost of following christ, I know he doesn’t want you to hate, but was that your love for him to be so supreme that all other loves look like hates compared to your love and your loyalty to him, that’s the first exit ramp. The second exit ramp Is a personal cost to following Christ or personal cost of following Christ. Um the beginning of verse 26, if anyone does, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his family, relationships, compared his love for me and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple verse 27, whoever does not bear bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. There’s a deep personal cost in following Christ. So initially the first barrier, the first exit ramp, you can take in not following christ, being a disciple is relationships. The second barrier, the second exit ramp you can take is relationships with yourself because my life as a baby, my life as a kid, my life as a teenager in my life as a college person, very self centered vain the world wrapped around me and then my brain fully group and I decided to get married and then I realized I had more sin and selfishness in my life and then we had some kids and there’s even more and then it’s like as you grow older it seems like people can follow more of their own desires, their selfishness or they can become different, they can become more selfless christ says that your love and your loyalties to him has to be supreme even over your own desires, your own ambitions, your own selfish ones. You yourself are a barrier to fall in Christ. He says pick up your cross and follow me right verse 27 does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So across its drill really wear its tattoos, we get, we don’t realize what the cross was you’re like. Yeah, it’s that smooth tan thing at church that is over there on the south wall, the cross just then and out the cross. Then it was mainly viewed as the for this context was the top bar of the cross. It was rougher and they had to carry it with them up to where they were being crucified and they were either tied to the cross or they were nailed to the cross and then they were suspended up above the ground where they slowly died from exposure asphyxiation bleeding and they slowly died on that cross so pick up your cross and follow me a modern equivalent is pick up your execution chair and follow me that’s dark but the idea is that daily dying, so that’s then now the idea of a cross for a christian is taking my needs, my desires, my wants, my hopes, my dreams and burying them in christ so deeply that I want and I dream and I desire what christ wants and dreams and desires for me, christ is the only one that can give me hope for my life but my whole life is defined by laying my life down, not picking my life up, I wake up in the morning and it’s not about me, it’s about jesus, it’s about the kingdom of God, it’s about christ, that’s the call for all disciples, not just the Uber christian disciples, that’s the cost of entrance for all disciples and if we’re honest, most christians check out at door number one exit number one of interstate of following christ exit number two of self really hits home. I know our culture loves me time taking care of myself, my comfort culture picking up your cross and following christ is like poking the eye of a comfort culture christian, I’m very aware of that, my house has blankets cause we’re cheap and keep it really cold. My kids wake up and they grab their blanket, they eat their cereal because mom and I are cheap and we, we don’t keep our house really warm, but I know there’s this comfort culture in my kids and myself and it just grows, you feed your comfort and just keeps growing and growing, but the cost of admission for discipleship of jesus christ is to pick up your cross, suffer bleed, be ashamed and humility like christ and die, that’s the expectations crisis paying for us, that personal cost of following christ, if you’re like me, you’re at this part of the passage, you’re like this is heavy, this is hard, how do you do that? This is depressing while I come, I should have stayed online and watched at home like the other people, I could turn it off, you know just kidding, we love you christians that are online, but there is no chance in the world, you can accomplish this on your own, you have to have something happen in your life to live out real authentic discipleship really following christ, you have to have something called a new life, a re ginger re rebirth in your life, your soul has to be born again, you have to be a real follower of christ, the old you died and the new you was alive and I knew you was living on the power of the spirit that makes you didn’t want to do this Verse 28, Jesus pauses and jumps into some illustrations for which of you designed to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost about whether he has enough to complete it otherwise when he has laid a foundation, is not able to finish all finish all who see it will begin to mock him saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. So it’s like you’re driving along on the interstate to heaven and you see buildings that aren’t completed in Lincoln we have a lot of buildings are being torn down and rebuilt but we don’t have a lot of half built buildings in our city. I saw a bunch of half built skyscrapers when 30 some of us went to Dominican republic for spring break mission trip a couple years ago. It was wild and everyone knew the stories of those people skyscrapers, the bottom floor like homeless people were using. And then the second story on up was just empty, concrete and steel and there’s no windows, no glass, just a skeleton of a building. And they all knew this guy got embezzled in government, government money got in trouble and this guy had a divorce and his wife took his money could afford to finish these things. They all knew or they’re making up stories of the sad stories of the business people and why they didn’t finish their high tower sky rise thing. The world walks by and sees a christian that started out, build a skeleton of Christianity and then just checks out and quits because they didn’t count the cost and they know the backstory. Gianni christian, I became a christian, didn’t have a lot of family relational ties but he was not able to conquer himself and he checked out. And then the last point we’re getting to the world knows and they see a christian that didn’t quite get the job complete, that didn’t build his house and his life completely and totally and count the cost ahead of time and then just goes onto another illustration here, Verse 31 or what king going out to encounter another king in war will not first sit down and deliberate whether he’s able with 10,000 to meet to meet him who has 20,000 and if not while while the other is yet a great way off to send a delegation and ask for terms of peace. So there for anyone who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple in biblical battles back in the day it was total war or total surrender and you had to make that decision early on and you had to hire mercenaries and get a real big battle plan and and beef up your armies because the 2 to 1 ratio was basically a chance you’re gonna lose. So you have to make some decisions either you surrender, they don’t completely come and occupy and take over your country or you go and find mercenaries to beef up your numbers two for one odds were bad odds in the bible days, but these are like obvious things where you can’t have half measures, you do it or you don’t do it, you build the tower, you don’t build a tower, you win the battle or you lose the battle and you lose everything. That’s what our discipleship should look like in our mind’s eyes as we’re going along and he says, count the cost personally relational, e count the cost, relational and personally count the cost. Don’t be like the tower, don’t be like the person who started and got tooken apart by war. But look at verse 33 there’s a third principle of things that take people out a third exit ramp there in verse 33 so therefore anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple, all that he has is a wealth thing, wealth. So I’m just gonna say finance in our context, but they gave wealth. The early church began with wealth. The Book of Acts is filled with crazy general stories of people giving all that they had finances, your finances is a barrier to fall in christ your finances is a barrier of your discipleship. So let’s review there’s a relational cost, there’s a personal cost and there’s a financial cost of following christ christian, there’s a financial cost, we have many members that are very generous and very correct Biblical perspective on what God talks about generosity, I’m very grateful for you all of us, Pastors are very grateful for you. It’s amazing what we can do and we have done because of your generosity. There’s many people that are counting the cost on what it means to be a member. I’m saying this to you. There’s a cost of following christ in your finances. We talk about your time, your talent, your treasure, but christ was all in on his finances. He was born poor, he was raised poor, he grew up in a very poor region of Nazareth Where everyone knew those people had a draw and they sounded poor. He was an educated fancy. He surround himself with a very non, you know, affluent disciples. He died penniless preacher like those poetic people dramatically say and all of his early apostles, all 11 of them went around the whole entire known world and they died the same dive, persecuted, suffering martyred and they all died. Poor Christianity is at its best when people have a correct crest, correct grasp on money, Christianity is that it’s worse when when finances and money is abused. That is a thing in american Christianity. That is the thing on the global christian christian world where different people groups are, are, are using Christianity to weaponize to take finances from different people groups. That is wrong, that is evil. If the pastor, you know and love is worth $100 million you probably listen to a pastor who doesn’t have verse 33 in his bible who doesn’t have this chapter 14 in his bible. Therefore, anyone who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple exit ramp of finances, exit ramp of your, yourself, an exit ramp of your relationships. All three of those are serious liabilities, serious cost. You have to evaluate when following christ christ knew what was going to come from all the followers of christ was the perfect disciple who perfectly modeled all of these things for us. Think of christ, his relationships, he had family and friends, think he was losing his mind. They sent a delegation of his siblings to go get him and his ministry was taking off saying he’s lost his mind. Go get your brother, jesus and bring him back here. He’s embarrassing us shame on our family, he’s dishonoring us, Go get him and bring him back here. We already have a scandal of our family, go get him and bring that kid back. He had that scandal relational cost. He had to pay to follow God’s will for his life. Moving on, christ suffered more personally than any person that’s ever existed on this planet. He suffered for you, but he suffered a model for us, a perfect disciple of laying down his rights and his life and suffering through obedience so that you and I might have a faith in God christ model perfect obedience and his personal walk of God, and then christ obviously like I just said was not a health and wealth, prosperity best life. Now preacher, you get what I’m saying, men and women, it is a sobering thing that christ said and these are some of the most difficult, challenging passages in the bible scholars say, but it is a sobering, difficult thing that christ lived for us and a model for us and his disciples model for us. Let’s let’s look at these last few verses 34 and 35, salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use neither for the soil or for the manure pile, it is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear if you think of christians who start out strong on that road to god of discipleship and then they lose their saltiness. Well let’s stop and start back up the context of salt back in that day, you’re like salt mike, I have table salt and then there’s that thing called salt that I’m supposed to put out on my sidewalks and I never remember until my neighbor does it for me, like there’s a bucket of salt out there that were spread on the sidewalks and the parking area so that you don’t fall and you’re like that salt, if you put that salt on your hamburger this afternoon, you get really sick because that salt is like saturates like chemicals and compounds to make it not table salt, but it’s like don’t let stuff free salt, so I get what I’m saying, there’s but in that day and age they had salt that’s lost its its purity, it lost its its potency and had other things mixed into it and it didn’t taste like salt, it tastes like someone doctored up their salt pile to get a little bit more salt price out of stuff to preserve meats and whatnot, and if it’s like it, it looks like salt, it doesn’t taste like salt and it doesn’t have the chemical compounds of salt, this is worthless, let’s throw it out the preliminary pilot, just get rid of this thing to fight, we’d just get rid of this thing to keep, it’s not, we can’t use our meat will spoil, we’ll get sick, they added limestone or something with the salt, so that’s the historical context of salt because we don’t worry about our table salt, get what I’m saying, so back to the passage, salt is good, but if it’s lost its saltiness, how shall its saltiness be restored? So just just talked about discipleship and the cost of discipleship, he talked about the relational cost, the personal cost and the financial cost of being a disciple, so think of christians, you know maybe yourself who you’re good in one of these areas, but you’ve lost your saltiness in another area, you’re like, I’m good at neglecting all other relationships, just me and you jesus, I don’t like people anyway it’s just me and you jesus that’s fine, that’s fine but me time, God that’s king time and I’m the king of that time not you God, I’m the king of that time Oh and money, I’ll give a little bit of money but don’t make me hang out those christians two out of 32 out of three is not jesus standard discipleship, two out of 31 out of three you get what I’m saying, the goal is three out of three christians and if you see christians that are bad representation of christ and Christianity that are those half build towers, those kings that go to war and just get destroyed. That they tend to get taken on only three areas the world when the world when you look at salt it tastes like salt. When the world looks at Christianity you should look taste feel and sound like christ. If you don’t look taste feel and sound like christ, you might not be in christ the bible says the bible says broad is the road and many are on it that leads to hell. If you 56 and seven jesus at the end of that server on the mount he said you must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect, he warned his people that I, there’s many that will say they did this, this and this is my name and I’ll say depart from them. You evil, wicked servant. I never knew you all over Lincoln people get up and go to church, but yet broad is the road and many are on it that lead to hell. Are you a real christian? I’m serious. The real Christianity is spelled and flushed out in this cost of discipleship, relational personal financial, not that you’re earning your salvation through giving or hanging out with people or you know, having a disciplined life, not that you know that you’ve heard us preach before. We don’t say that at this church, but men and women. Salt is good, but you’ve lost your saltiness. How shall how shall its saltiness be restored is of no good either for the soil or for the manure a pilot, This will be thrown away. He who has ears let him hear, ken Hughes has a great quote. He says the entrance of Christianity is free, but the annual subscription is astronomical cost of becoming a christian is free by God’s sacrifice by jesus sacrifice. But the annual prescription subscription of being a christian, it cost you things brother and sister. We should celebrate that. That generosity of ourselves. Generosity of our relationships, Generosity, our finances because at the end game at the end of the road, we know we’re not just going to heaven. We know there’s more than that were rewarded for every couple of cold water. We give away everything we do. We’re rewarded generously by the God who made everything, the God who made this entire cosmos and universities there to reward us generously were living, not for this life but for that next life. God will open her eyes eventually and you will see what you live for. Jesus is presenting this cost of discipleship. So you know exactly what you’re getting into and your eyes can be opened today to see the game that’s played for the hearts and souls of mankind all over the city and all of this nation. He has ears. Let him hear if you’re not a christian, If you’re not a christian. I was, I was encouraged by the way some scholars wrapped up this passage, who can ask for all of your relationships, all of yourself and all of your finances, who could ask for those three things. Then they quoted Deuteronomy 65 that says love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, Jesus claimed to be God. He claimed to be the perfect son of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Just came to seek and save the lost. If you’re lost. You christ desires to find you this morning, he didn’t lose you. You lost him christ desires that you might know him and come back to him. If you don’t know what I’m talking about. You don’t know about the deity of christ who lived and died on a cross. You don’t know any of that stuff, we have tons of resources, tons of people, tons of time will give you to spend if you help you understand and connect those dots and just sort through this, there’s podcast, there’s youtube channels, there’s websites, there’s so much defense of the faith of christ came, he lived and he died and he rose from the grave like that is like the hallmark corner storm gold standard of Christianity that christ rose from the grave, christ lived, he died and he rose again, he’s God his signs and miracles and wonders. He did all those three years of ministry leading up to his death, burial and resurrection proved that he’s gone. The god of the universe says the cost of discipleship is your relationships yourself and your finances. God can ask that if you don’t know christ know christ today, start that conversation with people here today, many of us have been having combos with you and would love to continue to have conversations with you about who this god jesus man is, if you’re, if you’re a member or you have been following christ and this is not crazy new that I just shared a few this morning, there’s a paul talking to the church, he said it’s good for me to remind you of things, it’s good to endure. Well and be reminded of truce that I can grab the wheel and start to drift to the relationship so I can drift to my personal me time, I can drift to my finances. It’s good to have a re correction that’s good for my soul. Good for your soul. If you’re a baby christian and you’re like I was this way when I got called by God I want to stay this way until jesus comes back, I would warn you is that Christianity that you subscribe to fire insurance Christianity if no fruit in your life, I would not want to live that life and stand before a holy and just God on judgment day where after giving comfort we thought word indeed I’ve ever done. Can we pray and we’re gonna close the communion, let’s let’s pray God, I thank you for today thank you for these men and women, I thank you for what you’re doing in their lives, you’re busy and active in their lives, you have a plan, you’re executing your plan, I said you just encourage us Lord thank you that there is hope and encouragement in the work of christ christ lived the perfect discipleship life and model the way and plowed the way and will pave the way for us to follow you. We all have and will mess up in these three areas. God the goal is not that we never mess up the goals that we look to the one who knows how to fix our mistakes. I think that there’s hope in christ we love you and just commit this time to you in jesus name Amen.
Thank you Alex. Hello, Good morning. Um, if you are someone who’s brand new to seller, you might not know me. Um, but I would still love to meet you after the service. If you’re around. My name is Sam, I am the church plant resident here, which means I’m never here. So, so if you recently star start attending, you probably haven’t met, but I’ve been tasked to help to plant a church with a great cooperating church located in Bennet Nebraska called country bible church. And we’ve actually got some representatives here from country bible today. So if you happen to see them, uh, say hello, give them a big sewer welcome. Uh, because I love them. I’m not gonna ask them to stand up or anything like that because I love them or wave or anything. But if you see anyone who is, you know, wearing like a light plaid shirt and cowboy boots or one of them decided actually to wear a nice salmon sweater today. He’s the only one in attendance who’s, who’s doing that And he pulls it off really well but make them feel at home. This is the, these are some, some amazing guests, some elders who have uh, come with their wives. And so we’re so happy to have them today. Um, I’ll update you guys a little bit on our church plant. So we’re endeavoring to start a church plant a church in the city of Hickman and we feel that the Lord has called us to do this because there’s not a um, there’s not enough gospel presence in that town right now, we need, we need the gospel to be there. And the Lord has been raising up some incredible servants, uh, to bring the gospel there in new and profound ways. And as we look at what the Lord has prepared, it’s really amazing. Um, it’s obvious that he’s had this on his mind infinitely longer than any of us have had it on our mind. And so, uh, we’re so thankful for that as we’re progressing into things we are praying about and, and searching for the best possible place that we could all meet. Um, and so you could join us in praying for that pray that we’d be able to raise up some leaders pray also for just for country bible church in general. It’s a difficult task in sending out some of your best leaders also pray for us as we, uh, we’re trying to decide on a good church name, which probably happened this week or so. Um, much to mike’s dismay, we’re not gonna call it irrigation church, which was his first idea. Um, and I also have some insights from Pastor john here as well. Pastor john said you need to pick a name. Uh, that would encourage you to storm the gates of hell. And so we might name it church or something. Probably not, But uh, we thank you all for your, your ongoing prayers for us and for all the support that you’ve given us. I feel like a man must be the most supported church plan out there with all these people who care about us. So thank you very much. Um, I’m gonna go ahead and pray and then we’ll launch into uh, into the message. So father, we thank you for what you’ve done for the people that you brought together for the work that you’ve done for, the work that you um will do and father, we just thank you for bringing us all together for sort of a celebratory. Uh sunday I pray that you would just use your words here to speak to the hearts of all the people who have come today. Lord, we pray this in the name of jesus christ amen. So we’re gonna start off actually just where you guys left off last week. And so this is luke chapter 14 starting in verse 12 and jesus is in the exact same place he is in a meal that he’s been invited to buy some Pharisees sitting around the table uh and he begins to speak to them. So I’ll go ahead and read the first part here. This is starting in verse 12, he said also to the man who had invited him when you give a dinner or banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors unless they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled the lame the blind and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you for, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just and as I’m thinking about that the first time I read that part of the passage remind me right away of the Starbucks, pay it forward lines, you ever been stuck in a Starbucks, pay it forward line, It started off and it was really kind of cool, like someone would pay for the person behind them and so then that you get up to the window and they say your your drink is free and you think wow, that’s that’s great, free coffee. Um but what started to happen is you know us culturally if someone gives us something we feel like we better just pay it forward, like now I have to give something to someone else and so we would have someone pay for the drink behind them and continue and continue and continue on and these things would go on for days and it got really weird after a while because if we’re honest, this is just someone who can afford a luxury coffee drink, buying a luxury coffee drink for someone else who can afford a luxury coffee drink. Um so it’s not really generous at all, but um but what what would be generous is if they pull up to the to the window and maybe order a gift card along with their drink and then the next time they see a friend who maybe can’t afford Starbucks, they give them the gift card. So it’s like, no, you’re actually getting a free coffee, I’m sacrificing something for you. Um So you can sort of see it in a first glance at this passage that jesus is talking about generosity, you think be generous, but when jesus says something like that, rarely, is it just this one little snippet of information be generous rarely, is it just that. And in this situation, he’s sort of confronting the Pharisees who would go from house to house together, eating with wealthy people and they wouldn’t have to pay for all the meals themselves because they knew their other wealthy friend would just pay for them when they went to his meal and they could just sort of go round Robin and always be eating these expensive luxurious meals and they really never had to pay very much for them. They could main their wealth and they never had to invite anyone who they actually have to serve and worse than that, uh they didn’t have to like invite anyone who they’d be dishonored to be seen with. So someone who’s poor someone who could never afford that meal. But when jesus is talking to them about inviting people up, he paints this sort of glorious picture about, you’ve been gifted with so much you are seated at a high place. What I want you to do though is to go into the streets and invite those who would never be able to experience this type of luxury, They’d never be able to buy a single meal that you’re eating, let alone have it every single week. So he’s saying bring them up into an undeserved grace and so that’s the picture that he’s painting here, it’s of grace and it’s really a beautiful picture of the gospel. Um So it’s beyond just generosity, but in the most pure and beautiful form of generosity that we’ll ever know which is the good news. Um and then some commentators think it got a little bit awkward in the room, We don’t know for sure, but a man decided to speak up um maybe he was trying to lighten the mood, maybe he was just one of those guys who says things. Um we all know that person, but man speaks up when one of those who reclined at the table with him, heard these things, he said to him, blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God sounds pretty good, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God. And jesus does something amazing. He takes this comment and he turns it into a question. He says, you say blessed are all those who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God who will eat bread in the kingdom of God because there is this massive assumption in that phrase that the man saying it will be in the Kingdom of God and everyone around him as jesus can see their hearts, the Pharisees sitting around the table, they are all convinced that they will be eating bread in the kingdom of God and jesus, if some of those undesirable people also are there, that’s fine. But we know we’re in and so we’re gonna, we’re gonna sort of rejoice um about that. And the Pharisees make this assumption and it’s it’s cultural for their time. But I’d argue it’s also cultural for our time. So, um, in those days, what they would do is they would look at themselves and say, okay, look at me, I’m educated, I’m wealthy, I’m clearly blessed to be in this position and God must take special favor on me. Like I am above those people in the streets. And it’s because God loves me more. And uh, it reminded me when I read that of something that we found when we were doing research into the church plant. And so we uh, country bible basically looked at the area. They paid to have some analytics done on the people in the place, we’d be planting the church. And they got some demographic information and they wanted to see what um, you know, how would people maybe react to us planting a church in their community. Uh, some of the things weren’t shocking. Like it’s a lot of white people like that was pretty obvious. Um, could have told you that affluent whites, Yep. Um, but then there was something sort of interesting that we found in the statistics. So we looked at it, it said within the past six years. So since 2017 there had been a 400% increase and people who believed in multiple gods. Mm that’s puzzling. I didn’t think that was based on a large and growing hindu population in Hickman. Nebraska, probably not. But what we could draw from that is probably that people in that area have gone over and are believing in, uh, in new age beliefs. So they would mark themselves if you have a religious spectrum, they would say, I am spiritual, might hear someone say, well, I’m not religious, I’m spiritual and new age sort of takes, uh, takes from Eastern religions in some ways and some stuff is, is more just made up to be new age. But to just summarize this belief that they have is in karma. And so just broad summary of karma, you put good things into the universe and get good things back out of the universe and then you put bad things into the universe and then bad things are gonna happen to you because you put bad things into the universe. Um, but if that is your worldview, that’s really what you believe, then why would you serve anyone in the streets, Why would you serve anyone who’s less fortunate than you because they clearly deserve it. You should just let them stay in their, in their punishment forever. There’s no reason You don’t want to ruin your own Karma. Um, Jesus deals with this belief, not new age, but the cultural belief that those who are wealthier were somehow had a special favor with God, that others didn’t, he deals with it in John Chapter nine and this is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture, I’ll summarize it really quick, Jesus and his disciples are going through a town and they come across a man who was born blind and the disciples of jesus, they say, was it this man who sinned or his parents? Those are the only two options that they give jesus because that’s what they believe. Surely it was either him or his parents who sinned and he’s suffering for it. And Jesus said, and I have to read this one exact because these are words I do not want to butcher, Jesus responded, It was not that this man’s sin or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. So we don’t have time to unpack the depth of that passage right now. But the quick and obvious takeaway is don’t let unbiblical cultural beliefs rule your thoughts, but look to the providence of God in all things. So other religions, we can draw a line sort of in the sand here, we have um, on one side is get close to God. So if you get close to God, if you’re good enough, you can climb this ladder to heaven and then you will eventually, if you’re good enough reach God whatever your God is, maybe it’s a tree, maybe it’s a dog, whatever it is, you can reach him, jesus is on the other side of the line and he’s saying, you will never reach God, I have come to you. And so he takes this man’s comment and he springboards into parable, I’ll go ahead and read the first few verses of it. A man once gave a great banquet and invited many and at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, come for everything is now ready. They all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I’ve bought a field and I must go out and see it, please have me excused. And another said, I bought five yoke of Oxen and I go to examine them, please have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come and I gotta be honest, that last one tends to get more empathy from all of us, but it might be the worst excuse of all, We’ll look at that here in a minute. So, um, and I’m sure looking at this, I’m sure that these guests, if you’d asked them the week before, I’m sure that they would have said of course we’re coming to attend the banquet, we’ve been looking forward to it for so long. Of course we’re looking forward to going out to this wonderful party. Um and really they had been looking forward to it for a long time. So if we think back to biblical times, it takes a long time to get a feast together. So if you were gonna throw a truly amazing party or banquet, it’s gonna come with two invitations. So the first invitation go out to everyone and you say, we are gonna throw a banquet, it’s gonna be amazing. Can I count on you to be there? And then the second invitation is the banquet has been prepared. Please come and enjoy with us And to the Pharisees. This is sort of an exact mirroring of what their beliefs were because if we look way back and I’m talking way back to the beginning of time when man first sins in the garden in Genesis three and the Lord’s reaction is to slaughter an innocent beast to clothe the sinful nakedness of man. In doing so. He sends an invitation. He says, I am not gonna be in the destruction business with all of you right now. I’m in the restoration business, I’m going to restore you and it is going to culminate in a glorious banquet. Will you come? You’re invited will extend an invitation to you and he kept sending servants people to remind the people of Israel about this coming banquet, it captivates the majority of our bible throughout this entire uh group of scripture and then we come to the time of the banquet when jesus shows up and that’s the rest of scripture. But will they attend now is the question the Kingdom of God is at hand, will you attend? I don’t think the three excuses that the men made are pivotal to the story, but I think they are important. They do teach us some lessons. So we look at the first excuse man says, I bought a field and I must go and see it. So this guy’s got his real estate portfolio, he’s building up, his kingdom is looking real nice earth side and he can’t stop looking at it. So when the invitation comes to go to this banquet, he says, I’m busy, I’m looking at my kingdom, can’t you see it? It’s beautiful. And then the second excuse about five yoke of Oxen and I must go examine them. So if you have ever studied livestock in the ancient near east cultures or if you’ve ever played Oregon trail, you know, You know for a fact that a yoke of Oxen is a pair of oxen. So that’s two. So this guy’s talking about, I have 10 oxen means he’s extremely affluent, he’s been blessed with a lot of cash and what he’s gonna go do is he is going to go look at his things, he’s gonna go look at his possessions and marvel at them. And he’s so infatuated with these things that he does not have any time to go to the banquet. Have you ever had something that was so nice and new that you just couldn’t stop looking at it, You got a new iphone and you go, oh did I get a text, nope? You ever do that? I do that sometimes. What these men is, they’ve been so, so just fascinated with their things. They love their things and it’s caused them in their selfishness to turn away from the giver of the feast. And then we look at the third excuse, I have married a wife. Therefore I cannot go pretty straightforward. Um what he is almost guaranteed to be referring to is in Deuteronomy 24 5, God lays out the law or moses in this letter, but through the inspiration of God lays out the law um about marriage. And I’m gonna read it off to you and since we’re talking about a wedding and it’s romantic, I’m gonna read in the king James um when a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, nigh, shall he be charged with any businesses, but he shall be free at home one year and shall cheer up his wife, which he has taken. The man takes one of the most beautiful and precious gifts that God has ever given to man. And he uses it against him. He used it against the giver of the feast and this is something that the Pharisees were sort of known for, they would take the law and they would distort it to mean whatever they wanted it to mean and to place them at higher places within society, they would distort the law that God gave to them and for them for his glory and make it into something that wasn’t that um, I think there’s one quote that really just sums us up very well. This is, this is from john was a pastor. He says we aren’t lost because God hasn’t bothered to find us. We’re lost because we’re determined to look for lasting purpose in passing things. So ask yourself what captivates your affections. Jesus is telling this to the Pharisees because he sees their hearts, they’re infatuated with their riches and indifferent towards the god that they say they worship. Are they invited to the banquet of course, but they do not accept. Have you guys ever watched the Bachelor? I know you’re lying. I know this because some of you added me to a bachelor group chat last year. And so I watched a little bit of it and it actually correlates very well with this part of the message. So every single season on the bachelor, it goes there’s this cadence where it goes in the same order. It’s like a liturgy if you will and what happens is you got um if you haven’t seen it, then that’s good. You don’t have to like I’ll just sum it up in about 30 seconds. Um You have a bachelor and you have a bachelorette and they have about 30 suitors that they bring for them. And they sort of speed date the people until they find out which ones they like. And then they begin to to tell them things about their relationship. So they’ll say um I like you To about 30 of them, I like you. And then as they whittle it down a little bit, they move on and they say, I have feelings for you. Like you know, I have feelings for you, right? And then they move a little further and they say I’m falling for you, that’s the next step. Um which is the most annoying step also because you’re thinking brother, get those banana peels off your feet and commit already stopped falling. And then eventually they do something really embarrassing. They go to their uh the hometowns of the women and they visit them and uh the man has to ask the father for her hand in marriage. And most of the fathers do what any man should do, who’s worth his salt? And they say no, you may not have my daughter’s hand in marriage for a reality show, but eventually they get past it. They say I’m falling, I’m falling for you and then the last two and they say I love you and we’re at the next level that I love you level and there’s a dramatic breakup for one of them and one of them gets proposed to, they say will you marry me and then there’s this pageantry in this fanfare and they make it as romantic and as beautiful as possible. And you really convinced at the end of every season that this is a legitimate love story that these people really love each other and then consistently you find out two months afterwards they broke up and not just they broke up, but from the beginning they were always just in it to be an influencer and to get big on social media and instagram and to have some fame and some fortune. Now obviously our romantic relationship is, is not with God, but we do have a relationship with God in the most pure and meaningful sense of the word relationship. And so the lesson I bring out of this is man, don’t have feelings for God, don’t have feelings for jesus, we love him, wet ourselves to him, don’t have feelings for jesus, everyone has feelings for jesus, you guys, anyone on the street, if they feel good about jesus, 99% of them are gonna say yes, I love jesus, but they don’t mean it, so love him ultimately we must make that decision, I’m gonna go ahead and read sort of the last half of this parable um says so the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant go out quickly to the streets in the lanes of the city and bring in the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame and the servant said, sir, what you commanded has been done. And still there is room and the master said to the servant, go out to the highways and the hedges, couple people to come in that my house may be filled for I tell you none of those men who are invited shall taste my banquet. It reminds me of sort of a corresponding verse. This is in Matthew, it’s chapter 3 8 and nine says therefore produce fruits consistent with repentance. And don’t presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. If we desire christ we must die to ourselves and live for him and to die to ourselves, means to sacrifice our worldly kingdoms and service to God to tell him that whatever he would have us do, jesus is always worth it guests who made the excuses were invited, but as his passion says, they shall never taste his banquet. And yet we turn ourselves to the others, we see a completely different story. The servant is sent out first to the streets to invite the undesirable people. People who are blind, poor blame and crippled. And I’ll tell you these people are easy to look down on. But they sure do understand reality better than almost anyone else. They understand Grace when they see it, and that’s what this invitation is. This invitation, Miss Grace, God’s Grace to a broken and a sinful people and his Grace doesn’t stop with the people in the streets. The servant is sent to the highways and to the hedges. And this is to say not only to the jews, but also to the gentiles. And I always get excited when it says gentiles in the bible because that’s us. He’s come also to us. And even as we sit by the roadside and we’re blind and lame and crippled and poor, we received this invitation of Grace were summoned to the king’s table and not just as a one time thing, but as an eternal guest and a family member, a chosen people. I have a favorite word actually in this passage. My favorite word is compel, he compels the service servant says, I compel them to come. He doesn’t suggest it’s not a light, you know, come on, if you if you can, he compels them to come. He desires the presence of all those in the streets of all those in the hedges and along the highways. The master of the feast desires your presence. He wants you to join this feast because of the ultimate joy that he knows is only found in him. William. Barclay is a Scottish theologian and he said this about feasts about attending feasts. It is the most significant thing that jesus thought of the kingdom in terms of a feast. We must always remember this. There’s no healthy pleasure which is forbidden to the christian. For a christian is like a man who is forever at a wedding feast. Another pastor kevin de Young, sums it up. Well, he says the question every grateful christian should ask, is this, why was I made to hear God’s voice be given a place at his table? He made a part of his family. So back in sort of more traditional times and really traditional churches, all of the hymns that they would sing on the day of the sermon would be about the passage and there’s one that I find particularly beautiful and it’s about this uh passage in luke chapter 14 it’s called How sweet and awful is the place. And of course it means full of awe. Doesn’t mean awful is the place. How sweet and awful is the place with christ within the doors while everlasting Love displays the choicest of her stores while all our hearts and all our songs join to admire the feast. Each of us cry with thankful tongues. Lord, why was I a guest! Why was I made to hear thy voice and enter while there’s room when thousands make a wretched choice and rather starve than come. Twas the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew us in else we had still refused to taste and perished in our sin, pity the nation’s o our God constrain the earth to come. Sendai victorious word abroad and bring the stranger home. And in closing I want to draw our attention to the servant and as jesus is telling this parable, the servant is nameless, but we can be so thankful to know his name today, the servant’s name is jesus. And to be a follower of jesus is not simply attend the banquet, but to show up to the banquet and surrender at the feet of the master of the house. To tell a master I am here. Please take me as your servant. Send me wherever you desire and I will go from the streets in the lanes of the city to the highways and the hedges that your banquet may be full. His invitation is grace. Will you accept this invitation to the feast? Says in Romans 10: verse nine. If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved. Will you endure the trials of this world and fix your affections upon jesus and to all that do there is a great feast and all of us will have a seat at the table If we accept that invitation, let’s pray together father. We’re thankful for we thank you for sending this message to us. We thank you for all that we find in scripture and most of all we just thank you for making us a desired guest at your feast. Not because of anything that we’ve ever done, but because of you and because of your grace Father, we thank you for your forgiveness for your mercy, for allowing us to be a part of your household, even though we’re not deserving of such an honor. We thank you Lord and I pray that if there’s anyone here who has not decided to follow you Lord with all their heart that they do so, and we pray this in the name of jesus christ. Amen.
Let’s pray father. We thank you for this day. You’ve gifted it to us. We thank you for this word that you’ve given to us. This is your word. It reveals who you are. It reveals what your character is like. It reveals your will for us and God, we are thankful for this revelation. And so Father, we ask that in the moment that we have together this morning on the day that you’ve gifted to us with the words that you’ve given to us God, that we would leave here with every everything that you intend for us to understand about this word. And lastly, the Lord, we give you thanks for jesus, christ your son our savior, who shed his blood for our sins, that we might be forgiven. It’s in his name, that we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, good morning. So our church. Some of you are awake this morning. Welcome to sword Church. If this is your first time, I haven’t met you. My name is dan. We’re glad you’re here. We hope that we can get connected with you and learn a little bit about your story, how God is working in your life and what drew you here. And so we’re glad that you’re here um church this morning. My question for you is this what are you looking for? What are you looking for? I think we’re looking for rest and by rest. I mean assurance and peace. We want some assurance about the future. We want some peace in the midst of everything we’re dealing with in life. Peace and assurance. Piece that everything that we’re dealing with? Everything that we’re facing isn’t going to overtake us or overwhelm us or set us back too far that we won’t ever be able to recover an assurance that there are good days ahead. There are good things waiting for us. I think we’re looking for that. Are you looking for that? That’s something I’m looking for. That’s something that I believe I found in jesus. And this morning, I hope that you’re able to see that some people are looking for peace and assurance and they aren’t looking for it in jesus. And so they can’t have it. They don’t find it, they don’t experience the benefit of it. And as we read this morning in the passage in Luke 14, everybody is watching, everybody is looking at someone, starting with the Pharisees, looking at jesus and then the rest of the hosts that were invited to the dinner party, looking at one another. Everybody’s watching everybody’s looking and everybody is looking for something. What do you think they were looking for? Have you ever been to a carnival? County Fair State Fair? It’s okay. You’re you’re not going to God’s not gonna be discouraged or upset at you for raising your hand saying that you’ve been to a carnival before in the past, Right? Um Some people might think that clowns were, you know, the invention of the devil, But, but carnivals are okay right there okay, Right, Cotton candy, right, ferris will, right? That’s okay. Right, so again, have any of you ever been to a carnival or a county fair or state fair? Yeah, there you go. We’re here this morning. We’re right here this morning. Have you ever been to one of those funhouse mirrors? You know, you walk in and the entire room is full of mirrors and each one presents a distorted image of yourself, right? Your eyes right like right here and massive, your chin is hanging down to your toes. You know, it’s made you look like a figure eight or something. I mean, just completely distorts the image. Right, Well, that’s what send us. It distorts the image. It distorts how we view God Ourselves and one another. Sin has distorted the view of the Pharisees as they’re looking at jesus, they’re watching jesus, but sin has distorted their view of him. They think that jesus is a lawbreaker, not man’s law, God’s law. They think that he is a lawbreaker. So what do they do? They invite him over for dinner? Now, this was a custom, jesus more than likely spoke at the synagogue. Probably the same situation that we dealt with in Chapter 13. Sorry. So it was a custom for the ruler of the synagogue to have over for dinner. The one who spoke at the synagogue that day. If a guest came and taught at the synagogue, he would be invited over to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and they would have dinner. And so the ruler of the synagogue affairs see, invites, jesus over invites over some more distinguished guests. And then they plant a man there with a medical condition that the scripture calls dropsy. Why do we believe that? Well, because the Pharisees, because sin has distorted their view of God and themselves and others, they don’t really want to be around people with medical conditions. They don’t want to be around people who have serious problems going on in life. They view that as a form of God’s judgment on that person. two, Why is this man in the dinner party? Because they’re watching jesus and with their distorted view of jesus, they think that jesus is a lawbreaker? So they try to set him up. But again, Jesus being the son of God, dual nature, right, fully human and fully God, and the two exists in the same person without confusion. So he knows that they’re trying to set him up. So the pastor says one sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of the ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully and behold there was a man before him who had dropsy and jesus, knowing that they’re watching him carefully responded to the lawyers and the Pharisees saying is it lawful to heal on the sabbath or not? Is it a violation of the law of God to heal on the sabbath or not. And the fair season would say yes, you should do that on the other days of the week, not on the sabbath, and sin has so broken them, it has so distorted their view of God, that they can’t see that the sabbath is about the ultimate healing for mankind. God healing us from sin that has fractured our relationship to him, and the same sin that fractures our relationships to one another. God giving a true rest. They can’t see it, they can’t see that jesus isn’t a lawbreaker, and neither does the law of God prevent a person from doing good on the sabbath. The law of God does not restrict or refrain. A person from showing mercy and compassion on the sabbath. You’re fundamentally misunderstood the law of God if you think that way, and why do they think that way? Because they have a distorted view of God themselves and others? Because the summary of the same law says, you are to love the Lord, your God with all your heart mind, soul and strength, and you’re to love your you know, neighbor as yourself. And so man being used to try to take down jesus, a man with dropsy man with something that would be similar to, you know, Dema where like there’s a massive amount of fluid in the tissue inflammation, painful, probably painful to walk probably painful to stand up, taking this man and trying to use this man to take down jesus boy that’s distorted, that’s sinful, but jesus, there’s no fear of man in him, even though he’s an invited guest into this home, even though he knows that these guys are trying to take him down, he will not back down from demonstrating the heart of God the goodness of God and the righteousness of God. He won’t back down from that. No, he even tries to show mercy to those guys, these same guys who are trying to sabotage him. It does so by asking a question, is it lawful to heal on the sabbath or not? The question is designed to reset the paradigm of thinking is to challenge their accepted and assumed paradigms about the law is an act of mercy to unsettle this faulty way of thinking. Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? But they remain silent, seeing that their hearts were hardened and having mercy on the man that they have tried to use in his pain to take him down. It says that jesus took the man and healed him and sent him away. Again, another act of love and mercy removing his pain and yet also sending him away so that his healing would no longer be controversy for the rest of the dinner that night. Then again, showing mercy to the same hard hearted people, he says, which of you having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out and they could not reply to these things. Some Translations will say in verse five, I’ll say which of you having a donkey or knocks, not necessarily a son. The reason why there’s a bit of variance. There is when we look at the thousands of copies of translations of luke’s account, it may have been a slight scribble air, but the principle and the point is still clear, you do good, you do good. If it were an ox, a creature not made in the image of God that fell into a well, you would do good. You wouldn’t simply just leave it there and saying that he’s saying that God means to do well by us by giving the sabbath as the ultimate gospel rhythm in our lives. That sin has pulled us all into a deep muddy pit and we can’t climb our way out of it. God saves us. God doesn’t simply just leave us. He makes it possible for us to be saved. He does good. The reason why this is hard for the Pharisees to see it is because the heart and the mind affects everything that we see. The heart and the mind affects everything that you see affects everything that I see and sin has corrupted human nature. That means that our hearts and our minds are bent. They have a bias towards sin and selfishness and we’re not equal to God. So we we can’t know everything. We can’t see everything. We can’t anticipate everything. And so we’re limited. So sin has made it difficult for these men to see the goodness of God in the Lord, jesus christ sin has made them biased towards their own way of living. It is an act of God’s grace for the human heart to rejoice at the will of God being done, especially when the will of God involves crossing our own wills. It is an act of grace for us to see that, to experience that and to rejoice, edit. It takes God doing that kind of work in us, left to ourselves. We all walking in uh a clown house with distorted mirrors and distorted images with distorted views and thoughts about God and ourselves and others text God stepping in to clear things up for us. So jesus is trying to do that for the Pharisees here And then he moves on to the distinguished guest of the Pharisees Verse seven, it says now he told the parable to those who were invited. He’s speaking to the guest next week. We’re going to look at the parable, he tells again to the Pharisees. Now he’s speaking to their guests. He says that he noticed that they chose the places of honour, saying to them when you are invited by someone to a wedding feast. Do not sit down in a place of honor less someone more distinguished than you be invited by him. And he who invited you both will come, will come and say to you, give your place to this person. And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place so that when your host comes he may say to you friend, move up higher, then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. Let me describe the setting for you a bit. This dinner party probably a dining room that shaped the settings kind of shaped like a U. With the host being in the center part of it and the more distinguished guests to his left and right and then leaning back on cushions what they call couches and eating and conversating and so you want to be closer to the host and the more distinguished guests. Why politics? You wanna talk politics, not politics like hey, I want to become mayor or commissioner or senator or something like that may be. But politics in the sense of I have an agenda, I need favor, I need someone to scratch my back. I need you to give me this, I want to see promotion. I want to advance. And so these guys jesus noticing that they’re all flocking, fighting trying to get closest to the more distinguished gas. He said you need to be careful. It may be in one of these days that you asked to give up your spot to someone else and then you will really be embarrassed. You thought to honor yourself. But then you’ll be embarrassed. The principle here for us is the kingdom of God has no place for any man or woman who seeks to grasp that power and position and influence over others is not a place for that. You may succeed at it. Even you may accomplish some of your earthly or worldly goals of having this position of influence and power over others. But God doesn’t miss a thing. He will demote you. You will make you give that place up to one more deserving. That’s what Jesus is saying in the case of this story here. Looking at the Pharisees and and the lawyers, they were the religious leaders of Israel. Israel is to be God’s covenant people. Jesus has went out and he’s called a collection of fishermen, tax collectors and social deviants, so to speak. Who have been redeemed brought back into the fold of God and they will replace these men as leaders among God’s covenant people. God doesn’t miss a thing. He didn’t miss the fact that those men were trying to use a man with a medical condition against his son and he won’t miss men trying to assert power over others and misusing that power being heavy handed and authoritative in that power. He won’t miss, he doesn’t miss those things. He is a just God. He heals the man with the medical condition and at the right time. He will demote the one who has wrongfully promoted himself as an ambassador of his kingdom. But again, I ask the question, what are you looking for? Because these men are looking for a type of assurance and peace and they’re willing to do anything they can in their own strength and being motivated by their own central flesh to get there. But it won’t yield the fruit of peace and assurance. It will never yield it. Because at the root of their driven nous, at the root of their inability to see jesus correctly, to see others correctly is pride. Pride and pride does not yield rest. Pride is the equivalent of looking for a needle among the haystack. You just can’t find it when it comes to rest. You’re not going to find it. You’ll never have enough. You’ll never achieve enough. You’ll never accomplish enough. Someone will always threaten your position. Someone will always be a threat to you because of pride. You will have no rest. So the rest you’re looking for. You can’t arrive at it. The heart full of pride, but humility, it flows from a place of rest. It begins from a place of rest. I am who I am. Because of the grace of God. I’ve been redeemed by the Grace of God. I’m a son of God. I don’t feel threatened when I see other sons and daughters of God succeed. I don’t feel like I’m gonna miss out. I’m not judging their slice of the pie with my slice of the pie? You never know his kids doing that. Why is this cake so big and my is only this big again. The heart and the mind affects how we see everything. And pride. That’s really the sin that keeps these men from seeing jesus correctly, from seeing a man in need of desperate relief correctly. Pride is what is causing them to jockey for position. That sin, that sin of pride. That’s what keeps them in that deep muddy pit where peace and assurance is so elusive, keeps them there. But what we have here in jesus is a testimony to the patience of God and the goodness of God and ways in which our sinful hearts and minds just don’t understand. He knows that these men have tried to set him up. He knows that these men aren’t his fans and yet he would appeal to them and yet he would boldly demonstrate what the love of God looks like and call them to pursue it. He demonstrates the patience and goodness of God and the way in which we just don’t understand. And yet we need to see it. He comes to them. They are the ones and the deep muddy pit unable to climb out. He comes to save them and they won’t take his hand. Some of you may be like that right now, you’re in a place of sin, you’re in a place of you know, you’re not living the way that God would have you to live pride, what have you tried to climb out? Try to figure it out your own way. And just when it looks like you’ve made a little progress, what happens? You fall right back down because you can’t climb out of this. You need a savior and you seek rest, but you’ll never find it in your own efforts. So if you’re struggling with secret sin or if you’re struggling with just rebellion towards God, jesus is the only way you’re gonna climb out of you confess your sin to him, you humble yourself before him, you submit to what his word says and you’ll find that he is able to pull you up and out of that deep muddy pit. Others of you, you’ve fallen into that pit because something has happened to you, it wasn’t necessarily your fault, but something has happened to you. And the pain is louder in your mind and in your understanding, the pain is louder than the goodness of God. You can’t experience the peace of God because you’re distracted by the pain and the suffering. Have you ever been in that place before? Hey, we’re human? I’ve been in that place numerous times. It is hard in that place to find rest. But do you know how you get out of that place? You get out of that place again. Turning to jesus, responding by turning to jesus, we think that we’ll get out of that is simply the pain if it’s just removed and and if we get the miracle that we have been praying for that somehow that will get us out of that place and we’ll have peace and assurance. Know the peace and the assurance comes from jesus. Even if the circumstances don’t change, you get the peace and the assurance even in the storm, even in the fire, you get the peace and the assurance, even as you’re dragging that cross around and it feels heavy, you get the peace and the assurance from him. If it be his will, he’ll take that obstacle, he’ll remove that pain. He’ll give the healing. But the piece and the insurance can be had can be a real experience for you. It’s just resting in here, accepting that he’s still good. No matter what’s happening to you right now, no matter what you’re feeling right now, he is still good. That’s the fight. The pain will distract you from his goodness. The adversity will distract you from this goodness. I think it was C. S. Lewis that said the pain was like a megaphone in the air. The louder the pain seems to sound, the more passionately, the more desperately we looked to him and cling to him 10. It’s him. We need. And lastly some of us we don’t have rest because we secretly desire earthly rewards and promotion. We secretly want that place of prominence and I want you to hear me clearly here. We’re not anti success in life. There are many of you in this room are very talented and gifted and work hard at what you do and you’ve earned legitimate success because of your labors. But if you don’t have peace, if you don’t have a sense of assurance even with all of your success, the answer isn’t more success. It’s jesus humility begins from a place of rest in him. Assurance and peace comes from resting in him. He shows us that he is good, he’s willing be patient and to come to us and to make salvation available to us When we are in that place, when we are in that deep muddy pit. Unable to climb out comes what is your response? What will be your response? I pray that it is to cry out to him that it is to look to him and to see a good loving and just savior has come to give you his peace. So let me leave you with this verse as we close first peter 56, it says, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you brothers and sisters in christ there is a heavenly crown and a heavenly name for those who have made jesus their reward in this life. There is a banquet feast where you will be God’s distinguished guest were all the privileges and all of the blessings of christ being distributed to you. That’s what we live for. That’s the hope that anchors us in the storm. That’s the piece that keeps us in the face of challenging circumstances and challenging relationships and people. We look heavenward at our savior and we say there is our salvation a man and then let’s pray jesus. You gave your life that we might find life in you. You endured the shame and the scorn and the ridicule of the sinful world that we might receive the joy of peace and assurance from you. Lord, for those who bow their need to you, we belong to you. For those who aren’t sure God opened their eyes to see that your mighty arm is extended in their direction. Right now Lord do a work of grace in her heart to see it and to cling to it. God, we desire to be a kingdom minded people, so God empower us by your grace, according to your word, to the praise of your glory, to live out our days seeking first the kingdom of God and your righteousness. I pray this in christ’s name. Amen
Good morning sir Church. So good to be with you all this morning. Want to start by asking a question, Z one here have any idea what it’s like to live in an earthly kingdom under the rule of an earthly king, anybody have any clue what that’s like. You grew up, you were a citizen of an earthly kingdom and you had an actual earthly king that you had to be subject to anybody. And the first service we had at least one person, You can always count on some of my international friends to bear witness to what I’m about to say today. But um, none in this service. No one isn’t it ironic that the Kingdom of God, probably the most dominant theme in all of the bible. It’s something we have very little context for. Do you find that ironic? The Kingdom of God throughout the scriptures, the Kingdom of God, a dominant theme And we are people, we have no context for what it means to live in a kingdom and be under a king from an earthly perspective. We have in many ways redefined what a kingdom is and what a king does. We’ve done it in cute little subtle ways, but we have for instance, we live in big red Kingdom husker kingdom. Right? And if you tuned in last night to some NFL football, you saw the Chiefs Kingdom secure their spot, you know, into the playoffs with the first round Bye. We think of kingdom as being a collection of followers or fans who are rowdy about the team or the individual or the thing that they support that they are excited about. That’s how we tend to define a kingdom. And then we redefined what it means to be a king. We think of the entertainment industry, there are various types of kings of various different aspects of entertainment. You think of little kids playing a game, What’s the title given to the person who’s the best the king we crown, that person, the king. So we’ve made a king, the person or the thing that we think is the best a kingdom is a collection of rowdy supporters and a king that which we think is the best. We have no context for the Kingdom of God. And yet it’s the most dominant theme in all of scripture. We need kingdom perspective and that’s my goal for this morning, is to give you some kingdom perspective from the bible, that’s also the title of the sermon, kingdom perspective. And you need kingdom perspective because if you believe in jesus, he is a king and you’re believing in him has brought you into his kingdom and you need to know how to represent him Well, you need to know how to live as a citizen of his kingdom. You need to know what that entails. You need to understand it. You need kingdom perspective. R. C. Sproul had a great quote about the Kingdom of God, the late dr R C Sproul, he said this, he said when jesus speaks of the kingdom of God, he speaks of a place where God reigns. Absolutely and that and that absolute rule is carried out according to justice, Mercy and righteousness. That’s kingdom perspective as kingdom perspective that we need the absolute rule and reign of King Jesus his mercy, his righteousness is justice. So let me pray for us and let’s look at this passage this morning and let’s look at the kingdom perspective that Jesus provides us. So let me pray Father in heaven. We seek kingdom perspective this morning. We understand that we don’t live under the Dominion of an earthly king and kingdom and we’re so thankful for that. But we seek kingdom perspective because you have made us through jesus christ citizens of your kingdom if we believe in him. So this morning helped me to preach your word with clarity and give us an earnest heart to receive kingdom perspective. I pray this in jesus name amen, come in sometimes. The way of the kingdom seems unimpressive and yet it’s filled with eternal significance. Sometimes the way of the kingdom seems unimpressive, insignificant of little value, not that important and yet to God eternally important, immense value. And that’s what Jesus is trying to get across today in our passage, he begins by telling a parable, let’s look at it again, He said therefore what is the Kingdom of God like and to what shall I compare it. It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. And it grew and became a tree and the birds of the air made nests in its branches and again he said to what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like 11 that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened. Now the other gospel accounts, the synoptic gospel accounts of Matthew, mark and luke. They all cover this particular parable Matthew 13 and 17 and Mark four, we see references to the same parable, this illustration of what the Kingdom of God is like being like a mustard seed, a very tiny little seed. Wondered if you were to, you know, not be careful with it, you might drop it, lose it and have to really scrounge around to find it. That’s how small it is. Unless you drop it and you know, a dark surface, but it’s small. And looking at that seed, you don’t anticipate it doing great things, You don’t anticipate it having such a big impact. So he says, the Kingdom of God is like this little seed that from the natural mind, it’s small, what can it do? And yet when you place it in the garden, it becomes the largest tree in the garden. Now pay attention to what he said, he said, the largest tree in the garden. Not the largest tree in the forest, but a garden. Imagine your own personal garden and imagine a 10 or 12 ft tree in your garden. And that 10 or 12 ft tree originated from a tiny little seed. That’s impressive. That’s amazing. And that’s what his hearers needed to hear because they were like that tiny little seed. They are a small crop of people in a vast and powerful roman empire and they are beginning in a tiny, insignificant little country, Israel or galilee and in a city like Jerusalem, which is where he’s headed. They are small, they are powerless, they are no match for Rome and its legions, they don’t even have the ability to really to confront naturally the power and the influence of the Pharisees. They are small compared to the power that the Pharisees are wielding, he says. But the Kingdom of God might seem unimpressive, might seem insignificant, but over time it will become the largest tree in the garden. Less than 1% of the Roman Empire. For most of the 1st 200 years of Christianity, less than 1% of the Roman Empire was Christian, Less than 1%,, Far, less than 1% to be exact, far less than 1%. And today, which kingdom is still feeling nearer the Kingdom of God, but it began in a very unimpressive and seemingly in a significant way. He also said that it was like a woman who took 11 And hit it three measures of flour. Now 11 typically is used in a negative way when jesus is making illustrations about the harder character, what it’s like to live for God. He normally speaks of Levin in a negative way. And he speaks of the Pharisees of being, You know, on guard, on watch against 11 of the Pharisees. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the greed of the Pharisees. But here in this particular illustration, he says that, think of what levin does to the flower, think of what the yeast does to the dough. Now, I’m gonna be honest with you, I’ve never in my life baked one piece of bread. The closest I’ve come to baking bread is putting toast in the toaster. And some of you said that don’t even count and you’re right. It don’t. But I am aware of what happens when you put that yeast on the dough, especially if you put too much yeast on that doe it rises, it can get out of control. It’s crazy that in this illustration, jesus is helping these men to see what the kingdom is like by using something that they were quite accustomed to seeing and witnessing. He said, imagine a woman taking 11, hiding it in three measures of flour. It would feed over 100 men. Something so small would allow that bread to be able to feed 100 men. He’s saying don’t despise the beginnings of the Kingdom of God. Don’t despise the beginnings of the work of God in your life. Don’t despise what seems small and little in terms of progress in your life as you pursue God give it time if you’re on the right track. If you’re pursuing jesus, if you’re all in for the Kingdom of God, the kingdom will begin to reveal itself in a mighty way in your life. The elements of the kingdom will begin to be observable in your life. Very real ways. So he says it may seem small, it may seem unimpressive, but it’s packed with potential packed with power packed with kingdom growth, explosive growth. Remember? Mm hmm. Back in the day playing sports, whenever you you had a guy on the team, you know, playing football is a very physical game. And some of you guys saw that pretty horrific thing that took place on thursday night with the football player. But you know football is a very physical game and sometimes you know, not not everybody that plays is massive or big. And I remember when I first started believe it or not, I wasn’t this big, I was pretty small, it was really small. One of the smallest guys on my team for most of my athletic career until I got to high school. But I remember someone trying to encourage me, guy said to me, he was he was an upperclassman. He says, look man. TNT can come in small packages like yeah, that’s what I want to be. Sometimes God will call us to do something, Sometimes he will give us kingdom responsibility or he’ll put something before us, that involves our walk with him? And it may seem small, it may seem insignificant man, but don’t underestimate its value to God. So important that we be faithful, so important that we trust God to accomplish what he intends to accomplish and then through us, so jesus preparing his apostles, gives an illustration of a mustard seed and leaven to give them kingdom perspective. And then as he’s traveling on, it says in verse 22 he’s journeying towards Jerusalem, but on the way he’s stopping in these small towns, these small villages and he’s teaching now this entire portion of luke. If you were to go back to chapter nine, this is where it began, I believe we began, we taught on chapter nine maybe what, two years ago and then If you were to jump ahead all the way to chapter 19, that entire portion is called the traveling section where Jesus is moving towards Jerusalem and on the way Luke is telling all these things that are taking place and small insignificant villages and towns. Now we will get to chapter 19 probably in two years, but I just wanted you to know that we are gonna be looking at this travel section for a significant portion of time as we walk through the gospel of luke. But here in this particular setting, someone asked a question, he said, Lord will those who are saved be few. Now, why do we do this? Why do we feel the need to know the things that only God can know why we do that. Why do we feel like we’ve got to ask this question, you know, I know this is something that God knows and God knows it because he knows all things and he’s God. Right? So why do we then have to ask this question that only God can know and that only God knows as if somehow we deserve to know that somehow we are, you know God and I were buddies. So God tell me, you know, you know this, so let me know, Will there only be a few people saved? Look man, you won’t even live long enough to to be able to see all the people that God is saving in your lifetime. Why would you ask that question? Do you realize that you might be around an environment where there aren’t very many believers and you’re thinking the same way like man, there’s probably not that many people that are going to be saved. You won’t even be able to see all of the people of God is saving during your lifetime. That’s just a fact, jesus he obliges the man, but not without first doing what I like to describe as jesus, Jedi mind trick. So he said to the man strive to enter through the narrow door for many. I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able when, once the master of the house has risen and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, Lord open to us. Then he will answer you. I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say we ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets, but he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from, depart from me, all you workers of evil. And in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God. But you yourselves cast out. The man asked question. Lord, will those who are saved, The few jesus answers with strive to enter through the narrow door. I want to know how many people are gonna get saved. Lord think about your own salvation. Think about your own relationship with God. Are you entering through the narrow door? You’re worried about what God is doing over here and there and there and that person, and will that person be saved? Can God save a person like that? He says, You strive to enter through the narrow door. He begins to answer the man’s question by directing it back to him. You strive to enter through the narrow door, he said, don’t think that because you heard jesus preach a sermon or saw jesus do a miracle or ate some of the food that jesus miraculously provided that somehow you’ll be able on the last day say to the father, I deserve to be there because I saw him do these things. He says that kind of presumption lead you to hell. Let me translate it for us. Well, I went to church, I gave some money to the church, I gave some money to the poor, I like christian music, I like being around christian people. I want my kids to grow up in a christian environment so therefore I deserve to be in the kingdom of God. And what is the response from the master of the house? I never knew you, I never knew you. You know why I never knew you because he wasn’t in you, there was no christ in you, so therefore he doesn’t know you. So it’s not just about playing in a christian environment or doing christian things, it’s about christ being in you. That’s the purpose. That’s the point of a relationship with God of knowing God christ in you. And so he says strive to enter through the narrow door. And that word stride means to agonize give effort from your insides deep down inside. If you believe that you’re believing cause you to pursue God with all you’ve got to the best of your ability. He doesn’t say that you’re saved by your striving. He’s saying that your belief leads to you striving after God. He says forgive, I’m going to forgive, it’s hard, but I’m going to do it. He says come and worship me on the sabbath and he says, I’m gonna get there, I’m gonna do it because I believe in him. He says, live Holy, he says, this is hard, but I want to do it and I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna try to do it and I pray God help me to do it. I’m striving. It’s a life of repentance and faith. It’s humility before God. We strive out there. A lot of other things in life. We do, we strive, we strive to be accepted by people, we might say, man, you know, I really don’t care what other people think. And then a few minutes later we worked really, really hard to make that statement look like we don’t care what other people think about us and then judge how other people evaluated our craftiness and cleverness and stating it, therefore proving that we do care about what other people think about us. Ergo we are striving. So we strive we take great efforts for so many different things whether it’s to get people to like us, whether it’s to have a certain level of success that we think we deserve. We strive, we strive, we strive sometimes it’s it’s good to strive for good things in life, but the most important thing, the thing that matters the most to walk with God if you know that you trip up over various things here and there striving is that you go through great efforts to make it difficult for you to trip up in that area if you know that sometimes you have a hard time controlling your tongue striving as you’re practicing when no one is around what you need to say, how you need to respond to things you need to focus on, You are striving honor God and don’t forget the most important part of that striving to enter the narrow door on your knees in prayer, pray praying, admitting your weakness, admitting your need for God, admitting you need his grace and his help to strive to enter through the narrow door, don’t allow yourself to become complacent and presumptuous thinking that because you’re around christian environment because you do some christian things, things that you should do, but somehow that faster confidence, it’s all christ was nothing for jesus eventually answers the man’s question verse 29 he said, people will come from east and west and from north and south and they will recline at the kingdom of God and behold some our last will be first and some are first will be last, essentially he’s saying though it looks insignificant now though it looks like not many are responding to the message now though, it looks like not many are sold out to christ now oh yeah, it’s gonna happen the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, people will respond, disciples will be made, the kingdom will advance, it will grow like a mustard seed like Levin, it will And though it’s less than 1% at this particular time, far less than 1% the entire Roman empire. It grew and it’s larger than that empire today and it’s still growing and that’s important for us because we look at our circumstances today, we look at this environment today and we think that somehow this is the darkest era ever in history, Less than 1% of the whole world is Christian at this time and in Rome they allow people to be murdered in the colosseum for fun, they called it entertainment, that’s a pretty dark time and yet the kingdom still advanced and so he says those who will be last will be first and some who are first will be last and what he’s saying there is this, there’s some in this life right now who are christian, their brothers and sisters in christ but they have received their reward, they’ve received their reward in this life, they’ve received the applause of man, they’ve received a crown from man and they shall be last and then there are those who seem insignificant, unimportant overlooked, they will be first, I like to say it like this, you know sometimes it’s easy, especially when I first began pastoring to think that the pastor with the biggest church is going to receive the biggest crown and the most honor. On that day, jesus saying to him, look at you, you did all this in my name and then later realizing it’s probably going to be a guy pastoring a small church in a remote place in the world that no one has never heard of, that God gives the biggest crown to. That’s humbling. That’s a heart check. What do I do, what I do? Why do you do what you do? Is it for eternal significance or is it for an earthly crown sometimes the way the kingdom seems unimpressive. Yeah, it’s got eternal significance. Moving on as he encounter some Pharisees and they said to him, get away from here for Herod wants to kill you. Now that’s an interesting statement, we know that the Pharisees feel threatened by jesus, we know that the Pharisees don’t really like jesus so they could be making this up. People are wanting to hear the teacher, jesus, but nonetheless jesus, he responds to their statement, he says behold, well, first of all, he says, go and tell that fox, go and tell that fox, he doesn’t even call him a wolf. Now we know from a christian perspective a wolf is pretty bad, the scary, dangerous animal, right? And it’s pretty bad, no wolves in the church, we don’t want wolves in the church, he doesn’t even give him that decency calls him a fox a critter, not to be trusted, vile, shady critter. Some theologians believe he referred to him as a female fox being promiscuous. Either way, he ain’t got good things to say about harry, but jesus does something and if you read your new testament, this is something. Look, look, I’m gonna say something that you probably aren’t aware of, but you need to hear it. It’s important we’re talking about here in this particular passage, the kingdom coming under persecution. Here’s what you need to understand. Here’s what you need to realize, jesus does not over spiritual eyes. His enemies, he does not say, You go and tell shame. You go and tell fear. You go and tell condemnation that I’m going to do my work in three days. He says, you go and tell that fox Herod. There are real enemies to the kingdom and what we like to do because that makes us uncomfortable is over spiritual ISAT. There are spiritual enemies. He says, I’m going to cast out demons and perform cures today tomorrow on the third day, there are spiritual enemies and there are real earthly enemies to the kingdom. Don’t over spiritualized shame, fear condemnation. Those are feelings. Those are emotions that’s something you feel because something has been done to you or something has been made you to think a certain way, but there is an actual enemy. Either it is the devil or there’s an enemy of the gospel or there’s someone who’s just sinning against you. They may be a brother and they need to repent either way. Don’t over spiritual eyes, it, no, what we understand as christians and this is the part where we have to mature in our thinking was that though there are reel earthly enemies. Our prayer is for those enemies. That’s why Jesus says pray for your enemies. But if you over spiritualized, what are you gonna pray for shame? God, I pray for shame that you forgive shame, I pray to, you forgive my fear. That’s how you pray for your enemies. Those are the enemies God told you to pray for. No, there are real enemies to the Gospel. And so you pray for them and when you pray for them, you ask God God save them or stay their hands so that they don’t bring further harm to your people and to your gospel work, God save them or stay their hand so they so that they don’t bring further harm your people, your ministry work. But if you over spiritual eyes that you can’t pray, those kind of prayers because you aren’t gonna pray a blessing for feelings of shame and guilt and condemnation are you, That makes sense. Our Christianity is rational, it makes sense. Jesus does not over spiritual eyes. It he knows who his enemies are, Some of them are Pharisees and some of those Pharisees will be safe, they were converted. He says today and tomorrow on the third day, I will finish my course, speaking possibly of his resurrection, but we definitely know it speaks to the fact that he will complete the mission? Re being a number of completion, I will complete, it will be done. But then he understands where he’s headed and what will happen to him. He understands his faith. He says, oh Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones, those who are sent to it even said that you know, it can’t be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. He’s saying he understands he’s going to dangerous and yet church here is your king not a coward, not a man that’s going to back down, not a man that’s overwhelmed with the fact that death, imminent death is awaiting him. He presses on, he is moving towards Jerusalem and to his mission is complete to he has shed his blood and ransomed your soul. That is your king. That kind of kingdom perspective helps us to endure and hold up under persecution to hold up under suffering. Our king is courageous. Our king is a champion, Our king overcame so shall we, but in the process of Jerusalem, the Mount Zion, the mountain of God, Jerusalem being on the mountain, the place, the center of, of worship and religion for the whole world, it was designed to be, is falling short And in its unbelief, judgment would come in the form of 70 A. D. And jesus said that there will be a moment in time. He quotes psalm 1 18 where many will say blessed is he, who comes in the name of the Lord? In other words, God gave them time to repent, received the gospel, they didn’t and then they came under judgment even after jesus went to the cross, they still had time, they still had time and psalm repented and some didn’t. We don’t live under the rule of an earthly king. We don’t live in an earthly kingdom, but we, if we believe in christ, we’ve given our life to him. We live under the rule and the Dominion of a heavenly king, the eternal kingdom. And we need kingdom perspective, Jesus gives it to us today as we think about walking out of here with this kingdom perspective, I want to revisit this idea of striving to enter through the narrow door. This life committed to repentance and faith and trusting God and and and looking to see God do and accomplish what he intends to accomplish in and through our lives. As I think about that there really are only two options for us. The first option is humility, trusting God and being faithful. Even with the small, seemingly insignificant matters of life, it could be something as small as hey forgive your brother, be something as small as trusting the Lord with your finances, something as small as committing to walk with God’s people so that you can together reflect his kingdom. I don’t know, it could be a lot of things. What what things are you overlooking that seems small but have eternal value to God. The second option is to live a life of pride and self confidence, neglecting the small commands and duties all the while waiting for bigger opportunities to shine. You’re gonna miss the kingdom. If that’s your perspective, you’re gonna miss it, you’re gonna fall short, you’re gonna drift away, You’re not gonna live the way God has called you to live. My hope for us is that we will together stride to enter through the narrow door. A life of humility and repentance and faith before God walking through that door together as we see the kingdom expand and grow in our lives. Amen, man, let me pray for us, jesus, Thank you. You gave your life and we might become kingdom people. God. I pray that we would never ever take that for granted. I pray that as we consider what it means to be an ambassador of your kingdom here and now I pray that the same spirit that raised you from the dead would remind us that you are indeed in us and give us the courage to live with the same courage that you showed in the face of whatever it is that we have to face in life. God, I pray, if there be any in here today who realized that maybe they have been overlooking small things that you would remind them of the truth of the gospel, but today is the day of Salvation. If they will repent and believe, strive to enter in, let their belief, producing them a desire to live differently. I pray this in jesus name and that.
Thank you Faith. Well, happy new year, good morning to everyone. Um, so glad you’re here. If this is your first new year service with us, I just want to state from the beginning today, we’re gonna lay out 23 principles for how you can have a successful year 2023. Amen you guys are laughing because you know, as in the words of that fictional king from Wakanda, we don’t do that here. You know, we get into the word. Here we are returning to the gospel of luke as we kidded on our podcast. We will be in the gospel of luke until jesus returns. But no, we we are thankful for this word. We’re thankful for what God is doing. We’re thankful for this new Year and I’m excited for what God is going to do in and through our church. But the past is just born in that faith. Read to you, it made me think of a song. It was written by the late Sam Cooke. He wrote this song, a change is gonna come. That’s the title for today’s sermon. He wrote this song in 1964, right in the thick of the civil rights movement. It’s one of the most iconic, soulful songs that I think exists. I mean, it’s just amazing in terms of the soulful sound, you can kind of sense his his bewilderment in the lyrics in the song, he expresses a bit of a, of of a doubt that change was possible. But then he returns to the chorus to almost reassure himself that change is gonna come. In fact, the first verse of that song, he says that he was born by a river and just like that river he’s been running ever since echoing a sense of being unsettled, unsure of the future, unsure where he’s headed, hoping to to maybe reach a place of of of being at a state of Peacefulness and tranquility. I thought about that song because in this passage, here We have the Jews recounting to events that took place during their times. They were very turbulent times. Verse one says that there were some Galilean who went to offer a sacrifice and as they were offering their sacrifice to God Pilate killed them and it was so horrendous that their blood spilled over into the place where the blood of the sacrifices would flow. It says that they ming he mingled their blood with the blood of the sacrifice. That was totally horrendous. And then the second event that is counted here by luke says that a tower fell on some innocent bystanders. These were very rough times. And if you were a jew during this particular time, you have some questions, how is it that a man like pilot, a roman oppressor, how could he get away with what he’s doing to the covenant people of God. And then you look at what happened to the people of whom the Tower fell upon your You’re asking yourself a question again, man, what kind of a sinner were they that God would allow that to happen to them. So in the midst of all of that, you may be scratching your head wondering if change is gonna come, What kind of change? What needs to change? What needs to happen for this place to be different? And every new year for each and every one of us, it’s an opportunity to think about growth and change. Some of us do it naturally because you are high capacity, you like to get things done, you you like to accomplish things and so you think about the next thing to accomplish and so the new year for you, what do I need to change to accomplish? The next thing that I want to get done in life? Others of you, life is hard, really hard, really frustrating. Maybe this past year wasn’t the best year for you. And so the new year is a reminder to you that maybe there’s some hope, maybe there’s a change that you might enjoy that you might benefit from. And so you look at the new year with a sense of hope, but yet maybe still uncertain because I’m the same person, it’s a new year, but I’m still the same person, Could I change? Is it possible for me to change? Is it possible for my circumstances to change? And so today, when we look at this passage, what I want you to think about and what I want you to consider as it relates to our lives today. Change real change begins with our relationship to God. It always begins there any kind of growth. Any kind of change begins there. If you are the high capacity individual that likes to accomplish things, you are tempted to think that change begins with your own strength and guess what? You will accomplish some things and you will miss the urgency of the statement that Jesus said, something worse will happen to you. Something worse. Yeah, you may succeed in this life and changes some things and making things the way that you want them to be for you. You may enjoy a little bit of gladness, but as long as you continue to think, all of life centers around what you can do, you’re going to miss it and something worse will happen to you. and then two others of us in the room, you’re looking at this New Year and you’re reminded that and I’m kind of the same person going into this New Year and I want to change and you need to be reminded of this real change begins in your relationship with God. You see it’s in the midst of troubling times, it was very common for Pilate and other roman officials to act out in violence towards the people of God. And it’s in these times that jesus comes, it’s in the time of people suffering unexpected tragedy and jesus comes and yet not many people recognize So in those 1st 5 verses, no other gospel account speaks of these two incidents, but luke highlights them. And what they demonstrate is that life is sometimes unfair. The jews are tempted to think during this time there’s something bad happening to you is an indication that you are a sinner. And jesus lays that to rest and says no, but you all need to be mindful of something worse happening to you. And that is that you miss God’s coming to you. God’s grace being offered to you God meeting you where you are right now. So life is sometimes unfair and we can get hung up on that. Just as the jews were in this situation being perplexed, wondering asking deep questions, why would this happen to these people. And yet in the midst of all of that, we know that God is still just because it comes to them in this situation. And when it comes, he understands the environment, he understands what’s going on. He understands the character of pontius Pilate. He understands that the creation has been impacted by sin. He understands all of these things. And yet he presses to the root of the issue. He says, unless you repent, you will likewise perish. And he’s not talking about simply dying, everyone will die. He’s not talking about just death. But he’s talking about eternal separation from God since that’s far worse. That’s far worse than something bad happening to you in this life. I think a lot of people don’t believe that they don’t understand that. I think there’s inherently within us, a belief that we deserve better. That we deserve to have good things happen to us, that we deserve to be blessed, that we deserve, you know, to be comfortable and prosperous in life. We were wired that way. We think that we deserve that. Now, that’s not to say that God doesn’t bless us and that God doesn’t make it possible for us to enjoy the blessing of his creation. However, we don’t deserve it. We don’t I mean, I don’t think we understand just how far sin separates us from a holy God and it is a vast chasm. And yet in that reality, it’s this reality that jesus is willing to leave heaven be born in a manger as pastor mike talked about last week, among the lowest of lowest of men coming to us, willing to suffer on our behalf so that we might be restored back to God. Yeah, here is a story of people not really seeing it, not really getting it. And so what does jesus do to try to help them? Well, he tells a parable, he jumps into the parable of a barren fig tree talks about this parable. This parable is an illusion to Micah seven Isaiah five. Reference of God being the owner of the vineyard, wanting desiring to enjoy the fruit of his vineyard and yet being frustrated, there was no fruit, but there was no faithfulness, no expectation of a good God coming to heal us and forgive us of our sin. So, jesus tells this parable and he says to the, to the vine dresser, the owner, he says, look for three years now, I’ve come seeking fruit on this fig tree and I find none. three years public ministry looking or fruit, King, Jesus, three years traveling throughout Israel looking for route. So he says to Divine dresser, he says, cut it down, why should it use up the ground? Let’s put something else in its place. And the vine dresser says, Sir, let it alone this year until I dig around it and put on manure, and what he’s saying is, look, let me break up some of the ground around this tree, throw on a little fertilizer, the manure. And let’s see within the next year, if the nutrients, if the water, if it would get down into the roots and allow this tree to produce some fruit. What an amazing illustration of the fact that God is patient. He comes into this turbulent time for his people preaching a message that the kingdom of God has come into the world and that they are to repent. They are not bearing fruit. They deserve judgment and God demonstrates patience. Now his patience isn’t without limits, he won’t be patient like that forever. But yeah, he is patient. And then from there, it would seem as if luke is just kind of stringing together some random historical things but they all they all come together beautifully when you can see the theme of suffering, when you see the theme of Brokenness, when you see the theme of fruitless nous, they all come together beautifully. So it says the next portion of the scripture that faith read to you, we see jesus teaching in the, in the synagogue on the sabbath day and a woman who had a issue that caused her to be bent over causing her pain in her body for 18 years. Disabling spirit, jesus heals her. On the sabbath day in the Senegal, we talk about the sabbath immediately people say well it’s my day off. That’s that’s how we like to think of the sabbath as a day off, right? You know God worked six days and then on the seventh day he rested, it’s not just a day off, it’s a family day with the father, God the father, it’s a day with him. It’s a day of rest in him, it’s a day of enjoying him and this woman though she had been through so much 18 years laboring to get around, she found the strength, the energy to get to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, to hear the word of God, there’s some fruit. Yeah, you think of some of the reasons why people will skip church today, right? I just don’t feel like it. Bad hair day got into a fight with someone in my community group, so I don’t want to come to church today. Disabling Spirit, 18 years wants to hear the word, looking to God and the sabbath is not just a day off, it is a day with family, God, the father, it is a day of resting in him. And what does jesus do? He heals her, he goes out of his way to heal her, he goes and lays his hands on her and heals her. I love it. That luke is so detailed about that because it demonstrates the the heart of the father to give us rest. He understands this environment that we are in, he understands the circumstances that you’re wrestling with, he understands that life is just sometimes not fair, he understands all of that, but real change begins with him knowing him or relationship with him and that’s what this woman was after she was pursuing that. And jesus demonstrates that our God is faithful, he meets her in that he healed her. But something else happens in the same setting, that demonstrates the fig tree being fruitless, the ruler of the synagogue protest what Jesus does six days you can come and receive healing, but not on the sabbath day, that’s the type of guy that’s really pretty, you know, high capacity accomplishes a lot, gets a lot done, thinks about getting things done and this is, this isn’t what we do on this day, We got other more important things to get done today. We got goals, we got checklists, we got to get it done and you are disrupting everything self righteous, proud and unable to see that he needs God. He needs God to give him rest, he needs God to forgive him and to grant him repentance, He can’t see it. God is faithful. He meets this woman in this situation. It says that the entire the rest of the people there in the synagogue understood it and saw it, that this was something good that took place. This was God doing something good. He says his adversaries were put to shame when you look at that situation of that healing and you take into consideration what luke tells us in verse one and verse four, there are three causes of suffering and tragedy in this life. The first one, it’s humans sinning against one another, right? We sin against each other and that can cause each other suffering and hardship and difficulty and frustration and pain because we sin against each other. So sometimes in life we may be suffering because we’re suffering from the effects of sin being committed against us and the pain and the heartache that it brings. The second cause of suffering and tragedy is just simply the curse of sin on the whole creation Romans eight says that the whole creation groans longing to be delivered from under the curse or harmony to be restored between God and the sons of God, the Children of God. And so things don’t work as they ought to. Things wear out. Things break down, our bodies break down, bad things happen, unfortunate things happen, sad things happen. God understands all of this. Thirdly, there is demonic spiritual activity that we have to that that we may encounter in life and we have to acknowledge this, Jesus said in the past, it’s not me. But Jesus said in verse 16, that Satan bound this woman for 18 years, Jesus said that that doesn’t mean that every sickness or every disability is can be directly attributed to satan. But there are some, Why do we know that? Because Jesus said it, he said it, he didn’t he doesn’t attribute every sickness that he heals to satan, But he attributes this one. No, he has the benefit of divine knowledge and understanding that we don’t. So we need to be careful but let’s not ignore the fact that there is demonic spiritual activity that intends to oppress, hinder frustrate and hold you back. And yes, God understands he comes to the people in the midst of this. They’re dealing with their own sin against one another. They’re dealing with the Brokenness of sin within the creation. They’re dealing with strong demonic activity and he still comes to them to meet them in that place to bring reel kingdom change and it begins with knowing God. And so this year, as we think about Moving through 2023, I know this isn’t maybe the feel good self help message that maybe some of you expected this morning, but this is real. There are opportunities that God will give you to bring him great glory and honor. Some of them will be through tears and some of them will be through great joy. Getting yourself ready to be faithful to those moments. It’s about your walk with God, your relationship with God, maybe you wanna improve your health and fitness. Great. No problem with that. But what if you you look like a greek god or goddess and yet have abandoned the faith that means nothing to God means absolutely nothing to him. Maybe you want to put away some more funds for future planning. Maybe starting a family or something great, some great resources out there on how on how to do that. Well you can succeed in that and still grow cold in your walk with God and you failed whatever your goals are. I mean they may be good goals but remember this that you you have to cling to your relationship with christ and real growth and real change begins there there is some aspect of your life right now there’s aspects of my own life where I want to grow more in my walk with God. My prayer as of late has been to increase in joy. Joy, I want an increase of the joy of the Lord of My Life in 2023. That starts with my relationship with God figuring out what is killing my sense of rejoicing in him. I don’t know what whatever the case may be. You need to consider that as you think about growth and change in 2023 and you need to remember that God is just that God is faithful. God is patient. God. God has come to us. His grace is available to us and any change and growth that is to be lasting and real in our lives. That begins with him begins with him. Men let me leave you with this in terms of some some more application. The 1st 1st thing I want to say is that in this passage there are three groups of people that I think the message applies to. The first group is look, if you if you are all in with christ you got to repent. There’s an urgent call to repent, turn and know him turn to quit playing the fence with slow foot in it but be all in repent and embrace him when this some of you here today. You need to hear that look just just be all in with him. Second group, you’re like the fig tree That’s been in the garden for three years. You really haven’t seen much spiritual fruit. You need to take, you need to take some time in prayer and intentionally think about what it means to dig up the dole and hard surfaces of your own heart and mind so that the word of God may saturate your soul so that you can begin to produce real spiritual fruit in your life. Look you you if someone were to ask you, if you believe in christ you’d raise your hand, Yes, I believe. Yes, I’m a christian, I’m in church, I’m in community group I give but your life just seems a bit stale, phenomenal. Doesn’t seem like you’re growing much, it doesn’t seem like you’ve grown much in the past few years or so and your faith, you need to spend some time in prayer thinking about what does it look like to cultivate my own heart and mind for it to be saturated with God’s truth that I might bear fruit in him. And then the 3rd group you come here because you’re seeking rest in God, right? I don’t know what tomorrow is gonna bring. I don’t know what I’m gonna do next. I don’t know what’s available to me next. I need some rest in God. Guess what you are in the right place. God calls you, he extends his grace to you in christ spirit of God is able to lift those burdens. I was able to cause you to stand and to have the peace of God to get you through this season that you don’t think you can get through on your own, he’s able to carry you through it and you don’t have to go through it alone either. So whether you know you’ve you’ve been slow footing in and you need to be all in with christ man. It’s simple. You just need to repent. Whether you’re a little bit aware of the fact that you haven’t grown much in your faith. Let’s start digging. Let’s get that soil broken up so that the seed, the water spirit work deeply in your soul. And then lastly, God wants you to rest. He wants you to know that you don’t have to go through this next season alone. And then men, let us pray jesus. I thank you for your sacrifice. Are your miracles, not just because it displays your power over sin and the devil in this world, but because it demonstrates your heart for your people. God, we are thankful that you’ve given us a new year. But we know that we can do nothing apart from your grace apart from your presence, apart from you working in and through us. So God, we ask you to give us not only the rest. That our soul’s desire to give us not only the change that we hope for, but God make it even more clear and certain to us our salvation in christ your love for us and him and how we are your Children, because of him. May that be the solid ground that we stand on, May that be the mountain that we stand on as we sang this morning and the heaven that our heart rejoices in that you made us a part of your family God. We’re so thankful. This year 2023, the year of our Lord You reign. They glorified in and through this church they glorified in and through our families be glorified in and through the young souls that are in here. We pray this in christ name. Amen.
Good morning everyone merry christmas, we’re so excited to have you all here to get to worship. Um and just praise um our God together. Um on this christmas morning we’re gonna do something a little bit different this morning. I’m going to read through our passage for the day. So if everyone would please stand if you are able to um as we read um our christmas passage will be in Isaiah 53. So if you would open there with me and read along Isaiah 53 starting in verse one, who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed for he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hid their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has lain on him, the iniquity of us all, he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before it shears is silent. So he opened not his mouth by oppression and judgment. He was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death. Although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He had to, he has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt. He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied by his knowledge, shall the righteous one. My servant make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sins of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors, and that is the word of God y’all may be seated. Thank you Chloe Amen merry christmas church. Good morning, merry christmas show of hands! Did anyone spouse buy them a car this morning of a bow carbo, anyone no one, my car didn’t start this morning, had to jump it. I was, I was like, come on Annie, let’s see what happens, frozen, frozen battery. So it was great parents, don’t mind your kids this morning. Uh, we’re not worried about them. Uh, christmas is about kids and babies and noise and family and commotion. So it’s, it’s, it’s not a problem. Don’t worry about it. I, I appreciate kids, I appreciate your kids. Um, let me pray for our time. Is that okay Lord, I thank you for this morning. Thank you for the word of God in Isaiah 53 that we’re gonna look at today. I thank you for the power of the Word of God. I ask that the power of God would go out through the word of God Lord and convict and instruct and encourage the people of God this morning. Uh, this cold morning outside I prayed the word of God would be warm in our hearts. We have an affection for our brothers and sisters beside us and you’d use today in a mighty way in our lives. We just thank you for christmas, Thank you for today. Thank you for this church. Thank you for this passage. We can look at today. We just commit this time to you in jesus name Amen, I named this passage a thrill of hope. I was thinking about the anticipation, the wonder, the twinkle of you know of an excitement that is in kid’s eyes this time of year. It’s fun to think about christmas and process what christ has done through the eyes of a child. We have four young kids in our home and I want to start off of addressing a question that one of them asked me last week. They said dad, aren’t you one of the pastors, why are we having church on christmas morning? And I didn’t have a good answer. I I froze at dinner time and I just kind of blank stared my my kid and I thought, well let’s let’s address that question as a church. Why are we here as a church? Um, it’s natural for kids to have their eyes on themselves, their needs, their wants, their desires. That’s just a developmental indicator, indicator of your brain as it’s developing to focus from yourself and being very narcissistic to thinking of others and other people. It’s just part of your attention from self word focus to others focused. Um, an adult version of this is consumerism, which is a word that’s overused as a, as a, as an american society. We probably call this comfort culture. It’s where adults don’t grow out of that self centered view. Um they keep their eyes are prioritizing themselves and their needs and their wants, but why are we here? Why are we here? We’re not here to hear about these and those dues and don’t we’re not here to feel morally superior than other people. Why are we here as a sunday morning as they gathered people to look at God’s word. Why are we here? I propose to you, we’re here because we’re people that worship, we cannot help but worship kids worship themselves and whatever is under that tree at home, adults worship themselves and whether it’s parked in the driveway, we worship ourselves. So we’re so prone to worshiping ourselves as people and so why are we here? We’re here to get our eyes off ourselves and our eyes on christ and worshiping christ as christians, going to church when it’s convenient to worship God is good and holy and going to church when it’s inconvenient to worship is good and holy because all are worshiping this morning, all over the city of Lincoln and it’s very right and healthy for you to have your eyes off yourself onto the best thing you can look at this morning. The best gift for all of us which is christ. The point of christian worship is to focus our mind on christ and every sunday we gather as people we gather, we remind ourselves that we are worshipers and we focus our thoughts and our affections on God off of ourselves, our needs, our wants onto God, our culture is easily distracted any season, especially this season. Our culture is wrapped up in the wonder the work, the hustle of the holiday season is very appropriate for a mature believer to stop, settle their mind, take a short little bit of their day and think and focus on their thoughts on christ christians have been doing this for centuries, Augustine of hippo a theologian That lived and died in 430 A. D. said this about Christmas time, he said this he was created of a of a mother whom he created, he was carried by hands, who he formed, he cried in the manger in wordless, wordless infancy. He the word without whom all human eloquence is mute and J. I. Packer who died in the year 2020 and evangel evangelistic author and theologian wrote this. The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless baby born needing to be fed, changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering. It gets nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the incarnation of christ many women. This is this is this incarnation of christ christ joining us and being with us as people and bodily form, not just the humility of being a baby. Just the humility of being a person christ living and walking among us and his entrance on the scene of mankind has been pondered and thought about and worshiped by by men and women for centuries. This is very appropriate for us to gather and focus our thoughts on christ the whole bible is about christ. If you if you pick up your bible and you think about what is this book about the old testament. This part of your bible is about the anticipation of christ the gospels, Matthew, Mark luke and john about the incarnation of christ, the epistles about the explanation of christ. And then the very last book, the revelation is about the glorification of christ. This whole book, your whole bible, the central theme of your entire bible is christ and so how it came to the scenes. A man is stunning. Isaiah 53 is a stunning testimony about christ, the gospels is known as the Divinely inspired A book that tells us about jesus Isaiah. 53 scholars say is one of the first gospels. It’s a divinely inspired book that tells us about jesus Isaiah said 53 is the scholars say sufficient. You can look at Isaiah 53 have a sufficient explanation of the gospel to save sinners. There’s famous puritan preachers who preached 100 and 50 some sermons on this one chapter alone, I will not preach 150 sermons, I’ll not preach 100 50 minutes. I will keep it short. Kids raise your hand. Kids, if you’ve not opened your presents yet this morning, can you raise your hands for me. Kids, kids who have not opened their presents yet this morning. Hang in there, kids, hang in there, this is a divinely inspired text that has many scholars have spoken on many christian mountains, you know, it’s the Mount Everest of the bible. Scholars say it’s the most central, deepest and loftiest that scriptures ever attained. Martin Luther says that all people should memorize Isaiah 53 We find a comprehensive description of the cross in this one chapter we see a stunning prediction of a very complex and precise um life that Christ lived. This has written 700 years before Christ injured this scene. This chapter, Isaiah 53 has written 700 years before Jesus was born 700 years earlier. As this book was written, there’s no chapter with its equal in the new testament that is sourced has highly as this chapter, every single new testament, writer sources, Isaiah 53 when they want to better understand who christ is, this is a very key part of your bible and I’m not being into numbers and chapter breakouts, but I found this amazing scholars say that there’s out of the chapters in the whole book of Isaiah 39 focus on God’s judgment and 27 focus on God’s salvation. They’re like, okay, which perfectly marries the books in the bible. There’s nine chapters that focus on the salvation of Israel nine chapters that focus on the salvation of sinners and there’s nine chapters that focus on the salvation of the universe and the middle chapter on those salvation on sinners. The middle verse in Isaiah 53 verse six, summarizes the entire book of Isaiah and the entire bible all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The main idea of the book of Isaiah 53 and the whole purpose of the whole Bible is how can sinners be made right with God? Every single religion on the planet attempts to answer this question. How can people be made right with God? How can you be made right with God? The Book of Isaiah 53, this chapter robustly answers that question. Its audience is a future. People looking back at the, at seeing what happened to christ and what christ has done for his people. You see this elsewhere in Zechariah 12 10 through 12 through 13 1 when it says they look on him whom they pierced it is the people looking back at what has happened, He was, he had, he grew, he bore he was his own way. They’re looking back it’s an audience looking back at what has happened with christ. If you look over page 3 56 in the house bibles, it is people looking back at what has happened to christ. So there’s there’s several sections, I’d like to give you some some some handling on how to handle this passage, Isaiah 53, the first three verses, we can group them together. The first three verses, we see we see a scorned Savior. They’re looking on him before their salvation a scorned savior who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? They have a scorned view of their savior. They do not view him like believers. They view him as unbelievers. How can people, people will be right with God. These people had a score and a view of their savior. There was grief over those who had missed christ in these first three verses, Jesus. Every time he walked into a room or walked into the city, he banished illness from Israel during his duration was three years of ministry. He healed every imaginable disease. He fed masses. He raised the dead, he cast out demons. He had control over nature. Jesus was just showing his authority over the natural, the unnatural, the spiritual, the seen and the unseen realm of Israel. We’ve been looking at that as a church through the book of luke the last few years. You see in their phrase, the arm of the Lord, the Arm of the Lord. It’s an expression of divine power. The people of Israel saw everything Jesus did everything he said, all the signs and wonders and miracles and all of his authority flex on all of the controlling forces of humanity and they missed him. They scorned their savior. They missed it. Why did they reject him? Why did they miss it? And why were they scorning their savior. Look at Verse two, for he grew up before him like a young plants and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form of beauty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. They were looking for someone to beat back the occupation of Rome. They were looking for a new world order and earth shaker. They’re looking for a leader of a rebellion, a political leader of warrior king. And that is not the theme of christ’s First Coming. That’s the theme of christ’s second coming advent. One is a meek and mild savior who came here to seek and save the loss advent to is christ coming as a warrior king to completely dismantle the whole entire power structure of this entire world. The roman occupation, government publicly shamed christ. He grew up from a hick town called Nazareth. For people there were associated uneducated, impoverished with a drawl. They were known as very poor, illiterate people in the city of Nazareth. He was a scorned savior. Verse three. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrow, acquainted of grief and of one of whom men hide their faces. He was, he was despised and we esteemed him not, he was held, this was held in total contempt by his culture. He’s found himself of non influential fishermen. These people were not prestigious, wealthier, thought highly of these fishermen were thought very lowly of. He had no influential friends and followers know nothing trending on social media. He’s famous. He was famous. He had no famous pedigree or influential wealthy family he came from even as entering the scenes of mankind was missed. He was raised by poor, illiterate people. His, his scandal attached to his birth story, the way he was born, the place he was born just in poverty and not even in a, not even a house of brick and mortar, but out in a, in a shed bar and cave thing. Even the people that found him, shepherds were considered like riff raft. Unl a jit emit witnesses in court, shepherds were considered like sketchy conman people that couldn’t hold down a normal 9 to 5 job got sent out to watch animals. Shepherds were not prestigious people. They were, they were the lowest of the people, jewish leaders shamed christ jewish leaders called him the hanged one, the legitimate child, let his name be blotted out. We esteemed him, not jesus was canceled by his culture. Jesus was rejected by his friends and family. Jesus was rejected by the people of influence and prestige in his world. For years, the jewish rabbis would not read this passage of their bible in the synagogues because it screams out jesus christ. The entire chapter was omitted for years. Post jesus death. It reminds me of that song we sang O holy Night when it first was written, it was written in a very contentious part of our american society and when it first came out, the third stand that was emitted by a majority of churches in the south truly, he taught us to love one another. His law is love and his gospel is peace chains shall he break? For the slave is our brother and in his name all oppression shall cease your like. That has nothing to do with christmas, but everything to do with what was happening in society at this time. This was written jewish rabbis avoided and admitted this passage of the bible after christ’s death, he was a scorned savior. He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows acquainted with grief. He was despised. If you find yourself engulfed with sorrow and grief this christmas morning, knowing that I know that you have a savior, that is empathy and sympathy and you can speak with with your sorrow and grief of authority because he also lived a rejected despised life, Jesus says the people come to me who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon yourself and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light, Jesus was a scorned savior. He was a man that was accustomed to a hard life an impoverished life a rejected life. This is how people view christ pre salvation and then verses four through nine, we see a substitute savior. We see a view of him in the hour of our salvation. The bible talks about substitution substitution. Eri Sacrificial atonement, how christ satisfied God’s law. He took the wrath of God the punishment of God that we deserved. God took and poured it out on the life of jesus christ when he hung on the cross and God gave grace to humble centers and punished his perfect son. Surely he was born on griefs, he carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken spending by God and afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our inequities and upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed, jesus body was brutally dismantled and brutally tortured and everyone in Israel saw what happened to christ on this peak traffic holiday season when he was crucified all we like sheep have gone a strain. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was pierced, he was crushed, he was scourged and this is the perceptive of all who follow christ. They shift from being a scorned savior to uh a substitute savior. They get that transaction that happened on the cross because in this culture at this time the jews would come together, they would confess their sins onto animals and those animals would be sacrificed and the wrath of God. We put onto that sacrificial animal and that animal would be crushed and the Wrath of God would go on to that animal and not them. And the blood of the animal spilt. Spilt was a substitution. Every example of what would future coming. The perfect messiah, The perfect sacrifice would come and right away the sins of the whole world. The jewish cultures get that. We have probably not seen an animal sacrifice or killed the last couple of weeks. So we have to realize that this is written to a different audience, a jewish audience when they saw a pierce chastised crushed savior, there’s a substitute that happened on the cross Verse six talks about sheep string. My father raised sheep. He still has sheep sheep string. We have to build some pretty strong fences because sheep have a way of just wandering off and dying. I think the words were chosen carefully in the bible. Even careful, more careful than any pastor in the city of Lincoln are choosing words this morning, sheep strength. It’s what sheep do. The whole concept that I’m only human human sin, it’s what humans do and humans as we sin. We earn the punishment in the wrath of God when I do wrong things when I sin, when I say things I shouldn’t say when I do things I shouldn’t do. When I don’t say things, I should say when I don’t do things I should do. Those are called since I’ve lied, I’ve cheated. I’ve steeled you’ve lied. You’ve cheated. You steal you dishonor your parents, you’ve coveted that car in the parking lot of your neighbor’s house. You’ve covered it. We’ve you get we are sinners and we are building up wrath and punishment and christ came and he lived the perfect life as a substitute savior for us. That he could take the place that we rightfully deserved were people. That’s what people do. People send. People violate God. People miss the mark and christ is our savior. That’s what our savior does. He comes and he fills that void and pays that wrath that we owe Second Corinthians 5 21 says we implore you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God for our sake. He made him to be sin. Who knew no sin that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Just an eternal infinite person took the full wrath of God of all the men and women on this planet to pay the price for sins for eternity. He’s your substitute savior. If you you receive that gift, that substitute vs 10 and 11 these verses talk about a satisfied savior. It’s a view of him on their hour of salvation. How christ shall see and be satisfied, jesus job is to justify the wicked and jesus excellent as his work at declaring wicked people righteous. It is the work of God to redeem wicked men and women. We see christ as a satisfied savior. verses 10 and 11 verses 12, we see a supreme savior, a view of him with a glorified God and exalted Emmanuel worshiping. Why does this matter? How can how can a sinner be made right with God? Why does this matter on christmas morning we all have an opportunity to unwrap the gift of a christ who was scorned, who has substituted our place of punishment for us, Who’s fully satisfied the wrath of God and is satisfied with his work of saving us and who was a supreme savior, A sovereign savior. Who knows how to save people? Why does christmas morning happen? And why does it matter? Because at christmas morning christ entered the scene of mankind, Isaiah 7 14 says therefore the Lord will give you a sign and behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and he shall call his name immanuel, which means God with us. But God is not gonna be with everyone universally God is only with those who have received this gift as savior, who has a moment in their life where they confess that they are sinners, they scorned their savior and they think they’re if they don’t have christ as a substitute for their sins, they are the subsidy for their sins and they make that shift from them crawling off the altar of a non perfect center to letting a perfect christ step on the altar and take the wrath of God, Isaiah 96 is four to us, a child is born and to us, a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful counselor, almighty God, everlasting father prince of peace. Why does christmas matter? We need christ to save all of us and we can’t miss that. If we miss that, we’ll miss everything. Many women christmas is about christ coming and dying for you. If you, you have to confess your sins, repent and receive him as your savior church. When you see clarity of christ and his motivation for coming, it’s very compelling clarity for christ is key to our change from an unbeliever to a believer from no religious affiliation to one religious affiliation, from an, from an atheist to a theist, from an agnostic to a true believer. When you see christ, it’s incredibly complex, compelling and there’s a compelling picture of christ laid out in Isaiah 53 you see a savior who is on a mission for you, john Charles Wesley wrote a very famous song veiled in flesh. The Godhead see held the incarnate deity pleased as man with him with men to dwell, jesus christ, Emmanuel Amen Yeah, Amen, let’s pray God, thank you for this morning, Thank you for thank you for christmas, thank you for this being a planet that has been visited and I thank you that you’re not done and you’re coming back, I ask that you would just really help us to do business with you this morning. God, we just commit our time to you in jesus name. We pray. Amen.
I’m gonna read the passage, pray and then we’re gonna get into the teaching. So well you stand your feet, I’m gonna read this passage for us this morning again. This is closing out paul’s letter to the colossians Church, It’ll be verses 10 through 18 I’m sorry. Um yeah 10 through 18 to close out this letter um by the way, if you’re uh young and married and thinking about having kids here are some great names that you can consider, we’re gonna read them. Um they’re biblical names right there in the bible. So um looking for some names for your kids, some strong, you know, greek names here. Um anyway let’s read the passage Again, beginning in verse 10 Aris star kiss my fellow prisoner greets you and mark the cousin of Barnabas concerning whom you have received instructions If he comes to you, welcome him and jesus who is called justice. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God. And they have been a comfort to me who is one of you. A servant of christ, jesus greets you always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God for I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in and here ah polis luke. The beloved physician greets you as does dimas give my greetings to the brothers at leo antonym fa and the church in her house and when this letter has been read among you have it also read in the church of the And see that you also read the letter from Leo decia and say to our capisce, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I paul write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains, grace be with you church, that is the word of the Lord. Let us pray father, thank you for this letter. Thank you for the wisdom of christ that comes to us and this written form and thank you for this opportunity to come and gather in the name of christ to be strengthened in christ for the purpose of showing this world christ. And I pray father that you would help me um to teach your word faithfully this morning and I pray God, you would give us ears to hear what the spirit wishes to encourage us with, to equip us with and to speak to us pray this in jesus name, Amen, Amen church, you may be seated. The end of the letter is typically the time when we as christians take the liberty to jump forward to skip forward in our reading plans, we check that off saying I finished this book even though we didn’t quite read all of the names and what seems insignificant towards the end. Right. Some of you do that, some of you are like. No, that’s not me, man, I’m faithful to the Lord to read every word, even the ones I can’t pronounce right. But in this, this conclusion of the letter, paul highlights his team, He introduces his team and he lists more names here in colossians than in almost any other letter that he writes. Except for his letter to the roman church. He says, essentially, meet the team. And so the title for this morning’s teaching is meet the team, meet the team. And the goal for this morning is to help you to see that Christianity is a team sport. Christianity is a team sport for those of you who follow sports and you follow basketball, professional basketball in particular. Some of you you don’t have to follow professional sports or professional basketball to be a member here at sore. We still love you, right? We still recognize you as being a member of the team. But bear with me for a few moments, for those of you who do follow you probably are. That there is a debate about who is the greatest basketball player to play the game up until this point in history, right? And everyone knows that Michael Jordan is the goat, right? Not Lebron James, not anybody else, right? It is Michael Jordan. We all know that, right? You heard it here on this stage from Pastor dan. Therefore, it must be gospel. But here’s the thing about Michael Jordan when he began his professional basketball career. He tried to do everything for the Chicago bulls and he he racked up all of the stats, he scored a lot of points, he grabbed a lot of rebounds, he had a lot of us is a lot of stills, he did everything for the team. But the Chicago bulls were mediocre, they were mediocre because a great player tried to do everything for the team. You know, what happens when great players try to do everything for the team? The team is mediocre. Why? Because other players on the team don’t know their role, don’t understand their role or their value to the team until we have this dynamic. You sitting here this morning, you hear a title of a sermon entitled Meet the Team and me saying that Christianity is a team sport, and you wonder what does this have to do with me? Well, likely you’re one of those two types of people, one who tries to do everything for the team, or one who doesn’t quite yet understand your role on the team and you need to know your role on the team. And so this message has bearing for every single one of us who wants to be a member in Christchurch, who wants to be a part of what God is doing in the earth, We need to know what God has called us to do and we need to learn how to do it in the context of a team because it’s in the context of a team where God is most glorified, he’s most glorified in the context of a team When he made the man adam, he said for the first time, it is not good, he needed a companion. So God is most glorified in the context of the team. Secondly, in the context of the team, we grow the most we mature the fastest if hearts are in the right place, but it provides the context for the most growth and maturity to take place in the context of the team. And as we are growing and maturing in the context of that team, our roles, the place that God has called us to step into the gifts of talents, the abilities that God has gifted us with. They make the most sense and the community, the team helps us to see it assures us in, it helps us to walk in it. And so paul written his letter to the church in colossi closing this letter, he pulls back the curtain he says, here is the team. And by by the way, as he introduces his team, we see something that’s really significant about this team. There are jews and gentiles on this team. The first three names he gives us are jewish christians who love christ who aren’t ashamed of their jewish heritage, but yet they see christ as the fulfillment of all of those promises and they love christ and they want christ to be preached all over the world and therefore they’re able to celebrate the three gentile members of the team that paul mentions later as being equally valuable to the team, only christ can do that unite people different backgrounds, different ethnicities, social status is young and all coming together united in him. He built his team around him around the Gospel, around his truth and every member has a part to play. Every member is significant because Christianity is a team sport, it’s a team sport, we together put on display the glory of God, we together witness to the power of the Gospel. Now, individually we can do that individually, you can do some good things, but not as far, not as much, not as great of an impact as collectively we doing it together can and that’s the lesson that Michael Jordan had to learn playing for the Chicago bulls. When he pulled back, stopped trying to do everything and allow other guys on the team to fulfill a role. They became unstoppable, they became a dynasty. It became one of the most difficult teams to beat ever in the history of the game and even his individual talent went to another level. So some of you might be aware of your gifts and your talents and you may be trying to actively step into it. But I’m telling you in the context of a team and you learning to love being on a team and being a part of a team and seeing other members of the team contribute. You have the greatest potential to accelerate your growth and impact by being on that team and allowing others to play their part, the apostle paul is no different. He is looking to jesus as the ultimate leader of the team and he celebrates the fact that there are other members on his team. He says that aristocracy is my fellow prisoner. Now we don’t know if he’s actually a prisoner with paul, we know paul is in chains, he may be a fellow prisoner with paul, but paul, this brother right here is so important to me, he’s right here with me through my ups and downs through my bondage here, he’s right here with me and I couldn’t do the things without his constant encouragement to me, things that God is calling him to do that encouragement to do. It likely came from a brother like this who wouldn’t leave his side even though he was in chains. So paul pulls the curtain back, he shows us his team and likely there are other members of the team that he doesn’t mention in the previous verses, recovered them last week, he mentioned a few other people that were also a part of the team in paul understood this, that jesus was about his kingdom of people being united in christ alone and so paul celebrates that he’s happy to have these guys play a part, be a part, he understands he can only get so far, but with these guys man, they can accomplish a lot, there’s a couple of names that are worth mentioning. He mentions Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. If you’re familiar with the Book of Acts, you know that there was a sharp disagreement between paul and Barnabas over over Mark Paul felt that that Mark was someone that didn’t really need to be on the team because when the temperature rose, when the battle intensified, Mark had bailed on them in the past. And so paul was not willing to bring Mark along again. And in the process, paul and Barnabas who were best of buds who were teammates, had a sharp disagreement and had to go separate ways. But something happened, something changed in paul, something changed in Mark and here we are, the two of them are together working on the same team and that happens in the context of a team. We’ve got individual personalities, we’ve got preferences. We’ve we’ve got experiences, we’ve we’ve got ideas on how we think something ought to be done. And in the process, it can create some tension. It can create some conflict again because glorifying God is our ultimate goal, The father’s glory christ, being honored. Somehow. We figure it out. We come back together, we grow through that conflict and we see the value of each member on the team. So paul, something has changed in him and he recognizes the value of Mark and something has changed in Mark something to such a point to where Mark eventually developed a prominent ministry, he led a prominent ministry in Rome of course she is the author of the Gospel of Mark, the last name, Justice or jesus who was actually a pretty popular name. And so that’s all you need to know about that, we’ll move on from there. But these three men that paul identifies as being from the circumcision, meaning that they were jews, the men that love, jesus love the gospel, going to all peoples. So paul preaching, writing to the colossians talking about this Gospel, going to all peoples, showing that the gospel is uniting even jew and gentile on his team and then he gets to his gentile teammates and pathways we know planted the church here, but isn’t presently there, but as paul says, has a prayer request or he makes known to paul and to the rest of the team, his prayer for the church in colossi and it’s that they might stand mature, fully assured in all the will of God actually he says that you may stand mature and the US poor, right. It’s poor, it’s all of the church in colossi that they might stand mature and fully assured in the will of God. Now this is a theme throughout this book. This idea of standing or walking and being mature. In fact paul begins this letter talking about his prayer in terms of the maturity or the walking and the fullness of the understanding of what christ had done for them. And now paul is reiterating, impoverishes prayer to Orr of Orr and about the church in colossi look, it’s in the context of community where these disciples are most likely to progress and move towards maturity. It’s in the context of being on a team, pursuing a common goal, pursuing it, willing to play your part, willing to sacrifice, that makes it possible for them to be fully mature. They’re gonna grow as they work together in pursuing christ and guess what as they are working together, they can see when one member of the team is separating from the rest of the team and they’re able to say, hey wait, don’t go there, come back, stay here, this is the goal, this is what we are after, we’re after this type of disciple, one that glorifies God and everything that he or she does that’s not glorifying to God. Back over here, man, come on, you know, we love you, but you gotta get back over, it’s in that context and they can have conversations about why that doesn’t glorify God, why we do things a certain way, why we want to be faithful to the scriptures and all things, here’s how the scriptures apply to that situation. It’s in that context of community where we grow you know what if one of you were to be placed in a cave for six months, no human contact, just you, your bible and somehow angels or birds delivered your your breakfast, lunch and dinner to you. All right? But let’s say you were indicated by yourself six months, you and your bible and all you do is read your bible and pray. I guarantee you at the end of those six months you’ve come out very weird, very weird, weird ideas. Why? Because you haven’t had human feedback say man, look, that’s weird bro. You shouldn’t think that. You shouldn’t say that you shouldn’t act that way. Here’s what the word of God says, man. This is how you ought to understand that passage, man. You’re getting really, really weird here because we were made for a relationship beginning with God and then with one another. Our God is the perfect illustration of unity and fellowship and diversity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit one True God. And so he builds a people that same type of unity. And as we start doing life together, we start to grow up. We start to mature as we start to walk this out together, we can help each other. We can point things out, we can be accountable to one another. We can encourage one another, We can support one another when times are hard or when we’re dealing with painful situations and circumstances in our lives, we become the body and we realize that every single member is important. Every single member. Every single member has a part to play. We mature in that context. This is the path prayer for them is that they would stand mature, fully assured that the will of God, It reminds you of what paul wrote to the Ephesians in church, which that letter is much like this letter and said that that they would mature into one full man meaning christ, that the teaching would bring them to that, but that they in walking out that teaching would become one mature man, jesus. The world would see jesus through us walking together, living out his truth together, holding each other to that truth, the world would see jesus there are his disciples right there. So God’s glory, more of God’s glory is revealed in the context of the team community, the church, the body and we individual members mature faster in that context. And lastly, every member has a part to play. Every member has a part to play. He says, give my greetings to the brothers at and two Ninfa and the church in her house. And then he says in verse 17, say to our typists, see that you fulfill the ministry that you received in the Lord. It’s interesting that highlights uh these two into these two individuals ninfa, probably a gift of hospitality, probably had the resources to host the church. And then our typists probably having some ministry calling and ability on his life and paul wants to encourage them, paul wants them to know that their parts on the team, that it’s not overlooked. It’s not missed. It’s not forgotten that they matter to God, that what they do is significant to this work of seeing the Kingdom of God be expressed on this planet, to highlight that greek, to let her know that the rest of the church, the rest of the kingdom, has heard about what she’s doing, how she’s opened her house for people to be disciple in that context, to mature in that context and then say to our typists, see to it that you fulfill the ministry that you’ve received in the law. We’re not sure who our campuses. Maybe he’s one of the elders here, Maybe not. Maybe he’s a young believer who’s not sure of his calling, who’s doubting his calling, doubting whether or not he’s got what it takes, what it takes to walk in that calling. And paul says, let him know that he’s been called. That encouraged him to fulfill that calling. That’s your job as the church. To make sure that every member in the church is aware and is stepping into what God has called them into and to encourage them in that maybe he’s discouraged. Maybe he thinks that his leadership is failing whatever the case may be your job, your job is the church member is hurting when a member is discouraged, when a member is doubting, encouraged, encouraging, help them step into their calling to fulfill their purpose. I used this illustration in the first service. So I have to do it in the second service. Women care more about their toes than men do until it really counts. Like women will take care of their toes, make them look pretty different colors and things like that. Right? Guys will neglect their toes until they hurt until we stub a toe. Then we realize, oh, there’s some toes down there and we need to take care of them, right? Until we get a toe that’s turned back into itself and is digging into the skin and into the foot and we can’t walk. Now we realize, oh, toes are important. Well, ladies have already thought about that, right? They’ve trimmed them, they’ve kept them nice and nice and neat and, and so the toe, it’s important to them. Let the toe needs to look good, the guy. No man, it’s a toe, you wanna put it in the shoe, You know what? I’m thankful that God uses the body as an analogy for every member and having a part to play. Some of us can have a guy mentality about our part to play. Like you don’t matter until it hurts and God, God wants you to not have that kind of mindset as you think about your part to play your role in the body, that you are significant. No matter how little or small, you think your part is to play it matters, it’s important, it matters to your community group, your presence, when you serve you ask questions when you speak up, it matters. And it matters to the rest of the group, when something happens to you and you’re not there. Sometimes we look at the person that doesn’t speak a whole lot in the group. And and and we we look at that person and some people who are the opposite of that person who like to talk in a group. They they look at them and they they see strength. And then the person who doesn’t talk much looks at the person who talks the most and thinks that that strength and that’s why we need to have a community conversation because we need to say no, we need you to speak up more and we need you to speak less and then we mature, right? Is that not the reality? Your presence matters what you have to offer to this church, It matters. It’s important to God. God is building a church. He’s building a people for his glory. The gospel comes to you as an individual, but it brings you into a family. I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to leave any member of my family behind. And I know that’s the heart of God. I know he wants you to play your ball. I know that you matter to him. I know you matter you matter so much, that jesus went to the cross and bled for you, that you might receive all of the father’s law and whatever part you have to play. You know like the little kid who starting out with their drawings, right? What parent looks at their two year olds, drawings and things? Well, you know, he’s gonna be a Picasso someday. I mean he’s an artist, right? I think so. I didn’t plan to say that Anyway, you’re proud of what he has to offer. You’re proud. You put your confidence in christ and you step up to the plate and you take a swing because you’re trusting him this problem, he’s proud. Christianity is a team sport together. We reflect more of God’s glory together, we mature and grow faster together, we learn to play our parts. Well, God is glorified because of it. The last thing I want to mention, there’s another name, verse 14 dimas which is short for demetrius, He’s mentioned again in the Bible and 2nd Timothy 4 10 paul says that dimas, it’s one of the saddest, saddest verses that you could read in the bible says that he because of a love for the world had left or departed from paul. And the team, satan wants nothing more than for you to leave the team to think that you have no value you to think that you have no worth for you to think that the little thing that you do doesn’t matter, they would want nothing more than for you to think that way and to leave. But that’s not God’s heart, you matter. You need to know that when you wrestle with what is my place on this team, what do I have to offer? You need to know that that’s a natural part of growing and maturing in the faith that you come to a place where you start to want to contribute but not know really what it is or how you’re supposed to contribute. That’s a natural part of your growth in christ that you wrestle with that in this context. Where we get that sorted out, when we figure it out where we encourage one another, but we help each other to find our place so that we can thrive in christ and together bring him the most glory. Amen. Hey man, I want to leave you one question before I close, who’s on your team? Who are you working with to bring the most glory to God. If you’re married, it better be your spouse. It’s not we’ve got problems, You’ve got some problems and we need to talk. But think family, think in terms of this community here, think about the people of God’s place in your life, how can we work together as a team to bring glory to christ in the city. Amen. Amen Father in heaven, we want you to be glorified. We want you to be glorified in this church. God in our families got in every sphere of influence that you’ve given us. We want you to be glorified. God make us wise in this, make us God faithful and diligent in this. God. Give us endurance in this and God most importantly, give us a deep, deep love for one another, the love of christ spilling over into our relationships. We see one another as being members of his body, precious in your sight. So God, would you do all these things the name of jesus? We pray. Amen.
now that ties into our teaching this morning in colossians chapter four verses two through nine. You can go ahead and open your bible there, but this Sam being one of our community group leaders. We gather monthly with our community group leaders and we do some teaching there. It’s a little bit of iron sharpening iron. We want to help equip those guys to be more effective leaders within their community groups. But we’re also looking for guys who might aspire someday to to be an elder, someday to be a church planter or someday just someone who wants to be a part of a new plant that God may do in this area or in the surrounding area. And so we’re thankful for men like Sam who have have answered that call to want to go since the call and want to answer that call to go and see God do a new work. And so this whole church in colossians began because of the path, he was a man that paul reached in Ephesus, he was probably from colossi, but he was reaching the Ephesus and he went back to Colossi and planted a church gospel centered church and the church had come under attack. The church had come under the influence of some false teaching over time. And so paul then writes this letter to help win the hearts of the people back to christ in the absence of a path for those who probably rejoin paul or another missionary group to plant more churches. And so this whole letter is centered around this very idea of what we’re hoping to see become a reality through the Larson family, through the relationship with country bible there uh in the Hickman area. So be praying for that God is so good. And we just trust that God whatever happens there, that God will be glorified through this whole process of pursuing this gospel opportunity. Amen man. Now, I wanna invite you to stand with me. I want to read the passage that I wanna read it in your standing in your hearing. If you’re able to stand, please stand with us as we read the Word of the Lord again, this is colossians. Chapter four verses two through nine continue steadfastly in prayer. Being watchful in it with thanksgiving at the same time pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear. Which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer. Each person will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I’ve sent him to you for this very purpose that you may know how we are, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts and with him, our faithful and beloved brother who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Church as the word of the Lord. Let’s pray father, thank you for your word. Thank you God that you are still planting churches, raising up disciples. You’re still in the process, God of sending out your people to be salt and light in the world and this world desperately needs the truth of christ to be proclaimed in it and for your people to adequately represent him faithfully. Stand for him and speak for him as the body of christ here on this earth and God, we aspire to be such a people. But we need your help. We need your word to be clear to us. We need your spirit to work mightily in us. And so would you help me this morning to teach it with clarity as I ought to speak. And would you help us as a people to embrace your word and to walk in it as we ought to walk in it and pray this in christ’s name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. But if you’d like to stand, you’re welcome to do that as well because I was contemplating a title for today’s message. The word seasoned with salt or the phrase season with salt caught my attention. So I was reflecting on this passage this morning and teaching this passage and thinking about the title and being seasoned with salt. And the image of the Salt Bay came to mind you guys know who the Salt Bay is. He’s not worth looking up. I’ll just explain to you what he did. Alright, He’s this famous chef, he does this little deal with his with his knives, he cuts up the beef, and then at the end he takes salt and he kind of lets it Sprinkle down from his forearm onto the meat. And so he developed this name, the Salt Bay, and he’s always doing it with sunglasses and a white t shirt. I don’t know why, I mean, you think bloody meat, sunglasses, indoors and sprinkling salt on the meat. That just wouldn’t come together. But that’s his whole persona. And then when I thought about that as a title for this message, I said that’s probably inappropriate. We’re not going to be talking about the Salt Bay anymore. So what would you call this message? Well, when I’m thinking about what paul is after in this message, and think about the people, he commends, I think about how this church began. It’s clear to me that paul believes that the church needs to take on a particular mindset that the the church here in colossi needed to have the mindset that God used the faithfulness of certain brothers and sisters to see this church began. And God also intends to use their faithfulness in proclaiming the Gospel to win others to christ. And that’s a message for us today too, that God used someone’s faithfulness to christ and to the gospel so that you might be here and God intends to use your faithfulness to christ and his gospel so that others will also join you here. And so when I think about this passage this morning, I think it’s appropriate for us to understand that we’re called to be salt and in this dark world, somebody needs to pass the salt but not be salty, someone needs to pass the salt but not be salty salt in the sense of an attractive testimony to christ, attractive testimony to the goodness of christ, the holiness of christ, the worthiness of christ lies that reflect his worthiness, his goodness, his holiness. Salty. On the other hand, you’re just unnecessarily angry and bitter all the time. God wants us to be salt in this earth, but not salty. So pass the salt, but don’t be salty. And when you look at the first couple of verses, verses two all the way through four paul is calling the colossians to be watchful in prayer. He’s calling them to be watchful in prayer for the purpose of the mission that we as a people have been called to. So he says in verse two, continue steadfastly in prayer. Now he has to say that because we are tempted than not be steadfast in prayer to not continue in prayer. Now, if someone were to ask you should you be steadfast in prayer, your response would be yes, I am to be steadfast in prayer. If someone were to ask you should you pray as a christian, you say yes, we should pray as a christian and then life hits you and then you wake up in the morning and life is hitting you and then by noon you have realized you haven’t even prayed and then by evening you say man, I’m gonna pray before I go to bed and then life hits you some more and then the whole day has passed you by and guess what you haven’t done all day long, You have not prayed. Has that ever happened to anyone? And so when paul says, continue steadfastly in prayer, his intent is not to heap guilt upon your condemnation upon you, but it is to make you aware of the reality that you need to be a person in prayer. But why why do you need to be a person in prayer? Well, the whole book is about the supremacy of christ the God, man who came, who restored us back to the Father. That’s what the gospel tells us, making atonement for our sins, making it possible for our sins to be forgiven. Now we have this relationship with the Father because of christ because we’ve been joined with christ, there’s a union with christ. And now prayer is the most gracious privilege that could be given to us God. Our father leaves in our direction, waits for us to open our mouths towards him. You should pray because it’s a wonderful privilege. It’s an incredible grace. It reveals the amazing benefits of a relationship with the God of the cosmos. He says continue in it be stead fast in it. Don’t let life push you and and distract you from this amazing privilege that you’ve been given I heard and I’m struggling to recall the all the details so I want to be careful here. But there were tests done on how many times a person touches their cell phone in a day it’s like thousands of times. It gets to the point where it becomes like a psychological effect on the soul where people would have these phantom vibrations that they would feel in their pocket like their phone isn’t even notifying them of a response but they think it is they then my phone and they pull it out and they look at no notification but it felt like a notification. Like they’ve been so trained by we can’t stop touching that little device. I wish we were like that in prayer. I wish I was like that in prayer always in it never ceasing to pray. Always thinking of him as he said in chapter three having this mindset, this heavenly mindset always being mindful of him and as we looked at last week in terms of the heavenly mindset being mindful that heaven has a view of us that we matter to God, that God leans in our direction, open your mouth, pray to him so he says, continue steadfastly in prayer, it says be watchful in it with thanksgiving. He wants you to be aware that it’s gonna take a little bit of effort to continue steadfastly in prayer and then he wants it to have an effect on you that it would make you watchful with thanksgiving, watchful in the sense that you might be alert. It’s the same word in the sense that your eyes are open, that you are not asleep. He uses the same reference in Ephesians 6 18 peter uses the same verb in first peter 58 and it has to do with this being alert being sober minded eyes open. Who says you gotta do a little bit of work to be faithful to be steadfast in prayer and he wants it to have this effect, that your eyes would be open. And then he says with thanksgiving. Now it’s possible you could make an application here for spiritual warfare, you can make an application for, you know, just praying for God to answer a prayer, desire of yours for an opportunity, work for an opportunity if you’re a single person for a spouse. Um it’s possible you could apply it in that way, but here is the context verse three that a door would be opened for the word. So paul not only thinks we should pray, we should work at praying, that it it should take a little bit of effort out of us. And as christians, we shouldn’t hear that in a legalistic way, but in the sense that it’s a great privilege to us to pray to God. But it takes a little bit of work and in it our eyes should be open, we should be filled with thanksgiving and we should be thinking about gospel opportunities, gospel opportunities, watchful alert with thanksgiving. He’s mentioned Thanksgiving throughout Chapter three, he’s mentioned it in the context of what Christ has done for us in terms of our salvation. He’s mentioned it in the context of our worship. He’s mentioned it in the context of our serving and now he’s mentioning it in the context of prayer and gospel opportunity, being thankful so powerful, especially when you consider The one writing this letter, Paul, As he says at the end of Chapter three, he’s in prison, he’s in chains, let that sink in for a moment. He’s a prisoner. He’s a prisoner to the most powerful empire on the planet at that time. He’s not sure what his future is going to look like. If you were in that situation. I’m sure if you were a prisoner, you might have an awareness of all of the opportunity to be steadfast in prayer. And I’m guessing that your prayers would be what got to get me out of here every day God get me out of here, God get me out of here and that’s okay to pray and I’m sure paul prayed that, I’m sure paul asked others to pray that, I’m sure that’s on paul’s mind, but it’s not the only thing on his mind. In fact based on this letter and what he’s saying here, gospel opportunities are on his mind and then he says to do it with thankfulness, Are you kidding me? You know how many people? As soon as something bad happens to them, you know, they say, man, I’m trying to serve God, but as soon as this bad thing happens, why did God allow this to happen to me? I can’t believe God would allow this to happen to me. I’m trying to serve him and they turn their backs on the Lord. They have a moment where they were timeframe where they just indulge in and rebellion and sinfulness just kind of as a way in their own teenage hearts, you know, by teenage, I mean, spiritual teenage, right, not just numerical, but in terms of your maturity before the Lord in that moment, just acting out the rebellion is a way to kind of God didn’t seem to care. So I don’t seem to care. That’s not what paul is doing. He’s in prison wrongfully, his conditions, his circumstances are not ideal and yet he’s praying for gospel opportunities and is thankful, being thankful, think about what that does to us, Being thankful, Being thankful humbles us because it acknowledges that something good has been given to us. Something good has been made available to us. It opens our eyes as he says, being alert, being watchful to the grace of God and the goodness of God. Even in that situation, even in those circumstances, there is a humility and the opening of the eyes that you know what, even though things are bad, God is still good furthermore, because you are in this place of gratitude for your own salvation for the many blessings that are around you. It makes you ready to extend the same to others or to help others to see the same. And so it points you upward to God and his goodness and then it orients you to want to see others experience the same goodness. I love it. When paul was giving his defense to the roman rulers who would you know, they took him out of Jerusalem, there was a plot to kill him in Jerusalem and then they bring him and he’s presenting to these governors and he says to them, I wish that you were like me except for these chains for being a prisoner. I wish that all of you were like me knowing the goodness of God, knowing the God of the universe, his forgiveness of sin and being adopted into his family. I wish that you were all like me is what he said. Why? Because he had learned to be steadfast in prayer alert with thanksgiving, opened his eyes to gospel opportunities. There’s been a few times where I’ve had to just repent before the Lord about not seeing the gospel opportunities before me just this past week, there were, there’s so many of these gospel opportunities that were coming my way and I realized like man, I’ve been reading this passage, studying this passage, getting ready to preach this passage and I wasn’t thinking about the reality of living it up, being ready myself and it helped me to wake up and be able to step into some of those those opportunities. It’s a ball. He says, man, pray pray for us, pray that God would open a door for the word, he could have said, pray that God would open the door for me to get out of this prison cell that had happened before. Right, here’s his prey for the word, pray that an opportunity for the word would present itself that I would see it and I would declare the mystery of christ mystery as a theme he touches on throughout this book. We’ve covered that in previous chapters, in the unfolding of the fact that jesus the savior, this jewish man. It was also savior of the gentiles as well. And then in verse four, just that I might make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Don’t just gloss over that or fly by that last phrase there, this is the apostle paul God used him to write 2/3 of the new testament in terms of the epistles, he’s praying or he’s asking for prayer that he might make the gospel clear as he ought to speak. It. The foremost church planter of the first century is praying and asking for prayer to make the gospel clear as he ought to speak it. Have you ever prayed that? Has that ever been your prayer? It hasn’t, it needs to be done. Additionally, I wanna look at this some more. I mean by way of confession here, paul demonstrates that he is a human being like you and I who needs the gospel. He needs the gospel in order to be saved. He needs the power of God’s spirit, to be faithful to step into every gospel opportunity like you. And I need God’s spirit. He needs the spirit to help him to communicate it clearly not to be overtaken by his circumstances or his feelings of fear or whatever, or anger or whatever. Maybe, you know at play in the circumstance or situation he’s in. He needed that. So do we we need the same gospel that he preached and believed in. We need the same spirit to work in us, to be faithful to those opportunities and we need to be aware of our temptation to water down the gospel to be afraid of the gospel, to muddle the gospel. We need God to help us. He needed it. And so he asked for prayer. He asked for prayer for his team and by way of example, he’s saying we should be praying and asking for the same prayers that our eyes would be open and we’d be filled with thanksgiving that we would step into every gospel opportunity and to preach the gospel with great clarity. And then he moves on in verse five, verses two and four. He wants us to be watchful in prayer in verse five and six, he wants us to now walk in wisdom. We’re essentially to walk with a sense that what we’ve prayed for, God’s gonna give us opportunities to step into it. Very practical here. Sometimes our prayers aren’t practical, are they get a young person maybe praying a single person to be praying for purity. God help me to live pure walk out of that prayer session and do nothing to put in place the various restraints, accountability checks to walk in purity. Not very practical, are we? What does it say? It says, I’m I’m just not, I’m just a little ignorant or I’m just giving lip service to it. one of the two and paul here saying no, pray for these things and then be prepared for walking it and you need the wisdom of God to walk in it. This is a reference to his own prayer for the colosseum church in colossians 19 when he talks about, they’d be filled with the Holy spirit and all wisdom and knowledge and understanding. And then in verse 10 that they will walk, there will be a walking in christ that there would be a walk in a way that honors christ that is worthy of christ and that it’s pleasing to the Lord. And so when he says walk in wisdom, this isn’t an ambition. Uh, an ambiguous statement here of like any kind of wisdom will do, this is a walking in the Lordship of jesus christ. This is a walking in the one who is wisdom, jesus christ, This is a walking in union with him. This is a walking being mindful that everything you do glass in street with all your heart pleasing him, looking to please him. So when he says walk in wisdom toward outsiders, he’s not saying walk as a people pleaser towards outsiders, that’s Chapter 3: verse 22, where he says, that won’t do, but he’s saying walk and wisdom toward outsiders, demonstrating that your life belongs to jesus, that you live a life worthy of that name, that you represent him. No, immediately when we hear that our minds go to perfection because he is perfect and you will stumble and that’s why you need to be in prayer. But this walking and wisdom are walking with the Lord and in the Lord for outsiders ultimately is that commitment to making sure that your reputation, your conduct, your speech reflects jesus is Lord. So we’re to walk in him, we are to represent him among those outside the faith. Because your faithfulness. God wants to use your faithfulness, your faithfulness to christ your readiness to preach the gospel. God wants to use that to bring others to the Lord. You know, the word Angel means messenger. And part of the colosseum heresy is that some of this mystical religion involved the worship of angels or the worship of these messengers. Now they are God’s messengers, Those who are on the Lord’s side, those who are of the Lord’s, his particular host, right? They are his messengers, but they aren’t called to preach this Gospel. You know who is you and I were called to preach this Gospel were called to be the messenger. Even the word, you know, in terms of heralding the gospel and the whole term evangelical and you and Gillian all of that is the calling of people to preach the Gospel. Were called to preach the gospel to people God and sent angels here to do our work. Were called to preach the Gospel. So so he says, walk in wisdom toward these outsiders, not as people pleasers, not with eye service, but with the Lord as his agenda was his name, with his glory on your mind. And then he says, making the best use of the time, which could be read as seizing the opportunity that you’ve been praying for ready to seize it. Step into it with the Gospel, to lean into it with the Gospel because he then he leads into verse six saying, let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person as you talk about this gospel, as you talk about your faith in christ as you represent, christ as they become curious as to why you are willing to forgive them though they feel like they don’t deserve your forgiveness. You use it as an opportunity to say I’ve been forgiven and I did not deserve jesus made it possible for me to have forgiven. Now there’s also an application to apologetics and some other aspects of the faith there. But when you hear what he’s saying, the speech that is seasoned with salt, walking in wisdom towards outsiders, seizing the Gospel opportunity. He wants us to be mindful that we have a mission as a people that we are. We are ambassadors, were sons and daughters of a king and you don’t have to be a pastor. The herald the Gospel, Your job as an ambassador is to be a willing herald for every opportunity that presents itself. And so he says, be seasoned with salt. He didn’t say over season it with salt because we don’t want to be salty, right? But it needs salt, there’s a preserving aspect to salt. There’s a flavor that salt adds, There’s a lot of qualities that salt brings to the table salt, man, there’s so many benefits to it. But you don’t want to oversell, you want to make it too salty, you don’t wanna be too salty. I like to draw a bit of a contrast between are calling to be salt and I’m gonna pick on tofu if you like tofu, you have my blessings on you, thank you, eat it all up, get rid of all of it from the planet. I bless you in there. I am not hating on you if you enjoy tofu, but tofu takes on the flavor of whatever it’s next to salt adds. So we walk in wisdom towards outsiders, not becoming like them, but adding salt christ his life, his truth, whatever environment in whatever contacts God has placed us in, so I’m not hating on tofu, but God has called us to be tofu, christians, paul is saying, we we pray for these opportunities. We walk in these opportunities, trust in God’s spirit to empower us, help us to make the gospel clear. And then as we we look at verses seven through nine, we see some individuals that paul is commending to colossus to the, to the church in colossi as men who or practicing these things, they may not be perfect in them, but they are trustworthy. They walk in a manner worthy of christ. Can you imagine the enormous burden you would have felt as a disciple of christ and the apostle paul handing you a letter and you’ve got to travel hundreds of miles to deliver letters to the churches. What kind of man do you need to be for paul to entrust you with that responsibility, You can’t be a tofu christian, you can be salty, you’ve got to be trustworthy. So it says sending Tyke is with this letter to the church in Colossi and he probably delivered a letter to Ephesus, which was about 100 and 20 miles from Colossi. Probably delivered a letter to Leo Decia as well. And we know he delivered a letter to Philemon And that’s why the end of Chapter three and the first verse of Chapter four addresses slave owners and slaves is honest, thomas who is mentioned in this letter ran away from Philemon and at the time was an unbeliever but became converted to christ. Mr paul speaks to both he and Philemon and Philemon about what it means to have christ as your master, but what it means to treat one another as being in the Lord together. But I don’t want to miss the fact that he is highlighting these men as being faithful as being fellow servants, as being beloved because of their faithfulness. They are worthy witnesses. They are men who are practicing what it means to seize the opportunity and to be salt in whatever situation God is putting me forth. And by way of implication, he was commending the church to be like them. I didn’t commend the false teachers in Chapter two. But here he has commended several faithful brothers and sisters, people who are worthy to take on the name of Christ? He’s already mentioned the path is the one who planted the church in Chapter one. And now he’s referencing these guys, the ones who are delivering the letter, this world is full of darkness, Sin is being glorified in ways in which it ought not to be. And boy, does it ever need christians to be sold? Now is the time for someone to say pass the salt past the soul? We need christians who are watchful in prayer, who are walking in the Wisdom and Lordship of jesus christ, who are giving themselves to be his worthy witnesses. If God used the faithfulness of someone else to bring you to a place to see christ in the gospel, God intends to use your faithfulness as well to help someone else see christ in the Gospel that you preach and represent in closing, I want to ask you two questions. The first one is this, who are you praying for? Who are you praying for? Who needs the Gospel? Who is a partner with you in the Gospel? Who are you praying for? You may have heard this question being asked repeatedly within our community groups various settings. I think it it’s good though to be confronted with it again and again and again and again be reminded that we are people we’ve been given a mission and that mission is to glorify christ? So who are you praying for secondly, what are you known for? What’s your reputation among the people who spend the most time around you outside of church and home that matters in the home matters in the church. We covered that last week. But here I want you to think about outside of the home. Are you a tofu christian or do you stand in those environments being mindful of the Lord jesus christ, ready to be salt in that context? What are you known for Church in a dying, sin filled world? I want to return to a passage we read a few weeks ago chapter one as we think about our call to be sold as we think about the gospel opportunities that are before us. I think this passage is fitting. This is verse 27 chapter one to them. God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery which is christ in you the hope of glory, that’s who you are. The hope of glory, christ in you. Salt. Whatever environment God has placed you, let’s pray father, you are so gracious and merciful. You forgive our sins in christ jesus, you bestow an honor upon us that we could never earn and you do it because you have chosen to set your love upon us. You’ve chosen to reveal your love and your glory through the lives of your people and now you call us to be your ambassadors. God. May we never we never shrink back from the darkness, the Brokenness of this world. But may we always remember that you are the sovereign God and king and creator, that nothing is impossible with you and they are confidence. Rest in. So send us out to be your salt, your light, revealing the hope of glory christ. It’s in his name. We pray. Amen.
Good morning. So our church merry christmas, you guys awake this morning? Good, good. You’re awake, You’re awake. Glad you’re here. Name’s dan, if I haven’t met you, um we’re gonna continue looking at Paul’s letter to the colossians Church. So go ahead and open your bible, your bibles to colossians. Chapter three, We’re gonna finish the whole rest of chapter three, verses 12 through 25 then we’re going to read the first verse of chapter four. You might be thinking that’s strange that you would read just one verse in the first chapter as a portion of the passage that you’re teaching from. But I’ll have, you know that paul did not write this letter with chapters and verses described to them. He wrote it with ideas, thoughts And he wanted to convey those thoughts. And as we look at the out laying of the passage, the thought continues on into verse one of Chapter four. So that’s why we’re beginning there while you’re turning there. Let me give you a little bit of context for where we’re going this morning. Um It has been said that when the Gospel came to the Greeks, they turned it into a philosophy, Paul addresses that a little bit here in this letter to the colossians, there’s also been said that when the Gospel came to the Europeans, they turned it into a culture and it has been said that when the Gospel took root in America, we turned it into a business. But what we will read this morning is Paul reminding us that the Gospel shows the seeds of the new creation in christ, that it is about proclaiming a new creation, a new humanity in christ, it is about his kingdom being revealed in a people who have been born again, made a new in christ. And so he’s gonna talk repeatedly in this passage about putting on last week, Pastor mike covered verses one through 11 of chapter three and he talked about putting on christ and so this morning I’ve entitled this teaching, dressed to impress not in a superficial way, not in an attempt to impress this world but with a heavenly mindset. What christ on your mind in christ? That’s so important because In Chapter 3: verse one the verse begins with paul saying that if you have been raised with christ, this is speaking to his resurrection, this is the hope that Christianity offers the world that you will die someday. We will all die, but we will not all remain dead in that way, we shall be, we shall be raised to life again in christ and made like him, the new creation being seen in and through our faith here and now. If you have been raised with christ and then he goes on to say that you are to set your minds on the things above, meaning that you have this new creation in mind that you’re thinking about the rule and reign of christ and what he has done for you for giving your sin, bringing you back to the father and establishing this new creation, this new order, That is no longer under the Dominion of sin and satan, but is under the righteousness of our God and the peace and love of our God thrives within the context of this new creation. So he says put on this mindset and then he goes on to say that you if you have died with him, that your life is hidden in Christ. In verse three notice, he says that you were to have this mindset, this heavenly mindset, but then he says from heaven’s mindset, you you look like christ to God that you look like christ to heaven, that on this planet and all of the Brokenness and all of the sin around us. You look like christ. If you are in christ, if you have been raised with christ, you are to be dressed to impress your heavenly father, that’s what your faith in christ looks like to him. It’s impressive. It is the righteousness of christ, it is his beloved son that he sees, and then he says, when christ returns that you will also be with him in glory, in verse four, He ends that whole section in Verse 11, saying that Christ is all and in all christ is the focal point of all of creation is the focal point of all of life, that he is to be glorified and exalted in every aspect of life. So when he says put on christ, we’re gonna be looking at that from the context of you putting on christ in your relationships, in the church, in the home and in the workplace, you need to be dressed to impress. Put on christ in every single aspect of your life, representing him. I know some of you when I said dress to impress, you thought, man this what are you trying to do? You’re trying to be catching up here. That’s really superficial. Why would you say that? Look at you, you’re wearing a t shirt? Yes, indeed, I am wearing a t shirt is one that my kids got me and today we’re gonna talk about the home and I’m gonna be talking about kids and so I want them to know that I love them. Look at the shirt, you got me kids love you guys. Well, some of you singles who desire to be married, you do need to take the heart dress to impress, groom yourself a little bit. You never know who’s watching. Nobody wants to marry a sloppy joe get a haircut man, groom yourself dress nice show that you’ve got some discipline, that you you live with us into purpose, that you’re a responsible person. If you want someone to feel like they can trust you and build their lives with you. And the reason I say that is because we will be talking about marriage as well today. And so I think that’s a helpful little tidbit for you if you’re desiring to be married. And it’s not there yet, maybe you should dress to impress. Have you guys found the passage? If you haven’t by now, I’m gonna pray for you. Let me begin reading the text. This is verse beginning in verse 12. Again, I’m gonna read into the first verse of Chapter four. So it’s put on then as God’s chosen ones Holy and beloved. Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you. So you also must forgive and above all these put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. Let the word of christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another and all wisdom, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, jesus, Giving thanks to God the father through him, wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord fathers do not provoke your Children unless they become discouraged. Bond servants obey in everything, those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but when sincerity of heart fearing the Lord, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord christ for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done. And there is no partiality. Masters tree your bond servants justly and fairly knowing that you also have a master in Heaven Church. That is the word of the Lord Father. Thank you That your word reveals to us that we are your chosen ones in christ, that you are our Lord. And so we wish to honor you in that way today by giving attention to your word on how it might be applied in our lives. I pray that your spirit would give me the grace to communicate this with clarity. I pray that your spirit would give us the grace to receive it with faith and humility and conviction how we are to live as representatives of your son and the new humanity that you are revealing a broken dying world. I pray this in christ’s name amen. So from verses 12 through 17, believe the focus is on the church and our relationships in the church that we are to put on christ in the context of the church, that we are to be mindful of how we interact with one another when we gather when we come together throughout the week, that we are to put on christ that he is the goal, he is the focal point of our gathering and that our interaction, our behavior towards one another ought to honor and please him always. And I believe that this is the case because in verse 12, there is an illusion to Deuteronomy chapter seven When moses says to the Israelites that you are God’s chosen people, not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples on the planet, but because God chose to set his love upon you, because God chose to set his love upon you and Paul here in colossians 3 12 says that God has chosen us, that we are holy, set apart and beloved by God. God has chosen to set his love upon a people and those people are to represent him and they are to show to the rest of the world the hope of Glory. That’s what chapter one talks about, right, christ in you the hope of glory. And one of the ways we do this is how we interact with one another. We show that we have been chosen by God. We have received by faith the gospel. We have become a people special treasured before our God in his heart, we are his his possession and we show to the rest of the world that we are his possession by how we treat one another. So we put on christ in the context of the church as we’ll see here in this passage, paul is after A love for one another and a thankfulness for one another. And we’ll see that theme work its way through the end of the whole text that I read to you this morning all the way into verse one of Chapter four, we’ll see that theme working its way through trying to accomplish one goal. What is the goal is trying to accomplish? It is in verse 15 that the peace of Christ would rule in your hearts. The peace of christ would rule in your heart, that the peace of christ would rule in your hearts. It’s not that hey, I have peace, right? You know, like peace, love and happiness right? Like a hippie, no peace with God and a sense of peace with your brothers and sisters with the people. God has called you to walk with with the people God has placed in your life. There is a sense that you are committed to that, that that is the attitude of your heart that you want to be at peace with your brothers and sisters because you know what christ has done for them. You know how treasured and how special they are to him. And so you want to be at peace with them. He talks about the key to this piece being love and thankfulness. Why do I say that well? And verse 12, he highlights five virtues, right? Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Now paul likes to give categories of various virtues throughout scripture, there maybe there’s five year, there may be 79, and then some of the other apostles will give us some categories. They all essentially go back back to the concept of love loving one another. In fact, if you were to read first Corinthians 13, the marriage or wedding ceremony love passage, right, Love is kind, Love is patient, love bears with one another. What is he talking about here, bearing with one another, if you have a complaint for giving each other, it is a theme of love, working itself out, demonstrating that the peace of christ is ruling in your hearts. So love is important if we are to put on christ in the context of the church and then secondly, Being thankful for one another three times, he says, be thankful or give thanks to God for one another and for the Lord, he says it in verse 15 and says that you were called in one body and be thankful. And then again in verse 16 after he talks about being letting the word of christ richly dwell in you teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And then again in verse 17 and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, jesus, giving thanks to God love for one another and thankful for one another that really disarms us. If there is a commitment to these disarms us from having a sense of being um At odds or at enmity towards one another. It really does. If that is the posture of our heart, if that is the attitude of our heart, if we are as paul wrote to the roman church, trying to be at peace at all with all men, doing everything that is within our power to be at peace with all men. If that is our desire, then the best way to cultivate that right is with thanksgiving towards one another. Be thankful for one another in your prayers, giving thanks for one another, choosing to sing with one another, side by side praising God and giving thanks for one another. Because you’ve been raised with christ heaven’s perspective, God sees one body, he sees Christ, he sees his people, he sees his beloved community, so act like it. So says, let the word of christ dwell in you richly Teaching and admonishing one another and the wisdom to do this singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs. Some people think that he’s being repetitive there, but I don’t think that he’s being repetitive. Their songs referencing the book of psalms. Many of them were the songs of jesus and the early church and then hymns, which I believe colossians, 1 18 through 20 I believe that that became a him 15 through 20 that became a hymn that the early church sing and then spiritual songs, the kind of songs that we are find most prominently in the church today. Songs that we write about under you know, being inspired our hearts being awakened to the glory of God, being in all the glory of God. We we write songs, we sing something like that today. So you’re saying all of that is to teach us it is to teach us about christ. It is to teach us that we are his people, that we are his beloved people that we represent the new humanity. It is to help us put on christ is to help us to dress to impress for heaven’s approval all of it. And that’s why he ends that passage by saying whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord jesus. Some people like to think of the phrase, you know the name of christ or doing things in the name of christ as if that is some kind of special incantation that you add on to your prayers that somehow that gets things done for God. But no, it has to do with the authority, the representation the presence all of that. There’s a there’s a deep Crystal logical component to what Paul is unpacking here about Jesus and what he means. That’s why in verse 11, he says he is all and in all, there’s so much more to him than you even know. So we had to put on christ in the church and the peace of christ is to rule in our hearts. The best way to get there is with thankfulness in our hearts, with love for one another and allowing the word to stir us up and to spur us on towards loving one another. Then he moves on in verse 18 to begin addressing, putting on christ in the home. And when I want to start by saying that from here on, from verses 18 onto the verse the first verse of chapter four, there’s a principle of reciprocity that we’ll see that paul doesn’t just address one party, but he addresses both and he addresses them in the context of how they fit together in the Lord as a loving people, a loving body that adequately represents who christ is. And so he he ascribes roles and he addresses those roles and he addresses them with the mindset and the understanding that if this is your desire to please the Lord and everything that you do, this is the area that you need to be aware of sin is going to fight against. You prevent you from glorifying the God glorifying God in these areas, these are the areas you need to be on guard against. And so he begins by addressing the households And so in verse 18 he says, wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Now marriage the bible does not allow or make space for any concept of a same sex marriage. There’s just no space for in scripture. There’s no space for in the design of God. I love one of the lines we sang this morning, how we’ve submitted to God’s design and when he made the male and female, they needed to be complementary beings in the image of God so that they could carry out the purpose of God, which was to be fruitful multiply as they took Dominion over the earth. You have no future humanity. If it is not one man and one woman in covenant tal union together, you don’t have a future marriage by nature is a sexual relationship. Let that hang a little bit for you singles a little worried about that little skirmish, about that. Pastors talking about that in church, don’t be uncomfortable. You wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t a reality. But it is a sexual relationship. It is a partnership for the purpose of glorifying God in the earth and God saw fit that it could only be accomplished if one man and one woman were to come together and covenant to union to glorify him. That’s the only way they would accomplish it. It is the primary building block of society, husband and wife. That is the new family is what God begins to build culture and civilization upon that relationship. A very real sense that the family is the first, it’s the first church, the first business, the first school it is where kids learn how to be human beings that represent God in life. Now it doesn’t replace those institutions, but it is the place where kids get a one on one experience on what it means to be a human being in this world. So it’s important until but paul begins here by addressing wives again. He wants to come at this from the angle of where are we most likely to sin in our relationship against the Lord and with the people that God has placed in our lives in this case, wives and husbands. And so he says, wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord, that is proper as is proper in the Lord. If you were to put on christ in your marriage relationship, wives submit to your husbands. What are you saying genesis? Three read that account. You’ll see the story of how the serpent came into the garden and tempted eve and sin entered the world. And from there, God goes to settle accounts, right? He he addresses the serpent, the man and the woman. And from there we get this idea of the curse of sin upon humanity. And so one of the things he says to the woman is that a part of the curse of sin upon women, he says, your desire will be for your husband. Now we ought to think about that first moment, is he saying that if a woman wants to be married, that that is a reflection of sin’s curse. No, that is not what he is saying. Now, I’ve heard some people untrained teachers say that it is flat out wrong. Marriage is a good thing. Season five says that it is a mystery, but it points to the relationship between God and his people because there is a lifelong commitment, there’s uh denying all else and forsaking all others for one, it’s a powerful gospel witness it. It is a powerful gospel picture, marriage is a good thing. What does he mean? When he says part of the out working of sin’s curse, that your desire will be for your husband. I think we see the same hebrew word used in Chapter four of Genesis. When we get to the Children of Adam and Eve, when we get to cain and Abel Kane, you’re not familiar with that story, committed the first murder in history. He murders his brother Abel, but before he murders Abel God says to him, God warns him, God says cain, sin is crouching at your doorstep. Listen, it’s desire for you. What does he mean? It is competing for leadership and dominance over you. So, and paul says, wives submit to your husbands area, where you are most likely to send in your marriage is in competing with him over who is the boss? The leader who is an authority in this marriage. And so if we were to put on christ in our marriages, wives, if you were to put on christ, you have to submit to your husbands. A practical way of thinking about this when it comes to submission. Think of our relationship to the head of state over this country, intentionally using that phrase because the bible says that the husband is the head of the wife, think of the head of the state. Do not agree with the head of the state of this country and a lot of things, but he is God’s delegated and appointed authority over this nation. I must respect the office. I respect the office. I can have a disagreement. I can disagree with what the man may be pushing or saying or doing. But ultimately there is a respect for the office. So if the President were to come into his room and were to ask me to do something that directly contradicts what God word says, I would say to him. No, sir, I’m sorry you are lawful point ahead of the state, but God is over you and if you’re asking me to obey to disobey God to obey you, I cannot do that. Another example would be that if you were to be pulled over by a police officer, he says you were speeding you say no, I wasn’t. You still show respect to the man in that position of authority honor, even though you disagree. So when it says wives submit to their husbands, it is not saying that wives won’t ever disagree with their husbands won’t ever have a dispute of rightful dispute with their husbands about what is right or what is wrong. But there’s a principle. There’s an attitude of heart that says, I’m not trying to compete with you over dominance in this relationship. I’m committed to the truth. I want us to be committed to the truth. There’s a couple of ditches we need to avoid. And when we think about this subject, I mean, 11 hand you have where if you an extreme would be the wife can’t say anything, can’t ever have an opinion. Can’t ever do anything, has no permission from her husband to even get herself dressed in the morning. Although I think you guys should be on the same page about you know, dress seriously. But the wife is not a child. The wife is not a slave. The wife is help meet you position a li you are the head husband, but you do not have absolute sovereignty over her and unconditional authority over her. So she can’t have an opinion. She can’t disagree. And if you have to say as a husband, wife submit to me, you’re probably failing in your leadership. So husbands ought to see their wives as Gods. Help me. His appointed counselor and helper and bring forth the kingdom of God on the earth. And so you should be able to receive counsel from your wife. To hear counsel from your wife to you. There you are no less of a leader. If if if your wife has more knowledge or experience in an area and you and you lean on that and you and you ask for feedback and and and and and seek wisdom from that. You’re not a you’re you’re not less of a man for for relying on that. Now the other ditch if if one ditches wife can’t say anything and she’s treated like a child. The other dishes that the husband says nothing to the wife and whatever the wife says goes and whatever the wife wants goes, you know the phrase happy wife, happy life and some of you men cranes not not exactly happy christ. Happy life, whatever pleases christ is what is right? Yeah, I mean you never push back, you never help her to grow in christ. You never call her to greater faithfulness in christ because you’re afraid, you’re afraid of losing out on the intimacy part of the relationship. You’re afraid of, you know that things won’t be the way that you want it in the home. And so you don’t help her to grow in christ. God put you two together marriages, the great sanctification process and tool for revealing christ hold up your end. So he says wives submit to your husbands. But then again it’s reciprocal it goes in verse 19 he says, husbands love your wives, husbands love your wives. It should be your desire to to treasure your wives, your wives. The most important relationship that you that you have in life the moment you become married, it is no longer mom or dad or your best buds here. But this is the most important relationship that you have even above the Children. We love the Children. They’re precious. They’re God’s gift to us. But someday they will grow up and leave and some of you can’t wait for that to happen. And some of you, your parents are like, I can’t wait till you’re off the check off the bank account and off the road. Well, no, the most important relationship. So value her in that way. How are you hurting that way? It says that christ sacrifice, he died for his church. And if you are to draw your cues from him, think about what that means for you and your leadership in your relationship in the way in which you deal with your wife. That’s why he says don’t be harsh with her. God made me the head woman submit, do what I say, you are a sinner and you’re an idiot loving your wives. Being thankful for your wives. Being wanting the two of you accurately portrayed the gospel image of christ and his church, that peace ruling in your hearts. That’s what God is after you have to put on christ to do this. You have to rely on the power of christ to work in you to accomplish this. Both wives and husbands sometimes men know more about their hobbies, their favorite fantasy teams, their favorite, you know things they like to do in their leisure times and they know about their wives and I know that women on average have thousands more words to say in a day than we do. And it can be hard but listen, try to understand her. Pay attention and listen. No, just pretend like you’re listening, you’re checking scores and replying to text message. You’re thinking about all the things you want to do but listen. And if you’re not at a place to listen, then you need to as a leader carve out some time to where you can say, Hey honey, let’s let’s table this and let’s commit to this time right here. If it works for you for us to have this combo But love your wives and do not be harsh with them. And then in verse 20 he addresses Children. These Children obey your parents and everything for this pleases the Lord. Now he’s not speaking about adult Children who moved out who started families on their own. He’s speaking of every child who is dependent upon their parents, especially those living in their parents homes. No, that’s important because there’s two people, there are two types of Children who will radically test that authority. You have the toddlers who think they run the world. Hey man, your diaper needs to be changed. I’m good. Yeah you you are, your aroma is filling the home and and we shall not have that and then there are teenagers, we are independent. Everyone owes us everything and we know more than you do. But if we are to raise up Children in the Lord, if we have to carry forth this calling to fill the earth with the glory of God, then Children need to learn the joy of obedience to the Lord. Their obedience to their parents primarily about them obeying the Lord. The whole work of the gospel is about turning the hearts of the Children back to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers back to the Children. And paul is addressing that Children. Your hearts to your fathers, your your parents, your people who are in authority over your life, who are trying to bring you up in the faith, trying to prepare you for this world, trust them. They aren’t perfect. And parents, if you if you know your you’ve not done it right, be honest about that. But also let your Children know that your desires for them to grow up in the world and you’re doing your best and pray for them. But he says Children, you’ve got to obey the Lord. You’ve got to put on christ and obey the Lord. You’ve got to make it your desire to please the Lord. If you’ve been raised with him, put on christ and obey by honoring and obeying and then he says, fathers do not provoke your Children unless they become discouraged. That’s an important one. We and it’s especially geared towards fathers. Moms can do this as well. I mean, but mostly fathers when you see that your child is not doing something the way in which you think they ought to be doing it or haven’t shown the progress that you would like for them to show in a particular area. We can as fathers have the tendency to ride the child in that area and totally lose sight of their growth in other areas and so in doing so we can discourage the child. We can break the child’s will, we can harden cause them to have a heart and heart towards authority towards the Lord all warrants against that. Another way of doing this is by not doing anything as a father, never, ever bringing loving discipline to your child. Just letting your child just do whatever he or she wants to do and thinking that man, I just want to create an environment for my kid to always feel blessed and happy and joyful. Guess what? Because you never give them the proper feedback. They know they need in discipline and in righteousness, the horn in their hearts and they’ll become a terror to everyone else. Starting you know, from this high all the way to you know, they’re teenagers and adults out of the home. He says you’re in activity can provoke them and your harshness can provoke them. We need to learn his father’s gotta be loving, grace filled fathers who disciplined our Children. Well who encouraged them a lot. Love on them a lot. Also bring loving discipline. So that’s paul’s instructions to the family. And you guys are like man, when are you gonna end when you gonna bring this home? Well, we gotta put on christ, I told you there’s a lot there. Um We are on the last point we want to put on christ in the context of work. But before we get to work, you’ll notice verse 22 all the way into chapter four, he’s addressing slaves and slave owners in the bible doesn’t shy away from this subject. The bible doesn’t really shy away from a lot of subjects, Its pastors who will shy away from subjects. But the bible doesn’t, that’s something to keep in mind, but he addresses the subject of slavery. And even as an african american here in America, knowing our history, I have no problems with what the bible is doing here and addressing the subject of slavery. Do you know why? Because he undermines the entire institution. Beginning in verse 11 when he says here, there is not greek and jew, circumcised and uncircumcised. Barbarian by the way. Barbarian greek Georgia for people who didn’t speak greek. The Greeks, they said sounded like bar bar, bar, bar bar bar barbarians. Anyway, paul says it doesn’t matter ethnicity, social status four in christ, same dignity seem value to God, undermines. The entire system says that God prefers the Godly slave who is not esteemed in this life over the wealthy slave owner was godless. Both sides with him status doesn’t mean anything to God that doesn’t impress God. What impresses God is faith in christ And so he undermines the institution. He does it subtly keeping in mind that he is also a prisoner in confinement by the romans writing a letter that they probably are looking over, but he’s undermining the institution. And so verse 11 is one example and verse one of chapter four is another example when he says to the masters, knowing that your master is in heaven, you’re accountable to God, you will be accountable to God. And he addresses this subject possibly because as he’s sending the letter to the colossians, a runaway slave is a part of the party that is carrying it an isthmus And probably carrying a letter to Philemon, the slave owner, one who owned. So he’s instructing them on how God sees this institution that was being carried out in the roman empire. Now, the slavery that took place in America should tell slavery. It was actually influenced heavily by ancient pagan cultures, like the romans like the Greeks, like the babylonians. Um like the Syrians, those are the people that perform a very harsh form of slavery. Now, the jews were given a form of slavery that looked more like what we called indentured servitude in America. They try to begin to go down that route. But when you think about indentured servitude, okay, someone is, you know, contracting themselves out to pay off a debt or to earn some money to start their own business. At the end of that contract, you become a competitor who wants that. If you’re a business owner, you’re thinking, well if I let this person come and they acquired this wealth for me and then they’re gonna be released and then compete with me. I can’t I can’t deal with that. So they got tired of cheating people on their contracts and they went to a completely different market and went and bought people who were stolen and sold into slavery and said, this is a much cheaper market. This is the one where we can make slavery perpetual And that’s the form of slavery that took place in the bible. And that’s likely the form of slavery that people are dealing with a mixture of the two in the context of the colosseum Church. And yet paul undermines both. And then he gives dignity to the slave by telling him that you are to do everything, not with I service our people pleasing as the motivation of your heart, but with the desire to please the Lord that you have put on christ that you are to trust that christ will Not only receive your labors, but he will serve as the judge over those who do you wrong. That’s what he says in verse 25 for the wrong door will be paid back, undermining the entire system. He’s not afraid to say that jesus is lord over everyone and then me challenges the masters to live with humility by saying christ is your master, here’s your mask, be careful how you exercise your authority. Now we don’t live in that context anymore. Thank God. The the wisdom and the truth and the grace of God has led our country out of that kind of darkness and oppression of people. I love the songs we sang this morning, emphasizing just that fact how the light of the truth of the gospel. Let’s move this forward, is moving us forward continually fighting against that And how in the new humanity. Again, verse 11, there is no distinction. Black, white, wealthy poor, that we if we are in Christ, we are more treasured, more prized than any other being on the planet. Christ is what matters to God. But in the context of our lives, we do have to work. We have to pay bills and so some of us are bosses or employers, we have others who work under us. We need to take the heart what he’s saying here, God is your boss. God is your employer, how you lead, how you govern in the workplace, matters to God. And then if you are an employee, how you work in the workplace, God is watching it matters to him. You’re someone who likes to steal time. You’re someone who likes to cut corners thinking about this in the context of all the technology that we rely upon. If people did crappy work, we would be in big trouble, we would hate it. Let me think about it. You put your money in the bank. What if people were bad at counting money or didn’t take that seriously or gave but they do give your money away. I don’t want to go there right now, when you think about that, you want trustworthy people working hard, doing the right thing, you need to be that kind of person. You take your car to the mechanic, right? You don’t want him to to go and Loosen up a few things under the hood and then come back and say, you got this problem and it’s gonna cost you $1200 to fix. You don’t want to deal with that, right? You want an honest guy to do honest work for you. You gotta be that way as well. It says, God is watching he is observing your work. In fact, paul is saying that what you do is ultimately being offered up to christ It’s a witness to the new humanity in him. That’s why you don’t do it by way of eye service or as people pleasing, but you do with all your heart as unto the Lord? That means that what you know and with all of your ability, you work at it. If you’re a young person, you work at it, your school, your chores, you work at it. If you are someone who’s just beginning your career, you work, you work at it now, you don’t become a slave to it, but you work at it in the sense that you want to honor God and what you do. And there is a promise. There is a promise in this passage. It says that there that you that you will receive a reward, you will receive a reward from the Lord. That there’s an inheritance, a reward for you because you put your heart into honoring christ and everything you did. That’s what he said verse 24. Not only that we know that those who are skilled in their labor, they won’t stand before obscure men, go stand before kings, eventually the king of kings. So we are to put on christ in the church where they put on christ in the home, to put on christ in the workplace. We are to be dressed to impress. Life, puts a lot of pressure on you. God puts christ on you and in him is the power to live a life pleases God in every way. Amen. I want to leave you with five questions and I’m gonna close in prayer. Application questions it comes to putting on christ in the context of community and in our relationships. Am I knowingly disobeying God in any area of life? That’s one way to keep the peace of God from ruling in your life in your relationships. If you are knowingly disobeying, you know that you’ve been clearly pointed to the commandments of God, obey God in a certain area and you ignore, you won’t have the peace of christ and you certainly aren’t putting on christ when you live that way, secondly, do you secretly have an offense towards someone that you refuse to appropriately address? That’ll keep you from being at peace, that will keep you from really experiencing joy in the context of your relationships. And look, you really have only two options when you have this secret offense towards someone, one is to repent to God and get over it, right, repent to God and get over it or to repent to God and humbly go to the person, confess that you’ve been dealing with this thing and seek out a peaceful resolution with them. Now, what if you tried to resolve the conflict and it still remains an open conflict, there hasn’t been a resolution, That’s the third question, maybe you have a relationship like that, that’s impacting how we come together as a community, find someone that you know who’s trustworthy, a spiritually mature person and and asked if they would be willing to be an unbiased mediator in helping you to resolve the conflict. You know what that takes maturity to say, Okay, I could be wrong. My perspective could be completely busted. I need you to be an unbiased mediator that is sold out to seeing us united in christ. Would you help us? Fourthly, are you having trouble with something written in the bible? Something in the bible? You you read it, you say, man, if I’m honest with you dan, it kind of grates my soul a little bit. It makes me a little uncomfortable. Hey, now we’re in the context of the church. The church is a community of Grace. We have the Ministry of Grace. The state has the ministry of the sword, right? We have a Ministry of Grace in the church. And so if that’s your situation, the first thing I would encourage you to do is to make it your preference for the Lord, jesus. You are Lord. My allegiance is to you above all else, including myself. And I need you to help me help me to see if I’m misunderstanding this passage or if I’m missing something about this passage. And then I would invite you to have an honest conversation with someone you trust. If it’s a child with a parent, this young person, someone in your community group or reach out to one of us, elders. Lastly, if you’re battling discouragement because of a spiritual attack. Maybe you didn’t realize it was a spiritual attack. You’ve been trying to obey the Lord. You’ve been trying to work heartily with all your heart before the Lord is unto the Lord. And yet you’re just constantly dealing with a nagging discouragement, Feeling down heavy about your life. That’s possibly a spiritual attack that you’re experiencing. I would invite you to again prayer, but also seek out why spiritual counsel and maybe even consider putting together a group of people to pray for you about that particular area of life that you’re dealing with discouragement. And so church, I want to leave you with those things as we consider how to be dressed to impress our Lord to put on christ how to bring glory to his name. Amen. Let’s pray, jesus. Thank you. You set the example, but you not only set the example. You give the grace and the power to live out what you call us to God. Some of us feel like the father in the gospel accounts who said Lord, I believe help my unbelief. I pray God. If there’ll be people here this morning who feel like that God, I pray that you would indeed help them methane in that place. That your spirit would remind them that you supply the power to live out this life, that if they are to be in union with you, that there is grace, there is supernatural power to do what you’ve called us to do. I pray. They would learn the joy of obedience to you, they would experience it and it would become their strength. I pray this in christ’s name. Amen.
Welcome, thank you for coming. My name is Mike one of the pastors here on staff at our church were in that wall between Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. So next week there’s gonna be uh christmas stuff around here, christmas songs are rolling. I don’t think we’re doing mistletoe this year due to budget cuts, but there’s, there’s a lot of christmas festivities about to start cooking at our church. So thank you for coming. It’s an honor to be here this morning. I was thinking over this passage and a few questions that help kind of set the stage for us as we look together at the word of God and I was wondering about what our, why does it seem like Christianity works for some people and not others, you probably know people, I’d say. Yeah, I was christian, I did that when I was younger. Um, it seems like there’s people that Christianity just seemed to click for them and others, it doesn’t click for them. Other people that do do Christianity, it seems like some people experience like life change. They overcome bad habits, they just grow and they adjust and they’re different people and other people that do Christianity, They don’t change, no habits change. They’re the same person with a christian trappings seasonally times they become christian, but why is christian work for someone on others and why do some christians change and grow and others don’t, but it seems like regardless of what you’ve thought or contemplate on this topic because I’m bringing up for us this morning at some point, your christian walk needs to become real real real fast some point in life. Your christian walk when push comes to shove needs to be doing the pushing and the shoving or your christian walk won’t continue on. I’ve entitled this message a winning walk. And I think we can really see that in this passage of first Corinthians one verses one through 11. If you’re following along in our house bible, you’ll see that on page 33 75 72 page 5 72. In our house bibles, let me read the passage to us and let’s then I’ll pray colossians three verse one If then you have been raised with christ seek the things that are above. Where christ is seated seated at the right hand of God, set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth for you have died. And your life is hidden with christ and God, when christ, who is your life appears, then you will also will appear with him in glory, put to death. Therefore, what is earthly in you. Sexual morality and purity, passions, evil desires, and covetousness and nous, which is adultery on account of these. The Wrath of God is coming in these Youtube once walked when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene. Talk to your mouth. C do not lie to one another, see that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of the creator here there is not greek and jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, Barbarian scythian slave free for all, for christ is all. And in all. Let’s pray God, thank you for today. Thank you for the word of the Lord. Thank you that the word of God is alive and active. It can take care of itself. We just need to let it out into our lives, into our congregations, into our personal walk Lord into our public walk. God I said the word of God will do the work of God and the people of God uh change us, transform us grow us. Lord help us understand what it means to walk with you as a christian Lord and we just need you desperately today and all the days of our lives. I ask that you just instruct us with the word of God. We just wanna humbly put our lives under the word of God today and see what it is that you where you’re calling us to change and grow in Lord, we love you and commit today to you in jesus name. We pray amen. Okay, so to remind you of last week, the last couple of weeks last three Sundays Dan has been going through the beginning of Colossians and laying through important bedrocks which are building upon today. There are excellent. We we looked at false teachers and the false living that comes out of that false theology and that false teachings, both the teacher and the lifestyle, that the false teaching and false lifestyle has no real power. That was last week, last chapter, the last part of this letter. And then today we’re jumping into chapter three In Chapter three that we just read the beginning of Chapter three shifts to a more offensive tone, more aggressive tone is trying to take ground and move you forward in your walk with God. I had a pastor friends who was a pastor who retired from being a pastor who was asking me about his church for christians or non christians. And in the conversation, I quickly gave him my answer. But after thinking about it more, I think I’ve changed my answer a little bit. Is Christchurch for christians and non christians. Uh, there seems to be an audience. The primary audience of when you come to church is you and the Lord doing business with God the Lord, that’s your primary audience. And there’s a secondary audience, that’s your brothers and sisters in christ fellow christians that are in the room. But there’s a third audience in the room and those people that are not christians who do not have a walk of God who think they are, are actively are atheists or agnostics who are here for a variety of reasons, but they’re not true believers. I would say this is a warning we should attach to this passage. And even this sermon? I think you remember those old infomercials, you know, musicians would say, don’t try this at home, don’t try this at home. So you don’t get sued. There should be a warning on this sermon on this passage in your bible, don’t try this. If you’re not a believer, if you don’t have the spirit of God in you don’t try this sermon, it’s not for you, it’s for other people. The last week’s sermon was for people that want to do things under the flesh of man and the energy and effort of man without christ. We turn the chapter two, chapter three, which is four christians who have the spirit of God in them, who are walking with the God and the spirit of God. This is for true believers, authentic believers. If you do do this servant and you are successful and you do it without christ and the spirit of God, you become incredibly religious, prideful person. You become a legal ist. This sermon is not designed for nonbelievers. This passage is not designed for nonbelievers. So, looking at this passage Verse one, it says, if then you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And so the main first point of why some christians walk of God seems to be winning and others christians walk of God is losing is they’re not setting their mind on truth, they’re not striving to gain truth. If your biblical grammar man or woman, you’ll notice that this seek and keep seeking is a better translation and an intense imperative, present and tense imperative verse. The word that means C can keep seeking the things of God, keep and keep seeking the things of God. I think our english standard bible says, just set your mind on the things that are above on this earth that you died for. It’s not as it’s not as clear, but there’s there’s your emotions, your heart, your passions as a person you’re seeking and keep continuously seeking different things right now in life and your 2022 you’re seeking and continue to seek different variety of things. It could be leisure, hobby, pleasure, your career, your family vacations, your car, paying off debts, whatever it is, you have an intense focus on something paul. The author of this passage says to seek and keep seeking the things of God, your emotions, your heart, your passion should be on the things of God. There should be an intense, intentional focused disposition of your heart, on what is next in your life. We’re supposed to think on the things that are above where christ is, is what we should be thinking of. And if you’re if you ever talk to a financial broker and they’re trying to help you think for retirement, think for an older you when you’re 80 70 60 year old, you who’s not working as much as you’re working now, you’re supposed to be saving money for a future day of future life when you’re physically weaker mentally, not as sharp as you once were and you need help, you need finances, you should make decisions now for that day. And the financial broker’s gonna sit there across from you and just really try to convince you that someday, yes, you will get old and some day you will have expenses and someday you will need to save for those expenses as an older man and older woman and that is a hurdle. That is a challenge to make young people think of an older them. This is a step beyond an old you, this is a step off the alive to dead cliff where you are no longer around and you’re living and thinking for the next life, Thinking of the life of fraternity in mind, it’s an even tougher sell. It makes sense that people in the city of Lincoln in our culture where we live in that is all around us is living for the here and now because the theology of this city, this world is to live for the here and now there is no then and there. It’s not when you’re 70 and 80, that’s the good life, best life now, best life now is the good life and it’s happening right now, people all around you are living for the here and now. They’re making decisions with their emotions, their passions, their time, their talent, their treasure for the here and the now right now and that makes sense. That’s intellectually honest. But we you we are with christ we’ve been buried of christ were rising of christ. Like all the chapter two is talking about. You do not live for the here and now. You live for the then and there with christ. Your focus should be on then and there. So I ask you when your thoughts drift to, what are your thoughts drift you when you’re all alone? Is it christ is it christ exalted in store in heaven where he’s giving out rewards to his followers. Is that what your mind and your thoughts drift to when you’re alone when you’re what consumes your thoughts when you have leisure time or free time. Is it the here and the now or is it the then and there. So a lot of you all went shopping this last couple of days and then. Black friday, my son and I went to black friday shopping. We bought a few toys for his siblings. He’s a he’s a good better brother than I was monday is tomorrow. That’s cyber monday. That’s where you do the same thing just online and they get shipped to your house and then porch pirates steal it from you. Um Tuesday is called giving Tuesday that’s happening or that just happened, that’s happening right? Giving Tuesday. So think about this, we have a wealthy generous ba zillionaire that is going to match anything you contribute on Tuesday only 10 times the value. That’s God. The father in heaven will reward you for every good deed, every, every cup of cold water, all the righteous things you do here on life what you do and what you don’t do here and now God the father rewards you then and there. That’s not just a Tuesday deal. That’s an every day deal for the christian who’s walking with God. So why does Christianity work for some and not for others? How come some christians overcome bad habits change and grow and others don’t. There’s an intense, there’s a focused intentional intentionality to their walk of God. They set their minds on truth. They strive to gain truth. Their their mind is focused on christ as the main passion of their life. The throne of jesus christ is their main purpose. They’re living for what they hope to hear. Well done, good and faithful servant. There’s a focused intentionality meaning that the meaning of their life is found in christ? Because the reality is if you don’t do that, you don’t live that purpose. That passion, that meaning of christ being premier in your life, something else will become premier of your life, there’s another throne, you’re focused on another person sitting on that throne, you’re bowing down to, we cannot be neutral as people, our hearts will not stay passive, we will worship something, the human mind, the mental pursuits your main purpose and meaning will never stay passive. So focus your mind intentionally on christ and christ on his throne. Look with me in verse to set your mind on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth, why for you have died and your life is hidden with christ and God when christ, who is your life appears then you will also appear with him in glory. So think deliberately christian, why do some christians walk with God seem to win and others don’t they need, they need to think deliberately they need to concentrate their minds honestly I could’ve probably combined these first two points, you know, could have could have combined these two points as one main point. But I want to break it out just to make us really spend the time here. So think deliberately set your mind of things that are above. I remember when I first became a pastor like nine some years ago I I was a news junkie and I listened to a lot of news and I knew it was breaking that morning breaking that our somehow I stayed plugged into the news that’s before the fear news took over. It was actually a little more normal news. Um, but at the time, I, I just think I had some vanity in life and I like to be able to ask other guys about what do you think about this? What are we gonna do about that? And they’re like, what are we talking about? That’s, you know, But nowadays news is way more intense, but my mind nowadays I had to step out of news, my mind nowadays, if you think about here and now it really consumes you with fear, anxiety, dread. So I’ve kind of disconnected from the news world and I’m trying to set my mind on the things that are above. I’m thinking deliberately and taking practical steps to realize that there’s only so much real estate and my attention spans in the mornings as I start my day and I need to think deliberately set my mind on things that are above. The reality is when you think delivery about you need to think about how you think, if you’re thinking deliberately to set your mind like this passage encourages too, is really specific. Here, we all will encounter truth. Everyone in this room is going to encounter truth today. There’s the way you’re living and there’s truth and there’s three ways that we, there’s two ways you can go and we’re all currently in three different spots. So step number one is the wise person, when the wise person is walking along with their walk of God and the truth of God’s life, life shines in their life. They realize they’re out of bounds in an area of their life? They don’t change the boundaries, they change what they’re doing. Does that make sense? They’re walking of God like, oh I’m getting off track, I’m gonna respond to truth and stay on track. They’re following and marching and following christ and when the truth of life is shown in their life, they adjust their life to the truth because the truth is king over here, an evil person. They’re walking along and then when the truth of God is shining on their life where they’re out of step or out of bounds and something they’re doing, they don’t change their life, they change the truth. They take the truth of God’s word, the truth of what God tells us clearly in his word. And they try to make it confusing. They try to massage it, they try to manipulate it so that they don’t have to change God has to change. And then there’s a bunch of the rest of us, we’re fools. The bible says, we’re either we have one step in an evil path and one step in the right path, a wise path. And it’s how we respond to the truth of God’s life light on us. If we respond correctly, we respond biblically, we respond like a wise man or woman or we respond evil and foolishly we become more and more evil. And so all of us are gonna think deliberately about how to think about when we encounter truth, we all are gonna encounter truth and the truth changes or you change, you don’t get to like pick and choose things you change, or the truth changes. All right? We need to think deliberately Christians. We need to make a plan and work your plan. You have 35 days, 35 days until the new year, 2023. If you all start your New Year’s resolutions now, you can run out of steam and re re fire them up again in january. But let’s just talk about bible reading, which really impacts truth. If you read the bible four or more days a week, there’s a significant change, Barner research says on on how you think, how you feel your emotions, your your financial life, your relational life, your emotional health, your sexual health, your every part of your life is impacted when you’re impacted by the word of God. When you’re four or more days a week involved in engaging with the truth. If we set our minds deliberately think deliberately about the Christian life, the Christian plan, give 35 days to make a plan, Christian 35 days to work your plan. Think deliberately at how you’re going to get God’s truth in your life, how you’re going to, like Paul says, set your mind on the things that are above, not the things of this earth that are of this earth. It is so easy to have our attention be here, not there, that doesn’t take a lot of faith to look around and be excited or look around and be discouraged. That takes no vision, no faith. If you want to be one of those christians a winning walk, you need to think deliberately at how you think and paul continues on for you have died. Think of yourself as a dead person who’s died and your life is hidden with christ in God and when christ, who is your life appears then you will also appear with him in glory. How are you going to set your mind on the things that are above in 2023? Why does Christianity work for some and not for others? Why do some christians overcome bad habits grow and change and others don’t. They’re thinking they’re thinking deliberately, they’re not thinking deliberately about truth, concentrate your mind on christ the greatest truth ever. All deliberate thinking will lead you into worshiping christ if you’re staying there and you’re like coding for christ and you’re typing and coding like wow, there’s order, there’s structure, this happens and this happens. There’s cause and effect everywhere. There’s languages of talking to computers and just you’re working all day on coding at the end of the work week? If you’re thinking of christ and setting your mind on christ like, wow, that’s cool that man made that and that’s how man communicates. But God made it so I can read stuff and translate into my brain and I can speak it through my mouth. And God made a way more impressive computer. My brain and God made a way more impressive order of cause and effect in my life and how I communicate and how things happen as we as we discover any field. You discover like lasers in blood. Like a gratis was doing a couple years ago, he saw christ in how lasers interact with blood or you talk to another person whose whole career is built around, you know, rehabilitating hurt people with physical therapy and how they see christ how in that work. When you when you’re thinking of God as your main pursuit, you’re thinking deliberately about God. You’re focused intensely on christ, you start to see him all of your life because you meaning for your work. Let’s look at verse five together put to death therefore what is earthly in your sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires and coveted Nous nous which is idolatry and on account of these, the wrath of God is coming in these Youtube once walked when you were living in them. And so for verse five through seven, I would group these together and I’d say act ruthlessly and I like this word and some of you don’t like this word, but I I do really think people have a winning walk with with christ have a winning walk with God. They have a different disposition towards sin than others that don’t they’re willing to do anything and everything when it comes to a fight between them and their sin. But remember my disclaimer at the beginning, this is not a manmade woman made flesh of people killing the flesh in you. This is not a little religious pharisee talking. A little religious zealot talking. This is a person who is compelled by a love of God and the power of God, the spirit of God, the word of God to do the work of you know, changing your life. But they act ruthlessly towards sin verse five. And then later on in verses eight and nine, there’s two different lists of sin that paul lays out for us. This verse five list of sin talks about things you feel and do their sensual sense. There’s probably like modern day social media and modern day entertainment is can fall into these these sins or however else you need to understand these sins. But there are more sensual sins what you feel and what you do. I was watching a movie with my wife exploring Vid Angel and how that can work in our world. We saw a movie, it wasn’t a crazy movie, there’s nothing bad about it. We thought this is a good movie we should watch with our kids and we should use Vid Angel and as we can calibrate like how much violence do I want? How much cursing do I want? How much you know everything that I want. You can cut any scene out of any movie and it’s like eight bucks a month. Like this is pretty cool. Let’s try this out as a family. We heard about it from some of you and so we took how much cursing you want let’s put that to zero, we’re watching this movie and I was like what’s happening every couple of minutes? Their blood their blanking blanking out little scenes of this thing, you’re like this is this is this is strange at first. And then I was like oh my goodness, I watched this my wife the night before and that’s not what I noticed in the movie. I know it’s a different part of the movie. I was like we don’t want that part in the movie. So we did the thing. It’s amazing how you become inoculated by things, how things just creep into your life. As followers of christ. We have a winning walk of God. We need to act ruthlessly like mike. That’s just too, that’s too crass, that’s too in your face. I mean jesus said if your right eye causes you to sin gouge it out. If your if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off, it’s better for you to enter eternity with one file and I are out of hand instead of enter eternity with you know instead of enter hell with both eyes and both hands. I’m like that’s jesus talking about sin. He was all in, he act ruthlessly strategically and cunningly to destroy dismantle death. Sin satan to allow you have access to God. He was all in and he acted ruthlessly to get you the world the devil in the flesh. They’re acting ruthlessly in your life. Since consequences in your life is ruthless. How it destroys like a cancer just grows and takes over things. People have a winning walk of God when they see sin, they wanna respond like a wise person. They don’t want to manipulate and change the truth so they can continue their sin. They wanna act ruthlessly to dismantle and disembark from sin. Christians. This is important. Our relationship of sin cannot be one where we coddle sin, where we we contemplate sin, where we coach sin around in our lives to not be here but to be here, we need to kill sin. We need to act ruthlessly towards sin. That passage says put to death therefore and it goes into this list put to death but to death. That’s important that matters put to death. And it goes to this list of sins. Men and women christ has some very strong words on this. So why does christian work for some and not for others? How come some christians overcome bad habits grow and change and others don’t some christians act ruthlessly and some christians don’t when it comes to their sin. Life that’s a reality and actions have consequences, look at us at verse four, I mean eight, but now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene. Talk from your mouth and do not lie to one another. Seeing that you have put off the old self of its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not greek and jew, circumcised and uncircumcised. Barbarian, scythian, slave free, but all but christ is all. And in all. I know the rest of this chapter talks more about this concept, but why do some people the winning walk with God and others don’t. Some people pick a winning team and there’s a there’s a lot of there’s a lot of more that’s gonna be said about this in the future week here, but we we need to be together christians, but you have put it away away from your mouth. It goes into this list of sins. Again, these are more, this is what you say. These are socially acceptable sins. You can see this in political commentary, You can see this in just the way we speak about each other’s cultural society, how we talk. This is a list of sins that if you did these sins at a dinner party, people wouldn’t tolerate it. You said things in wrath or slander or gossip or obscene things come out of your mouth. You say things in anger. People don’t respond the same way as they do. The first list of sense. You might not be ashamed of sending the second list. eight and 9, then you would the first list of sins. This is part of our walk of God. This is part of what it means, that we need to put off and put on this. Put off and put on, this is a, this is a mark of a mature christian. They get this habit down putting off and putting on it could be like your work clothes and you’re you’re sleeping home close, this could be like your military gear and your non military gear. This language of changing clothes and putting off an old life and putting on a new life is key when this is follows along, we’ve been looking at the last couple of weeks about how we were baptized with christ, how we were dead with christ, We rise with christ. We looked at earlier this morning, but there’s language here of changing clothes, you know, scholars remind us of easter morning after Jesus defended defeated the grave and rose from the dead on resurrection morning he took off his grave clothes and left them in the tomb and they’re folded up nice and neat and he went off to his glorified life glorified body. Do you get what I’m saying? This whole picture of putting off the old and putting on the new is a reality of the people who have a winning walk of God and they need to pick a winning team to come around them. Why why mike well? Because the reality is our theology and our live Ology have they influence each other? I cannot. My live Ology will influence my theology and my theology will impact my live ology. The hypocrisy and truth can’t cohabitate forever in your minds. Eventually you’ll pick one of them to be your master, what you, what you’re experiencing and what you know in your head, one will eventually move out and one will eventually set up shop and take over your entire life. You will abandon one eventually and you can’t live in duality forever. Your see your choices will become habits in your life and habits in your life will become addictions in your life and your addictions will define your whole entire lifestyle in life. So let’s go through that again, my habits of bible reading is a choice that becomes a habit and that habit becomes an addiction, a good addiction. That addiction becomes a part of my lifestyle, let’s do in a negative context, your habit of gossip. Your choice of gossiping will become a habit and that that habit of gossip will become an addiction. An addiction will define your entire lifestyle. It doesn’t stay stagnant. These choices multiply and grow as you grow and grow older years of good habits and bad habits add up. We reap what we sell christians, your choices develop chronic life altering patterns for good and for evil? So why does the christian, why does the christian, why does Christianity work for some and not for others and how come some christians overcome bad habits and change and grow and others don’t, some christians don’t pick winning teams, they pick the team itself as their companion on this walk with christ they pick their phone as their accountability partner, they pick search engine, optimization, youtube google stuff as their pastor, which is an evil pastor and not a good pastor. I heard rhetoric growing up of just me and my bible, all I need is me and my bible and honestly that’s a, that’s a recipe for a narcissist and a losing team. You yourself and I in your bible that that’s, that’s like chronic christian history of people getting led astray we need to surround ourselves with a winning team. Here’s a, here’s a photo of how people think about their relationships. We talk about winning teams and relationships. Your, your best friends, most of you have about 3 to 5 best friends that are super close in your life. If you go to one tier beyond that, you have really good friends, about 12 to 15 and then your tribe, the mental limits what you can wrap your arms around is about 100 and 50 people are your tribe and then everyone else. So let’s go through this and our churches lens Your best friends is your discipleship group of 3-5 guys with 3-5 girls that you meet with every other week. God willing your friends is your community group. The people you actually like hanging out with if the Bible is not opened and they aren’t even talking about God and Jesus and Christianity. Do you wanna hang out? Those people? Are they your friends? Yes, yes, they are. We do open bibles and do talk about God using Christianity, but that’s our community groups, our friends tribe and then the tribe, that’s about a service on sunday morning of one of our services. Does that make sense? That’s just how we wrap around our minds on these relationships of picking a winning team. So men and women invite accountability into your lives from your best friends, not not everyone else, not your tribe Go to your best friends. I heard this line, I think it’s great. You only need 4-5 people to carry your, your casket out and you only need a handful of people to eulogize you and read your read a couple of blurbs, you right up, develop a really core group of best friends and the idea is that they stay with you for the long haul invite accountability from these men and women that are in your lives. Men, I think I did like six of those men’s uh purity groups and I said, I gotta delegate this thing, this is a lot. And so I think that was a while ago and now I think there’s four men’s purity groups in me throughout the week, they’re really good, they’re doing great day stuff compared to what I was doing. I’m saying it’s grown and gotten better. Thank you, jesus for men’s skilled work at that. But there should be a world where you confess your sins to your group and your group can speak into your life, they can pray for you, they can hold you accountable, they can ask you how things are going, they can contact you and reach out to you throughout the weeks as you don’t see each other every day. You should have a life where you, there’s no secrets of people who are your best friends. Pick a winning team christian. So why does Christianity work for some and not for others? And how come some christians overcome bad habits change and grow and others don’t? Well I think there’s a focused intentionality. There’s a, they think deliberately about their walk of God, they act ruthlessly towards sin and they are intentionally on a winning team. But none of this, none of this is possible with you yourself and I chest pounding the flesh does not beat the flesh christian. This is for people who love the Lord love the Lord of God are freshly filled and walking in the holy spirit and who are humbly walking before God who who are doing this all under the power of christ christ’s name is listed five times throughout this passage, we looked at today christ’s name. If you did that exercise as a community group, christ’s name in him, for him through him with him all throughout the chapter two leading up to this morning’s passage. Only way any of this is possible is because of the work of jesus christ in your life. It’s not the work of self, it’s the work of a christ centered theology which impacts a christ centered live ology. Amen, let’s pray God, thank you for today, Thank you that you came and you defeated what we could never defeat and you conquered what we could never conquer and you allow a relationship with you Lord, nothing that we can never accomplish on our own. We just need you desperately to to settle us down and and grow us upward and to become a godly man and a woman. We commit the rest of the day two in jesus name. We pray Amen.
is that better? Yeah. All right. So again, quote from john Calvin, the pastor must have two voices, one for gathering the sheet and another for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves and the scripture supplies him with the means of doing both. Uh, in this letter to the colossians, we see paul doing just that. He’s using scripture to comfort the believers in colossi while simultaneously exposing the wolves and the thieves who seek to destroy this young church. In fact, um, in chapter two verse eight, we see the chief concern that paul wants to address in this letter. We see him warning the colossians against coming under the influence of these false teachers, who prided themselves on being wise philosophers and being deeply spiritual. And yet in all of their spiritual endeavors, they were departing from christ, which makes them wolves and thieves. And so paul comforts the sheep, he calls them to christ. And in chapter two verse 16, he begins the passage with the conjunctivitis adverb therefore, and you have to ask the question, what is it there for? Well, it’s there to show a cause and effect. And the cause and effect. Is this true gospel teaching and preaching faithfulness to the word of God keeps us in christ and false teaching will lead us away from christ. So he goes through all the chapter to unpacking very, very clearly, drawing attention to these false teachers. Their approach, their strategy to help the colossians to develop the discernment, to know what is true, who to believe, Who to trust. So. Chapter two is a very important chapter and verse 23 of this chapter, he tosses out a phrase self made religion and by that he simply means any form of spirituality or religion that did not originate with God. It is man made, it is of the devil, it is not of christ, it is self made religion. And so the title this morning is say no to self made religion. We just came off a midterm election. There are all these different things you have to vote on people trying to get your vote to say yes to this no to that. Well here paul is saying to the colossians, you need to say no to self made religion. And we’ll see here from this passage that paul, his argument against these false teachers and how to discern who these false teachers were and who the true representatives of the faith are. We see him making his argument come clear into the light in this chapter, but I wanna kinda, before we read the passage, I want to show you how he’s been building this argument. He’s been building this case against these false teachers. He’s been building a case to show that the reason why he’s writing this letter is to help them to see the truth to know who to trust. And he’s been building a very strong and compelling case, beginning in verse three and four, when he celebrates the colossians chapter one, verse three and four, he celebrates their faith in christ and that just may seem like ball is being nice, that kind of occurred, so to speak. But no, he wants them to understand the false teaching is taking them away from christ. He wants to celebrate faith in christ, not the departure from christ. And then in chapter one verse seven, he reminds them that they learned this faith, that they heard the gospel preached through a path chris who was beloved a faithful minister of christ again, in contrast to the false teachers. and then in Chapter 1: verse 23, he talks about the the suffering, the affliction that he was experiencing and what the Gospel Ministers experience as the world pours out its hatred on these faithful ministers who are who are preaching christ, right! These false teachers, pulling out hatred on these guys, preaching christ. And then in verse 28 of chapter one, he reminds them that it’s christ that we proclaim its christ, that we want you to mature in. Again, he is making a very clear case that they’re teaching this false teaching isn’t establishing you in christ as he is seeking to do as a path has been endeavoring to do Again. Chapter two, we we see him saying very clearly drawing attention to these false teachers that they are trying to delude you with plausible arguments, But in verse seven of Chapter two says, you are to be rooted and built up in Christ and then in verse eight, that’s the key. This is the reason why he has written this letter to warn the colosseum Church not to be taken captive by these false teachers and their philosophy, their empty to see according to human tradition, elemental spirits of the world. So by the time we get the chapter two, verse 20 paul’s argument best summed up in the statement if with christ, you died, why this, why that faithful teaching helps us to see christ more clearly, false teaching distracts us away from christ. This is the main point this morning that if a teaching is of christ, it will keep us in him and whatever is not of him will lead us away from him. Verses 16 through 18 will see that the false teachers condemn and verses 18 and 19 will see the false teachers bearing a deceptive fruit. And then in verses 20 through 23, we’ll see that false teaching is powerless in the areas that really matter to God. One last thing I want to say before I read the passage and pray for us. There are some themes that he touches on again in this chapter. He’s been touching on them in chapter one and then he revisit them in the passage that I’m about to read to you, one of them being body. There’s a reference to the body that’s a reference to christ body to the individual body, but also implied is the church seven times throughout chapter two, paul has made reference to the body, and then he makes again a reference to the elemental spirits that being the worldly and occult and demonic spirits. And then again a few times he references human precepts, teachings and philosophies and arguments. Wisdom and knowledge is something that he references again and then dying with christ or alive with christ or being buried with christ. These are themes that paul is intentionally revisited to unpack in the passage that we are about to read this morning. So without further ado, let me read the passage and then I’ll pray and unpack what all this means for us. This is Colossians. Chapter two verse 16 through 23, it says therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason, by sensuous mind and not holding fast to the head from whom the whole body nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments grows with a growth that is from God. If with christ, you died to the elemental spirits of the world. Why as if you were still alive in the world do you submit to regulations do not handle. Do not taste, do not touch referring to things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings, These have indeed an appearance of wisdom and promoting self made religion and asceticism and severity to the body. But they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. That is the word of God Father, thank you for your word. It is authoritative. It is infallible, is the only rule of faith that you’ve given us, that we may know how to live a life pleasing to you acceptable to you in every way. God I pray that this morning through this teaching, you would sharpen are the sermon by way of your word and your spirit, that we might be able to distinguish between that which is of the world and of the flesh might cling to christ grow in him and glorify you as a result of it. My greatest in christ’s name. Amen. Right. So again, chapter two very important chapter in the letter to the Colossians. It’s a very dense chapter. Being honest with you, a pretty difficult chapter to teach. Not because of the things that are in it, but because of the density of the chapter itself and there’s some things in there that by way of cultural context we’re kind of separated from and it’s hard to kind of really get a grasp on what it said and what it’s meant. But the closing passage that I just read to you really does bring some clarity to what paul is after in this Chapter and why he has written this letter. And that is to expose these false teachers, to expose false teaching, to help the church grow in discernment, to know how to distinguish that which is true and that which is false. And so one of the first things we see and this is in passes, uh, in verse 16 as well as in verse 18, we see that false teaching. Yeah, batteries are dying, it’s flashing on me. Um, I can use a handheld if there’s one good No, there it is, mike, I’m holding turn that one off. So, as I was saying, The false teachers condemn verse 16, Paul says therefore let no one pass judgment on you. And then in verse 18 he says, let let no one disqualify you. So these lost teachers, they were condemning the believers there because the believers were not following a religion or a set of religious rules and values that were like their own. And so paul is saying to this church again, he’s got two voices, one to call the sheet, one to scare off the wolves. He’s saying to the sheet, don’t be condemned by these guys when you choose christ rather than their weirdness, don’t be condemned. Don’t feel condemned. Don’t let them pass judgment on you in such a way that it discourages your faith in christ is what he’s saying to them. So false teachers when you do not comply. When you do not walk in line as they would have you to walk in line according to themselves, not according to christ, they will condemn you for it with christians. We ought to know the difference between condemnation and conviction. That’s very important because both terms are in the bible and both terms are judicial in nature. Both terms have to do with the feeling of guilt, but they have radically different ends. Condemnation seeks to establish the fact that you are reprehensible, worthless, useless, of no use deserving the worse and the severe form of judgment and punishment. And so when someone comes under condemnation, they feel like there is no value, no love, no acceptance, no way to be forgiven. That is condemnation. Satan likes condemnation when you sin. He wants to heat condemnation on you to discourage you. Turning to christ. So we as christians, we need to know the difference between the two conviction. On the other hand, it wants to convince you of the truth. It is to give you a compelling reason of the truth, so that your hearts would turn to the truth, receive the truth, cling to the truth and be forgiven to walk faithfully in it. It’s to turn you away from error. So we see in this passage, the false teachers judging condemning in a way in which people couldn’t be forgiven, they maybe had to pay penance or something to get back into good graces, but we see paul, aiming for conviction, going after conviction, if christ, if you have died with christ, why this? He wants him to see the truth and to turn to christ, that’s not the goal of the false teachers and the false teachers in this setting, they were condemning the people for not being like them in three different categories. The first one had to do with strict adherence to dietary regulations, who says they were passing judgment on people regarding food and drink. Now this is a mixture of old testament, dietary laws, there’s also a concern during that day for christians as well as jews about purchasing meat in the marketplace, meat that may have been sacrificed to an idol that is now being sold in the marketplace, but there’s also a looking back to the prophet Daniel and the three Hebrew youth, my shadow have been to go and their refusal to eat the king’s food, but to only eat vegetables. So there’s a mixture of all three things and these false teachers are saying, unless you embrace this way, you’re not really about it, you’re not really after God, you’re not really following God. And so they condemned them in the category of dietary regulations. Secondly, they condemned them based on a strict and particular observance of jewish holidays and traditions, the jewish calendar year, right, he says with regard to festival or new moon or sabbath, festival being, you know, the Passover, the feast of Booths, the feast of Tabernacles as it relates to a new moon. That that had to do with the harvest and celebrating of that or the first or the beginning of the month and giving thanksgiving to God. That was a command to the old testament. Saints, That was a commandment to Israel, but not to the church. And then as it relates to the sabbath, believe it or not in old testament Israel. There were, there were different types of sabbath and it’s related to the festival. There were special sabbath, right? There’s the regular sabbath, the weekly sabbath, but there were special sabbath. And so they were looking at the church and said unless you kept these things, unless you kept them like we’re keeping them, you really have no part in God. But Paul in Verse 17 says that those things were a shadow. They were a shadow of the things to come. The substance belongs to christ. In other words, he’s saying everything that God gave to you. Old testament Israel in the form of these dietary codes, the calendar year, the special holidays and festivals that was like GPS pointing to a destination and christ is the destination and once we get to christ, we no longer need that. And yet these false teachers not clinging to christ lost sight of who christ is is only committed to these things and the third area that they condemned the people in had to do with the absence of mystical religious experience in the life of these young believers. This had to do with paul calls it worship of angels that they were worshiping angels, that they were claiming to have these visions and experiencing angels again, this may be a reference to what daniel experience in Babylon, them claiming to have a similar experience. Either way, there was, there’s an indication here based on the language paul uses, that they are worshiping them. That implies these guys were asking angels for guidance and protection. Where do you see that in the bible? We don’t. We see the angels at different times were sent in commission to protect God’s people, but we do not see God commanding us to pray to angels for protection. So Verse 16 and 18, the false teachers are condemning passing judgment right, disqualifying these young believers. And paul says, don’t come under their condemnation. Just don’t come under their condemnation. In fact, paul is clearly trying to call them back to christ Crisis, the substance the substance belongs to Christ crisis. The head. These guys in their pursuit of these things. They’ve lost sight of the head, not holding faster. The head that’s verse 19 of which the whole body is nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments. All teachers are condemning paul is calling them back to christ. He’s making them aware of this. He’s after conviction of all teachers. Not only condemn, but they bear deceptive fruit. They appear to have some discipline in keeping with these old testament traditions, and festivals. They appear to have some discipline and keeping the calendar days. They appear to have some discipline with regard to their diets. And if you were a young believer, looking at what these guys are doing and how they are living, you might be tempted to say with all of that discipline and all of that religious vigor that they seem to display, that maybe I should listen to them, maybe I should follow them right? But paul is saying that this is deceptive fruit. Why do we say that? Why do we know that he is calling this deceptive fruit? Well, crisis, the substance they missed him. Christ is the head. They have not held onto him. And then there is not a love for the body, which if we are knitted together in christ, we grow together in christ. There is a love for the body that these guys don’t have. They disqualify you, they judge you for not being like them. They’re bearing deceptive fruit furthermore, in their boasting about these visions, in their boasting about this asceticism. This way of living that looks deeply spiritual paul says that they have become puffed up without reason, by their sensuous minds. There’s no way to reason with them according to christ, to show them the error of their ways straying from christ. They’re so full of pride have become carnal is what he’s saying, you can’t get through to them. That’s an indication that the fruit that they are bearing, that they claim to be bearing in God’s name is actually deceptive fruit saying you need to look at these things, they’re not maintaining and remaining in christ and then look at the pride. The inability be reasoned with. It’s a deceptive fruit. Now, they may have pointed to, you know, all of the old testament examples that I referenced like, hey look, this is what Israel did in the old testament. These are the days that they celebrated. This is how they follow the mill. This is this is how they ate food. These are the things that they did that you also need to do. And if you’re a young belief over in the church in this day and age where you don’t have the complete canon of scripture, you don’t have this bible in front of you, the complete and total revelation of God given to you. You don’t have all of that. You’re waiting for a letter from paul, right? You don’t have that. You might be tempted to go that way even today in our day and age, we might be tempted by guys who get up and in the name of christ, get up and say some very wonky and weird things. We might be tempted to go along with them. How do we know who to trust and what to trust and who to believe? Well, this is what paul is saying. He’s pointing them back to christ, he’s pointing them back to the word of God. Does it keep you in him? Does it show you the depths and the riches of christ? That’s what he’s been talking about throughout this letter. In him is the fullness of the deity. Is this teaching take you that down that road? Or does it take you into some ambiguous mystical religious experience? Furthermore, I like that word. I’ve said it a few times notice we need to know the difference between descriptive events in the bible and prescriptive events in the bible descriptive being a description of what took place. Prescriptive being, Yeah, it’s a description of what took place. And it’s a command. We test you on this. Jacob had two wives. You guys know the name of his two wives, Rachel and leah. Right. That’s descriptive. Is that pre scripter though? It is not, it is descriptive. Right? Here’s one from the New Testament, John Lewis, John nine, Jesus Heals A Blind Man. He spits and dirt and makes mud and puts it on the blind man’s eye. Is that descriptive or prescriptive wrong? That is descriptive? Another situation where he, you know, puts his finger in his mouth and sticks it in the man’s ear. All of its descriptive, it’s not prescriptive, but if we don’t understand the difference between the two, someone can tell us, someone can put pressure on us. That if every blind man, you walk out of this door and see if you don’t look at some dirt spit in and shove it into. You don’t love that man and you don’t love God and you don’t have faith. Some false teaching works. These guys are prideful, can’t be reasoned with. So they go on in great detail about their visions. The guy who wrote this letter to them paul, he wrote a letter to the to the church in Corinth and he said he had seen some visions, but he he was not allowed to talk about it. In fact, God even allowed a messenger of satan to torment him to keep him humble based on what he saw. That’s completely opposite of what these guys are after. So false teachers, they condemn and they bear deceptive fruit. The third thing is that false teaching is powerless in the areas that really matter to God. It’s powerless in the areas that really matter to God. Paul says that the false teaching, he summarizes it. In verse 21 of chapter two, where he says, they emphasize do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, But then he drops the hammer on him actually, he drives the nail into the coffin in verse 23, when he says, these have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but but they are of no value. They are powerless in stopping the indulgence of the flesh, the things that matter the most to God, they are powerless towards those things. That being holiness and the obedience of faith. You’re powerless in those things. Why? Because they take you away from christ? They lead you away from christ. A lot of impressive communicators in the church today, in the world today are supposedly in the church today. How many times we grieve and our hearts are broken. It scandal after scandal after scandal. That’s because in the areas that matter, the most false teaching is powerless. It’s powerless. It’s unable to present you mature in christ. It’s unable to help you to explore the fullness of the depth of the wisdom that is christ. It is unable, as Chapter 3: verse one says to help you to put on Christ. But we’re gonna be getting into next week. It’s powerless in the areas that really matter, holiness and obedience of faith. It’s powerless to keep you to help people to grow and mature in christ. Thinking about this in the context of this whole chapter Colossians 2 2 verse two, where it says, but their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery which is christ, The false teaching is powerless to lead us in that direction. So any time we have a question about a teaching anytime we’re have a question about some practice that someone is trying to encourage us to engage in some kind of religious practice? There’s some questions that we can ask to help us to discern what is of God and what is of man, what is self made religion, what is going to keep us in christ and what will lead us away from christ? There’s some questions we need to ask and I’ve written them down for you. This isn’t a comprehensive list or maybe some other questions we want to add to this leader. Um there may be some questions that you think of, that would be good, but the first one is this we want to ask is it biblical? Where do we find this teaching in the bible? Is the question we wanna ask, Where in the bible, where is it, is it biblical, or is it made up? Is it man made? And then if it is in the bible, we want to make sure that we have an understanding of that which is prescriptive and that which is descriptive, we wanna make sure that we understand what is an imperative, a command of God and what is not, We want to be clear that we know those things before we will entertain some new teaching. Secondly, as we consider the teaching, we wanna ask, how should we understand it in christ? Now that he has come, christ has come? The substance belongs to christ. How should we understand this teaching? In light of jesus christ, having come and died on the cross and have been buried and raised from the dead. How should we understand this teaching in light of him? Thirdly, as we consider the teaching, we want to ask, does it help me to love christ and his church better? That’s what Paul is getting at? And verses 16 through 19, the outcome of it is that they lose Christ, they lose the head and then they’re not unified. There’s no unity, There’s no love. They’re not held together in him because of this false teaching. So does it help me to love christ in the church batter? That’s important. And look loving the church better? Doesn’t mean that we we ignored that the church has spots and wrinkles as a reference to Ephesians? Yeah, we’ve got spots and wrinkles, but loving the church better wants us to pursue greater holiness and faithfulness in christ as a church together. That’s important. And the fourth question is, does it help me or challenge me towards greater faithfulness and fruitfulness in my own life and my walk with christ In my own life? Does it help me? Does it accomplish what Paul said in Chapter one verse 28, bringing me to maturity in Christ. Will it lead me in that will it assist me in that will help me to move forward in that again, Church Washington, Chapter two Very important chapter in this letter, paul names the false believers, not by name and other in other letters in the bible false teachers are named and the false teaching is named here. We know that it’s the colosseum heresy, some kind of mixture of jewish and ambiguous spiritual experiences that has come together, that has come together to lead the people away from christ. And so we see this is a very important chapter and I think for us understanding that anything that we want to put christ’s name on, anything that we want to say is the teaching of christ we need to be looking for in terms of it, calling us a faithfulness in him. It keeping us in him, it not leading us away from him, that’s our commitment, that’s our commitment as a church, that’s our commitment and our community groups and our discipleship groups, that’s our commitment from our instruction to parents with young Children. It is to put christ before them, it is to help them to grow up in christ. It is to help them to treasure christ. That’s a heart. That’s why we’ve got gathered this morning, Sorry, I got some bands on my teeth. They’re messing with me, let me pray for us, father. I’m reminded of the high priestly prayer that jesus prayed, his desire was for us to be one in him to be sanctified by the truth, that we would have love for one another and that the whole world would know that we were sent by him, that we were of him and that we belong to you. The God. Would you help us to be faithful to you? To be faithful to the words of scripture, that we might become, that reality that we might become, as paul said, the hope of glory for this dark world, the people who are bound in sin and in darkness would see a church unified in christ, sanctified by the truth of christ, loving one another and proclaiming christ and be drawn to that good news. So called. Would you help us towards that end? I pray in jesus name and then
the check there, make sure sometimes I forget sometimes they, they just mute my mic for me cause I’ll just sing loudly during worship and stuff. So I think that’s probably to the benefit of the whole church that they mute my mic. But my name is dan, I’m glad you’re here this morning. Um one of the pastors here and we’re gonna continue studying paul’s letter to the colossians. So if you have a bible, go ahead and open it to colossians, chapter two, I’m gonna tell you um On the front end, we are going to read verses one through 15 and uh, the title of today’s teaching is the value of wisdom, the value of wisdom. And as I was thinking about today’s teaching, I was reminded of something that happened that took place was a true event. Um, I know sometimes I may tell you a story, an illustration of here that isn’t true, but if you know my motto, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, right? That’s a joke. First service, They were willing to laugh at that you guys, I know man, you, you thanks for that, ha ha. Um, but so this, uh, this event that took place, it’s um, it really is a little funny, believe it or not. So Payless shoe store decided to run a prank on some fashion influencers in Los Angeles, they opened up what they call the designer shoe store and they stocked it with all Payless shoes, but they removed the payless branding from the shoes and from the store and by the way, I have nothing against Payless and Payless shoes, I’ve worn payless shoes in the past. I’m sure I wear some in the future, but this is quite comfortable. So they opened up this store, remove all of the branding, pretend that it is a designer shoe store. Very expensive. That’s what that means. Right? Every time you see designer, right? That means you’re gonna pay a lot of money. And they invited in all of these fashion influencers to come in, get a first peep or a first look, a first opportunity to purchase from this new designer shoe store that opened And these fashion influences were so blown away by the shoes on the shelves and they were willing to pay more than 1800% of the sticker price of the, of the shoe, the value of the shoe. I mean it’s the shoes that were, that would cost normally at payless, about $30. They were willing to pay 646 $150 700 dollars for a pair of shoes. And so Payless is set all this up. They have no idea that this is Payless, right? And then they began to interview these fashion influencers about the shoe and what they liked about and what was, you know great about it and they just, they just gushed at how awesome how cool how, how chick, how sleek, how you know, all of the fashion terminology, these shoes were fine quality. They were amazing. The comfort is amazing, It is so stylish. And then at the end of it pay less would kind of drop the bomb on them and say did you know that these are payless shoes? They said no, no way these can be payless shoes. These are the top of the line. And I said no, these are payless shoes, by the way, here’s your money back. We wanna we wanna give you the shoes. Now you can write about how cool, how comfortable, how stylish, how quality these shoes are and and help us out. Right? And so that’s what Payless did as I was thinking about that, right? These fashion influences influencing the culture, the trendsetters, right, telling people what looks good, what’s fashionable, what is desirable? These people were duped and had no idea why because their whole system, their whole metric system of valuing things is a bit superficial, right? A little bit superficial. So they could get the cover pulled over their eyes a little bit. And so today when we think about what we’re about to read in chapter Two of colossians paul is saying to the colosseum Church, don’t let anyone pull the cover over your eyes. Don’t let anyone fool you don’t let anyone cheat you from the real thing christ from the real treasure christ. Don’t let anyone smooth talk you or present in such a way that they’re so passionate and charismatic and how they presented and so convincing and so compelling and they got the right mood music in the background. Don’t let anybody in that setting get you to leave christ because christ is our greatest treasure and the only wise way to live, it’s in him with him. So that’s what paul wants to make clear to the colossians in our passage this morning. He’s gonna kick off the first five verses talking about is struggle. His desire for God to work in a powerful way in the colosseum church as well as the churches in that region. And then he’s going to lay out a challenge to them on how to live as christians. And he’s going to end it. And last four or five verses talking about the benefits that we have gained because of the gospel of the Lord, jesus christ and he wants him to see through all of that is that christ is our greatest treasure. The only wise way to live is in him. So without further ado, let me read the passage and then I’ll pray for us Again, this is Colossians chapter two, beginning in verse one, it says for I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those that leo and for all who have not seen me face to face that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery which is christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments for though I am absent embodied yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in christ. Therefore, as you received christ, jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted up, be rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. Just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving, seek to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to christ. For in him the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him. Who is the head of all rule and authority in him also. You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of christ, having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcised version of your flesh. God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands this. He set aside nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. That is the word of God. Let us pray father, thank you. Thank you Lord christ your appointed savior for us, accomplished everything that we ever needed to be restored back to you and Lord jesus, thank you. You rule and you reign. You are the head of your church. We desire this morning to be firmly planted in you. I pray that you would remind us by way of this teaching in the spirit that you are indeed the great treasure all of life is insignificant if it is without you. But with you it is the most blessed life. So would you accomplish these things this morning in our midst and in our time be glorified and praying, jesus amen man. So um if if you’re new to soar, if you’re somewhat unfamiliar with um you know our commitment to preaching and teaching here, we’ll read the passage. Um the one that’s biblical, that’s that the scriptures will be read publicly. And we like to kind of read it before we begin to start to teach it or unpack it just so that you can take it in and then well start to unpack it and and and and help you to see how it all fits together and the message that the author is trying to make. But there is something that’s important to God when we as people gather and we sit and we hear the word being read and read over us and to us that matters to God. And so I love doing that. Um Paul commissioned timothy and commanded him to do that to read the scriptures publicly in this way and he had the church in mind. So we’ve read colossians chapter two verses one through 15. Now we’re going to unpack it. I’ve kind of Structure these 15 verses into three parts, the first part, verses one through 5. It simply is, don’t let them cheat you. That’s what paul is saying in those first five verses. And then, And verses six through 10 Again, that’s the challenge to walk in Christ and then the last four versus to look at what you’ve gained in him to remember the benefits that the Gospel had purchased for you brought to you in christ to be reminded of those of those things. So, again, and that’s kind of the approach we want to help you kind of get a grasp of. So now, when you read the bible on your own, you can start thinking about what is the author trying to say here. What is God saying through this passage here and wanting to rightly understand it in its context. So, beginning in verse one, Paul continues talking about his struggle. He ended chapter one talking about a struggle that he had right. Um verse 24 chapter one He talked about a struggle that he had in verse 24. He talked about that struggle in terms of the Gospel being preached throughout the known world Towards the end of Chapter one, in verse 29, he starts talking about that struggle to make the cycles to put before people sound teaching to help them to mature in the faith. And here in verse one of chapter two, he’s talking about struggle, but now it’s personalized, directed towards the colossians, towards the leo the sins towards the whole region of Lester. He’s saying, I am thinking of you, I have within me, a desire to see you get all that christ wants you to get out of him and in this life for him, he says he has this desire to be with them, He has this desire to see them strengthened in the faith. He has a desire to see them grow in christ and he has this desire even though he hasn’t seen them, that’s the apostolic burden the pastoral burden that paul felt in his heart for the colossians. And if you aren’t, if you missed the first teaching that we gave the church was planted here because of a disciple that came out of the church in Ephesus batteries, who was from this region from colossi, he was reached in Ephesus and then he returned to colossi and preached the gospel and this church was formed. And so paul hasn’t actually been here, but he has a heart as a burden for the people here. And he says, there’s a struggle in him for them to see them become all that God has made them for to see them grow up into all that the Gospel promises to them, Verse two, he impacts that even further when he says that his struggle is for them, that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ Again, he’s just talking about the struggle. And if you’re familiar with Chapter one, he talks about, he had a prayer that he was praying for them. Well, now he’s further unpacking unfolding that prayer. And what is it he says it is that they might be encouraged in Christ, that they might be unified in Christ with love for one another, and that they might be confident of all that the Gospel promises them in christ. So that’s his, that’s his struggle. That’s his hope, that’s his prayer, that’s his desire. That’s what he wants to see in them. And I believe that’s what the Holy Spirit is pressing paul to pin to them so that they themselves might see it in the spirit that this is what God wants for them, and that’s what God wants for us as well. And then he ends their inverse to talking about the knowledge of God’s mystery. He likes to use the term mystery. He references mystery quite a bit in this letter and it has to do with the so called philosophers who who pretend to have, who pretend to have cornered the market on wisdom. And paul is adamant that the true mystery, that thing that was revealed, I think that was hidden that is now revealed is christ, He’s adamant about that. And so it’s constantly drawing their attention to that, don’t give into these so called mysteries and wisdom out there. But here in christ is the true unfolding of the mystery and wisdom of God. He says it was hidden. He says in him are hidden all the treasures of this wisdom and knowledge in him are hidden. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now it might seem like paul is just throwing out a sunday school answer right there, right. You know, you know what I mean by the sunday school answer, you ask a young kid a question um what do you think the bible is saying that jesus, you know the church, the bible, you know that kind of thing that sunday school answer? It may seem like paul is saying that like oh yeah, okay, well what’s real visible, jesus, you know the sunday school answer jesus no, no, no, no, there is so much more there. When you look at what he’s saying there in him, right in saying in him all the riches, a full assurance and understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery is is which is christ in whom are hidden. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. If you if you put your finger there on verse three and then you jump down to verse nine and you see where he says for in him though the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. And then if you were to go back over to chapter one and you see verse 16 where it says that all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together. Now we know this is more than just a sunday school answer when he says that in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, he is the invisible god made visible to man, revealed to man, jesus the son of God the fullness of God in him the creator, the sustainer the maker of all things. So when he says in whom all the wisdom of knowledge is hidden, he’s not saying sunday school answer, he’s saying everything that is out there. Everything that is made is because of him. Just don’t let them cheat you. Mm hmm Don’t let them pull one over on you in him and him and him is where it’s at. And then verse four we have the direct mention for the first time his concern about the false teachers in the area, the false teaching that was permeating the area and specifically targeting the churches he says is I say this in order that no one may delude you. What is he said? Not just verse three here. Chapter two he said all of this chapter one and all the way up until this point, he is saying I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments, that no one may deceive you, that no one may con you, that no one may defraud you, that no one may cheat you the true value and the true riches that is christ. And then in verse five, he follows up this mention of false teaching and false teachers and there’s there’s an insinuation that there is a battle that is taking place. And so verse five he says, for though I am absent in body yet I’m with you in spirit. All that means is my prayers are for you. And this letter is with you. This apostolic leather letter with the authority of God is with you. But I wish I was with you as well. Why? Because it goes on to say because I rejoice to see your good order and the firmness of your faith. Those are military terms, your good order like an army marching like an army holding rank like an army moving in a direction. I wish I was there with you. And he says the firmness of your faith. That’s a that’s again a military term that he’s using their emphasizing an army holding the battle line, not caving into the enemy’s attack not retreating? He said, I wish I was there with you marching with you, holding the battle line with you so that we would all be encouraged, strengthened, unified in this faith. So that these guys with their persuasive arguments, with their conning deceitful scheming would not cheat us, would not defraud us, would not deceive us. And it’s all in christ. I mean, if you were to read this letter to the colossians and you highlighted every single time one color, how often paul says in christ with christ or in him or with him? I mean, you wouldn’t be able to see anything else in the bible. It would just be you run out of ink from your marker. How often he references this in the midst of this battle, in the midst of this fight, the teaching that we are to remember that we are in him and that we are with him and that the fight is to pull you away from him to lead you away from him to lead your heart, your mind away from him. But you you if you responded to the gospel by faith, you’ve been brought into union with christ. He’s a far more value than anything else in this life. Again, he references the false teachers in verse four and verse five, he speaks of it in terms of a battle, it reminds me of first Corinthians chapter one verse 23 24 where he says, where is the one who is wise? Where is described, where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the foolish, has has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world. For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it please God through the folly of what we preach to save. Those who believe for jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach christ crucified a stumbling block to jews and folly to gentiles, but to those who are called both jews and Greeks, christ the power of God and wisdom of God don’t let them cheat you. This is a battle. Don’t be taken by their he says they’re plausible arguments seemingly reasonable, but they are not because in that reason, in that logic you did not know God. But in the folly of the cross being preached, you came to know the wisdom of God, stand firm, Keep the good order and that leads us into his challenge towards him and verses six through 10 where he gets into challenging them to live this out. The walk as christians. Therefore, as you received christ jesus the Lord. So walking him in verse six, as you received christ jesus the Lord, that’s the beginning of your christian walk, receiving christ jesus. The Lord receiving him as Lord, not as your friend, not as your personal santa claus good luck charm, but as Lord Lord means master. It means ruler. That means the one who calls the shots, who gets to tell you what to do even when you don’t feel like it. He says as you were seeing him as well walk walking him. So any teaching, any idea that discourages obedience to crisis from the pit of hell, it did not originate with God. It is not in God, it is from the pit of hell. Any teaching. Any idea that would discourage obedience and faithfulness to christ. That’s from hell. It’s not to be taken lightly. It’s not to be treated as oh it’s just neutral or oh it’s not that significant. No it’s from hell. He says you are to receive as you’ve received him. So walking him obedience to christ obedience to christ requires reliance upon christ. If you or to call him Lord, you need to walk with him, you need his grace to keep you to help you to sustain you too, warn you to correct you, to encourage you you need his grace. Obedience to christ requires reliance upon christ. Well that’s different from saying, well I want to do what’s right because I don’t want to feel bad about it but I keep doing what’s wrong even though I want to do what’s right. Well that’s probably an indication that you’re relying on his strength. You’re on having a desire to do what’s right and then bathing and saturating that desire and prayer and accountability, being willing to do whatever God would ask you to do, so that you might do what is right. That is a declaration that you’re relying upon his power and grace. Moving on. In verse seven says being rooted, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving and I was a little impressed that I I pronounce this word correctly in the first service, but you know, horticulture here, you know, the reference of being rooted and then architecture. So we have paul pulling the two together, I have no idea what he was looking at, but the holy spirit was using this mightily this idea that if you are to be a disciple of christ, if you are to walk with him, be in him and with him and and union with him, that somehow that God was like a plant, like a tree, God was would create a process of discipleship where your roots are required to go deep in christ, so you might be sustained in christ and then he says that you’re being built up. So then he makes the shift from horticulture to actor to architecture to say that God is building something that will be observable, they’ll have more of a permanence that I’m inclined to think that he’s talking about you and I together the you being plural, being rooted and built up together, becoming a living temple of the glory of God reflecting the glory of God. So the ministry of the Word feeds the people of God. The people of God are built up by the Ministry of the Word and the people of God rejoice at the true faithful ministry of the word because God is doing something and it’s observable Universe. eight The see to it that no one takes you captive man. He’s going back to the military terms and the imagery war. See to it that no one takes you captive. See to it that no one makes you a slave of an idea that’s not of God, that’s not consistent with the word of God that opposes allegiance to christ. See to it that no one takes you captive by these things. He says. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy. Philosophy simply means a love of wisdom or to seek out knowledge to see to that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit. And here’s the key according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to christ, the philosophy, the traditions, according to humanity or human preferences or spiritual forces that are dark and not according to christ God’s not anti philosophy. God’s not anti tradition. God is anti any philosophy in any tradition that would try to supplant the supremacy of christ in our lives. That’s what he’s saying and see to it that no one makes you a slave of that thing. Because then you’ve lost the true value of wisdom. You’ve lost the true treasure that is christ. So in verse nine, he says, for in him the full the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily In verse 10 and you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority now, it may just seem like like paul is just kind of shoving some theological terms at the end of you know, this thought here just to summarize it for us. But again, you go back to what I pointed out to in verse three in chapter one verse 16, 17 and 18. He’s simply saying by way of reminder, Jesus and him the fullness of Deity 12. He is over everything. All authority over everything. And if there’s any idea if there’s any teaching, if there’s any thought that is contra him, you are to reject it. Why? Because he made all things, He sustains all things in him. All things hold together. And so why would we entertain any rebellious idea or thought that would push us away from him? I mean, that’s the essence of sin. So that’s paul’s challenge here to live as christians that we are as we’ve received christ jesus. The lord were to walk in him relying upon him resisting the enemy in this war, in this battle of ideas and information, resisting the enemy. Walking with christ, relying on him trusting him knowing that he is everything, he’s all and above all. Then he moves on Chapter 11 as we move towards the end here. So he said, don’t let anyone cheat you walk in christ and now he wants to remind them of what they’ve gained in christ Again, beginning in verse 11, he says in him also, you were circumcised with circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of christ. And in verse 12 have been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead and then in verse 13 and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcised version of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven all, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wow, this is paul’s gospel, this is paul under, this is an out working or these are implications of paul’s gospel that he preached, he’s reminding them of these are all the things that you have gained. It starts with circumcision. Why we start with circumcision. Well, maybe there are some false teachers who are trying to pull the church back towards Judaism. And so he starts there, he’s already addressed the greek component with their quest to seek out wisdom and now he’s addressing the false teaching of the Juda advisers. And so he starts with circumcision. A circumcision was a covenant sign for the Children of Abraham? It marked them off, It separated them from those outside the covenant and those inside the covenant. And so he does something that’s really amazing. He he says, look, the circumcision that was done then was intended to point them to christ because it represented a cutting off of rolling away of the reproach. That was God hated. That’s what circumcision stood for. It was to point them to their need for savior, who would then remove all of their reproach. That’s what he says. That circumcision is now of no value. What’s of true value is what God does in the heart. The circumcision of the heart, cutting off the dead heart or the spiritually dead harder. The heart that is entrenched and dead works towards God. That is not acceptable to God, that God removes that heart from you and gives you a new and living heart in christ. He says that’s a circumcision, not done by human hands, but it is done by the work of the spirit through the preaching of the gospel. And it is joined with faith and we see grace, working it into our lives deeper into our souls as we understand it. So he says, there’s a cutting off of the old and then he points to baptism, he says that you were, it says that we were um buried with him in baptism and which were also raised with him. Are you saying your baptism is to be a witness to the fact that God has made you a new creation? That just as jesus rose from the dead, that now when you rise up out of the waters of baptism, it is a testimony that God has made you a new creation with a new heart, that he has done the work in you to give you that new heart. Now you are a new creature in christ. He did that and he forgave all of your sins, he says forgiven all of your trespasses, but he made you alive, not by ourselves, but with him with him. And then in verse 14 says by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside nailing it to the cross again. I think he is intentionally going after the Judaism because he makes a reference to the legal demands of the law. What were the legal demands of the law? Well, if you broke the law, you deserve death? Secondly, he says that he nailed him to the cross. Well, if you go familiar with the story of jesus dying on the cross, you know that pontius Pilate nailed something above that cross. What did he nail above that cross? It was a phrase King of the jews. So the romans when they would crucify someone and take the charges against that person and they would nail it above the cross. And paul is intentionally exposing the false teaching of these Judaism’s by saying that look, the king of the jews, jesus when he was nailed to that cross. All of your sin was nailed to that cross. All of your sin was nailed to that cross. I don’t think you understood me. All of your sin was nailed to that cross When you turn to him in faith, there’s not one sin that God forgot. Oh yeah. You know I didn’t know they were gonna commit that sin. So let me now go back and add that. Now he’s saying all was nailed to that cross. Every record, every record of debt of sin debt tone four paid amen. In verse 15. Again, returning to the military language, he says he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. When the romans would conquer people, they, they would try to keep either the king or one of the top generals of the opposing army alive for a short period of time, it would eventually brutally kill them but they wanted to keep them alive and to bring them back to Rome in chains behind a chariot where either the emperor or one of his top generals drove the chariot and these captives would be paraded through the streets to open shame public spectacle. There’s no question paul has that in mind when he’s thinking about the resurrected and ascended jesus, that in his resurrection and ascension with a strong man and all of the rulers in the heavenly places that they are made a public spectacle of disarms them. And as Ephesians 4 8 says says that when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and then he gave gifts to men, Paul unpacks that in the letter to the Ephesians, the gifts that he gave them in included the leadership, the apostolic leadership of Paul and his authority to write this letter to remind the church, christ has won a great victory. He’s made a public spectacle of the enemy. We are to march in order we are not to break rank. We are not to be deceived to lay down our arms, but we are to stand firm. We have been called to plunder the house of a strong man because christ has made a public spectacle of him. That’s a reference in the Bible to Satan and his demonic influence over the nation’s. That’s why Paul in verse 13 talks about Christ. When you come to faith in him, you’ve been delivered from the domain of the Kingdom of Darkness and brought into his kingdom. And it wasn’t a nice deliverance. It was a total defeat. It was domination over the darkness that held you and I brings you into his kingdom and we together marching in ranks, standing firm, holding the battle line unified, Being encouraged, strengthened in christ. We are not to lay down our arms because someone made us laugh, made us cry. I told a pretty story, threaten to do us harm. Now we are to stand in this victory. We are to remember what crisis gained us through his own death and resurrection. We have to stand firm to this word. Maybe you live in a vacuum, but this word is politically unacceptable. In many cases, I don’t know if you noticed that, what do we do? Do we lay down our arms, do we back away? Do we shy away? But I’m gonna say this and some of the elders, we can now have a conversation with me if it’s not right, but let me say this. So anyway, I’m gonna say it if you are a christian and you are offended in such a way by God’s word that it evokes an emotional response in you. You really need to do some soul searching to see if the spirit of God is really in you because this passage says that we abound and thankfulness because of this word, it may be hard, may ask us to do hard things sometimes, but ultimately, we have bound and thankfulness because of this word is the word of a king, our king, jesus christ Lord King. But you’re in the midst of a battle church, we are in the midst of a battle christ is the true value of wisdom, but we cannot lay down our arms and give up this battle just because someone wants to tickle the ears, pat us along on the back as we’re going along in sin, we cannot lay down arms. We must stand firm in him. We must encourage each other to stand firm in him. We must pray for one another and for us together to stand firm in him as God is doing the work, he is building his church. So let me close in prayer will move to the time of communion. Father, thank you God, you have not called us to an impossible task. It would be impossible were it not for what you have accomplished on our behalf in christ, we’re not for your spirit, you’ve given us. We’re not for the clarity and the authority of your word. It would be impossible were not for the communion of the saints. What you call us. Who would be impossible. But Lord, you have given us all those things so we know what you’ve called us to is not impossible. So Father, would you help us? Would you remind us that we have the victory on our side in christ? That we have the wisdom christ and that we have all of these gifts and tools that you’ve given us To March four until we see your glory fill this earth. I pray this in, jesus name. Amen
Good morning. So a church. Good morning. So good to be with you guys. If you’re new here, my name is dan, I’m one of the elders, so glad you’re here. Hopefully we get to connect with you at some point. Um while you guys are here, we are going to continue in colossians. So go ahead and open your bibles to the letter to the colossians Church, we’re gonna be looking at chapter one, verses 24 through 29. While you’re turning there, I just kinda wanna help set up this morning’s teaching a bit. So, As you will see in a moment in verse 24, Paul will begin this passage. Speaking of his suffering for the Gospel and then he’s gonna end in verse 29 talking about his struggle to make mature disciples of Christ and in between that, we’re gonna see paul talking about what God is doing in the church, in the church like the colossians and what God is expecting of that church. And so through all of that, from beginning to end, paul suffering to take the Gospel to the unreached regions of the world, and paul suffering to make mature gospels, through all of that, paul is warning the Colossians Church to understand that God is after something in their lives through their church. And he wants to show them this through his own suffering through his own toiling for the gospel and all of this reminds me of an author named Nassim to lead. He is a Lebanese american author who wrote the book anti fragile. He wrote this book in 2012. His main point of the book is that in order for something to be considered anti fragile, it must not only be able to endure hardship and resistance, but it must benefit from all hardship and resistance. This idea of being anti fragile sounds a lot like what paul is describing in terms of his own life and what he is after in the life of the colosseum church. And so he uses his experience to talk about how the Gospel has produced this in his life. So today the title of the sermon is anti fragile. Again, that’s not just a resilience, that’s not just not breaking, but it’s improving and becoming stronger when faced with adversity. And my goal this morning is to help you see that suffering comes from True Gospel Ministry and True Gospel Ministry produces anti fragile christians. That’s my goal this morning. So let me pray for us and then we’ll read the passage Father in Heaven, thank you, thank you for your good promises. Thank you for your faithfulness. That reminds us that those promises are indeed going to be fulfilled in christ for us. Thank you Lord, thank you for the time this morning where we got to sing your praises. Thank you Lord for turning your gaze towards us right here in Lincoln Nebraska. And so our church, I thank you that this time is not insignificant to you. And so Father, would you during this time, would you exalt your son jesus christ through the ministry of this word, would you through this time by the power of your Holy Spirit? Help us to grasp what you want us to glean from this teaching. And would you use me a lowly servant? And most importantly, would you be pleased to have this worship gathering be associated with your name this morning? I pray this in jesus name amen beginning in verse 24. Or read the passage because now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body. That is the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the Word of God fully known the mystery hidden for ages and generations. But now revealed to his saints to them, God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery which is christ in you the hope of glory him. We proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in christ for this. I toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Just that is the word of the Lord Very easily. I could have continued on into Chapter two. The thought. The sentiment certainly continues on into Chapter two. But we are going to address what is covered in Chapter two next week, But I want to draw your attention back to verse 24. In the beginning of that verse, Paul says, now, I rejoice in my sufferings. That’s really strange. What a strange thing to say. I don’t think I’ve ever said that in this life, that I am rejoicing at my sufferings. Seems like paul is saying something to the natural mind. That is very contradictory. It makes no sense. Why would you, why would you rejoice in suffering, paul? Why, that makes no sense. Are you a glutton for pain, paul? And are you insinuating by saying that you rejoice in your sufferings, that we too ought to be gluttons for pain and suffering? Well, I think it is true that he wants us to rejoice in our sufferings, but he wants us to rejoice in our sufferings because Gospel obedience is full of struggle and suffering. Gospel obedience is full of struggle and suffering. And so he says, I rejoice in my sufferings. He wrote this Something similar to this to the Roman church, and we see it in Romans 53, is that we rejoice in sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance. Okay, Paul believes we should rejoice in our sufferings, Then you’re telling us that Gospel obedience is full of struggle and suffering. So what if I don’t want to suffer. But I still don’t want to suffer, or if I still want to push back on that? Well, we’re not saying that you need to go out and say we’re suffering, let me go run after it, let me go chase it down. Let me go pursue it, man, I need some suffering in my life. That’s not what he’s saying. What he’s simply saying is that as we pursue True Gospel Ministry, we should expect that somehow suffering is going to follow it and somehow that this is the normal experience for christians in this life, traveling through this world as christ’s ambassadors that we will meet resistance, that there is darkness, Brokenness, there is an enemy that opposes the truth of God and that as we pursue christ, choosing to be faithful to him, we will encounter suffering along the way. And this is normal for the christian experience, Paul has said it here to the Colosseum Church, he has said it to the church in Rome. Then we see also in James Chapter one, the younger brother of Jesus says it this way, count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds. And then Peter, an apostle of jesus said it this way, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice insofar as you share christ suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed, Paul James Peter, they’re saying that True Gospel Ministry is somehow surrounded with somehow the byproduct of pursuing True Gospel Ministry comes with suffering, that there is a suffering that we may encounter. And then in Acts five, we see from this historical account, peter and john after they had been whipped beaten for preaching, jesus, their response says they left the presence of the council, that being the religious jewish council, they they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Wow! So, paul isn’t saying something crazy here when he says, I rejoice in my sufferings, but he is simply reminding the colosseum Church based on his own experience. And as we now have the benefit of the experience of the early Church throughout the bible that suffering follows through Gospel Ministry. But in the end of that sentence, he says, well, it’s a long run on sentence. But the second part of that phrase is that I suffer for your sake, wow, what does he mean there? I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, with no suffering follows True Gospel Ministry. But now he’s saying I do it for your sake. What you’re saying is, in his endeavor to take the Gospel to unreached regions of the world, to take the Gospel to places where christ isn’t preached, that he has encountered all manner of resistance and darkness and pain and struggle. And yet to see someone like you, colosseum Church, someone like you. So, were church responding to this gospel was enough for him? Do it again? He said again and again, that you might see the glory of christ. That you would respond to the glory of christ being preached and proclaimed. So paul is doing what Jesus said to do if we were to follow him to pick up our crosses and deny ourselves, we understand that God accomplished his purpose through the cross of the Lord jesus christ and that God will yet again and again accomplish all of his purposes through his people bearing their crosses. For the Lord jesus christ. So paul says, I do it for your sake. Gospel obedience is full of struggle, full of suffering. But I do it for your sake. Some people will shy back from teaching you the truth and they will say it is because of love. Paul is saying he’s not shying away from declaring truth hard truth. Truth. That may not be comfortable socially acceptable. He will teach them and he does it for your sake. That is love. Now, in the second part of verse 24, admittedly, this is one of the most difficult passages to understand in all the new testament paul says in my flesh. I’m filling up what is lacking in christ affliction for the sake of his body. That is the church. That’s difficult. What do you mean, Paul? I mean? We sing songs declaring that Jesus has paid at all. And yet paul is saying, I’m filling up what is lacking in christ’s body. What could he possibly mean, paul, are you saying Jesus didn’t pay at all? No, I don’t think that’s what paul is saying, That’s not what he’s saying. Paul believes that the Gospel who wanted Jesus commissioned his apostles to take to the ends of the earth, that that Gospel must be taken to the ends of the earth and that in taking it to the ends of the earth, that there again, there’s going to be resistance, there’s going to be adversity, there’s going to be suffering. But yet each time the church experiences this suffering, this resistance, it is made stronger. It advances the Gospel advances the gates of hell will not prevent it from going forward into the darkness and prevailing and he says, in that process, I am suffering because of Gospel obedience, because of Gospel ministry. And in the process, I’m filling up what is lacking, that means what he’s saying, the body of christ that is constantly being revealed as the kingdom expands. That’s how he’s filling up what is lacking. He believes the Church is much bigger than his current location. He believes that christ’s body is still growing in the earth and so he’s willing to suffer to see that become a reality. It reminds me of a quote from two trillion or he says, the blood of the martyrs became the seed bed for the church, the more Rome persecuted the Church, the more it grew the more it spread to the outermost parts of that empire Paul himself has said elsewhere in Acts 1422 says through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God. There’s a gospel obedience, there’s a gospel call. There’s a willing to suffer to see the kingdom expand. There’s a willingness to suffer to enter into the kingdom. So paul says he does it all for their sake. He’s willing to do it for their sake. He’s willing to do it because his faith is one in which he believes jesus has a church, jesus is gathering people, he’s gathering his church to himself and he’s willing to suffer to see that become a reality. I remember being a college student at K. U. in 2000 and one when terrorists crashed their planes into the World Trade Center. I remember walking out of my classroom and there was a tv. So when it put in the middle of campus and I saw the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center And I remember following that horrible time in our nation’s history that tragic time a lot of people were asking the question like what would compel those men to to do those things? Well they were deceived. They were pursuing a lie and they thought that in sacrificing themselves for that lie that they would somehow receive selfish rewards later in life. That’s not what paul is saying paul is saying for the truth. A truth. That isn’t taking the lives of innocent people, a truth that is sent to set people free from sin and darkness. A truth that restores people back to God. A truth that isn’t simply saying that hey, christ can’t be offered to everyone. There is a free offer of christ and paul’s gospel to everyone. He’s willing to die for that truth. And it’s so different. It’s a vast contrast between Christianity just about every other faith in this world. And it takes its rhythm. It takes its example, its pattern from the Savior who did the same thing. and Paula says in verse 25, he became a steward of this ministry. He became a steward christ and trusted him with this ministry. Christ had called him forward, set him apart for and that he became a steward ford of It says the truth that he’s been called to steward the Gospel Ministry, that he’s been called to steward. It is for you this for you Again, that’s very different from what men did in 2001, killing innocent lives. They didn’t do it for you. They did it for themselves, paul is saying he is willing to suffer for you. So he says in verse 26, this mystery hidden for the ages and generations. But now revealed to his saints. This mystery is a reference to the reality that christ is savior of gentiles as well as jews, That christ has a body of believers, that is comprised of both jew and gentile, he’s saying to the glossy in church that you are a witness and a testimony of this glorious mystery when you gather in his name and you worship him and you give your lives for him when you live for him, he says, I’m willing to struggle to die, to suffer to see this reality be made known throughout the world. He says that you, when you gather colossians, you show the unfolding of this mystery that’s been hidden. Christ is the Savior of the gentiles as well. Amazing that paul says that he’s willing to rejoice in suffering to see this truth be revealed. Gospel obedience is full of struggle. It’s full of struggle. Next point I want to make is the Gospel ministry though it comes with suffering. Christ is worth it. Christ is worth it Verse 27 he says to them, God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery. And then the second part of that sentence which is christ in you the hope of glory. So we have him saying the riches of the glory and then we have the hope of the glory. I don’t wanna look at this. The term riches here. It’s a favorite term of paul that he uses quite a bit in his letter to the colossians and to the Ephesians, he uses it over seven times and referencing the blessings of God. If he’s just 3, 8, which by the way, if you’re not familiar with fusions and colossians, they’re like sister letters, right? Most of the letters that paul wrote were circular letters meaning when they were read in one church, they were expected to be, there were copies expected to be made of it and it was to be read in other places, other churches. And when you look at colossians and Ephesians, they are very much similar. He’s addressing some of the same things in region wise, they’re pretty close, they’re not that far away from each other. And yet he’s addressing some of the same things. And so he uses that term riches in reference to God’s blessings so many times in addressing both churches and so in Ephesians 3, 8 we see him addressing it and it helps us to see even clearly in this passage, his meaning of riches. And he says this to me though I am the very least of all the saints. This grace was given the stewardship right to preach to the gentiles. The unser chewable riches of christ christ is worth it. The riches of christ of knowing him of being with him and all of his benefits that are given to us in him, paul says, they are uncertain. Hable, you could spend all of eternity and still not reach the end of those riches that are found in him. Football says, this is why he says christ is worth it. This is why he says that when you gather you show to the world foretaste of those riches you get a sniff of it mm that smells good. That’s what your life is supposed to look like. That’s what this gathering is supposed to be about. The glory of God being revealed, put on display in his people. So he says the riches of the glory, speaking of the present reality christ on display in the colossians and then he says the hope of glory speaking of the future reality christ return and the confirmation of his kingdom. This is so awesome. When you think about that the present reality and the future reality is saying in christ God defines who we are and what we will become, he defines who we are and what we will become. And in this present reality christ being on display in you, unfolding this glorious mystery that he is Lord and savior of not just jews but gentiles as well and the goodness of God and the mercy of God and the wisdom of God all being shown through you and that’s just the beginning. The future reality is coming as well. First peter one says it this way, blessed be the God and father of our Lord, jesus christ according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unf aiding kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, present and future reality. You know what’s so amazing about this? When you think about what paul is saying here in the midst of this gospel struggle saying that christ is worth it. The previous verses, Mike covered him last week. Pastor Mike covered him last week. So I won’t read them all to but versus 15 or 20 of Chapter one that was a him that the early church saying it was a song was a song that declared the supremacy of christ over all else in this world. Why? Because he made all things, he sustains all things, all things exist for him and by him, the one to whom all things belong. He gave himself for the church, you and I and through his death and resurrection, he conquers the grave, showing that he is stronger than our greatest enemy. Death. He is our king and our leader. He’s worth any amount of hardship or suffering we encounter in this life. So that’s why that passage versus 2015 through 20 became a hymn was a reminder of the supremacy of Christ. All else in life. The unser chewable richness riches that we’ve been given in him. Moving on. So gospel obedience comes with struggle, but christ is worth it. And if that’s not enough encouragement for you versus 28 and 29, tell us his power will sustain us, his power will sustain us. He begins verse 28 by saying that him we proclaim. Now that is the first of three verbs indicating teaching, proclaim warning, teaching him. We proclaim warning, everyone, teaching everyone with all wisdom that we present, everyone mature in christ. This sounds a lot like his prayer in verse nine, where he says from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. He is praying this for them. He is toiling, struggling with the power and energy of christ to teach them these truths. Parallel passage to this again in Ephesians four verse 12 and 14 says this is the reason why God has given leadership to the church. This is the reason why God has given paul the stewardship, he says to equip the Saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of christ until we attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of christ so that we may no longer be Children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine that is teaching by human cunning by craftiness and deceitful schemes, paul says to this, and he toils, he struggles to teach us to put our confidence in christ to grow up in christ in all regards. And he says that in this toiling he is relying on the spirit’s power, empowered preaching and teaching is what paul is saying, that that is his commitment. And he’s also saying by that that christians that are to live powered lives by the spirit of God. So he says, these toils and struggles on behalf of the church, you know, the greek verb, translated his toil, it’s used to describe one who works to exhaustion, never worked so hard as soon as the work was done, you could do nothing else but fall down and sleep, lay down and rest, work that hard, putting up a fence this week. I know the feeling boy did. I sleep well last couple of nights, but actually here paul, what he’s using by way of illustration actually, it points more to an athletic image, one of a runner, a marathon runner straining with every muscle to reach the finish line. An athletic runner. Marathon runners training, resisting every temptation to give up along the way, resisting every temptation to give in to the thought that this is this isn’t worth it. Yet, fixing his gaze upon the prize and straining forward to get to the end of his race. He says, I’m toiling in that way to make mature disciples uncoiling that way in true gospel ministry and during struggle to make mature disciples who will become anti fragile christians. This reminds me of first Corinthians nine, where he says, do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize so run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath. But we an imperishable, so I do not run aimlessly. I do not boxes one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control less after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified, wow! Imagine paul from his prison cell awaiting his future fate. Whether or not he might be put to death, and eventually he was put to death by the roman emperor beheaded, reflecting on all of the scars that he bear on his back, being stoned several times. Going to shipwrecks, looking outside of his home confinement, as he’s writing this letter, watching runners run, they run for an imperishable. They run for a perishable wreath. But what we’re twirling for what we’re willing to suffer for its imperishable christ is worth it. And you know what his strength his power will sustain us in this race, wow, paul relies on the power of God to energize him to fulfill the call of God on his life and we must do the same. The Holy Spirit is able to empower you in the midst of suffering, to sustain you to comfort you, they also make you stronger as a result of it. Your faith made stronger. Your faith as Peter says though it be tested by fire comes out as pure gold. It has benefited from the testing, it has become stronger as a result of the testing and you didn’t perish in the fire because his spirit empowered you. True Gospel Ministry comes with suffering and True Gospel Ministry produces anti fragile christians. So the question we must ask ourselves in closing is what causes us, what causes us as the people of God with this gospel and a kingdom that which cannot be shaken, that is ours. What causes us to live in this life as fragile christians? What causes us to live is fragile christians in the face of adversity or when we encounter resistance from the world, I think if we look at the passage, there are some basic spiritual checkups, we ought to consider first our view of christ and his Gospel, is it a Biblical view of christ? Is it a Biblical gospel? Or is it more a sentimental gospel? One centered around how I feel, what makes me feel good? What makes me feel like I’m doing something right? How I feel. That’s a sentimental gospel. And when you no longer feel like it, you abandoned that gospel, making it temporal, but this biblical gospel, this biblical view of christ, it makes your anti fragile and it keeps you on mission, You know that your suffering isn’t in vain. You know that christ is worth it. You know that his power will sustain you. You know that your God rules and reigns and that he will have the victory and the glory secondly, your commitment to sound teaching and doctrine. Chapter Two of Colossians, we are going to look at some of the false teaching that was weakening the church in colossi and this is the same thing today in our country, in this world. There is a lot of crap junk food spirituality that weakens us, that makes us fragile. We can’t handle offense, we can’t handle something that doesn’t quite make us feel good that yet is true and biblical, we can’t handle that because we’re so used to smooth junk food Christianity, parents know this and those of you probably familiar with your parents telling you this as a kid, you can’t eat that all the time. That’s bad for you. That’s what junk food is. It’s bad for you. And there’s a junk food Christianity that strays from sound teaching and doctrine and it weakens your faith and you cannot handle adversity. You cannot handle a truth that crosses your will, paul says him, we proclaim warning everyone do I need to say this, do I need to spell it out for you when he says warning everyone, he’s not going into the shallow side of Christianity when he says warning everyone, he’s going into some of this stuff that gets down to the nitty gritty to the God’s way or the world’s way God’s way or your way. He says, I’m warning you, are we gonna be biblical or we’re gonna be cultural christians. Sound teaching and doctrine. Number three it says our identity as christians. Again, all of these are kind of layered together. But I kind of want to show you a little bit more as we unpack them, especially as we think about our identity. As christians will we be shaped more by a commitment to this word, hearing it preached, reading it, praying it trying to live according to it, trusting the power of God to help us to obey it or will we live according to the experts or what’s popular? What’s socially acceptable? Even if it is in direct contrast to clear teaching in scripture, that will make you a fragile christian. That will make you give up as soon as there is some kind of resistance, as soon as there is suffering, you will abandon it. 4thly, our struggle against sin and the draw of this world is this power at work in you? What do I mean? The the question isn’t so much, are you perfect? Are you without sin? No, that’s not the question the question is are you fighting against? Are you resisting sin? Are you trying to put to death the desires of the flesh so that you might please your Lord relations five lays out what those desires of the flesh, what those works of the flesh look like. If you’re unfamiliar with that, you can write that down in your notes or type it into your phone. These are the things I need to be fighting against in my life or you simply just laying down and taking it and just kind of embracing it and this is who I am. This, this is you know God still loves me. This passage this morning says that we are to be brought to maturity in christ. And that kind of speech where you lay down when you stop fighting, When you stop resisting christ, that’s not pursuing maturity in christ, you may need to make some adjustments in your life. You may need to unplug from some things you may need greater accountability. You may need to go to some people and say hey man I’ve been selfish and I’m sorry I need to repent to you first to God and into you whatever the case may be, but you need to struggle against sin and the draw of this world. So when you think about those questions which are these areas, are you currently encountering the most difficulty or struggle or resistance in terms of your calling to live for jesus christ? Are you find yourself wrestling with man? I wanna love jesus but they talk about jesus differently in the world and they have a different expectation on me as a christian in this world, where do I go, how do I land on the side of these two issues here? Well the bible, the word of God, maybe you’re someone that says man, you know, Astrid damn preaches very long sermons and I don’t like it kind of like it when he tells a few jokes, how do you expect to mature in christ paul says he is twirling to teach it, he’s struggling to make it known. What’s our response? I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be fine, just not doing anything. I’m just a passive christian who just you know whatever, whatever you know right? No, you need to toil in this, you need to pick up your cross and you need to toil. And in your struggle, you’re gonna find his power working in you and you’re gonna find that you are far more anti fragile than you ever expected yourself to be. Because of his power at work in you. So let me pray for us, father in heaven, Hollowed be your name? Holy revered, Exalted, be your name and may it be that way in our hearts and in our living and may that be always the desire of our being. So what do we know that in this world, Jesus said, we will have tribulation, but you give us peace, not as the world gives it, you give us a peace that surpasses all understanding you make us more than conquerors in him, You have given us your spirit. And if the same spirit that raised jesus from the dead is in us, how much more will you give life to us? God? That is the reality. As you see it, May it become ours. May it become ours today tomorrow morning and for the rest of our lives, no matter how we feel, no matter what we’re tempted with, May this be our reality, what you have promised, what you have done and what you call us to. I mean, we’d be anti fragile because of it. We pray this in jesus name. Amen.
you ever in your life, come to the point yet where you feel like you just you just hit that wall mentally, emotionally, physically relational e you’re just out of gas, you hit that wall and you want to sit down because that last hit took it out of you and you’ve not stood up yet in your walk of God, you your christian walk of God has gone from a sprint, a mad sprint to a walk to a
hope you guys are doing well. My name is dan. If I haven’t met you, one of the elders here, as you should be aware of by now, um still thankful for the church and the gifts and the letters man, what a joy it is to be a part of the body of christ. Amen. Well this morning we are going to kick off a new series. Looking at paul’s letter to the colossians and we’re gonna look at
week in our rooted series. And we’re looking at the final rhythm of rooted, um, we’re gonna be talking about worship and this may be the final rhythm of the series, but it’s arguably the most important rhythm to get worship. And I was thinking about this from the context of my own family and experiences. This thing is kind of doing a little, little dance on me. Um, it’s distracting me a bit, but hold on to it by
well, good morning. Once again I want you to think about this almost everyone as someone they know or maybe someone in their family who is I mean pretty much crazy or insane, right? Um Maybe it’s the crazy uncle, maybe it’s the wacko mother in law. Um But these are the these are the people that when you gather at a family gathering, you’re just like oh no they’re here, right? And uh and you know they kind of
All right, good morning everyone. Good morning. So good to be with you all this morning. My name is Alex. If I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet, I am on staff here at sewer. I serve as the co director of our college ministry christian challenge. So, so excited to be with you all this morning. I’m really looking forward to getting into the word together. If you would open up your bibles to mark 12 versus
All right, good morning, good morning everyone. My name is Shane and one of the pastors here, I haven’t had a chance to meet you welcome and hopefully I can meet you to talk to you and greet you afterwards. We are working through a series called rooted and if you’re familiar with that, there’s some workbooks, there’s a book back there. A lot of our community groups are working through that, but if not, uh, it’s no problem jumping
Good morning, good morning, my name is dan. I’m one of the four elders here. If I haven’t met you, welcome to Sword Church, we’re glad you’re here. You hope that you connect with us and give us a chance to get to know you maybe hear your story, you learn a little bit about our story and we figure out how we can help you to know christ, more encourage you and your walk with christ and help you
Good morning. Welcome. Welcome. Come on in. Hey, my name is mike, one of the pastors on staff here at, so a church, It’s great to be with you. We, uh, I’m excited about our content today, what we’re gonna look at, I like to open up a short story. So I have a wife and my wife makes me go to the doctor and I go to the doctor once a year and they take blood, they check my
there we go, got to flip that on, I was worried earlier that my breathing into the mic was causing that sensation of static that you guys heard it was either my breathing or my beard one of the two. Um but good morning, if I haven’t met you, my name is dan one of the elders here, four of us here and um so glad that you’re here, so good to be in the house of the Lord, so
it’s great to spend the morning. A few I know we live in a world that lacks leaders with values. We live in a world where we are jobs might not have value, we have friendships that might not have value and purpose and worth and and we can struggle, we can struggle to find meaning in our life purpose to live for. There’s quiet quitting happening in our world of mental health on the rise speaking as uh one
well, good morning. So our church family, my name is dan if I haven’t met you and for those of you who know me so good to see you, it’s been three months Yeah, it’s good to be back with you guys, I was on a short sabbatical, some of you forgot who I was, I forgive you, still love you but my family and I blessed tremendously by that sabbatical break, really refreshing the Lord and also encouraged by
Hey, good morning, Good morning church. It’s good to be here with you. Um, I got through my whole message for service and I didn’t tell anybody who I was or introduced myself at all. So Ryan levy came up to me afterwards. They’re like, hey man, you really blew it. No, it’s like you didn’t tell anybody who we are. So, um, my name is Zane, if you have not met me, Hello, I’d love to, to meet you.
come on in. Thank you. Um, I see uh, you all had to come and see what your friends are up to because the instagram and algorithms were showing you a bunch of ads and people that weren’t even your friends. No, no, the joke flopped. Well there’s difficult times in being a pastor and humor is a difficult topic for me. I never tend to figure it out. But there’s good times and difficult times and there’s times of
All right, good morning, welcome. You guys make your way in. My name is Shane. I’m one of the pastors here, one of the bi vocational guys. Uh today we are continuing in our psalm series and usually we’re working through a book of the bible chapter by chapter uh today though is not like that, our recent series is not like that. So if you’re new and you’re just hopping in, we’re on psalm 14, so it’s kind of
Good morning, Good morning, Welcome. It’s great to see you. My name is mike, one of the pastors on staff here at Solar Church. I’m just a little distracted, a little flustered this morning and no one ever get that way at times. You’re like, I’m, my pregame ritual is not there right now. And so you’re just kind of trying to find your sea legs as you go into this thing. I was under the impression that our, our
Amen Amen. Well, good morning church, let’s uh let’s bring it on in. I love how friendly everyone is. Um it’s a great joy to be with you all this morning, my name is Alex if I haven’t met you yet, I’m on staff here at our church. I lead or co lead the college ministry christian challenge here at sewer. The pastors Mike, Shayne, Ben and dan have asked me this morning uh, to preach, they’ve given me and
Happy fourth of july weekend. Good morning. I’m thankful for the opportunity to spend a few moments of you looking at God’s word, I’m gonna share a short story and if I do my job right, I’ll tie it together here. Later in the sermon, this passage today reminded me of my trash this week. I have a have a street I live on and the lady that lives behind me, she’s this retired, sweet dear ex teacher of music
Good morning, Welcome on this beautiful, amazing summer morning. My name’s Ben Nandor Pastor here at our church. We’re finishing the last commandments In our 10 commandments series. So today we’re looking at the 10th commandment which is do not covet. Do not covet coveting happens when someone really wants something and wants that thing that somebody else has. Okay, so it relates to a desire, a desire for something. And most often this happens in our hearts. As we
commandments. This is commandment number nine this morning. It will be addressing the topic of lying. Lying, lying. Ah this is good. That’s a good one. So let’s pray before we jump into this. This topic this morning just helped collect our thoughts. Lord, I thank you for the word of God and how it’s alive and active. Sharper than any double edged sword. Lord, I thank you that it’s able to do business in the heart of the believer
Good morning, Welcome to our church. My name is Mike, one of the four pastors here at this church. It’s an honor to be a few. Today. We’re looking at the eighth commandment. You’ve probably heard your mom with the eighth commandment. You remember your mom? She would say in the second book of Mom, chapter 24 verse seven, Thou shalt not try me was your mom? That was that was another woman. Um, okay. But today, seriously, we look
All right. Good morning. Good to see everybody here today. It sounds like you like each other except mostly true. Anyone here that doesn’t like anyone else in the room. Don’t admit that. Um, if I haven’t met you, my name is john, I am not one of the pastors here at sewer, but I love our pastors. Um, I love the standard they’ve set for God’s word and how they care for us and provide spiritual leadership for us
Good morning. My name is Shane and one of the pastors here. If you are new with us this weekend. Thanks for joining us. Uh, it’s been a beautiful weekend. And so hopefully you’ve had Fun with friends and family. We have been working through the 10 commandments. And so today we’re on commandment six and I tell you to flip open your bibles and we would read through it. But I bet I can tell you it before we
Good morning. My name is Ben Lander, one of the pastors here. So glad to see you all this morning. And we are indeed working through the 10 commandments. So for those of you parents, especially the parents who have kids in the room Today, today is the commandment you’ve been waiting for. Right? Honor your father and mother. So give them a nudge, tell him, Hey, listen up, Pay attention. This is this is the good one, right? I
Hey, welcome. Hello. Hello. Hello. My name is Mike. I’m on the four elders here at our church. Thank you for coming. Uh, it’s a joy to be a few. It’s a fun to watch babies getting dedicated kids are a blast. It’s honor to spend some time for this morning and look at God’s word. My uh, I have the honor of speaking through the fourth commandment this morning with you in exodus 20. We’re spending 10 weeks looking
well, good morning, good morning and Happy Mother’s Day to all of you. My name is dan, if I haven’t met you yet, I’m one of the elders here at sewer church and I was just trying to take in some of what mike was saying there. I mean that’s pretty awesome. All those class awards man. I, I don’t think I won that many class awards. I think I was more known for being kind of a troublemaker class
Landon Patrick. Your your first job might not be in Lincoln, but your second job is in Lincoln. We’ll leave the light on for you. Welcome back if you guys want to come back. But we sure love students. Thank you for doing that guys. I was smart. Um, let’s let me share a quick story. I was driving back from church last week and I was asking one of my sons like, what do you think of church? It
Well, good morning, Good morning. So our church family so good to be with you guys this morning. Good morning to you. If you’re new here, my name is dan, I’m excited that you’re here. It’s good to be with the people of God worshiping God right on the day of the Lord, the day that the Lord has made the day of salvation. That’s what today is. Right. Amen. Amen. Well today we’re kicking off a new series on
Well, good morning, sore Church, Good morning. Friends, Family. I hope you guys are doing well this morning. Um, I’m really excited to Share the word with you this morning, we’re gonna be talking about empty expectations. We’re gonna be looking at John chapter 20 I’m gonna walk you through those 1st 10 verses there. Um, but before we do, I think it’s customary right to say he is risen and you he is risen. Indeed. Amen to that. Amen
Good morning. Welcome. Thank you for coming to church. It’s a, it’s an exciting time. Palm sunday easter sunday and the christian calendar is key hallmark passages and moments in the life and calendar of a church and the people next week, we’re giving out candy to your kids. I think this week parents, we have a bunch of baby chicks that they have upstairs that they’re giving to your kids, so don’t, don’t mind the mess. First service said
Good morning. Good morning. It was a good morning for you, right, Wasn’t it? Maybe it wasn’t, well, even if it wasn’t God is so good and we’re glad that you’re here with us. Um, if I haven’t met you, my name is dan and I’m one of the elders here. There’s five of us, four of us now. We sent one out and he’s planning a church, so there’s four of us now. Um, so glad that you’re here
it’s good to be with you and uh if you haven’t met me, I’m derek rim, p one of the things that we’ve been believing for is for the gospel to continue to go out and to send out church planters and and God has been leading me in that direction and uh we’re gonna be, I’m gonna share a little bit about my heart and what, what guys doing um in in a second charlie is gonna be coming
Amen. Amen, Good morning. No, no, no. Great morning. Great morning. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be good job church, good job church. What a great decision you did to start or end your week with gathering of God’s people to, to sing, to pray to fellowship, to eat a donut, eat some, drink some coffee, say hi to your old friends and listen to the message of God preach so great choice,
Amen. Thank you for that. That’s great. That was a wonderful who made that Chloe. Well done Chloe. Thank you Chloe. Amen. Welcome. Thank you for coming this morning. It’s my name is Michael on the five pastors here and so are churches. The honor to be a few today. It’s encouraging to have a beautiful sunday morning to be a few and talk with you, pray with you, fellowship with you, drink some coffee with you have a donut
well, good morning, my name is Ben Lander and I am one of the pastors here and glad to be um With you this morning in Luke, chapter 12 verses 49 through 59? No, the other side. Okay, there we go. Um, so I wanted to um, before we get into the passage, it’s, I think it’s important to mention uh, that we as a church should be praying for Ukraine and uh, and I will be praying here shortly,
so good to be with you guys this morning. My name is Professor Dan, or Dan coke. If you’re new to soar welcome, Glad you’re here. Um we’re going to continue walking through the gospel according to luke, We’re going to be in chapter 12 this morning And we’re going to read versus 35 through 48. So if you don’t mind going to go ahead and turn their um, and while you’re turning their, let me set the stage by
Good morning. Thank you for coming physically or digitally. It is if your digital, it’s brutal cold out today. It is, it is painfully cold. Oh my goodness, I don’t believe this weather, this is great. Um glad you’re here. Super Bowl sunday. So we’re Super Bowl. Super sunday and it’s good to be if you all this is the one sunday here. I got to limit myself to a few football jokes and references as we go through this.
Good morning sir church, Good morning friends, good morning to those of you, tuning in on the livestream, so good to be with you this morning. Um if I haven’t met you, my name is dan and I am one of the elders here and this morning, we are going to continue looking at the gospel according to luke, so go ahead and turn to chapter 12 of luke, We will read the 1st 12 verses of Chapter 12. While you’re turning there, I just kind of want to set this up for you by saying this as a pastor, it is sometimes hard two acknowledge and to accept the reality that I need Grace when it comes to living out what I preach and God has given me that grace, he saw fit to give me that grace through relationships like my wife, my kids, my close friends and then I served with here at your church when we realize that God has given us that grace to help us to live out the very things that we teach and preach from the pulpit, that is for us, a reminder that we need jesus that were dependent upon jesus and when I see in the faces and in the eyes of those near me, when I fall short of what Jesus has called me to again, I am reminded of God’s grace to me through those relationships and through their words, through them pointing me back to the truth of God’s scripture, so that I can continue to trust in christ, depend upon christ lean on christ for my own sanctification and growth and maturity and never, ever think to myself that I have arrived, that’s where I’m at now, that I have arrived and you know what, that’s normal, we’re not talking about lowering standards or accommodating gross sin and the things that would disqualify an elder, what we’re talking about is being a christian and the daily fight and battle to be like christ, to overcome the various battles that we have to face as christians and I’m thankful for the grace that God has given me and his word through his spirit, but most importantly through those relationships that point me back to him when I get off track, that is good, that is normal, that should be your experience, that’s why we talk about community groups, discipleship groups, that’s why we talk about the gospel, being central to everything that we do, so that that would be your normal experience, that would be normal for you as a single person, that would be normal for you as a married person, that you would, yes, acknowledge that it is normal for my spouse to need jesus and to need to depend upon jesus, just like I need jesus and am depending upon him and his grace, that you would see that it’s normal for you to see that your kids need jesus, for your kids to see that you need jesus and for the both of you would talk that you would talk about, your need for jesus, that would be normal. You know what’s not normal is when we can acknowledge that, when we fail to see that, when we think that we have arrived, that whatever title position or label that I’ve embraced of authority, somehow I have arrived, that’s when we become hypocrites. And there’s a, there’s a lot of that going around, right people that rule over us forget that. So pastor mike talked about that last week. Today, we’re gonna look at this passage where jesus warns his disciples, don’t you become a hypocrite? And in the passage, he says, here are some things that I want to warn you against that might take you down the road to becoming a hypocrite. And as we look at those warnings were gonna see both solutions and gospel comforts to us. I want to talk about all of that this morning without further ado, let me read the passage and then we’ll get into this teaching luke chapter 12, beginning in verse one, it says in the meantime, When so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one, another he began to say to his disciples first be aware of the 11 of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden, that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the house tops. I tell you, my friends do not fear those who kill the body, and after that, have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear. Fear. Him! Who after he has killed has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, Fear him are not five sparrows sold for two pennies, and not one of them is forgotten before God! Why? Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not You are of more value than many sparrows. And I tell you everyone who acknowledges me before Men. The Son of Man also will acknowledge before the Angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the Angels of God and everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the one who blasphemies against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say for. The Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Let’s pray God! Thank you for your word. I thank you Lord! That your word is truth. I pray God in these moments that we have together, looking at your word and how we are to apply it into our lives God, that you would indeed accomplish exactly what we sing about this morning, causing the darkness to not only tremble, but to flee that the light of your word might shine brightly in our lives in our circumstances, God that we might be your people standing firm on the foundation that you have provided, trusting you, God, God, would you do this this morning through this teaching in jesus name? Amen Amen. So this morning, this passage that I just read to you, jesus is basically saying this is how you avoid becoming a spiritual hypocrite. This is how you avoid it. First thing you do is you avoid being naive about spiritual matters. Don’t be naive. Don’t become prideful about spiritual matters. And then he says, don’t become a compromiser regarding God’s truth. And then lastly, don’t fear, do not fear. But trust in me, trust in me, he says, if you want to avoid being forced and pushed down a path of spiritual hypocrisy, don’t be naive. Don’t give into pride. Don’t compromise on the truth and do not fear. But trust him. So this morning we’re gonna talk about that, we’re gonna talk about trusting him. We’re gonna talk about these warnings and we’re gonna talk about the solution to how we deal with the temptations that follow these warnings because God wants us, he wants you and me, he wants us to live fiercely faithful lives to him. How do we live fiercely faithful lives to him. We trust him. We meet these temptations and we overcome them by his grace and we walk with him. But I gotta warn you that as we, as we touched on this topic this morning, he’s gonna cut a little close to home. I vote man, preaching it to the first service. I’ve already had to stop and repent myself of some things as I was preparing it, I had to stop and repent myself of some things because this is going to cut pretty close. Mr jesus is telling his disciples, look, man, I’m not going to be with you forever, I’m going to ascend to the throne of heaven and when I leave you here, you’re going to be tempted to become spiritual hypocrites. And you’ve got to avoid that. You’ve got to resist that. You can’t give in to those things. So right away in verse one, he tells them beware of the 11 of the Pharisees. If your king James only guy probably says yeast, right? The yeast of the Pharisees. King James being a translation of the bible for those of you who are that kind of went over your head, I’m gonna be real with you. I’m not a baker. I don’t do very well in the kitchen. I love to barbecue though. Um but I’m not a baker, but here’s what I understand about this passage though, and what he’s saying here, talking about the 11 of the Pharisees. So first of all, this was something that was comin right as you’re baking bread, right? You’re working the levin or the yeast into the dough. And when you start with that doe right, it’s a certain size and you can manipulate it a little bit and shape it in certain ways. But what the yeast and 11 does is that it causes it to rise so that what you’re looking at, the original substance has now expanded and somehow it appears to have multiplied in size and quantity. But that’s not really the case, is it? And so jesus and saying, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and saying, don’t you allow your love for the praises of men to inflate your ego. Don’t you allow your thinking about your importance to cause your pride to inflate to such a level that you forget that you need God, that’s exactly what the Pharisees did. Everybody around them needed God, they didn’t need God. The sacrifices in the temple were for them just ritual. But for the people, they need this, jesus is saying, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, he’s saying, don’t become a proud pharisee loving the praises of man acting self righteous before God and man. That’s what they did and You know what else, you know, building upon that analogy, it’s a little thing that kind of works its way into the dough the 11. It’s a little thing and you start entertaining these little thoughts, these little ideas about yourself and your importance and your significance and it begins to influence whole big, Your entire presence. Now you you walk into the room and that 11 and that yeast of Pride has worked its way into you and now you can’t relate to anyone. They’re beneath you Abraham Kipper. So this spiritual hypocrisy is like a shadow deepest and sharpest, closest to the light. Do you remember staring at your shadow as a little kid? Right? It’s deeper and sharpest closer to the light. The Pharisees, they stood near the light of God’s word, the covenants, the promises, the temple that was symbolic, the presence of God among his people and they were the biggest hypocrites. Pastors can do that, we can live that way and that’s why I’m so thankful for relationships to remind me to humble me college students when you have left the home and taste some independence and being able to tie your own shoe and pay your own bills. You can allow yourself to think now I don’t need any kind of you know, guidance or wisdom from anyone else. You start to dabble into that arena, parents, we can dabble into that Iran always having to be right before our kids never ever wanting our kids to see that we the flaw and then kids, as soon as you learn how to write your name on the paper on a straight line, you become prideful and arrogant mom and dad can’t tell me what to do now and you become a prideful little pharisee. This speaks to all of us. This speaks to all of us. We can be that way about religious things. Oh I was the one a champ back in my day. I memorized so many scriptures. Beware of 11 of the Pharisees. You know what Jesus says though about this thing. This this whole Scenario is he’s talking about the 11 of the Pharisees. He says nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden, that will not be known. Whatever you said in the dark will be heard in the light and whatever you whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed on the house tops every single thing, every single thought deed teaching God will hold us accountable for our example. God will hold us accountable. God’s gonna expose everything. That’s what he says in hebrews four. That’s what his word does. It’s like a double edged sword that it exposes the heart. That’s what he says in Matthew 1236 to every idle word we’ll have to give an account for. And then in Romans 2 16, he says even the secrets of our hearts will be judged on the day of judgment. Prideful Pharisees. They don’t have any sin problem. They’re all good. So we can’t become proud Pharisees, forgetting that we need God justifying ourselves based on the way in which men praise us, justifying ourselves on the little good deeds that we remember doing and saying, look, I’m good and so jesus says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees that says warning. The solution is this we find it in colossians 3 17, but it’s there in this passage in principle. But here’s the solution. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do in word or deed everything in the name of the Lord jesus christ, that brings us to our gospel comfort in this passage. All of life for us is about christ. It’s about exalting him. It’s about seeing him glorified. He is our joy and because he is our joy when we have to make tough decisions. When we have to say some things that may be a little tough, we trust him to vindicate us, he will reveal it, he will make it known where we stood, who we served. What we were about christ is our joy and our vindication. We don’t have to hide or pretend that we’re perfect, but we make everything about him. We do everything for him. We try to honor him in all things. So that’s the first warning and then we move on to the second warning. We find in verse four where he says essentially do not fear those who kill the body. The temptation there is to become fearfully faithless, full of fear and without faith fearfully faithless. He says, Don’t fear those who kill the body. Don’t fear what man can do to You don’t fear death. I was thinking about this portion here the passage and I believe it’s the holy spirit that really impressed this upon my heart, helping me to see it, helping me to understand it. Fear changes our values in a split moment, in a place of comfort, in a place where everything is going according to plan. When we feel good, when we feel right about the situation, we know we need to prioritize God, we know that God first, what fear does it comes in and immediately we forget about that overturns the entire value system to the point where we’re only thinking of self self preservation, protect self. We live almost as if we have never moved on beyond junior high. Right? You guys, junior high used to be kind of like this fearful, dreaded experience, right? Where everybody, your body’s changing, you’re not fully an adult, you’re no longer a little kid. You smell funny, people are saying things about you, you’re saying things about other people, your word, you’re gonna get this reputation or that label put upon you. And we say, well that was the junior high and high school years and then we move on later into life as adults and we’re still struggling with those same fears. I shared the story in the first service. It has no application to the message that I got to share this service though. But I had a friend in junior high, he was, he was a good friend, loved him dearly. But he had a straight leg and a bowlegged and so his nickname was straight leg bowlegged. So he was forever known Straight leg bowlegged. Um, those are the things that happened in junior high man. You just, we act like that doesn’t change though. I mean we, we fear that later in life, right? Fear will overturn your value system, it will overturn your value system. It’s not as simple as the chain letter that goes around. You know, if someone walked in here with a gun and put a gun in your head and said, would you deny jesus or die? And you know, passed this on if you will, so that everybody knows that you’re a strong and courageous christian, right? Because you passed this letter on to 10 people, right? You know, you know what, that’s a very real situation for many brothers and sisters in christ in other parts of the world. It’s a very real situation for many of them. I mean, I don’t know what news channels and circuits that you’re listening to, but I hear about it very real situations for us, it is rarely that serious. It’s simply, I don’t want to be labeled a bible thumper. Uh, people are going to reject me because you know, if I say that I’m a christian, they, they’re gonna just think that I’m judgmental and then I’m holier than them. And then we started making up all these little excuses for why we fear man, they might reject me. What if I don’t say the words correctly? Like how hard is it to say, Hey, jesus is Lord, we all gotta trust him, We all got to believe in him, We all got to live for him. That’s not very hard. How do I do that? Whoa, Hey look man, I’m figuring it out, let’s get into this word and let’s try to figure it out together, jesus, It tells us don’t fear scripture, repeatedly reminds us do not fear the only one we are to fear is God. I was told this recently and I was old man, pick up basketball game, young guy, it’s getting a little too physical and I said, hey man, cut that out. He says, man, I don’t fear anybody but God and the old me, you know that the flesh was just like you and the holy spirit was just like, it’s like, okay, you’re about to meet God boy. No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Yeah, yeah, I am kidding Proverbs 29, 25 says that the fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts God is safe if you’re a man brings about a sneer, jesus. Don’t fear man, don’t fear those who can kill the body, but fear the one who has authority over the forever life, our lives on this planet about this long, forever fear the one who has authority over the forever life. And he says in that passage, something that’s not very popular to say in public, but he says fear. The one who can cast into hell, jesus believed in a literal hell, a literal place. Return als judgment and torment you. Just fear that one, especially when he has brought grace so near to you, truth so near to you and has blessed you, even when you didn’t deserve it. Sure that one. So if the warning is do not fear those who kill the body, the solution is only fear the one who has authority over the forever life and the gospel comfort we draw from this is that your heavenly father cares so much for you that he keeps count of the number of hairs on your head and guys like me make it easy for him to count the more hairs I lose, I got a sunroof up there, but don’t be looking so closely at that 3rd Warning is found in verse nine and jesus says Actually begins in verse eight, he says, and I tell you everyone who acknowledges me before men. The son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. As I was saying, hear the warning here is don’t be ashamed of christ before men, Jonathan Edwards said this, he said, christ is the lamb and the lion of God approach him as the lamb of God and he will be a lion for you defending you but reject him as the lamb of God and he will become a lion against you. And then he quotes some to kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish from the way so don’t be ashamed of christ before men. The temptation to avoid is becoming cowardly compromisers refusing to speak the truth of christ, always apologizing for the word of God for the word of God being too strong, being too sharp, trying to blunt its edges, trying to soften its edges, trying to pull back a little bit on the fact that this is a double edged sword, cowardly compromises. It’s something that we, we kind of get acclimated to. We live in a culture that does not exalt christ, it does not think of prioritizing the glories and majesty of our God. Does not think of holiness as its primary value system, well not according to God’s system. And so we live in this environment and then we get so used to kind of tolerating it or trying to be comfortable in or trying to hold onto our little comfortable position or place in it that we start to shrink back from the truth of christ and those moments we have to speak. So it’s a, it’s a conditioning that takes place. That’s why being in the word and and being around that and sitting under the teaching and preaching of the word. That’s to remind us that we are kingdom people, God’s kingdom people and we don’t exist for the world’s pleasure that we exist for God’s good pleasure. So jesus is saying to his disciples that you’re going to be tempted to deny me to be ashamed of me, to be ashamed of my words and his word for us today is that you and I will be tempted to deny him and to be ashamed of him and be ashamed of his words slowly over time. Courage being eroded. That’s how it happens. I was thinking about a story that was that read in USa today, you can go and look up the article yourself but a swimmer at Penn, born biologically male, competed SML in college was ranked 462 as a swimmer shaming that I can’t swim. I swim like a rock straight to the bottom if you don’t know what that means. Yes. Now identifies as a woman and is the # one ranked swimmer and we look at that because the world does not have God’s value systems, does not understand the word of God and I know what to do, teammates who wants willing to stand in support the guy in this transition. Now frustrated all their life, their training, their dreams, no chance, any kind of success because No one has the courage to say. That’s lunacy, it’s lunacy. It does not make sense. It’s not according to the way God designed us. You know, the reason why people call me dan is because dan is a lot cooler than the name Daniel, the name Daniel man. I needed to learn how to fight right growing up. Sorry, that may not make a whole lot of sense to you, but from the cultural context that came from, I needed to know how to fight with the name Daniel. So I went by dan. There’s a part of me that I didn’t like it that I was named Daniel. Why would my parents named me Daniel. Don’t they see the skin that I’m, that I’m wrapped in right the color of it, right? My all time like dream practical joke is to stand outside of a tanning salon and yell at the top of my voice. Don’t go in there, look what they did to me. Yes, but it makes absolutely no sense for me to be ashamed of that name. And then I became a christian in college and I started to read this bible and I saw, hey, there’s a guy in here named Daniel. He’s a pretty cool dude. I saw what it meant. God, he’s my only judge, I like this name. She’s sin confuses us causes us to push back against God’s ordained way his will for us, it causes us to rebel against it. Sin is separation from God and in that separation there is Brokenness, its Brokenness. And if we allow the Brokenness to inform us on how to move forward, we’re gonna get more and more Brokenness. So we look at this word and we trust God. I’m not going to be ashamed of the fact that he made me a black man. You shouldn’t be ashamed of what God made you. God put his image on us and he has designed the perfect scenario for that image to be maximized. Its in male illness and femaleness. And God understands diversity and unity and he designed it. He is the epitome of diversity and unity. three distinct persons. Father, son and the Holy Spirit one God. So when he says be diverse according to his design. We celebrate where he calls for unity in his design. We celebrated. We don’t rebel against that pattern. But that happens when we become ashamed of this word. We become ashamed of this word. When we compromise this word, when we take a step back from it, that’s old testament stuff that you’re talking about. You always gets me fired up. When people say it’s the words in red that matter. The rest of the bible, okay, that doesn’t really apply. It’s only the words in red and when people say that they only portray their own ignorance. The words in red, that’s narrative. That’s a story. That’s an account luke is given an account Matthew is giving an account Furthermore John in his account and John one says the word became flush, he is the word. And then when we look at the word it says that he chose apostles. Do you know why I chose those apostles to be his mouthpiece to further speak his word while he was in heaven? That’s why I got some I know some brothers, I love them dearly, they tell me to call them apostles, no can do I’m not gonna call you apostle bro, I love you. We’re all apostles were all sent right, we’re all sent. But if we compromise here, if we’re ashamed of what he has said, we live as compromising christians, we start apologizing for the word of God, we start trying to soften the sharp edges of christ, we back away, we backpedal, we apologize for the truths of scripture, we cannot do that, we can’t do that. You know what we should do, we should love christ more than we love ourselves, we should love our neighbors more than we love ourselves and we should point them to christ, teach them to look to christ as we are looking to christ and we should trust the spirit’s power to work in the hearts of sinners. Just as we’re trusting the spiritual work in our hearts and then we have this comfort from jesus saying that he he will celebrate you in heaven but we also know from luke 15 7 we’ll get to that in in the coming weeks that all of heaven will rejoice when one sinner repents man, Jesus is saying that when we don’t give in and don’t apologize and aren’t ashamed of his word, that there is a big party that we get to enjoy in the forever life. You got to know that that’s worth it. This life about this long forever life, It’s worth it. 4th and final warning, verse 10, jesus gives a warning that for a lot of christians have been fearful that they have committed the sin, he says, and everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the one who blasphemies against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And so the warnings don’t ever blaspheme the Holy Spirit. That’s something that the Pharisees were doing, Matthew 1224, Mark 3 22, attribute this remark from Jesus about blaspheming the Holy Spirit right? Following a scenario where jesus drives out the mute and deaf spirit from the young child. They say that Jesus did it by the Prince of Demons Beelzebub. And so we know that this blaspheming of the Holy Spirit comes down to attributing the secret and powerful work of the Spirit to the devil, contributing christ ministry to the devil, that’s what he’s getting at there. And so for a lot of christians who struggle and wonder have they committed this sin. I try to point them back to those passages where we have a little bit clearer application to that various warning Matthew 12 and and Mark three, it’s when you attribute the work of christ to the devil, but the thing that we need to see though is blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a product of a hard heart, foolish heart towards God. And what we as christians can kind of entertain is our own ability to grieve. The Spirit Ephesians four talks about that grieving the spirit do not grieve. The spirit paul also writes about quenching the Spirit. We do that when we make excuses for our sin. When we justify our sin. When we harbor bitterness and unforgiveness towards our brothers and sisters, when we slander others, we grieve the Holy Spirit, we grieve him. And if you keep living in that state of continuously and perpetually grieving the Holy Spirit, one day you’ll wake up, he’s not gonna be with you. So the solution is to humble yourself before God. It’s always to have a humble posture before God. It’s to recognize that your angst and your, your unforgiveness towards someone or some situation that that’s not something you want to celebrate or or become good friends with, become cozy with. You know that happens sometimes and people who can struggle with with, with anger and wrath and their heart and bitterness, they become comfortable with it, the world says they’re just a negative person, but really in scripture is someone who has who has simply become accustomed and friendly with their feelings of angst bitterness and as christians that can’t be in us because we will quench the spirit. So the solution is to humble ourselves before God and we are to never allow our hearts to become so hardened that we attribute the work of christ to the devil And we have this gospel comfort in John 1613 or it says the Spirit of Truth will guide you into all the truth, that includes how you need to think, feel, act, what you need to do. I will guide you into all the truth about christ, who guide you into all the truth about the word of God, about your salvation, about what it means to be a christian disciple, what it means to be a member of a church, what it means to be one who would preach on christ’s behalf, he will guide you into all of that. As soon as we conclude this morning, talking about living fiercely faithful lives to christ, we need to remember these warnings against hypocrisy, becoming proud, full Pharisees, giving into the fear of man being cowardly compromisers or allowing our hearts to become so accustomed to sin that we grieve and quench the spirit. We want to be aware of these things, avoid these things, We want to cling to the gospel comforts that God has given us, and most importantly, we’re gonna, we’re gonna leave this space, right, we’re gonna leave this room and we’re gonna go back out into the world. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us. That’s where jesus ends this passage by saying, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say when you go out into this world. But trust Spirit, trust the Spirit to give you the words the same to know what to do in that moment. Do you know how that relationship is built to where you can trust the Spirit? His daily meeting with daily submitting to daily seeking him as you read this word and as you’re in prayer, Amen. Amen. Let us pray, father, thank you. Thank you Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for your Spirit. Thank you for your promises. Thank you for your kingdom. God, I thank you that you haven’t called us or taking us Lord from this world. We are in it though, we are not of it and we’re in it to be your representatives, to be your ambassadors. We are in it to be fiercely faithful to you and to you alone. But God, we need you, we need your grace, we need your wisdom, We need your power to be at work. So God, meet us as we commit to submitting ourselves to this word and yield into it. Meet us and strengthen us in jesus name. We pray Amen
Alright alright, friday night dads with daughters. We have the daddy daughter dance 68 PM now dads dads with daughters, I want you to look over at your daughter right now look him in the eyes, look me in the eyes and say good morning beautiful. Now how can you possibly not bring your daughter to the daddy daughter dance? Looking in those eyes right now man, I know that your, it’s not your ideal, you know, thought of how you want to spend your friday night dancing. But I mean let’s be honest the girls are just gonna mostly dance with their friends right and have fun. So bring your daughters all ages friday night 6 to 8 p.m. We’re gonna have a great time. There’s the youth group, teen girls are gonna be teaching us some line dances to some music. There’s gonna be activities, there’s going to be refreshments, you know, cookies, brownies, lemonade, all the good stuff and then a photo booth as well. So so much going on. It’s gonna be so fun come and bring your daughters or daughter and it’ll be great. Woo that sounds like a good time. Alright, well that’s all the announcements I have for you so parents, you can take your kids up to sunday school and everyone else say hello to a neighbor while we wait for pastor mike to come, continuing our look series what I’ve been saying. The brothers living stuff all tracks, we will find you and I’ve been dozen starving switching lanes. That’s what ST my folks just give me on my walk, yep t mouse even when I missed you, get the rebound, you know what, I didn’t get a veto being on that wrestling Mr please you hear that how it is relief from the ST louis, you know me beat up, you see this seven, mhm jesus and his disciples went onto the villages around caesarea philippi on the way, he asked them who do people say I am? They replied, some say john the baptist, others say Elijah and still others, one of the prophets. But what about you? Who do you say I am All right. Ah ah, welcome. I didn’t know it was a dress update for church. I brought my Ben looked really sharp, dapper, I brought my paul I this morning, this is uh, an old college injury infection from every time you get worn down happens once a year. Don’t worry about me. I got a bloodshot eye once a year for a couple of days. Hi, hi, my name is mike, I’m telling you all my hippo things going on in my life. Welcome. Thank you for coming to church. If you’re on the livestream, good to see you if you’re in person, I’m glad to have you here. I’m excited for this time. Before we jump into this time. I have a short story, I think kinda helps set the mental stage for me as I’ve been contemplating this passage, I am reminded of taekwondo and toilets, I have a generous grandpa grandfather who’s been my wife’s korean and he’s been sending my kids to taekwondo practice and they’ve been working through their belts, there’s a million belts between the belt they are and where they want to be, but this last week they all, we’re doing practice and uh, and he’s like, mike, you’re a pastor, you gotta, you got to pastor your kids and she said it nicer than that, but that’s the sound bite that I remember and I’m like, yeah, she’s right. And so I was at taekwondo practice and one of my kids went off to the, to the bathroom and he went into one of the stalls and he was standing in the bathroom, in the stall with a toilet and I’m like looking up like a dad, I’m like, I’m missing a kid, where is he? And so I went into the bathroom like, hey, what’s going on, bud, how you doing? What’s going on? And he’s like telling me, I’m just embarrassed. It was hard, it was difficult. He didn’t say that. Exactly, but he said, you know, I was embarrassed. It was hard, I don’t know what to do, I couldn’t, you know, jump, kick, do something. So I went to the bathroom and hitting the toilet until it’s over. That’s great practices over get your coat on, let’s get in the car and let’s leave. I don’t wanna have a condo in the bathroom stall with my son and we’re driving home. I’m like, what should I say, do not traumatize my son. And uh, I thought son all over the city of Lincoln, there’s men that have faced hard things in life, difficult, challenging things that are too hard for them and when life hits you and it’s difficult and hard, everyone runs two toilets in their life and I rattle off some acceptable vices, I want to tell a kid that young and then I said, uh, did the toilet talk to you? Did he give you words of encouragement? Did you get a drink of water from the toilet to refresh your brain soul? As you went back out to face the day, he’s like, no, no. And you know, I’m like, son, I’m your father. I’ve been through hard things to, I’m sitting on the edge of the taekwondo mat right by the toilet and you walked off to the toilet and not to meet your father and so if you don’t come to me, you’re not gonna go to your heavenly father, Sunday sun, we gotta be going to God when we have hard times, you gotta go to earthly father when you have hard times and my other son pipes up in the back of the van, he’s like, that was good, you should share that in your sermon this weekend. I was like, bye, bye, thanks buddy, thanks. So, but, but seriously, before we pray, when I was looking at this passage and I was studying this passage, trying to go deep in this passage, I’m like, I don’t want to go deep. This is hard because because we talk about stuff at church and talk about like, you know, drugs, alcohol, crack cocaine and how that’s bad. And you’re like, yeah, I shouldn’t do that, you know? But this this strikes close to home. This topic, what we’re speaking on today speaks to people in the room, speaks to religious hypocrite hypocrisy of religious people in the room. I’m a pastor’s son. I grew up in different churches on different church plants with my dad. I I know the christian game, I know how to play the christian game and I can play it as well as many, many of you. Does that make sense? And this passage is hard to study. This passage is hard to give and this passage will be hard to listen to trust me. Jesus is going hard in the paint as he’s facing lunch with a bunch of religious elite as they work through the passage. So will you bow your heads. Let’s ask for some help today. Lord, we need your help. Uh, this strikes close to home or not. It probably will at the end of this message. Lord appeared, you would open our eyes so we can see wonderful things in your law. I bet you let your word do what only your word can do it, correct, instruct teach, rebuke Lord encourage there’s different sides of jesus Lord, there’s the jesus that goes to a social outcast to a cripple to a lame who won’t break a bruised reed. And then there’s a jesus that’s flipping tables and the jesus we’re gonna read about today. Uh, there’s a hard nosed jews and a soft tender jesus Lord. We need the different, we need to experience you today as people, we need to see you in your word correctly and clearly help us to see you clearly in your word today. And I ask that you just really instruct and convict and challenge our hearts, open our eyes. We can see wonderful things in your law and only only you can do with us in your law. They commit this to you in jesus name amen. Okay, so last week Shane, we’ve been working through this message and so Shane was covering jesus public teaching and commonly after a person finished a public teaching, they would invite that guest preacher from the local jewish synagogue. They invite them back to the religious leaders house, the Pharisees house, the religious lawyers house and they’d have a post church lunch gathering and they talk more about the message and jesus doesn’t mince words during lunch. He doubles down on everything he said earlier in the chapter And so we’re picking up in Luke 11 verse 37. If you’d read it along with me on the screen or on a bible in front of you. It says this while, jesus was speaking of pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table. The pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. So we’re gonna talk about hand washing to start our day. I’m a dad of a couple of kids, I said earlier and uh my boys learned something during the pandemic. I think it’s, I think it’s the pandemic or it’s that Mark rober, youtube video handwashing, but they learned something to wash their hands. And so when they come home from church today, the first thing they do without being prompted or told they walk over and they wash their hands. We’re not talking about physical cleanliness of hands. Does that make sense? So you don’t think 21st century, think first century we’re talking about a religious Jewish custom that was acceptable custom about how to wash your hands and it really mattered how you did it If they poured water from here to the tips of your fingers or the tip of your fingers to your wrist at the water dripped off the tips of your fingers or dripped off your elbows. If you dried your hands on a towel or in your robe on your head. If you had a hand that was ceremonially washed correctly and hand that wasn’t, you can use one hand for non etiquette stuff, another one for more etiquette stuff. It was a complex rich jewish custom and practice commanded by the jewish teachers of the day. There’s a certain specified way of doing it. And the heart behind the ritual was before eating anything, jews had water poured over their hands to remove the defilement contracted by their contact with the sinful world. That was the heart of it. And jesus gets invited to a lunch of a pharisee. The host is watching jesus see if he would omit any of the customary rituals and to his horror or his delight, jesus goes on and he admits all of them, his friends, he offends these aren’t friends, these people he’s eating with, he offends, he offends his host and he offends his host friends as he goes through this meal. The title that Ryan helped me workshop earlier this week was roast over roast because jesus is gonna roast people throughout this entire passage. I told you it was a good hard hitting passage. If we are wise as christians here on sunday morning, we should be very careful about how we listen to today’s message because the reality is hypocrisy lives in you. It lives in me. It lives in all of us and it just comes very naturally. I don’t have to teach my kids how to be hypocrites. And as a kid when you were a kid, you don’t have to be taught how to be hypocritical. Just something that comes out of you to pretend to perform to act. So let’s look at verse 39 and the Lord said to him now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish. But inside you are full of greed and wickedness. He’s speaking to the religious leaders, he says, you fools did not he who made the outside make the inside also, but given as alms, those things that are within and behold everything is clean for you. So I’m sure jesus saw their facial expressions as the the the the hands were not washed and then he continues to go right after the heart of the people. He he didn’t mince words. He went straight to the heart of the issue and he spoke to their exact true nature. So when you talk about hypocrisy, I think this is just an experience I’ve had as a parent and as a parent preaching, you kind of can cheat and use a parenting analogy. And so my kids, when they’re little, I would say don’t touch that outlet or do touch that, pick up your toys or don’t hit your sibling or do carry your dishes to the sink. There’s very simple commands do and don’t, and when I, when they were little, you know, chubby little babies grabbing stuff, moving it across the room, that was easy. But as they grew up, they kinda knew they had to obey because dad’s four times five times six times bigger than them. They had to obey or they’ll be consequences. And they’re learning they’re learning something there like I’ll obey in my actions. But in my heart, I’m raging against this. There’s a rebellious heart as they rebelliously like picking up toys and I don’t want to act in front of you if you lose respect for me, but they might be. But this is like the seeding of young teenage angst which we’re going after now as parents. But this, this al obey, but I’m not really obeying. On the inside. There’s this, this duplicity that is in toddlers to teenagers hearts and as adults, we continue that duplicity into our life as people and jesus speaking about that heart, the issues of the heart. Heart obedience, not just hand obedience. What is the heart of the issue? I’m gonna take a moment to set this up more. But we strive, The heart of the issue is we strive to attain and achieve right standing with God. The heart of the issue is we strive to attain and achieve right standing with God. Even the spiritually elites cannot achieve right standing with God apart from the gospel. And first, John 15, it says God is light and and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If you remember jesus sermon on the mount, he went through his teaching, this very famous hallmark sermon and he went through these different topics and he said, if you lie, you’re he says if you lie, you’re a liar. If he says, if you murder, if you have undeserved anger for your brother, you’ve murdered them in your heart. If you commit adultery, if you have adultery in the mind by looking at lust of a young lady, he went along and said murdering his murdering of the mind and and adultery is adultery of the heart. He came along and took the moral law of standard of human achievement to be right in God’s eyes and showed the reality that it is actually unattainable. It is beyond our measure as people, it is out of grass for us as people and jesus is doing that same exact thing here that he did the masses on the sermon on the mount. He’s doing that to the religious elite, the professional believers, the professional faith people. He takes an exact look at the heart of who they are and what they desperately need. The reality is, our world is filled with people that are desperately wanting to be viewed better than they are. Not just Todd, there’s not just teenagers all the way up into our lives in our twenties or thirties or forties or fifties or sixties or seventies. We want to be looked at and viewed better than we really are. This world is for the people that do not really care or want to look like they care. This world is so that people that do not pray, I want to look like they pray, they do not read their bible, but they want to be perceived as bible readers that are not moral, but they want to be perceived as many. That is the reality of our culture we are in and that was the reality of the culture that jesus was speaking to. Then. We as people are obsessed with the outside of the cup, the image, the brand, the reputation, we are obsessed with your image, your brand, your reputation. It’s very american of you. It’s very human. One on one of jesus addressing this very human core problem. We can all relate to this message today, Jesus knew that the religious leaders could obey on the outside, but disobey on the inside. You can obey on the outside and disobey on the inside. You can go to community group with a really bad heart, you can come to church with a really bad heart. You can obey your bible verse for the day with a horrendous heart, you can love your child really poorly on the heart, but fake it on the outside. God. The reality is God sees our motives and our motives matter to God and people are motivated by their motives and God sees our motives. God wants our motives to be right on the inside as they are on the external, on the inside needs of the companies to be transformed by the gospel as well as the external God made our insights and our outsides and when God makes something he’s the master and creator and understands it incredibly well. God understands your thoughts, your motivations, your desires, your intentions of your heart. He made those, he understands those and he wants the inside of you as a person to be, to be pure just like the outside. I was encouraged by a brother sharing this verse psalms 36 Psalms 36 verses 25. It’s talking about this heart problem we have as people sometimes. I’m sorry Ezekiel 36 Ezekiel 36 verse 25 to 27. It says I will also Sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my spirit within you and cause you to follow my statues and carefully observe my ordinances. There’s this hard hearted stone that we inherited they’ve had since our childhood and God takes that hard away from us with the gospel. God wants you to be pure on the inside and the outside. So if it was lunch today and jesus was addressing this church, post the sermon at lunch, he’d be speaking to the lifers, the in christian crowd, the pastors, the staffers, the pastor kids, he’d be speaking to us, who who who make it make it more than just a you know, quarterly frequent visit to this place, what are what are known as a member of this church, the people who mastered the art of the spoken being nice and polite, but the unspoken being selfish and self centered, jesus addressing the hypocrisy to his audience at that table of their extortion of the poor and the wickedness and the leaders heart. If it was today, jesus would say things like you may like your friends post, but inwardly you are full of jealousy, jesus stressing the importance of the inward and the outward being immunity for us to be authentic. In our walk of God. See, Jesus is not looking for a bunch of hipster hypocritical christians to change the world. They can’t change nothing. We need to be authentically genuinely changed from the inside out by the Gospel of jesus christ. The Gospel genuinely changes the person’s inner life and their exterior life both. And when the inner life, the inner motivations, inner desires are transformed by the Gospel. Everything on the outside comes into focus and is able to be changed drastically simpler. And when that happens when the inner man or woman is authentically changed by the Gospel, the exterior person is changed by the Gospel to there’s an authenticity to our walk. There’s a genuineness to our faith. The loss can see a fake, they can see a hypocrite, they can see a con man and God’s name was not glorified when there’s this, this conflict with the inner and exterior jesus God and we need to think and pause and pray about that. Since jesus is God, God’s nature is not our nature. God judges the inwardness of man and the inner private, intimate side of people that no one sees but that person, It’s like when I see you, I see you and I assume the best about what is behind closed doors in your private life. But God sees you and he sees the interview at the same simultaneous time, he sees the outward manifestations of your public person and he sees the private manifest manifestations of you when no one is house watching God created the inside on the outside, and he judges them both rightly and fairly simultaneously. God judges people’s motivations, attitudes, and God is and will judge the seen and the unseen. This is very bad news for religious people who will live for a performance based relationship with each other and performance based relationship with God. God sees God judges and God judges correctly. And you cannot, I cannot, we will not con God or mislead God, God desires the inner brand and the outer brand to be working in complete unity of the Gospel. Why does jesus care about the inner and the outer person? Why does you just care about your motives? Does it matter? Hands down, yes, at matter. It matters to jesus. It matters all throughout your bible when you’re working, when you do religious work, religious manifestations of the Gospel and life transformational work and your walk of God is off. You don’t draw people closer to God, you push them farther from God. Like I said earlier, people are excellent sniffing out fakes fake christian disingenuous leaders and hypocrisy. The biggest problem with Christianity in our city is hypocritical christians theologically. This this belief structure is incredibly sound. I argue amazingly. So the best minds and businesses in the world who tried to dismantle it from the academic side. It is undefeated, it is defeated, A bunch of hypocritical hypocritical christians walking around being and pretending something they’re not. Our external actions and our internal motivations both can be changed by the Gospel, our external actions and our internal motivations both can be only changed by the Gospel. Only the Gospel produces a holistic life change that people desire. I went on a rabbit show come back to verse 42, Jesus continues his roasting, he says, but woe to you, Pharisees for you, tithe mint and rude and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the other. You need to know whoa is an expression of regret. The Pharisees is a religious leader, it’s like a modern pastor, clergy, it’s like a career religious worker and jesus grieved over the Pharisees and he’s gonna work through a variety of topics systematically. As we go through this passage and he starts with their practices of finances, the type In the Jewish culture, the tie that’s supposed to be a command in Leviticus 27 and Deuteronomy 14, it’s supposed to be a joyful love offering of a 10th of the person’s income, just to show their gratitude and their love and their admiration and their dependence on God, their generosity, their stewardship, their faith, God’s faithfulness and their faithfulness. And it’s just supposed to be a love offering to God, done from an abundance of joy and worshiping God, To take a 10th of your tithe and go down to a 10th of your garden herbs, made a mockery of it. This finally tuned attention to detail way of living, took the love out of the law. People tend to add man made rules to God’s rules and we can add to the law of God and miss the heart of God. Behind the law of God, the heart of God is to do what is right and don’t neglect the love of God. We are prone to champion the trivial, prone to champion our preferences, our opinion and we tend to not champion a genuine authentic love for God. We had to, we had to stand on the word of God and not make a stand on preferences, opinions and trivial matters where the christian walk gives us liberty and christian freedom allowing us to have liberty and rest and work, and if I take the christian freedom and God’s grace and God’s acceptance and God’s forgiveness for me and I turned around on you and I give you judgment slander, shunning cancel culture. That’s hypocritical. That’s wrong. Grace for me. Law for you, leniency on me, legalism for you. There’s a disconnect and not our worst Christianity in America has this every you got to see the hypocrisy right? The macro structure of Christianity is God reconciled people to God and the grace of God that we experience as people, we have trouble giving that same grace to the people around us and God gives them grace and we don’t Verse 43, what would you Pharisees for? You love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplace. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves and people walk over them without knowing it. So the best seat in the synagogue. So in a jewish synagogue, there’d be people gathering and the Pharisees would sit up front and their fancy robes and the seat facing the congregation. And so as a person was teaching a rabbi was teaching, they’d sit there and they’d be like nodding or scowling unfurling their brow and the whole congregation would look to them to take cues for how to respond to what was taught and they use that platform for manipulation for self centeredness for their vanity for their narcissism, they use that platform for their personal gain. We have this rampart in Christianity. Religious people, pastors using their platform to manipulate people con people for their personal game and feed their narcissism. We see this all over american Christianity. This verse, jesus words is brutal to those demographics. We should use our position to serve people not to have them serve you. We should use our people to love them and lead them to christ not to manipulate them. People would greet them in the market place. It’s like people greet you at all these we shop at all these some some of us right. I almost fell over. Okay people gush over them at the grocery store in the marketplace and I found this this last week and I thought this was hysterical. So I’m gonna share it with you. They would say things like oh rabbi, glorious Doctor of the Torah report repository of solomonic epigrams. Son of so and so son of so and so son of so and so just this gushy speech to their their their pharisee, their local religious leader when I see all all these we act like we don’t know each other. I’m kidding. I’ll give you I’ll give you a wave. But If we’re honest in verse 43 we do this today as Christians, vanity, pride, self centeredness. Narcissism is very common in Christianity. It’s almost celebrated in a subculture of Christianity. I just don’t get it. I think we’d get over it by now but we just keep going back to that well and keep drinking Pharisees had a preoccupation with the outward with people loving them in the public eye, this should sound very familiar to us being a pastor’s son, I could walk into churches, I didn’t start people I didn’t know and they had nobody because of my last name and they knew my dad, people knew me, they thought highly of me, not because they knew me because they knew my dad, I know how this world works and and I’m not saying I’m saying there’s a danger there that we should be aware of God is not a respecter of people. God does not show partiality and favoritism. If you’re a lifer, you might have been raised by parents who wanted to praise of their peers more than the praise of God and they really want you to perform in public. That’s a level of hypocrisy being different in one arena and not the same in another arena. This type of hypocrisy. People live their lives built on it, conceal sin hide sin lie, omit, misrepresent the truth, minimize things to look better in the eyes of christian circles. That’s hypocrisy, that’s wrong. This kind of living is a ticking time bomb and God hates hypocrisy. God will not be mocked and we will reap what we sow believers, so pay attention as we work through this passage. And if Jesus was giving the sermon the year 2022, he would roast us for our hypocrisy. We’ve seen online, you edit your quiet time photo of your bible with filters and specialized hashtags. But you haven’t really connected with me in the bible for months. You like your friends photos. But in really you desire harm to befall them. Your real emotion you feel is jealousy, not love, jealousy and mojo mojo, not lava mojo. I don’t know what that is either. You post these photos of you and your cool, popular beautiful friends the one time you hang out with them in months, but you neglect all the average normal people. I’ve set in your life daily. We have hypocrisy in the christian culture. Let’s be honest, we should all be brutally honest. This passage is difficult to work through social media puts our hypocrisy and hyperdrive and it’s not just for toddlers and teenagers on Tiktok, it’s for all of us. Does that make sense? All of us, It just shows what’s happening in our hearts. The reality is in our hearts, there is no space for good deeds to flow from. Apart from christ hypocrisy is as far as you can get apart from christ hypocrisy is as good as it will get in your christian life. Even our best days, All of our lives apart from God are a sad lame sitcom joke that the angels in heaven are not laughing at men and women. This is real. Just get serious about. I think we should get serious about in our own lives verse 45. So jesus speaking to a group of people in any pivots on verse 45. To another demographic that’s sitting at the table. This is a lawyer, a professional legal experts on the Torah. The old testament law. They spend a career studying the old testament law. Their religious lawyer. Never heard of that. I don’t think you can google a religious lawyer and have someone show up on google verse 45 is this is jesus talking to religious lawyer says one of the lawyers answered him. Teacher is jesus, he’s asking jesus is in saying these things. You insult us. Also, a pharisee is professional religious worker. A lawyer is like their wingman. They know the bible. They know the tour and they will help spin the bible make it say what they want when they want, where they want and they know the law really, really well. They’re expert teachers of the law, but they really add to the law is what we’ll find. If you think of the Bible, a little background. There’s 613 commands in the Bible, of them are in the negative posture. 240 of them are in the more positive disposition, positive posture, posture. That’s moral law, uh, social law and uh, ceremonial law. That is what the jewish nation is working through Just some context. The United States federal law includes more than 300,000 rules and regulations. So 613 bible, 300,000 rules and regulations. That’s more than the city of Lincoln. I think even if you count Hickman more than the city of Lincoln, men and women, 613 isn’t that bad. So these religious lawyers and these Pharisees were adding to the, to the law of the Old Testament Law. They were adding thousands of extra laws and about 6000 total laws were being added to the 613 loss. So let’s read verse 46 it says, and he said, well do you lawyer also for you load people with burdens hard to bear and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. So the hypocrisy here is in verse 46 they took these traditions and customs and they made them more important than the law itself. So rest on the sabbath. That’s what they’re talking about carrying burdens on the sabbath resting on the sabbath. A jew is supposed to rest from the work of God. The workout has given them and be if the people God has placed them with and enjoy God and enjoy their life on the sabbath to take a rest from their physical labor, just like God rested one day a week When he built the whole everything uh, in the beginning, God created everything. He took a break on day seven. The Sabbath and the Jews are supposed to model that also. So that’s a spiritualized don’t do a ton of physical labor that one day a week, but rest and enjoy God and what God gave you. So the Spirit of law, the addition to the law is an example from below the chapter 10 verse three. This is not the bible, this is what we’re talking about On the sabbath, taught, a man may not carry a burden in his right hand or on his left, in his bosom or on his shoulder, but if he carries it on the back of his elbow or in his ear or in his hair, or in the wallet, mouth downward or between his wallet and his shirt or in the hem of his shirt or on his or in his shoe or in his sandal. So, I mean, you’re like, yes, I know. It’s it’s it’s ridiculous. It’s confusing. It’s complicated. It took the spirit of the law and added a whole bunch of secondary manmade rules behind it. These religious lawyers wrote and exercise loopholes that they rarely followed themselves. The average person that heard that at a jewish temple would just have quit on this pursuit of God, understanding who God is who this God is and how it relates to their life. You mentally checked out and we just read that list. If you sit on that list, day after day after our sermon after sermon. No, it would make it impossible. The religious, these religious professional employees were supposed to teach God’s word in such a way that helped inspire the people instead of making them feel burdened and burned out when they left. People are coming to hear about God and desire to draw close to God instead after hearing these teachings, they left confused about God and feeling farther from God. The gospel is simple. It’s so simple. Your kids upstairs are learning about the Gospel. There’s a powerful, simple tool that God uses this change and transform and radically change lives. But the gospel is also complex and you can and God willing will spend the rest of your life appreciating it, studying it, learning the multifaceted beauty of the Gospel. But the gospel is supposed to draw people to God, supposed to draw the believer who is being saved to God verse 47. What do you for? You build the tombs of the prophets whom your father killed? So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers for they killed them and you built their tombs. So jesus talking about virtue, signaling, building a tomb for the people your parents killed. The point of jesus saying here is corporate sin and guilt continues among the descendants of the wicked unless they repent good deeds apart from repentance isn’t doesn’t make the bad deeds go away. We have to repent to humbly confess our failures and our shortcomings and repent. Exodus 20 verse five, Deuteronomy 23 verses two through six first, Samuel 15 2 through three And Isaiah 1: verse four. Talk more about this. I don’t care what you say publicly. I don’t care what you post online. God is looking for a genuine, authentic confessing, humbling repentance and that’s what can change things. Nothing good can happen apart from our sin, apart from us. Starting off of humility and confession and repentance. The reality is juices, eating lunch with folks who would kill him if the romans were not in charge of the country that was viewed as civil unrest. And they had a long history of killing profits like him who rocked the boat. They later will kill john the baptist I believe, but the roman occupation views us as civil unrest and if they weren’t in charge, they would probably have stoned him and killed him. They later killed jesus, the people at this table and their friends killed jesus, jesus, john the baptist considered the greatest prophet of all time. His enemies killed him just gets killed by these religious leaders. Later in the book of luke. Hypocrisy and good works is still hypocrisy verse 49. Therefore also the wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against this general against this generation. From the blood of Abel, the first martyr in the bible to the blood of Zachariah, the last prophet before john the baptist who perished between the altar in the sanctuary which is viewed as the third most holiest place for jews. They went and killed him, the third most holiest place. Yet I tell you, it will be required of this generation. So that is what happened to Abel and Zachariah was nothing compared to is about to go through the lawyers this generation that killed jesus called the greatest that killed john the baptist, the greatest prophet. They went on to kill the Word of God himself, jesus christ because of their hypocrisy and their jealousy, the blood of all those slain for their faithful. Their faithfulness to God will be required of this generation that rejected the ultimate and final prophet. Priest King Jesus, the messiah Verse 52, won’t you, lawyers for you have taken away the key of knowledge, you did not enter yourselves and you hindered those who were entering. For he went away from there and the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to invoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him to catch him and something he might say. The purpose of scripture of you reading your bible is under a better understanding and knowledge of God. The purpose of what I’m trying to do here teach the bible to use to help you have a deepening understanding and knowledge of God because knowledge of God lights up and illuminates your life, your heart, your mind and God changes the heart. It changes the mind through the word of God and the whole rest of a man or woman can be transformed as your mind is renewed, as your mind is transformed. Our purpose is to help you grow a knowledge of God. The teachers of the law, the lawyers of scripture made everything about the bible confusing and complicated that people couldn’t grasp the real nature of God and they’d walk away from a God that was confusing and overbearing. They turned the bible into obscure obscurities, riddles that only the experts could understand, but they wouldn’t explain to people, I am reminded and sobered by these two verses in 2nd Timothy two and 2nd Timothy four. Talking about what we’re trying to do here as a church today, it says, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a worker who has no need to be ashamed rightly handling the word of truth. And then chapter Chapter four, I charged in the presence of God and of Christ, Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom preach the word be ready in season and out of season, jesus opponents mishandled the word of God, jesus opponents were livid with him for calling them out on it. His intense venom. This hatred to jesus to catch him and to hunt him down and what he said and did was intense and all the while jesus on the road to Jerusalem. The context of this whole narrative is uses this next chunk of the book of luke. He’s moving to Jerusalem, he’s going into dark arenas and dark chapters of heavier and heavier hitting chapters with more and more enemies of God attacking jesus. This heated exchange we looked at today, bows over to the next chapter, which dan will pick up next week for us and it, it ends with the last third of the book of luke which focuses on the systematic dismantling of jesus, The God man to the point where the disciples think that all hope is lost and the popularity and fame, a juice is destroyed. But God, God’s ways are not like our ways. God saw the way God made a way when there was no way before the world began, people knew God knew what would happen, he predicted and he prophesized that the bruised heel would crush the head of the serpent in genesis for God’s perfect providential plan is being rolled out in Luke. 11, so as we close, these woes should strike a warning to theologians, teachers and leaders in the church today, but I don’t work at the leaders of the churches today, I work with y’all, I’m with y’all, every discipleship, group leader should take take stock of this passage, every community leader should take stock of this passage, every community apprentice, every college staff, every campus director, every missionary, every pastor should read and think. But for the grace of God, this could be me because you saw on the road to Jerusalem without the grace of God, we’re on the road to hypocrisy. That is our fallen condition. Our original disposition of the heart is, it is too hard to pursue a relationship with God. It’s too scary. It’s too high stakes. I’m gonna go to the toilet, I’m gonna hide in the toilet of acceptable christian sins and I’m gonna, I’m gonna drink from the water of hypocrisy because that is easier in your mind’s eye than actually having a real relationship with God a meaningful so an application for all of us. If you’re like, I’m new to Christianity, this is crazy. I’ve been here my whole life. This is, this is, this is not fun mike. You know, why don’t, why don’t you get the easy passages mike? It’s the bible. That’s hard. All of this is good parts too. But the application for us all, it seems to always start with our time with the Lord, a meaningful time of God, a meaningful time of you and your bible for you and God not to be shared a community group, not to be spammed out to your roommates, not to be calling your mom and tell her about you read the bible. I mean it’s just supposed to be for a private thing between you and God. No instagram story. Live reels about this moment. This is like you and God, not for display you in private and God time you’re reading the word of God, you praying scripture, you praying. What’s on your heart? You letting God speak to you? As I’ve read my bible, There’s many a days I’ll be reading along thinking hunky dory mike, lighthearted mike, can I read a passage? I’m like, oh, I’m gonna write that down in my journal. I’ll look at it later in the day, I’m like ah, yep, that’s for the meeting. I just walked out of, I was a hypocrite or that’s me I’m walking into. I’m gonna be tempted to be a hypocrite. That daily connection of God because the presence of God drives out hypocrisy from from he can’t stand to be around hypocrites. Being with God in a relationship of God, pursuing a loving walk with God helps flush out the attitudes, dispositions and affections in my heart, it changes my heart going to God daily with the gospel and reading the bible, reading throughout the gospels of jesus life. What he said and he did is so refreshing the book of psalms is so good for me to process my emotions and what I’m thinking if you’re beat up or discouraged, run down. Look at the book of psalms. It is amazing, refreshing thing of how you they take his thoughts captive and give his concern to birth Lord and worship lee praises God and models for us how to think, healthy as christians minimum in the bible is your word to feed your soul. We have to read the bible daily and genuinely authentically connected God through prayer and reading of the bible hip hop, because because hypocrisy lives in you, it lives in me, it comes naturally to all of us. Nothing can address our motivations, our intentions, our heart like God and his word God always seems to poke the hypocrite in the eye. Amen, Let’s pray God, I thank you for today. Thank you for the word of God and how it can transform lives. If we let it, it’s powerful enough to protect itself. If we let it out in our lives scott, you are a God who takes amazing care of your sons and daughters. I ask that you just teach us Lord how to walk with you and inviting you as individuals and as a corporate church, we just love you and thank you for the gospel in jesus name. We pray Amen.
jesus and his disciples went onto the villages around caesarea philippi on the way, he asked them who do people say I am, they replied, some say john the baptist, others say elijah and still others, one of the prophets. But what about you? Who do you say? I am Amen. It’s good to be with you this morning. We are going to continue going through the book of luke. We’ve been working our way through this for a couple of falls and now winter and so we, we’ve been making our way through. But it’s amazing to just go through a verse by verse, section by section and discover God’s word with you today. I’m, I’m calling the sermon today the greater one and you’ll see why here. But I thought for a good example or just a good illustration might be um something that’s happened to me, I will just share a story, Maybe it’s happened to you. I wish I could say this has only happened once, but it’s actually happened multiple times. And it’s when I’ve gone to the fridge and I open the fridge and I’m looking for something, let’s say catch up. Right. And I open the fridge and I’m like, there’s no ketchup, Hey baby, is there any, do we have ketchup? Is there any ketchup, yep, it’s on the right shelf, like there’s no catch up. She walks in, you know, she’s like, it’s right here, you know, like, yep right in front of my face, right? It’s, it’s amazing how sometimes it’s like right there and you can miss it and I’m like how in the world did that just happen. And so I think that just gives us a little bit of as you’ll see. Looking at luke 11 26 2 39. What I’m talking about here. So let me read here, Luke 11, the first portion 1126 through 32. And then we’ll jump into that. It says as the crowds were increasing. He began saying, this generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Ninevah. So also the son of man will be to this generation, the queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and look something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Ninevah will stand up in judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at Jonas preaching and look something greater than Jonah is here. And so it speaks about it a couple of times, just the greater one and initially, you know, we see in the crowds are increasing, it’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger and most people would be like, yes, yes, right, we’re gaining momentum. This is exactly what we want, bigger, bigger, bigger more people and yet jesus kind of slashes that pretty quickly. We look back on verse 14, which was covered uh this last week and looking at, hey, why was it even getting bigger? Well, in verse 14, it talks about how he was healing a person who was mute, right? He had a mute demon in him. He cast that out and people were amazed and says they were amazed. And so they started gathering and it’s pretty easy, you have a street performer, a guy playing some music on the corner or whatever and right, if they’re really good, you can gather a crowd pretty quickly, people come around and if someone’s healing people doing some miraculous things, I don’t think it would take much to be like, tell your buddy, call your friend, gather people and all of a sudden you have a big crowd. That’s right. The crowd is getting bigger and bigger and bigger a lot of times we think, yes, bigger, right? More. And then jesus says, this is a wicked generation, alright, if you want to cut a crowd real quickly, go there, right, this is a wicked generation. And so that’s where he starts and he’s and and so he says, you guys is sin is right out there, it’s wicked, it’s evil. And no one, I get it right. No one wants to be called evil. No one likes to be called wicked. I mean, nowadays we would rather kind of flaunt our sin and accept it, right? Just promote it. No one wants to be called wicked or evil. I mean I don’t either, but yet we know it intrinsically inherently you and I know our wickedness. We know we’re so familiar with it. We might not like somebody else saying it, but we know it even thinking about an atheist, right? If they have no, what’s their moral code based on, I don’t know, but they would still have things like, hey, don’t kill somebody, don’t still don’t cheat them, right? They would still have this kind of moral code that they make up. And yet they break their own moral code. And so they even know everyone knows that inherently were born with this sin nature. And that’s really the beginning of the gospel, right? Because if I don’t understand that I have a sin nature. If I don’t see myself as a sinner, if I don’t see my own wickedness, what do we need a savior for? I don’t need jesus, I don’t need him. But when I recognize my sin, I also recognize my need for help, my need for a savior. And so as jesus calls us out, people, some people respond and they know that they, they say, yeah, jesus, we we need you, you are our savior. And some just say no, no, right? They reject him not. You were looking for somebody else. We’re looking for a different savior. And he called them wicked in this instance specifically because they keep demanding a sign mm In Luke 11 again as he cast out that demon. He then you know, they’re like amazed but then they say he’s doing this by the prince of demons, right? Like diesel bub. They’re like calling them satanic, your power comes from satan. So he’s doing all these signs and then they call him evil, they call him satanic and then they’re saying we’ll do another sign proved us right? Something more. I mean what do you what do they want him to do? Alright someone who the mute speaks death, here’s blind, see the dead are raised. The storm is calm to these thousands on crumbs like what do they want? What do they want? Right. They’re not gonna be pleased. There’s nothing he’s going to do that all of a sudden. I think that’s a good enough miracle. Got it, yep. You cross the threshold now are bad. There’s nothing they’re gonna do. And he talks about this in Matthew 13 to where he he says, what do we say about this generation? He’s like we we sang a dirge you didn’t mourn. We played a song, you didn’t dance. There’s nothing you could do, right. There is no nothing as a miracle. Nothing you could say that was going to make him happy. It was like a it was like a kid who wouldn’t be pleased no matter what And that’s what he says because they continue to ask for more and more and what he has done is never good enough dan. I’ll quote dan from last week, right? He said miracles do not produce faith and that’s so true. You know it’s derived from romans 10 7, 1017 Where it says faith comes by hearing right? And so that’s what’s our point, they could do anything. They want whatever miracle it is, there’s no miracle good enough that all of a sudden they’re gonna change their mind, their hearts were hardened, they were just hard and callused towards God, what did that say? I’m gonna give you the sign of Jonah Alright, that’s gonna be the final ultimate sign is the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of a large fish for three days, vomited out, goes to ninevah, they repent right? So just as that he’s saying, I am going to be in the earth for three days and I am gonna be raised from the dead and I’m going to present myself to you and I am the greater Jonah, I’m the Greater Jonah, I am the Greater one. He’s going to come forward and so he’s pointing to himself that he is going to be the final, the ultimate sign miracle that these people can continue to look for his resurrection and it is also the final ultimate sign that we have today, We look back on that in history as the ultimate proof validating the words of christ that he rose from the dead, that is something we look for also. And then he then he goes on and says the Queen the Queen of the South, this is the Queen of Sheba Talk spoken of in first kings 10 the stories in there where she just had this slight understanding, she heard of same uh Solomon and his wisdom and the kingdom and his knowledge and all these things. And just even at that she recognized that this was from God. This was not just some smart man Who’s doing a good job managing a kingdom. This wisdom was different, it was from God. And so she packed up 1500 miles. Today would be Yemen goes to Jerusalem. This huge caravan probably took months and months and months in an astronomical cost. But she knew it was worth it to seek wisdom. And she went and found Solomon and then all of her questions were asked and all of them were answered. Actually it says that she was left without breath, she had nothing more to say. She was so amazed that the wisdom of God. And so she went out and found that in the jews right, they were looking in their spiritual fridge, right? They were looking and they were missing right what was right in front of them, Jonah or the queen. I mean they had much less, much less to go on than what the jews had and yet they sought out, they recognized what was in front of them and that’s what we need to do, right. We have to recognize what is in front of us. and it goes on to say in verse 31 and 32 that because they recognize they’re going to stand up at the judgment of these men of this wicked generation, they recognized the wisdom, they, you know, the queen pursued that, she gained wisdom at the sign of Jonah, the dynamite’s repented and yet there’s something greater and they’re rejecting him. There’s something greater than Jonah, something someone greater than Solomon. And they’re saying, no, they’re rejecting what’s right in front of them. They couldn’t fathom that jesus from Nazareth would be their savior. And it’s a pretty, it’s a pretty sharp indictment to them because not only were they foreigners right there, gentile pagans and one was a woman and they were the chosen people of God. Their pride was so high. They were so arrogant that they couldn’t see their savior that they’ve been looking for for hundreds of years. They didn’t see him right in front of him. And so these pagan gentiles are going to stand up symbolically and metaphorically at the judgment and condemn them offer much less. And so what what do we need to do that? What do we need to do? One is just a reminder as believers, we have to look with our spiritual eyes. There’s so much going on around us in our world that we can get taken off. Course we can get distracted, we can lose sight of what’s happening Matthew 13 tells us this and he’s speaking of why he speaks in parables but it is the same, still says those seeing they do not see though hearing, they do not hear or understand in them is fulfilled. The prophecy of Isaiah, you will be ever hearing but never understanding, you will be ever seeing but never perceiving for the people’s hearts have become callous, they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them but blessed are your eyes because they see in your ears because they hear as believers are we hearing and seeing what God is doing amongst us. I mean God is moving, he is active. It’s amazing to see even in this church, this small church in Lincoln Nebraska we have people who hear the word of God and are changing their lives, they’re turning their lives to christ and they’re getting saved. Last time we had baptism we have six people walk through in obedience to God’s word and and be baptized right? There are marriages that are building on the foundation that christ has set forward, there are families that are raising kids and the fear and instruction of the Lord. There are people who are living out their daily lives at work in, in the community feel fulfilling the great commandment? The great commission, there is so much going on around us? Sometimes we have to pull back and remember and see what’s going on because we can be blinded and distracted by the things in our own world. How many times do we just focus on ourselves and and what’s going on? And then we don’t even see what’s happening. We have we have problems of our own, we have trials of our own, we have issues of our own, but sometimes we need to step back and see what God is doing alright. We can find ourselves just down these rabbit holes if we’re on social media or reading the news or the latest conversation and and it becomes this big thing in our lives. I mean I’ve heard it said that even a penny as small as a penny, right? A penny can block the sun if you hold it close enough to your eye and we hold our problems and our issues sometimes so close to our eyes that we don’t see the true light God and his work that’s going on around us. And I know that can be difficult because our lives are what seemed to be first and foremost in our world. And so hebrews 12 tells us we need to refocus says, fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Sometimes we need to recalibrate, sometimes we need a take a step back and look at what we’re focusing on, is it jesus, is it what he is doing? Is that the word of God, is it his truth, His promises. And so sometimes we just need to recalibrate. Right? So let’s look with our spiritual eyes. If you don’t see what God is doing around you, maybe you need to stop and take a step back and examine what am I focusing on? My focusing on God or myself that I can’t see where he’s moving. And then he goes on into the next next portion of scripture and it seems like kind of a standalone piece. But they do tie back into each other. And so I’ll read it Verse 33 says no one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar under a basket. But on a lamp stand so that those who come in may see its light your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. Take care then that the light in you is not darkness if therefore your whole body is full of light. With no part of it. In darkness it will be entirely illuminated as when a lamp shines its light on you. And so yes, there’s two parts of this where yes jesus is the light? Right? So and we’ll talk about that, but there’s also another piece of it that says just like common vernacular, right? If I was that if I was in class and I was trying to explain something to a student and they’re just not getting it. But eventually they get it. They might say, ah the light came on, right, Like the light bulb came on. Or if someone is talking to me and I’m just not getting it. I may, I may say, I kind of feel like I’m in the dark over here. It means right, light and dark in these situations. I mean, I don’t get it. I don’t understand. I’m not comprehending. And so it’s used both ways in this portion of scripture. The first portion in verse 33 says no one lights a lamp and put it under a basket. Jesus is the light of the world, john 8 12 he says, I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will be, but will have the light of life. So he is the light. And what’s happening here is again, he’s proving this. He’s going out and he’s doing these miracles and he’s validating exactly what he’s saying. Everything he says is happening. And yet it’s not enough, right? And so they’re trying these religious people these days who are rejecting, jesus are trying to hide the light under that basket in the cellar and they don’t want people to see if they want to extinguish that. And so that’s bring going back to the wicked generation and jesus is standing here as a light and they’re trying to hide it and suppress it. And that’s no different as in our time, right? If you mentioned jesus, if you mentioned in the bible, it’s like, yeah, people will want to suppress it. They want to hide that. They want to bury that. And yet it doesn’t change. That, jesus is the light and the truth for our day. And it’s quite a again and it’s quite an indictment when it when we look at nine Nova and the Queen, as we said, they had much less information. They didn’t have the Bible, they didn’t have profits before that speaking to them. And yet they recognized what was in front of them and we are living in what the information age, there’s no shortage of information you can ask Siri about anything doesn’t mean you give the right answer, but right. You you can get information, you can get so much information. You don’t even know how to process and deal with all of it. But we live in an information age and it’s not information that’s always gonna be the catalyst of what changes you. It has to be putting your faith in christ, okay, We’re not going to be short of information. And I’ve walked through this even in evangelism, I can sometimes feel ill equipped and ill just ill equipped because I can’t answer this guy’s questions on geology and then this guy has a question on astronomy. This one has biology and this one’s psychology and it’s like, I don’t know all these answers and I’m not gonna know all the answers. And so do I feel am I ill equipped to share the Gospel? Because I don’t have all the information. No, God has given us enough. He has given us the playbook. He has given us the words in history to share the Gospel. We are not left short. It doesn’t mean that the bible doesn’t speak to some of these things and it doesn’t mean that science doesn’t validate the bible in its claims. And it’s proof. So this we’re just not gonna know everything all the time. And that’s where John three comes in. It’s like, well why is that? Why can I have a bunch of answers though? If I can answer your every question, won’t that mean you get saved? If I can answer all your questions, shouldn’t you just get saved. Right? So then if I can present enough information, everybody should get saved. Like no John three tells us this is the judgment the light has come into the world, but the people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil for everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it. So that his deeds may not be exposed. It doesn’t matter even for you in evangelism, you could give an answer to every question a person may have, but if a person loves the darkness and they love their sin more than they love jesus, they’re not going to turn and repent. That doesn’t mean we should be ill equipped, but it does mean that God has to draw them in. The bible says that God draws them in. We are we have been given that messenger responsibility right to proclaim the truth, but God is ultimately going to be the one who draws them in, not not you, and if you have enough information, and so we need to be presenting that to each person, knowing that God’s work will do the do the job to draw them in. In verse 34, it goes on and say, you know, talks about your eyes, it says, your eye is the lamp of your body, and when it’s good, your whole body is good. But when it’s bad, your whole body is bad. And I mean, just even as an organ, your eye, let’s light in to your brain and processes and it tells you what you see, right? It can then comprehend what is going on around you. But if my eye is bad, even if I went out and looked at the sun, it’s not gonna process that. It’s not gonna take it in, and I can’t comprehend it. So even though jesus is there some are seeing with their spiritual eyes and they’re taking that in and they’re seeing jesus as the Savior. Some it doesn’t matter. Their eyes are bad and even if even the light of the world standing there in front of them, they’re not processing that, they’re not taking it and they’re not internalizing it and they’re not going to get changed, they’re not gonna submit to christ as the savior. So then it tells us, okay, What do you need to do in verse 30 35 and 36? It tells us to be careful. Your version may say watch out in our text today. This is the only command. It’s the only imperative, right? So this is telling us do something, it’s telling you what to do, right? Take action here and what did he tell you to take action from tells us take care of them. That the light in you is not darkness don’t be deceived, but we need to watch out what we’re taking in because things can look good. They might even sound good but if they contradict the bible, they are not good. And again as we focus on the wrong thing, we might veer off, john piper said, you know there are many bright things in the world that keep us from seeing the true light of christ, just like the city lights, the streetlights can keep you from seeing the stars and so what are we focusing on because we can all be deceived, we have to know that and that is part of the strength of the body. But the hard part is we hear so much information again, we live in an information age. We hear more and more and more information. How can you validate all that? How can you cross check it? How can you go back to the bible and everything? And so what happens is we, we, we kind of ascribe to people, hey, they, they know what they’re talking about. They are, they are the expert, right? And so I’m just gonna listen to them, right? Maybe they’re a professor or a PhD or a pastor or when I was in the corporate America, it was right there ECM subject or smes subject matter experts. And so you just kind of like didn’t mess with that guy right? It’s like okay, he said to do it, I’m just doing it and we can do that same thing, right? We hear something oh that guy’s a pastor. So then it’s just true. But we need to be like the Briones and and take that back to the word of God is no, does the bible say that that is true. And I would say for me this is a, this is the most humbling thing ever to stand up here and and teach the word of God because there is a great humility and the fact that I am also proclaiming to you and you are listening and I’m saying there’s an understanding that we need to take from the bible and so there’s a weight and it says that teachers will be judged more harshly and it is a great responsibility and as you teach others as you share the gospels, you disciple people as you raise kids and you teach them, it’s a great responsibility to know and understand the truth of the word of God and this is the benefit of the church, right? Yes, we we preach the word of God and and we are held accountable as uh as a team even uh to doctrine and to studying the word and and preaching accurately, but also in your own quiet time. Are you reading the word? Are you taking that in our, in our community groups? This is where a lot of times, you know, it comes down to play is that our community group and our discipleship group and we’re sharing our thoughts, Are we helping each other? Are we pointing out scripture? Are we leading each other back to the word of God and and helping us so we don’t get off, that’s the benefit of the body of the church because satan is the deceiver. Right? Second Corinthians 1114 says even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, he wants to appear really great, he wants to appear um really attractive. I heard an old preacher once saying, you know, the greatest life sounds most like the truth, It’s just a slight variation, he wants to, he wants to appear like, yeah that that’s good and then just because we hear it, it sounds good or it might feel good or my feelings like I agree with that. It doesn’t mean it’s truth and that’s his tactic. He wants to just deceive us a little little by little and that’s why the imperative comes in to be careful because none of us are above being able to be swayed away. None of us are above being able to be taken off track. And so it is to be careful, watch out, hold each other accountable, what you read, what you take in what you listen to. It matters right? We can think, oh it doesn’t matter, but it does because what we meditate on what we think about impacts what we do impacts what we believe. And so we’re called to be careful on what we do. And satan is deceitful in a way that is really sly. Usually he’s not gonna just try to get you to do a 1 80 really fast because it doesn’t work. You can identify that, you can recognize it really quickly, yep. Got it. But what he wants to do is just kind of take you off a little bit like take you off course, just a little bit, so a little bit here and then tomorrow a little bit here and tomorrow a little bit there and then you start getting further and further away. You just, you start drifting away or believing things and that goes downhill quickly. You’ve probably heard the example of uh, you know what one degree does over time. So if I was in the military and I was trying to launch a missile and I’m off by one degree, probably 60 miles. I’m off a mile in the wrong direction. Alright. That’s that’s a big deal. Right? I missed my target. Mm hmm. And I think that’s the same thing except for, you know, I’m a finance guy. And so I would say I would compare it more to like compound interest where instead of just a straight trajectory of one degree over time and it’s straight, I’d say, you know, compound interest starts out. It goes up and up and all of a sudden it gains momentum and boom, it’s skyrockets. It takes you to a place you never thought you would be. And so little by little and then there you go. And so he wants to sway us. He wants to take us off course. I don’t know if that’s me or what, but it’s staticky. So hopefully you guys can still here. All right. But it’s taken us off course little by little and again, the body of believers, right? We can hold each other accountable by ourselves. We’re not designed to just run this race by ourselves. We’ll find ourselves in a ditch real quickly. But but together, right, When we, when we listen to the word of God, when we discuss it in our community groups, When we talk about it, when we point each other out, point each other to the bible. We hold each other on course so that we don’t drift. So in light of that, Right hold fast to God’s word. Hold it in high esteem. Go back to it. This is where we’ll find our truth. Read it. Meditate on it. Get in a community where you can do a bible study where you can hold each other accountable. This is going to matter in the local church again, get engaged because showing up on sunday morning is good. You hear the Word of God, you you can engage on sunday morning, but if it’s not happening regularly throughout your week, you’re missing a big piece of how God has designed the church, the benefit to our own lives, A benefit to the community, a benefit to everyone around us, to our families. So embrace these things, They are a blessing to us. Right the church. The word hold tight to this. Amen Lord. We thank you for this morning and thank you for your word that you are the greater one. You are the greatest one. And we can rest assured on that father. We just ask that you would help us to watch out. To be careful that we would hold tight to your word that we would know and acknowledge the truth and that we would not be deceived. Help us as brothers and sisters the to help sharpen one another, to engage with one another. To hold tight to the word into into the life of christ, living it out in our families, in our communities. Um, Lord, we just ask that you would, you would bless us in your name. We pray. Amen.
Well, good morning, good morning, saw a church family, Good morning to those of you tuning, tuning in on the livestream, um and good morning to those of you who are new here, who I haven’t met, look forward to meeting you, my name is dan, I’m one of the elders here at our church and we are going to continue this morning in our Coverage of the Gospel of Luke and we are going to be in Luke chapter 11, um, but as you’re turning there, I do have kind of a, something exciting, something to celebrate, maybe something to put before you, something for you guys to think about and be praying about um you know, this time that we live in in history, it’s a, it’s an interesting time, there’s a lot of, of, of questions, there’s a lot of fear, there’s division here and there and one of the things that’s really important for us to get is that we are the people of God, we are the church were the people who have been shaped by a love of God, who are rooted in the hope of God and his church is a part of his unshakable kingdom. And so in times like this, there needs to be a church, there needs to be a presence for the gospel to be preached for the word of God to be taught to remind people that God is still God, even when we are afraid, even when we have questions and on that note, one of our dear elders is praying and seeking the Lord about when and where to plant a church derek grumpy. And so I want you guys to be aware of that. Be praying about that. Be thinking about that because it’s so needed in this hour. We’re not going to allow darkness to shape how we think about the future going forward. But we’re gonna think about our God, his plans, his words. And we’re gonna lean into that. There needs to be more of the testimony of jesus, christ, Amen, amen. And so we’re praying about new places to go and to bring that testimony to bring that witness. So on that note, right, we’re gonna look at Luke 11. I’m just excited. I’m really excited this morning. I’m really excited for this time. I’ll be honest with you though, as I was looking at this passage, started reading it last week. I started reading it every day last week, every day this week multiple times, john down notes multiple times this morning. And there was not a sense of comfort about teaching this passage because it’s a difficult passage. When I was younger in the faith, I would have been really eager, bold and excited to teach this passage and probably most of what I would have said would have been heresy. But now through the grace of the Lord is he’s helping me to understand some things. I must admit it’s a tough passage. But that’s what we do here at sewer. We don’t back away. We don’t shy away from tough passages. That’s why we teach through books of the bible so that we God’s people can be exposed to the full and whole counsel of God. Amen. So I’m gonna read the passage now, verse 14 of Luke. He says now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out the mute man spoke and the people marveled. But some of them said he casts out demons by the eligible the prince of demons, while others psa test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he knowing their thoughts, said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and a divided household falls. And if satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand for? You say that I cast out demons by be eligible. And if I cast out demons by being visible. Who by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed guards, his own palace, his goods are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor and which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, but whoever does not gather with me scatters. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person. It passes through waterless places seeking rest and finding none, it says I will return to my house from which I came and when it comes it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. And he said these things and as he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast at which you nursed. But he said, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Let us pray, father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your kingdom. God. Each and every one of us in this place myself included what we need you, what we need you and ways in which we’re not even aware of. We need you Lord in ways in which we are aware God, we need you. We need your presence. We need your word Lord to satisfy, to strengthen and to feed our souls this morning. And I pray God that through this word, that would exactly be the outcome and to the glory of christ and for his name, Lord for his name’s sake. I pray amen. Have you guys ever heard of the Midas Touch? Well this morning, I entitled this teaching the real Midas touch. This whole idea of the Midas touch began believe it or not, as a part of greek mythology, there was a king named Midas was a wealthy king. He showed hospitality or kindness to a stranger and as a part of his reward, one of the gods said, I’ll grant you a wish, whatever it is you desire. Midas wanted everything he touched to become gold. And that God, according to greek mythology granted him that ability. And so bidis went away with this new ability. He touched a twig and it turned to gold. Yes, more riches for me. He touched the stone. It turned to gold. Yes, more riches for King Midas. And so he was excited. And then as he is sitting at his dinner table that night with all his subjects around him and he touches his food. It turned to gold. He picked up his chalice to drink. It turned to gold. King minus quickly thought to himself, Boy, this gift has really turned into a curse. I can’t even eat food. Now this is mythology, right? And since the retailing of this mythological tale, we have movies, a horrible movie that was made in the nineties called the Midas touch. We have marketing campaigns and slogans talking about the Midas touch, Try this product. Buy our product, Try our service. We have the Midas touch. And in every scenario, just like King Midas, you’re not satisfied, fully clever marketing. An interesting tale from the Greeks and yet not satisfied again this morning, we’re gonna talk about the real Midas touch the finger of God, the presence of God drawing near God touching your life, God impacting your life. God coming into your life in such a way that your life is radically changed and transformed. The real Midas touch is God’s presence coming and delivering us from sin. God’s presence shaping and transforming us more into the person of the Lord. Jesus christ God bringing us into his new creation as the Kingdom of God as the people of God. That’s the real Midas touch that we’re gonna talk about this morning. And in our story, jesus as he’s going about doing good. I love how Acts 10 verse 38 talks about Jesus’s ministry, His earthly ministry in this regard, it says that he he was anointed by God, that he was anointed by the holy spirit and that he went around doing good casting out devils because God was with him and what what he, what he was doing was giving the people a foretaste of the kingdom of God, helping people to see that the present reality that you live in is under the Dominion of the Kingdom of Darkness. And so jesus comes and says, here is the Kingdom of God breaking into darkness, stepping into your mess on this planet and cleaning everything else up if you’ve been around me long enough, you know that one of my favorite phrases is, you know, jesus left, he, he left heaven and every place he walked was the hood. It was ghetto, so to speak. Spiritual hood. Spiritual ghetto, broken, jesus loves the hood and so he comes upon this family, this young man who has a team and that was mute, that’s important, right? Cause we’re looking at this, this young man, this family, you know when you bring a child home from the hospital, one of your first prayers is yes, God, thank you for a healthy wife, a healthy baby, right? That’s what you’re praying for. A healthy wife and a healthy baby as you’re coming home from the hospital. And yet in this case this family for so many years has had to deal with the reality that their son, I can’t speak. They don’t know why they don’t, they can’t explain it, they don’t understand what has happened here and jesus steps into this environment and says, here is the finger of God, here is a taste of the kingdom of God and he heals this man and the mute spirit leaves him and after the spirit leaves him, some people observing this, a marvel, a marvel that they’re amazing, I’ve never seen anything like this happened before. Our men walked on this planet and touch someone who had never spoke before and that man now speaking, I’ve never seen that before. The finger of God had come and touch this man’s life, so they marveled marveling isn’t faith, they marvel at this demonstration of power. They marvel at this man being made whole. They marvel because like you and I, they all long to be made whole to have the image of God restored to us in its perfection and our relationship with God in its perfection and marvel at the power of God to do that. You and I have that longing. There are aspects of our lives where we look at various components of of of what we have to deal with on a day to day basis, whether it be illness or sickness or or different flaws or things that we don’t like or or habits that we can’t seem to shake. We look at these things and we long for wholeness for a return to the perfect image of God in us so we could fully enjoy God and fully enjoy the life that he made us for. And so the people observed this and they marveled. But again, marveling isn’t faith Moving on that passage. In verse 15, it says some of them said that he cast out demons by Beelzebub. All the elder bowl is just kind of a, it’s a reference to some old testament idols. It could mean a number of things. Lord of the flies or the Lord of the dung or Lord of the temple could mean any of those, depending on the context and how it is being used. But immediately jesus understood that they were calling him, satan everyone is marveling at the demonstration of the power of God. Some are marveling because they’re like, I don’t understand what’s going on, others are marveling and thinking, I have a lot of questions and yet others are saying this is yet a demonstration of the eligible of the devil, that’s why he’s doing this and he says verse 17 that he knew their thoughts. Now luke pins that phrase for us because he wants you to understand something jesus is God, I don’t know your thoughts. You know, I thought it was clever when I was dating my wife too, say things like I bet I can guess what you’re thinking in your head. Mhm And then responding, you’re thinking, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t know what she was saying, jesus knows exactly what you’re thinking, I knew exactly what they were thinking because he’s God. And so he looking at his audience, people not sure who he is, People skeptical that he is the son of God or the Maasai and people hating him, it’s got incredible patience and wisdom and again to explain to them and I hope you can see that what he explains to them is a picture of the spiritual warfare that we all deal with on a day to day basis. Immediately, people who love to talk about spiritual warfare want to get to the casting out of demons, but jesus is describing here for them what the actual spiritual warfare is about and it’s about the kingdom of satan first he explains to them how foolish it would be for Satan to do war against satan, Where is he going to get with that? How far is he going to go with that philosophy even? They wouldn’t do such a thing. Not intentionally, it’s foolish and then he reminds them that even some of their own believe in exorcism, there were jews that went around now, they had elaborate kind of approaches to it, do this, drink this, try this, you know, we’ll we’ll try this special incantation or whatever the case may be to see someone delivered from a demon he says. And if your sons are doing that, you know what by what power are they doing it and they’re going to be your judges because at least they understand that demonic possession of a person is bad and then it would be better for that person to be free of it and you’re not even acknowledging that. So he says, they will be your judge verse 20. Again, the real Midas touch, just put it, it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons. Then the Kingdom of God has come upon you, he says, When a strong man, fully armed guards, his own palace, his goods are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor and which he trusted and divides his spoil. He’s talking about Satan. Satan is the strong man the moment sin entered this world when the first man adam sinned and disobeyed God. And since spread to mankind, it has been the plan the scheming the efforts of satan and every member of his demonic kingdom to keep mankind and unbelief, disobedience and hardness towards God. It has been his plan that you and I would die in our sins and spend eternity in hell with him. It has been his plan to help peoples nations to become so entrenched in their culture and in the beliefs of their culture that if someone were to even mention God that those people would have such a visceral reaction to it, that they want to kill the messenger. So those nations would stay in bondage to unbelief in darkness, Satan is the strong man, but Jesus is the stronger man, Jesus is the stronger man and it’s not a close battle Of, of Mike between the two. No, when he entered the ring with SATan, it was a decisive knockout blow. He crushed the head of the service. So Jesus is saying here two, his audience, those who marvel, but don’t quite understand those who marvel and yet are skeptical and those who marvel and attribute his works to the devil, he says to them that the finger of God has come because the real Midas touch is God setting nations free from the Dominion of Satan. That’s the real Midas touch the power of God to deliver people from under the Dominion of satan and it gives the people a foretaste of this kingdom. That’s what he’s doing here. Because the strongman, satan wants you to ignore God, die and go to hell with him and his demons. They want you to do what they do be as they are. Act as they act and say what they say. And we see that even in the response of these religious leaders, they’re just parenting. They’re just parenting. The speech of demonic voices, slandering, confuse the people. Don’t let the people see that this is the finger of God, jesus being a wise and faithful king, knowing what he is doing, understanding his purpose, why he has come, he is headed towards Jerusalem. He is on his way to Jerusalem to save hardened sinners. Like the ones in this crowd like you and me, he’s on his way to Jerusalem, but he wants us to understand there is no neutrality with God. There is no country like a like a Switzerland that says we’re not going to engage. No, you’re either in the Kingdom of God or you’re in the kingdom of satan. You cannot be in both. You cannot be in the middle, you cannot be on the fence about this man, jesus christ who has drawn near to save you and your sin, deliver you from your sin, you can’t be on the fence, he says, whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not gather with me scatters, you keep the people in darkness when you scatter, you pushed the people away from God when you scatter. But if God has touched your life, if the power of God has touched your heart, then your life ought to point people to the kingdom of God, your life to point people to the Kingdom of God. So it goes on to describe what will happen when he drives an unclean spirit or a demonic spirit out of a person that it travels in various drier air places. But then it returns With seven other demons to enslave the person again and making that person worse than it was the first time again, jesus is saying there is no middle ground and I think he’s saying this to the one who has just received this miracle. I think he’s saying it to him and to his family. If you do not cling to christ, if you will not abide in christ, it’s gonna be worse for you because satan won’t stop pursuing. If you won’t embrace this freedom that I’ve given to you and see that it comes with walking with God and knowing God, miracles don’t produce faith, only the word of God can do that. These people saw a great miracle. I saw an amazing example of the healing power of God, they marveled. But some are still on the fence. Some were skeptical, not in the sense that they were trying to truly understand, but skeptical in the sense that they were trying to to disprove it. And others were flat out against him, miracles don’t produce faith. The whole history of the people of God in the old testament Being led out of Egypt one miracle after another, it was said of that generation that they had hard hearts, miracles don’t produce faith. Having Godly family members won’t produce faith. Having a father who was a pastor or a grandfather who was a pastor or a great grandfather who was a pastor growing up around the church or in the church doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have faith. That’s what jesus is saying to the mom in the crowd there Verse 27 when the mom raised her voice and said, blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast at which you nursed. We know based on the description that this was a mom because she is familiar with that this is a mom, because she’s thinking about how proud she would be of her adult Children doing well and excelling in life. Oh that’s my boy. And she said, oh I wish I was your mom or I wish my kids were like you blessed is your mom, jesus said yes, but yes, because this is a fulfillment of what mary prophesies in the in the magnificence right where she prayed and declared that women throughout the generations will call me blessed because mary Virgin gave birth to jesus christ. But Jesus says. But blessed are those right blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it blessed, Are they who hear the word of God and keep it not because you were born into a family that goes to church, not because your great granddaddy was a preacher, not because your mom was a christian or your cousin was a christian. I know that you have been touched by the word of God and that your life now points others to the kingdom of God. That’s how we know you’ve heard it and you’re obeying it because people are seeing its impact on your life. You heard he believed and you keep it. God has touched your heart and now your life points others to the kingdom of God. This whole scene recorded in history such an amazing reminder to me just how merciful God is. This is the crowd that Jesus is dealing with. They don’t deserve forgiveness. Right? Many of us think, oh well if I had seen jesus do this miracle, I would have believed you forget human nature tainted by sin and you read back into those experiences what you now know on the other side of your salvation, but God is merciful. No one deserves. We’re forgiving the forgiveness of sin. And yet Jesus, it’s offering these people a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. So that they would understand the love of God so their hope would rest in his kingdom. It gets me every time. This is the real Midas touch God drawing near, touching your heart, touching your life. And if you hear his word and if you were to keep it, it will point others to the kingdom of God. Amen. And then let us pray. Okay father, we we submit to you in this moment, Your Lord over this moment, Your Lord over our lives. You know our thoughts, you know everything we’re wrestling with and dealing with. You know exactly what we need. Holy Spirit. Give us the grace to humbly receive what you provide to us, what you’ve provided to us in this world. Help us to keep it. God help us to be a people who are unashamed to have your name be attached to us and help us to be a people whom you are unashamed to put your name on. I pray this in jesus name. Amen.
jesus and his disciples went onto the villages around caesarea philippi on the way. He asked them who do people say I am? They replied. Some say john the baptist, others say elijah and still others, one of the prophets. But what about you? Who do you say? I am? Amen. Welcome. Good morning. If you’re on the live stream, welcome If you’re here in the room, welcome. Um, you reminded me Chloe of what I interaction I had with my daughter this week. I was at my son’s basketball practice and I turned to my five year old daughter. I said, maya, do you want to go with me to the daddy daughter dance? And she looked at me like this is like we’ll see. So I don’t, I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I’m hoping I can woo my five year old to join me. So dad’s come on down, it’ll be fun. We’ll have a good time. It won’t be a long, long night. It’ll be a little power hour of hanging out. I don’t know what dances we’re going to do with five year olds in whatever age, some of you have a multiple daughters. So you have to work cut out for you. But we’ll figure it out. Welcome. Thank you for coming. I’m also reminded of uh, I was thinking of this message this morning, this passage and I was thinking, it reminded me of a conference I went to when I, when I first became a pastor, I got invited to multiple little conferences. Big conferences, Small conferences. I was the new shiny object in our old network of churches and I’ve since then retired thinking I’m not that big of a deal and I enjoy spending my time with you and Lincoln in this church. But there’s just one conference I got invited to. Whereas like 3000 people at the conference and then they had these breakout sessions where they had uh, junior speakers speaking at the breakout sessions and I was one of those newer preacher speakers at those sessions and you got a little blurb and you got a little bio. Um, and then you would be fishing for Those 3000 people had to go somewhere and they would go to your session. Maybe if your wife helped you write a creative enough blurb in bio. And so I feel like this is one of those things where if you had a choice, you would not pick this session if you had a choice unless I was slated up against how to suffer. Well how to share your faith, how to give money, how to, how to endure under persecution. If those were my competition, I would, I would get some of you. But, but this is not a topic we enjoy speaking on. Just to be honest, every time I speak on this subject and I think it’s probably a dozen or more, probably two dozen sermons I’ve given on this subject my entire life. I feel like a a cold wet legalistic blanket we slip on has a congregation and that’s not my desire. I understand this is not a strength of ours, some of your flipping head trying to find work. This is not a strength of ours as a church, as christians as people. But regardless of gifting or current strength, this is the reality of the kingdom of Heaven. This is what jesus has for us as people and we need to grow and it’s okay to grow. And so in light of that tough, bleak mountain we’re gonna climb today as we work through this topic, will you bow your heads with me? And let’s let’s pray God, I thank you for the word of God. Thank you for those passages that we give out of our strength. And there’s passages, we look at out of our weaknesses as christians and this might be a passage that is the strength of brothers and sisters in this room. This might be a passage. That is a weakness of brothers and sisters in this room. Ultimately, we all don’t measure up and we all fail. We all need you, jesus. We need your gospel. We need your help to accomplish anything that is in the bible. I pray. We as individuals would do business with you and we as a, as a congregation, as a church would do business with you, business with you as we look to these passages, Lord, we love you, We need you make your name grates in our hearts, make your name great in our city. Just use this Lord at whatever capacity you see fit as a congregation as a group of people. We commit this prayer to you, jesus name. We pray amen today. We’re looking at the Lord’s prayer. This has been called the Lord’s prayer for 2000 some years. This is probably one of those passages in the bible that you will be familiar with from sunday school or some other context in your life. You’ve heard these words before and so we’re gonna work through it. It should more accurately be called the disciples prayer. It’s how jesus tells his disciples to pray, but we’re not gonna fight 2000 years of church history. This is the Lord’s prayer. We’re looking at luke 11 1 through 13 today. And so as you look at something you’re very familiar with, you tend to take it for granted. You tend to speed read it and move on, think you already know it and move on to the next thing. But I do propose to you that it’s not what you know, it’s what you do and I think what you know impacts what you do and I’m excited to look at this passage for you today, but I think jesus has some very heavy words on prayer and so it’s hard to work through heavy hitting passages and make it all light and fluffy and that’s not my desire. Nor is that your preference. We want the real whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help us God. Alright so luke 11 verse one bow, look, look at your phones, your bibles in front of you. We’re gonna jump in at verse 11 verse one verse one, chapter 11. Now jesus was praying in a certain place and when he finished praying one of his disciples said to him, Lord teach us to pray as jesus taught his as john taught his disciples, it’s the only time in the gospel kind of loop where the disciples asked us to teach them anything. Have you ever thought to yourself? I need to learn something. I need to learn a new skill. I do a bunch of marriage counseling as a pastor of pastors to a bunch of marriage counseling. There’s new skills for teaching young guys and young girls about being married. If you have a baby people have had babies in the last couple of months here in this church, there’s a new skill you need to learn as a parent as life goes and as you grow, you need to learn new skills. Have you ever thought to yourself? A new skill I need to learn is how to pray. Have you ever thought to yourself, I know where I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go to a spiritual leader to learn how to pray. Hopefully you think I need to pray. I’m gonna ask my community leader, I’m gonna ask one of the pastors, I think they pray this Godly man or this Godly women in the church. I mean I think they pray, I’m gonna go ask them how to pray. Hopefully have that same heart as the disciples. I know we can all feel inadequate in our christian walk, we’ve got all experienced seasons of dryness and our prayer life, but we all need to learn how to pray. We all need to be taught today from the word of God With the Holy Spirit’s conviction, what the Bible says here in Luke 11, this is a healthy thing for you to wrestle with, this is a healthy thing that the disciples russell with how to pray and you heard, you know at the end of the day Morris said that he’s done and at the end things are both caught and taught, Jesus was teaching with his lifestyle and he was teaching with his mouth on the subject of prayer. It is amazing that the disciples just, they got it, I mean you’ll, I’ll show you in a second the highlight fly over the prayer when jesus praying in the gospel accounts, but the disciples aren’t that thick, they realized that there was true power that occurred. Wind juice was praying. True ministry power. True personal power seems like there’s conviction, there was, there’s emotional release, there was, there’s a lot of things that you just processed in prayer, he had strong words and he was privately strong with God, Jesus was with God alone in the private place and he was very bold in the public place, he gained power from his prayer life, he was incredibly passionate about his prayer life. I do not think we should look at Luke 11 like millions and millions of Catholics, look at Luke 11 every day. They say it heartlessly, mindlessly without any emotion engagement, they just roll over this passage, millions and millions of people say this prayer daily and they walk away unchanged. I do not think that is luke’s intention of writing this passage. I do not think that was jesus intention on teaching this passage. There is a method and structure of how you should pray and aspects of prayer that we’re gonna look at today and there’s some very encouraging heart of God and and our our situation as people, we’re gonna look at here at this passage real high level. Let’s look at what the bible says about jesus in prayer, Isaiah 53 verses 12 and Hebrews talks about jesus in prayer. If you go on to uh I mean hebrews 57 says with with both prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears. It is what it describes jesus prayer life as that’s not a sleepy prayer meeting with jesus, the man is emotionally mentally, he’s invested in bringing his burdens and his pains to God. If you go to the next passages here in Matthew, that’s what the book of Matthew says about jesus in prayer. A whole bunch of different passengers talk about Houston prayer. If you go to Mark I mean Mark 1 35 it talks about early in the morning when it’s still dark, jesus got away to a solitary place to pray. I go to Luke the book right now and and Luke six, it talks about how you spent the whole night in prayer before pointing and raising up the disciples. You go to john john 17 it’s the high priestly prayer. It is a powerful, amazing passage of jesus, High priestly prayer. You’re gonna look under the hood of jesus prayer life and watch his prayers as he’s praying to God dan. Our own dan is going to be speaking at the bible conference here later in february and you all are gonna be invited to that and he and other pastors gonna be preaching through the high priestly prayer, it will be a great time, You’ll get the date later, amen. Never once have I read through the gospel accounts and thought mindless, heartless, legalistic, ritualistic prayers. I see a rich mental a rich emotional or rich engagement of people doing work and business of God and that’s what our prayer lives look like. People would pray more if that’s what our church prayer meetings were like, people would want to come to them more. We can make it too cerebral as christians, I C. G is doing work in the gospels spiritual battling and prayer. He’s alone in private prayer in the wilderness away from the people crying out to God, pouring out very real feelings and emotions to God processing pains and burdens. He has gathering his spiritual power in private prayer. Walk with God. I don’t see scenes of sleepy, larger older congregations repeat after me, sleepy prairie mix. I see jesus doing work with God. If if if this if prayers roll over the tongue and rolls without rolling over the mind or rolling over your heart, you deceive yourself and we christians can deceive ourselves on the subject of what is prayer and what is not prayer. Listen christians, many, many pray and walk away unchanged. Many, many hearts, souls and minds are not engaged in their prayer lives. So what follows answering the question, teach me to pray, jesus disciples. He lays out very systematically what some potential models of prayer could be for us. I think this is very important for you to really grasp what real prayer is, what authentic prayer is from jesus himself. Look at me at verse two and he said to them when you pray say Father hallowed, be your name, your kingdom, come and we’re gonna stop with the word father, we’re going so like names matter, especially in the bible, what is the name? If you close your eyes and think of, think of God! Names of God, what names come to mind. I was looking over there’s hundreds and hundreds of names of God in the old testament, Abba Adam ad and I advocate the Almighty Almighty God Alfa and the omega all sufficient one. The Amen the ancient of days, the anointed one, the apostle high priest, the anointing sacrifice, the author and finisher of our faith, the author of Internal Security, the author of life, the author of peace and that’s the ace. There’s hundreds of names of God. If you think of God though you probably think of God the father, Jesus Holy Spirit, that’s probably the names you rattle off and what’s significant here in Matthew, Mark Luke and John 66 times in the gospel accounts, Jesus refers to God the title he gives God as father. Father. None of my kids say reverend pastor, whatever title that’s reverend, I’m just having fun. Whatever titles I should have as a pastor, Mr Whitney, my kids don’t call me that, they call me dad, they don’t call me father, they call me dad sometimes daddy, usually dad, that’s what my four kids called me. It would be kind of weird if my kids called me fancy names, Maybe you called your parents fancy names, but in my household they call me dad, sometimes father, this is a significant shift that jesus modeling for us and how to pray his disciples, how to pray and first john 1 12, it says this to those who received him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become Children of God. The bible says your identity as a son or daughter of the king and you’re approaching your father, that is a paradigm shift in the history of God’s work with people and also you should know that there’s not a lot of fancy language usually like when we pray, we get like super spiritual and we get super insider language and I was remember the community, we were at not this last community, the one before that that we’re at our house and I was sitting in a group and I said, hey pray with the person next to you and I turned, I was praying for a young lady and she said, you know there’s like 14 of us in this on our living room and she’s like, you know, I never paid before, I was like what? Like I’ve never prayed like we’ll just, it’ll be fine and they’re great, I don’t remember what I said, but she prayed a very sincere prayer without a lot of fancy christian rhetoric and then she concluded her prayer like I feel very convicted, how just Raleigh you talk to God, it was great, it was refreshing, she spoke to God like her father, there shouldn’t be special religious language now we can get, we can do, we can give out olympic gold medals and Christianity and how we can get all fancy rhetoric and specialized fancy words, we would never use, we use in prayer meetings, this is not the model. We see from jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. There isn’t a polished language, this is actually flies against the common, you know, fancy rhetoric that was going on by jewish rabbis at that day when they taught their disciples to pray. When you pray say father, this that should symbolize a deep relationship with a son or daughter with their father, a deep relationship that jesus models deep relationships of God, deeper walk with God. In verse two here, father, that’s translated to Abba Daddy papa, that’s an intimate relationship with a good relationship with your father. That should even remind you of Galatians 46 it says because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba father, we can have a deep relationship with God in our prayer life and how we speak to God if you are a follower of God, if you are a christian, when you pray say father, very important next little stands with their next little line, Hallowed be your name. So there’s a tension here between father and hallowed, be your name. So intimate respect. Abba papi papa, Hollow would be your name. There’s a tension between these two concepts. Yes, it’s your heavenly father, but we don’t get flippant with it, we don’t get light with it. Hollowed, be your name. Hollow would be your name, The bible dictionary says to make holy or sacred to sanctify or consecrate to veteran Hollywood’s meaning is Holy are you God, your nature, your character, your being is holy, how would be your name? She could remind you of what it says in revelations about the angels staying around the throne of God and the crowd. Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty just opening your prayer life with reminding your personal private prayer life of Magnifying God’s name, praising who God is acknowledging who you’re talking to. You’re not talking to a person that you know, Mcdonald’s, you’re not talking to a police officer pulled over for speeding, You’re talking to a God who knows the cosmos, who made you, who knows everything is going to happen in your day and everything that’s happening every day in the past and everyday that’s gonna happen in the future. Who you’re gonna stand before you naked and give an account for every thought word. Indeed you’ve ever done your entire life. The god of the cosmos, the all powerful god of the universe is who you’re talking to and he’s your father, your father, Hallowed, be your name. There’s a tension between these two. We need both. This is a, this is a big God we’re talking to, Hallowed, be his name, His name is honor. Holy Sacred Consecrate this is a big deal. He’s your father. There’s a tension we need to hold on to in our private prayer time of both. Adoring God praising God. Magnifying God. This is healthy for us to remind our hearts of what is what we’re coming into. The presence of heavenly father who’s way more than any earthly father whose name is holy verse two again your kingdom come. If you’ve read the Matthew 6 10 version, it says your kingdom come, your will be done. Your kingdom come. It’s a simple and significant part of prayer that we need to have baked into that phrase. Your kingdom come should be a softening of your will, your mind, your heart, your motivation, it’s God’s will be done not my will be done God’s plans to be done. Not my plans to be done. God’s kingdom come, not my kingdom come. There should be a yielding a softening to your scheming your efforts. It’s like you excel and you let go of the steering wheel. It’s like yeah, I shouldn’t be driving this car. Yeah, you will be done. Your kingdom come. Yeah, jesus, you should hold this wheel and you could drive this car in my life and our family and this church and your will be done. Your kingdom come. If you repeat. I mean how did christ bring his kingdom? How did christ bring his kingdom Church? How did christ bring his kingdom here on earth among men? It’s a very important question. Your kingdom come is just a prayer we pray. How does Christ bring his kingdom to Lincoln Nebraska in the year 2022 by bringing Godly men and Godly women into obedience to the father’s will buy you obeying God’s will for your life. That allows God’s kingdom to come into your family and your loved ones, your neighborhood, your network when we’re walking in submission to God’s will as godly obeying men, women, God’s kingdom is coming and it’s alive. Remember Jesus opening line when he came out of 40 days in the desert began ministry, his opening line was repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God is central to reduce his message. The Kingdom of God is important to God. Your kingdom come, it’s a call on life, a life defined by repentance and obedience. Your kingdom come. So the first part about this prayer is to focus our heart and the posture of our heart towards the vertical relationship with the with the son and daughter of God and their heavenly father and you and God need to be right in your relationship with God to be right. If anything else in your life, we gotta be right with God. Before we write any fellow person. The second part of this prayer of shifts from focusing vertically to focusing horizontally and that addresses problems people and pain we all experience. When you jump into verse three, it says give us each day our daily bread. Give us each day our daily bread daily we are to come to God for what we need. I’m reminded of the Israelites wandering in the desert. Daily. They had to look to God for bread, manna and meat quail. Daily. God provided a cloud by day and a fire by night, cloud by day to give them shelter from the scorching sun in the desert and fire by night to keep them warm in a cold desert bread. Daily quail daily, God’s light and God’s shelter daily. They look to God, that is a beautiful picture for us and what our daily walk of God should be like substance. Meet the bounty of rich meat and the daily substance of bread. I fired a light. My dark nights in the cloud to shelter me from the scorching day. Daily, we should look to God’s hand and provisions for our life. It’s a simple request from God to meet our needs. But it means more than just physical food. It means spiritual bread and other forms of substance, wisdom, knowledge, Courage. God wants a daily relationship. A few christians, John 651 says, I am Jesus saying I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of others is my flesh. Just use this word of bread that’s kind of like how we, how we uh we like our burgers. Amen. We like burgers in Nebraska. This is the beef state is that the beef is there beef steak, right? We love our burgers in the jewish world did not have hamburgers. They had bred. There was day old bread, there’s week old bread but their bread doesn’t like our bread. Our bread does not handle time. Well, I mean there could be a loaf of bread in your fridge that’s been in your fridge for a long time with preservatives and refrigeration. It’s gonna last a long time. They’re making of bread without preservatives, refrigerators, bread was a central theme to what it was like. To feed your family, feed your loved ones, feed yourself, give us our daily bread. That meant a lot. So think about this God wants us to go beyond just a toddler relationship with the parents. So if he’s the heavenly father, give us our daily bread. I had toddlers growing up, growing up in the early marriage and and I had four kids, we have four kids and they used to be toddlers and I don’t know what you were like as a toddler, you probably were perfect, your mom says, but but kids seem to be very needy. Give me, feed me, carry me, hold me play with me, change me. They don’t say changing, but they say a lot of other stuff and it’s very self centered narcissistic relationship with a child and me, their father, but as time went on, I do not have a 10 year old saying change me, feed me, hold me, they say play with me, but they don’t say the other stuff you have never called your mom or dad the last couple of years of your life and said feed me, hold me carry me, play with me, right? Your relationship has changed. If your earthly father and mother, it’s grown from a toddler relationship to an adult relationship, our relationship with God needs to go to that same healthy growth from very needy, give us our daily bread, which we all have to have two more mature established walk of God that grows beyond that. Your relationship with your heavenly father needs to grow and change beyond just a young toddler relationship to an adult relationship and then we go on to verse four and forgive us our sins for we ourselves, forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation and this gets into that daily recalibrating walk with God, we have to daily remind ourselves and recalibrate ourselves because when I sin, I distance myself from you and when I sin against you, the relationship splits. When I sinned against God, the relationship splits, I’m not talking like I’m gonna lose my soul and go to hell, I’m talking like sin has consequences, and when I hurt you, there’s consequences. When I sin against God, there’s consequences. Our sin has consequences and to walk with God, a walk with as a disciple of jesus shows there’s a daily recalibrating where you pause, you pray you think, hey, if I have I done wrong by you God, have I done wrong by my family? Have I done wrong by my close relationships? Is there someone I need to get right with? We model that for you as a church, as we take Communion weekly as a church, that should be something you do daily walking around recalibrating your life, a daily assessment of where you are at and your main relationships in your life. It’s a healthy thing to pause, pray and think about whatever. Is there something I’ve done? I feel convicted by what I read. I feel convicted by the spirit prompted me saying no, that was wrong. You shouldn’t have done that. You got mad at your boss. You should not have done that. You shouldn’t have posted that. You should not have wrote that, that’s wrong. That’s sin. You should, you should be able to confess and yield and soften when you feel conviction verse this verse verse four should feel like we’re doing a we we we should be familiar to what we do with Communion Weekly. It’s a healthy habit for you to walk through as you grow and mature. The reality is if you don’t repent of sin and bring it to God, there’s a distance that grows in your coldness. If you and God and you’re in relationships with others. The reality is if you stop repenting and you stop admitting you’ve failed and you’ve not been what you should have been, you refused to admit fault your relationships with people around you will grow cold eventually you’ll become hard hearted or they’ll become hard hearted towards you. I know a handful of people that I don’t think I’ve ever heard them apologize in my life. I’m not saying like they’re in this room, I’m saying like in my life, there’s a handful of people that never apologize and there’s a there’s a hardness have to guard against and there’s a hardness that just happens in hearts and in relationships. There’s a stiffening that happens if you refuse to repent. If you refuse to repent to God, there’s a stiffening a hardness that comes into that relationship. Your walk with God slows down to a stop. If you stop a bang, you’re on the path to dying spiritually. Your walk with God starts to die when you stop obeying The second part here, forgiving others doesn’t mean we open ourselves up to the same toxic dysfunctional, self destructive life patterns that people have. Some people are unrepentant and they’re they’re trouble. You can forgive them without including them right into the dysfunction of your life. I’m not saying we do that, you can forgive them and release them, but you still have to take steps of protecting yourself. Let’s look back at verse four and forgive us of our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation If you know the Matthew version it says, but deliver us from the Evil one. See you and I have an enemy. Peter defines him as the devil and he’s roaming around as a lion seeking someone to devour. We need to be alert. The devil is real. He does exist and he has legions of demons that are assigned to harass temps and harm us. We shouldn’t be over, over infatuated them. We shouldn’t act like they don’t exist. There’s a healthy tension that we need to be in the reality of spiritual enemies. If the Lincoln zoo fails and a lion, I think they have a lion, they have a cougar, what do they have? They have tigers. The Lincoln zoo failed. And let’s say the tigers got out alright? And Nikki comes in and she’s like guys, there’s tigers in the parking lot. It’s not a line, We’ll make it work. All right, you better be alert walking to your car that there’s tigers roaming the property. Does that make sense? So I’m saying christian there are spiritual lions and tigers and bears out to get you called the world the devil in the flesh. And if you’re not alert and sober minded about that, you’ll be eaten up. Someone will take a bite out of you. You need to be alert spiritually to the reality of what it means to walk with God means you have enemies of God that are now enemies of your enemies because your son or daughter of the king. This is a healthy model for us and how to pray. And then verse five GS illustrates the heart behind the example, the method of prayer behind the motives. We jumped from method of prayer structure of prayer to motivation and the motivation matters. The spirit behind the structure of what we’re looking at. And verse five He wrote this and he said to them, which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend Lend Me three loaves. This is a bread For a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him and he will answer from within. Do not bother me. The door is now shut and my Children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything. Verse eight I tell you though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend. Yet because of his imprudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs. What I think we need to get from This concept is so bread. If you have something that arrived late at night, that meant they traveled during the dangerous hours of traveling at that time in Israel and if they arrived at your house late at night means it was urgent and important and unexpected and in a culture that really valued hospitality not to offer them fresh bread from that day was incredibly rude and to save face if your family and your whole clan, you had to offer fresh bread to guests. And so he went to his neighbor’s house and knocking on the door is not not something we do our phones, your phone, my phone silences phone calls after a certain hour. Right. That was an interesting new development. That’s not a bad thing. I don’t know if I’m sleeping at night. It’s great, but but like it’s beyond just phone calls or text messages. It’s like you come to my house and you’re knocking on the door and you’re ringing the doorbell, you’re gonna wake up everyone in my house. That doorbell is loud in my house knocking on a metal door that’s been locked and bolted. Would wake up all the people in the household of this family. So I think this, this jewish couple sleeping on and maybe they have a bed, it sounds like which is wealthier families have a bed and they probably pile all their toddlers and little babies on that bed. This is like them ringing the doorbell, waking up everyone to get the bread. Do you understand the boldness that is in this request the translation the SVS causing imprudence, which is the opposite of being modest, polite or shy and prudence is not modest, polite or shy. We pray modest, polite and shy prayers as christians, we’re not supposed to do that. We’re not supposed to, we’re supposed to pray brash, bold, persistent, relentless prayers and prudence means brash, bold, persistent and relentless. That’s what we’re supposed to do in our prayer life christians. And then verse nine, it’s one of the climaxes of this passage. Sorry, the intent of the author seems to steer clear, clearly stated. If we miss this and we miss verse 13, I think we missed the whole heart behind what keeps this passage from being a legalistic wet blanket. Let’s look at verse nine, Jesus says, I tell you ask and will be given to you, seek and you will find knock and will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives the one who seeks, finds the one who knocks, it will be opened. I tried it in a creative way When I first preached this passage to a group of college kids 10, 12 years ago I, there’s a door behind the stage and I told one of my student leaders when I get to this passage, get up and go behind me, just start knocking loud and don’t stop. Then I continue to preach my entire sermon with someone knocking the door behind It was so confusing for everyone including myself. It was just like jarring like he’s just pounding on the door and people were concerned, it was not a good idea, but let me read this just refresh eyes, let’s look at the amplified bible, looking at this same passage, it gets to gets to the heart behind. So I say to you ask and keep on asking and two and it shall be given to you seek and keep on seeking and you shall find knock and keep on knocking and the door will be open to you for everyone who asks and keeps on asking and he who seeks and keeps on seeking fines and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking the door shall be opened. The everyone in the bible. The greats of the bible. You read about the big the big fish, the big men and women of God. In the bible they had some strong ask seek and knock muscles you see in the bible they keep at it. Jacob Ezra, Hannah, Nehemiah paul peter. They had a strong nontoxic ask muscles that they leaned on. If you flip to the 21st century the O. G. S of Christianity. Their biographies of Godly men and women who God used in powerful mighty ways. They had great ask seek knock muscles. They were not shame, shameful, a little afraid prayers. They were go getters. They had some grits, some determination with God. All great works and movements of God originate in individuals and then groups of people asking seeking and knocking. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the largest three of the four largest churches in the world are in South Korea. They’ve had 24-7365 prayer meeting that’s gone for decades. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that spiritual haves and have nots ask seek and knock. I think there’s a shocking picture that we look at verse 11. A shocking picture. Looking at the nature of our heavenly father helps you and I have expectations as we expectantly pray. The nature of our father, verse 11. What father among you? If his son asks for a fish will instead give him a serpent or if he asked for an egg will give him a scorpion. If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your Children. How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? Alright, so none of your kids are asking for fish and eggs. This last week, let’s say you’re at church and your son or daughter asked you if they can get another donut and he said, nah, here’s a heroin needle. Like ask you for a piece of gum, you’re like nah, here’s some crack, No right. Even evil, bad natured fathers in our culture don’t do that. Does that make sense? The nature of bad, fallen fleshly fathers here give good things to their kids. The nature of our heavenly father, If we’re true sons and daughters of the king, the nature of our heavenly father is to give us, what is it? Let’s look at verse 13 again, your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him so this is not a Joel Olstein, health and wealth, prosperity, Gospel Church, We don’t grab material possessions and slap it into the verse 13, the best thing, the best thing jesus can get from God, the best thing God the father can give to his sons and daughters is himself is a relationship with jesus christ and you find that relationship through your prayer life, if you’re stagnant, your spiritual walk is stale, your prayer, life is stagnant, still men and women think of how this, the disciples just changed, we read about them here like uh we read about them in the garden of Gethsemane, they couldn’t pray for an hour, were like nah and then we read about them later in their life after the Holy Spirit came and filled all the believers, we see, we see these men of God and women of God accomplishing great feats throughout the rest of the new testament and there’s power and there’s understanding and there’s growth and these people are different people after the gospel accounts, the disciples changed because of the prayers, they grew up, because of their prayers, they were refined and they’ve got over sin and they got over insecurities and they become the men, God wanted them to be and the titans of the faith, we read about, they learned to pray as time went on, they became formed in the image of God because they spent time with God, their identity became impacted by God, the best thing God can give you is himself himself the Holy Spirit. I’m reminded of excellent sermon Ben gave, we talked about the Holy Spirit, how to be filled the spirit. I think a lot of reforms, churches like us can kind of like make this super cerebral but jesus loud christ prayers and petitions were presented his request to God. There’s a lot of rawness and jesus, emotionally processing life and jesus is bigger theologian than any of us will ever be. Is the mental and the emotional that showed up when jesus prayed. I don’t I don’t think we could be, we don’t be afraid of this. We should learn how to pray mentally, emotionally head and heart soul, we can learn how to pray. And if you and if you if you’re desperate, if a if a sibling is dying, a parent is dying, you’re dying. You get desperate and you get real and raw. If life gets real, you get real in your prayer life, it’s appropriate to confess yield and ask God to lead you then share this great sort of how we’re confessing our sin. We yield like kingdom come yielding and that’s that God would lead us with wisdom and understanding what we read in the bible and what we feel mature believers still prompted to obey and do I think there’s a tendency when we get brittle about this passage, but this is all over our bible. Men and women of God pursuing God and the good times and the bad times. The title is serving as shameless persistence Planning for that verse eight If you look at verse verses 11 all this passage in verse 11, I think there’s another famous passage, uses teaching on prayer and luke 18 verse one, when jesus told the disciples are parable to show them that they should pray and not give up verse two, he said to them in a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with with the plea grant me justice against my adversary for some time he refused, but finally he said to himself, even though I don’t fear God or care what people think. Yet because of this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually come and attack me, Verse six and the Lord said, listen to what the unjust judge says and will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, will he keep putting them off? I tell you he will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth? I know jesus whenever he preaches on prayer, he’s poking at the soft underbelly of christian prayer that I can have and you can have all of us don’t measure up and at this area of our life, we all can grow, we all can be taught something today, not just shrewdly taught something, but experientially grow in this area. What are some applications for us? I think just pray and don’t give up. There’s somebody who have spouses, loved ones, kids that our wayward. Some of you have persistent sins in your life dot life, dominating sins in your life. Somebody feel a burden and a call to ministry praying don’t give up. I uh, I think about like I bet like five minutes after I die standing in heaven, I will, I will think a lot differently about how I spend my time here on earth. I have a feeling a lot of us. If we could feel guilt in heaven and regret in heaven, we would feel like man. If I could do this over again, I’d wish I prayed more here on earth. The spiritual haves and have nots the keys of the kingdom. Everything is laid out for those who seek knock and ask. It seems like there’s a encouragement to persevere in prayer and encouragement to be bold in prayer. And there’s some of you who have very bold and consistent prayers and others of you who have very persistent non bold prayers. The bold people need to learn how to be persistent and the persistent people need to learn how to have some holy boldness because if God answered the persistent people’s prayers, things might not change at all in this life or your life. If God answered the bold people’s prayers after they pray one day and they quit. We need to be both bold and persistent. We need to knock and ask, knowing the nature of our father. Being persistent and bold is what we’re called to do. I know that prayers worship prayers work and prayers for those who are weak. The proud strong christians don’t pray. I know that I remember times in my life where there’s little things that you pray about. I was reminded by Hudson taylor. It says a little things, little things but faithfulness and a little thing is a great thing. I know I can demonstrate little faith and little things in my life and being persistent in little prayers in my life. I’ve been praying for years that lost friends become saved. I think God slowly one x one has been answering not all but a chunk of those prayers And I’m persisting. I’m praying for my lost friends become saved. Everyone. I was like 13. I started to pray that my wife Annie, who I did not know she’s not over there. She was over there in the first service. My wife Anne would would, You know, be the woman she is. I was praying for that girl when I was 13 until I got married her and they stopped praying for right, right, husbands, right. Ah, just kidding. I pray for my wife still remember praying for my first car, my second car, my third car and I’m from cool God stories of God providing cars. I remember praying for my first house that would be a mile from campus because I was the campus director of that college group now now like an applique applicable prayer that you all could join me in praying at at 10 02. The most awkward ist alarm goes off at 10 026 days a week, not seven because sunday at 10 02 is during the first service. Um, this alarm goes off and that reminds me of what luke derrick preached on in luke 10 versus two saying the Lord of the harvest, pray to the Lord of harvest for more labor, more workers to help you enter the field. I’ve been praying that prayer since last spring, I’m gonna pray that prayer the rest of my life that God brings in more workers more laborers but our motivation, our prayer life used to be bold and to be persistent and know the nature of who we’re talking to, jesus invites you to shameless persistence in your prayer life just invites you to shameless bold prayers. The disciples got it and they learned and they grew and so can you jesus wants to teach us how to pray. The disciples built a ministry in the church on the prayers they had you read about all these prayers that happened all these prayer meetings that happened all throughout the gospels and all into the book of acts, the praying change the early disciples, the praying will change you. Your prayer life grows, you just like a group area, the disciples and your prayer life will transform you just like to transform the early disciples. Lord teaches the prey. We’ve had, we’ve had two longstanding prayer meetings at our church that have both been going for about, I think a one year anniversary coming up for both those prayer meetings, one’s on sunday nights. If you’re a YP young professional, you’re invited to that, you can email hello at our church dot com. I’ll give you the info. The other one is on like a Tuesday morning at six a.m. Here at the building. I think God is teaching us how to praise the church. I think there’s this healthy book, we read our leadership team red last spring. It’s this orange book on prayer. It’s on corporate prayer, not personal prayer, it’s on corporate prayer. What does healthy church prayer look like? It talks about how prayer is not a gossip club. Prayer is not a worship service. Prayer is not a thing where you show up and you do everything in chit chat, but you don’t pray, you know, just what does it look like to have healthy prayer in a healthy church. I think God is taking us on a prayer journey teaching us to pray if you want one of these books, you can grab one for free in the resource library. I think we have a few left. If you don’t move quick, you won’t get one. You have to buy your own. That’s fine. I think God is going to continue to teach and grow us in this area. Amen. Let’s pray God. Thank you for these men and women. Thank you for what you’re doing in our life. I ask that you would just really grow us up in this prayer life. Teach us to pray Lord as individuals and as, as single men, single women moms and dads grandmas and grandpas Lord, I pray you just teach us to pray. It’s not like it’s a paid person’s position. Lord, it’s not like it’s only for the gifted people. Lord, I pray to teach us all what it looks like to pray. I pray you change us in our prayer life as men and women just grow us up in this area in jesus name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you Mike for bringing the word and preaching the word faithfully. Good morning church. My name is Ryan. Um, I’m gonna lead us in our community meditation this morning. Just two quick reminders. The first is that the red liquid is wine, clear liquid is juice. Um, and then the second one is, you do not have to be a member to participate in the Lord’s supper with us this morning, a member of sour, but we do ask that you profess complete faith in christ as your Lord and savior. Um, if you don’t let the elements pass from you and just spend some time praying, um forgot to open your eyes, shape your heart. Um, yeah, so as a church, we’ve been going through john piper’s uh 50 reasons why jesus came to die and today we’re in reason 23 which is so that we might belong to him and the verse that we’re gonna meditate on this morning kind of sit on is a roman 6 22 says, but now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and is in eternal life. So question, working on as a campus minister on campus and uh, you know, Greg of a church. A question I hear all the time is who are you and uh, you know, think about the identity we have in christ, the identity. Um, that christ gives us through his death. And it’s a very important question, a vital question that needs to be considered that needs to be answered about who you are. But this morning, I want to pose another very important, vital question that I don’t think it’s asked very often and that is who’s are you or to whom do you belong in the world? People talk about how their autonomous, that that their own person that their own creature. They’re not, you know, bounded or a slave innocence to anything. But in reality we’re all, everyone on earth is a slave to one of two things. They’re either slaves, their sin and the slaves to darkness or a slave to christ and slaves to righteousness. And at one time or another we were all slaves to our sin. And you may be thinking brian, what do you mean by a slave to sin? And and to that I turned to roman seven remember romans seven verse 15 where paul says I do the things I don’t want to do and I don’t do the things that I do want to do man. I it’s like man, I sin and I know this is wrong, but I just feel like I have no victory and no power over this sin over this thing in my life that I was a slave to it. That I was you know under bondage and and and change to my sin. But jesus came and completely changed our situation completely changed my situation that we are that we are no longer slaves to our sins. We are no longer in bondage to that, but we are free in christ and slaves to him that we are to do good to seek after christ, to worship him to love him to serve him with all of our lives. He bought us with the price and that price was his own blood on the cross. so that we are his. That we belong to christ. And what an incredible truth that we belong to christ That we are completely free in christ Not autonomous on her own but slaves to him slaves to to worship and to seek and to love and to serve a perfect king. So church take a few moments reflect on who whom do you belong to? Have you given your life to christ And if not asked that that you just lay down your life before him this morning. Just repent and take a few minutes before the king church. If you would rise with me, you would take the bread and remember christ’s body that was broken for you take the cup. Remember the blood of christ that was poured out for us. Let’s pray dear Father, you are good and mighty and holy Father. I just praise you. We praise you as a church for sending christ to the cross so that we would be free from from sin. That we would be have freedom in you christ. That we’d be able to have a relationship with you. Be able to love you. Be able to serve you to know you personally and intimately jesus. Thank you for everything that you’ve done for continually to pour out grace and mercy on us Father. I just ask to continue to shape our hearts and shape our minds Lord. We love you. We know that you love us and priorities. All these things in christ’s name. Amen. Let’s sing the first two verses of a mighty fortress. My fortress is Our God aboard. Mm hmm. R. Albert. Of For still our range seek to work us, woe. His craft and power. Bye Did we driving? We’re not the right on its own. You asked who that may be christ jesus. The Lord of hosts is his name from Hulu and he must win the masturbate. Okay. Still at church for
well good morning and happy New Year to all of you and a big shout out to those of you who began with a New Year resolution to eat healthy that you’ve already paused until monday. My name is dan. Um if I haven’t met you yet, I’m one of the pastors here and we’re going to Continue our coverage of the gospel of Luke and we’re gonna begin in verse 21 this morning. But before we get there I want to set the table for you by kind of laying out the title of this teaching which is the good portion. Now you’re probably wondering what, what is the good portion? Well, let me tell you this. So the last two months, right? The last two months been two big holidays where we probably ate more food than we could possibly eat in an entire year. Right, christmas, thanksgiving and christmas, lots of food, large family feast for some of us multiple family feast multiple times, getting together and eating lots of good food. And when I was a child, whenever my mom would make one of my favorite foods, one of my favorite dishes. I really wanted the good portion, I wanted a good sized portion, I wanted to dig in and I wanted a large amount, give it to me mom, this is my favorite right? And then when I got married and when my wife would prepare one of my favorite dishes, one of my favorite foods, she already knows you gotta fill this plate up. It’s got to be a good portion. And so this morning when we think of the good portion, I want you to think of God’s will being the good portion and that you would have the same desire that God would would help you to desire his will being done in your life like this is it, this is it for me, nothing else. I want your will. That’s a good portion for me for my life. I needed God. I’ve got to have me some of that in my life, your will being done for me. But I also want you to know something though. We would all agree and say amen and nod and shake our heads. Yes, God’s will. That’s a good portion for me. I want that in my life. We also need to be aware of the fact that sin is constantly leading us to bring our will up to the place of God’s will and even supplanting God’s will and us wanting God to bless our will and that God would adopt our will as his will. But it doesn’t work like that. And yet we’re all tempted to operate like that. And so not only this morning do we want to say yes to the good portion to God’s will being done in our lives, but we want to be aware of the way in which sin would lead us to bring our will elevated up to the place of God’s will and try to get God to adopt our will as his will for us and then let’s pray and then we’ll jump into the passage, Father in Heaven, thank you for your word, it is your revealed will for us, help us to understand it, Help us to desire it, not only in word, but Lord also indeed that our hearts would reflect that we desire your will as a good portion for our lives Help me this morning to teach your word with great clarity so that we, your people would indeed be satisfied with a good portion of your will. I pray this in christ’s name. Amen, I mean, so luke 10, beginning in verse 21. Um we’re actually gonna read through to the end of the chapter that might scare some of you, you’re probably like how long are we gonna be in here today? You know, there’s 21 verses, he’s talking about covering man, how are we gonna get through all of this? Right? Um but bear with me, we’re gonna we’re gonna walk through this and we’re gonna see God’s will for us is a good portion as we do so, But again, verse 21 is where we will begin now, just a little bit of context here, this is jesus gathering with his disciples. He has just sent out the 72 they’ve done some incredible things in his name. Derek talked about this last week, Pastor Derek talked about this, where we are called to be good ambassadors for christ and these, these 72 disciples, they’ve gone out as good ambassadors. They reported back to jesus, all the things that they’ve seen done in his name as they proclaim the gospel, how God worked in a mighty way. And so here they are as they’re reconvening and Jesus is responding in this way here in verse 21 at what he has just heard is this in that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little Children. Yes, father, for such was your gracious will, all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows who the son is except the father or who the father is, except the son and anyone to whom the son chooses to reveal him. Then turning to the disciples, he said privately, blessed are the eyes that see what you see for. I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. I’m gonna pause there for a moment. Let’s talk about this passage here. First, we have King jesus rejoicing that the will of the father being done, that it was the father’s will to help some see him as the messiah and that it was the father’s will to resist those who were proud in their learning. And then they’re on wisdom, it was the father’s will to resist them and to keep them from seeing jesus as the messiah. So jesus admonishes human pride in that passage. And yet he commends childlike faith. He commends it. And we ought to be asking, what is childlike faith and why does he commended? Well, there’s something that God created in the heart of a little child that is to be admired. A little child has the capacity to trust over and over again. The promises of his parents. Now some sinful men and women will exploit that innocence. They’ll exploit that innocence and a little child don’t make promises and they will never fulfill them. And that little child will continue to believe and believe and believe until one day he grows up in his heart is hardened and he’s no longer able to trust authority. He struggles with trusting anyone because he’s been let down so many times. And so that’s a very shameful, very sad situation for a child to experience. But what we want to see this morning is that that very innocence where that child trusts his his parents, his father and his mother every single problems. That’s something that God says ought to be in us in terms of our trust and our faith in him. And so jesus commends childlike faith. He’s not saying that you need to become immature, like a child. But when it comes to trusting your God and father, that you would take on those characteristics, I’m saying God is good and I submit to him, but I trust him. And so jesus rejoices that God’s will being done for jesus, this is the good portion. And for those who have the childlike faith, this is the good portion for them. But for those who trust in their own understanding, their own wisdom, their own experiences, they can’t see the will of God. Everything revolves around their own will, their own understanding, what they’ve experienced, the things that they hold to, that is what God must conform to. That’s what the messiah must conform to, Jesus must act according to their understanding and their will. And so they miss the good portion, they can’t receive it. They can’t experience the good portion for their lives. We have to be careful that that doesn’t become our walk with God and that we allow our will to somehow you assert God’s will, allowing the things that we’ve experienced to be the final answer and the final say on who God is and what God is like. We know from the word of God that James 46 that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble well, you know, in first Corinthians chapter one, verses 27 to 31 that God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the proud and the weak things, to shame the strong, so that are both would be in christ, that’s it, that’s a good portion that we have, that childlike faith that trusts in God, the innocence of a little child that says that my God, even though I don’t know how things are going to play out in my life, I trust him, even though this messiah, this jesus here may not look like what I would have expected a kingdom look like. I trust that this is God’s messiah, You’re alive, the circumstances of your life where you are, that you start looking to God with that same innocence and saying God, I trust you for your will to be done in my life, I’m gonna give myself to that. And so the good portion here in this passage is it God’s will for me, God’s will for you, God’s will for us is that in christ that we would humble ourselves before him and that we would trust him even when we don’t know what he’s doing, even when we don’t understand fully what he’s doing. The disciples here, don’t fully understand all that God is doing, but because they trusted Jesus says, blessed are your eyes for you. See what many prophets and great men have all wanted to see, blessed are your ears for they hear those same profits and Godly men in the past I wanted to hear and those guys just like whoa, he said, we’re blessed and yet there’s still a group that he admonishes who can’t see who can’t hear because they don’t trust God. And so they miss the good portion. And so, reading on jesus here, talking about the contrast between the innocence of childlike faith and those who trust in their own wisdom and their own understanding and their own experiences now brings us to a very popular parable called the good samaritan. And I would submit to you that he uses that statement of those who are childlike and those who trust proud about their own understanding, their own wisdom, their own experiences to help us fully understand the parable of the good samaritan because he’s gonna walk up and experience a very similar situation. It says here in verse 25. Behold a lawyer stood up to put him to the test. Now there’s a lot of good lawyer jokes out here, We’re not gonna throw one out, we don’t wanna put our man Lincoln on the spot because we love him. He he did a good job leading us in worship this morning. But the scripture here isn’t talking about that kind of lawyer in this context. What what God is, what the scripture is talking about, is those who were experts on the mosaic law and its application. Someone who just like jesus said, God has hidden a good portion from someone who is wise and understanding according to his own standards according to worldly standards, that’s who we’re dealing with here. The lawyer stood up to put him to the test. He’s trying to embarrass christ. He’s trying to show him to be a fraud. He’s trying to show that he knows more than this man who claims to be the messiah, he can’t see the good portion, he can’t see christ, he can’t humble himself before christ ah but jesus, you know last year we got a Disney plus account and we um splurged on all the Star Wars films and stuff. I missed all that as a child, I didn’t see that stuff. Um but my kids love it and so I sat down and I watched it with him and you know they talk about those Jedi mind tricks like this right here is what jesus is about to do to this lawyer. This is like a Jedi mind trick like 1000 times more impressive. Let’s look at it. So this lawyer stood up to test him saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life, what should I do to inherit eternal life? He’s not asking what should I do in order to go to heaven when I die someday. That’s not that’s not the question he’s asking, he’s asking what can I do to earn myself the kind of life where I won’t ever die, I won’t ever experience the pain, the sickness and the Brokenness of this world where I will be with God forever and I will live out the purpose and design that God has for me, that’s what he’s asking there again, jesus, this is a Jedi mind trick on steroids, he says to him, what is written in the law? How do you read it? He says to an expert in the law. What is written in the law and how do you understand it? Mr expert, he knows where this is going. What are you not? And the lawyer answered, You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. Now, some people think that Jesus was the first person to say that, but no moses was actually the first person to summarize God’s law like that and this expert on the mosaic law understand. And so Jesus says to him, you have answered correctly. Do this and you will live in verse 29, but he desiring to justify himself. Mm hmm. There’s a motive there, he said to jesus, who is my neighbor. And Jesus replied again, Jedi mind trick here a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him, the man he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite. When he came to the place and saw him passed by on the other side. But a samaritan as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion, And in verse 34 he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. I don’t know why. For some reason, I just imagine that stinging a little bit, but maybe it was good. Then he set him on his animal and brought him to an end and took care of him. And in verse 35, and the next day he took out two Denarii, which is two days wages and gave them to the innkeeper saying, take care of him and whatever more you spend. I will repay you when I come back. And in jesus Ask this question which of these three men do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers and the lawyer said, The one who showed him Mercy, and jesus said to him, you go and do likewise, wow! I keep saying this is the ultimate Jedi mind trick, because if you didn’t catch it when you see it, you will understand why I said. A teacher of the law, expert in the law, ask how to inherit eternal life, and jesus points him back to the law. Why does he do that first? The law reveals a perfect and holy standard. It is a revelation of the character of God, the perfection of God second, no human being can attain to that standard. No human being can attain to that standard. And yet this teacher of the law thinks that he can attain to that standard. And so jesus tells him the parable of the good samaritan. So many people have made this parable about doing good works and there is a calling on the life of the christian to do good, to do good works, to have compassion and to show mercy. But this is about that and so much more because this man asked the question who then is my neighbor? And he’s asking that question like your kids would ask that question like well what what what part of of of my chores should I do and which part should be left to someone else? You ever have to deal with that with with young people and young kids when you give them responsibility and they want to know exactly where to draw the line because they don’t want to go over the line and be generous, they don’t want to be guilty of doing good and doing someone else’s chores. They only want to do what they have to do. And so this man is asking the question, who is my neighbor because I want to know who can I stiff armed, who cannot ignore? Who can I can who can I kick while they’re down? Who can I just move right on past and get on with my life again, an expert in the law, not realizing that no man can perfectly keep God’s law. And so jesus is showing him the wickedness of his own heart and he does it by making a samaritan. The hero of the story, jews hate Samaritans, they despise Samaritans and he says this is the hero of the story and the man can’t even acknowledge that a samaritan is the hero of the story, says the one who showed mercy, you won’t even say samaritan, He takes him through his whole scenario of a priest, one who is called the minister in the presence of God. How even a priest looks at this man and cannot show love to his name and then he says levi one who assists the priest who serves in the temple looks at this man and cannot show mercy cannot fulfill God’s law and a samaritan, who do you think is blind and ignorant when it comes to God’s law walks in a very fulfillment that you gave as an answer to the law was the ultimate Jedi mind trick, proud man. Can’t see that jesus is the good portion who trusts in his own works, his own good deeds, who looks down on others, probably thinking that if someone fell among robbers like that, then maybe they deserved that as the punishment of God. That’s why we as christians when we see the very horrible things happening, where storms and fires and floods and hurricanes and all these things that that that come through the earth as a result of the Brokenness and the curse of sin. We as christians. We we respond like this good samaritan not asking do the people there deserve this judgment, but as a response, as a, as a show of a fulfillment of God’s law that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, showing mercy. And we do this because we realize that the good portion God’s will for me, God’s will for you. God’s will for us is that we love him with all our heart that we love our neighbors as ourselves. And we still trust in christ alone for our righteousness. We see that as a good portion but this lawyer who represents the very thing that jesus it Mon Ishtar earlier, those who I can’t see God’s will, it’s hidden from them because their own wisdom, their own understanding, hmm, can’t walk in this. He can’t desire this. He has allowed his own will to supplant until you search the place and the role of God’s will in his life. But moving on Verse 38 now we get to another popular story. So Martha and mary many of you probably have heard a sermon or hurt some kind of teaching on being a busy Martha and to be like mary, but I want you to see that this is also a continuation of the same thing. The same idea that God’s will is the good portion God’s will. And then we must be careful from allowing our own will to creep up into your serpent to replace or supplant God’s will, wanting God to bless our will for us. So, in verse 38 says now as they went on their way when jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house and she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving and she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone siblings? Right, alright. You told us to do this and he’s not helping. I’m doing it all by myself, dad. He won’t come and help, right? And jesus, he knows, but he’s gentle on his rebuke verse 41. But the Lord answered her, Martha Martha, I’m repeating her name. There’s such a an endearing and tender response to Martha. Mark Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from them. Not now and not for eternity. She has chosen the good portion. Never be taken away. And so Lord offers a very gentle rebuke there to Mark. It’s interesting when you think about this, that story because Jesus enters this village in Martha’s. She desires God’s will. This is God’s will has come to this village. She desires to open up her home. She sees that God has given her a home and the capacity and the ability to be able to host the Lord and this huge crowd that’s coming with him and you know, it’s going to be a party, you know, it’s going to be a bit of a circus. There’s lots of people that want to hear, jesus teach, they want to see jesus do a miracle. There are people who are fascinated with him. There are people trying to figure out who he is. There are people that are gathering and Martha with this gift of hospitality. She wants to make sure everybody feels comfort. She’s eager to make the environment comfortable for everyone. She has a gift of hospitality. God has given her that gift. Like so many of us. When we first discover a gift that God has given us, we’re a bit immature now, we use it, we’re a bit immature and how we understand it. And so, Martha wants her sister to also operate in this gift and be occupied with her will to make sure that everyone is comfortable in this setting. And in the process. She is not seeing a good portion. She’s not realizing that the people haven’t come because of your gift, Martha. The people aren’t here to be comforted by your gift, Martha. They’re here because of this man, jesus christ and you’re anxious and troubled by all these things and you’re missing the fact that these people have come because I’m here, they’ve come to receive from God, I married your sister. She can see that she can see the proportion she can see that not much else is needed in this moment. You need to see that. And that’s why he says, Martha Martha, let’s just say, open your eyes, I’m the good portion, I am. The good portion is what he’s saying to her. She wants everyone to be happy, Martha does, but she’s forgotten the true source of happen man, jesus, jesus christ. She’s wanting everyone to be comfortable and satisfied and she’s forgotten the only one who can satisfy our souls. The only one that can comfort us and whatever pain or sorrow we’re dealing with in jesus say, open your eyes, Martha Martha mary can see that I’m the good portion. You need to see it as well because when you see it, it won’t be taken away from you, not now and not forever. So God’s will for me, God’s will for you got some more for us is that we will learn to rest in christ find true happiness in him and stop trying to impress this work, rest in it, find true happiness and stop trying to impress the world he is. The good portion God’s will for you is that you would trust him and you would humble yourself before him, even when you don’t understand what’s going on in your life. God’s will for you is that you would love God? That you would see the beauty and the goodness of your God and all the good things that he has offered to you in christ. And that your response would be to love him with all your heart. And in the process that you would look at your fellow man, your neighbor made in the image of God, that you would love him as yourself and not be impressed with doing good to them. But trust christ alone for your righteousness, God’s will for you. That as you live this way that you would rest in christ, find you happiness in christ and stop trying to impress this world Psalm 27 4 reminds us of this very fact. Who says one thing I’ve asked of the Lord that I will seek. After that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To gaze upon the beauty of the world. That’s what mary is doing Psalm 62 1 says, for God alone, my soul waits and silence from him comes my salvation in silence and solitude, resting, you know, that needs to be a rhythm in your life. Silence and solitude and resting, reflecting on his goodness. Hebrews 13 success. So we can confidently say that the Lord is my helper. The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what what can man do to me? Because you see jesus as your good portion, as you trust in him. You humble yourself before him. You see him as your righteousness alone. Did you rest in him? Did you find your happiness in him? You have this confidence. So as we go forward in this year church, I want you to understand that the will of God is a good portion for your life. And I want you to understand that your own sinful nature, that my sinful nature wants to elevate my own will to the place of supplanting God’s will. And I can observe when that is happening when I’m wanting God to bless my will, or when I’m trusting in my own understanding, my own wisdom and my own experiences to validate for me everything there is to know about God. I know at that moment I’ve missed a good portion, but God wants you to desire the good portion and to walk in. Amen man. Let us pray Lord, I thank you for your word. Thank you Lord. That we can indeed trust you. You are good and you are faithful God. Even as Ryan declared at the beginning, there with the announcements that though the years change, You are the unchanging God, you are the same yesterday today and forever. You’re good and you do not forsake your people. So Lord, would you help us to be aware or the need to have the innocence of a child to trust you and to receive the proportion in life and help us to have the mature sensibilities to be aware of. When we are allowing our own will to creep up and to supplant your will. May we resist that? And the grace that christ gives us, and when we live our lives fully for your will, your glory and maybe our delight, all our days, we pray this in christ.
Alright church, good morning. As you can tell, we’re back in the book of luke after taking a hiatus and going through an advent series in the book of luke and decided to come back into luke. Some people are, if you’ve heard of the red letter christians only and I think that’s so where we’ve decided to become luke Luke Christians only. Um at some point we might get back into another book. I’m sure we will uh well we’re gonna jump into Luke. Chapter 10 versus one through 20 is where we’re kicking back back into this series. So I’m gonna read that and pray and we’ll get going here. So Luke. Chapter 10 verse one says after this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him to buy two into every town and place where he himself was about to go and he said to them the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out his laborers into his harvest. Go your way Behold I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter first say peace, be to this house and if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not it will return to you and remain in the same house eating and drinking what they provide for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house whenever you enter a town and they receive you eat what is set before you heal the sick in it and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you. But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive, you go into its streets and say even the dust of your of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this that the kingdom of God has come near. I tell you it will be more bearable on that day for sodom than for that town. We’re gonna stop there for now. Let’s pray father. We we love you, we thank you for your word, thank you for your gospel that has impacted our lives and the people you’ve sent into our lives and we thank you, you’ve called us to be a part of your word. God opened our eyes to the power and the truth of your word. And I pray father that you would give us your heart for your people, for the nations that you would help us to become more like you in jesus name. We pray Amen Amen. So one of the stories that I love to, to share with people is how I got connected with uh church in Kansas, went to the University of Kansas. My software, how I got connected them and that’s where God really impacted my life transformed my life was through this college ministry of this church. Uh there’s people there and it’s actually through my great uncle. Less, so less is uh just an amazing man of God that anybody who gets to know him meet him is truly blessed. And because less is a man who is, he’s generous, so generous with all that. He has a soft hearted man. It’s it’s hard to spend time with him without him welling up over people and what God is doing in the lives of people. Uh and it’s just just totally committed to what God is doing in his life and through his life. And so less his story is that he grew up in a roman catholic family are our family is a roman catholic family and and got into a time of heavy drinking and just waywardness and God rescued him, took him out of the pit and and totally transformed his life and his marriage and and to see the life that he has today is truly a testimony to God’s power. Several years later after his conversion story, God put it on less. His heart gave him a conviction to bring the gospel to his family, to reach out, go back to his family and to share the good news of christ with him. So him and his wife would travel an hour every sunday to lead a bible study for my grandparents were there, my parents were there several of my aunts and uncles would would join other extended family members, all would come to our place sunday nights for this bible study and and it played a major impact on my parents conversion to faith uh Their faith in general other people in our family. I know we’re very impacted by them going and and sharing the word with my family also during this time as they’re coming to my family I ended up transferring to the university of Kansas where they were supporting a missionary dan and his family and their college ministry there. So less and Sandy his wife that they’re supporting this missionary, they hear that I’m transferring to K. U. So they called Danna, they called me up I was like oh you guys gotta get connected that first week of classes and and dan likes to share how he’s like yeah there’s I get lots of these calls it’s probably never gonna happen but I was looking for a group to be a part of and I wasn’t following the Lord truly but I was interested and I connected and and God totally transformed my life that semester got saved and began walking as a disciple And it was all because of less and Sandy saying yes to what God was putting on their heart, the conviction, the desire to to bring the word of God to bring the gospel to those around them And also for for dan and Laurie to say yes to the call to be an ambassador on the campus and to bring the gospel to bring the good news of christ to those around them. And I’m sure many of us have similar stories of God working through the people around us through loved ones through maybe even strangers who were ambassadors of christ who came with the life of christ with the message of the good news of christ to love on us to share with us the hope that is in christ and has led to our salvation. Uh and this is really the way that God loves to work. God loves to work through his people bringing the life and the love of christ to one another. In fact, jesus’s plan is for the kingdom of God and its blessings to spread his plan for for his kingdom to spread is through ambassadors, his ambassadors carrying his piece his life, his message to those around them nearby cities and as mike mentioned with I. M. B. Two and beyond to the nations that that the people would know the truth, that they would know the one true God, that they would know his way of finding life and in salvation. And then to us, he says therefore go, that’s what we see in this passage, that’s what we see in the great commission, right? This is what he calls us to as christians. This is a core part of the work that God is doing in the world. A core part of the work he’s doing is is he’s calling us to to answer the call to live life before him as his ambassadors. I love um even in this past month, hearing a number of stories from, for many of you, sharing opportunities of sharing the gospel with uh neighbors, friends, family, coworkers. And it’s encouraging for me, it’s inspiring for me and my own faith, but I also know that being an ambassador of christ is not an easy thing, right? Being an ambassador, someone who is carrying the gospel to those around them is something that is not easy. And it’s also, it is easy to let it fall to the wayside, right? We can get into our daily routines, are our lives, our families, our our work, even our community groups and church, a lot of really good things. But this this call to be an ambassador can fall to the wayside. So this, this time of year after christmas before the new year, jumping, jumping into New Year’s is a great time for reflection on this past year on where we’re at. It’s a great time for considering where are we going and and redirecting in ways and and I want us to consider one area this morning and that is as our passages leading us to this call to be an ambassador of christ, How are we doing in that, How can we grow in that? So let’s turn to our passage in Luke chapter 10, right verse one, this is uh so the context here, Jesus is heading to Jerusalem for his final trip to Jerusalem where he accomplishes his work of the cross and the resurrection and and he’s sending out his disciples verse one, it says he appoints 72 other disciples to be his ambassadors to go and to go into all the towns that he’s about to go himself to buy two carrying the message of of christ and of the gospel of the kingdom to them. He did this with the 12 disciples before this, not long before this and he’s doing it again with 72 other disciples. Again, this is this is his modus operandi, this is his way of going about his work and then he gives a pre game speech and he tells them that the harvest is plentiful, the harvest is plentiful. There are people out there, there are many people out there who I have called to be my own who are ready to walk with me and in fact there are so many that you won’t even be able to scratch the surface. The harvest is plentiful and this is important because he’s saying as you go, don’t become prideful when things go really well and you see God work in amazing ways because again you’re not even gonna be able to scratch the surface and you have to pray, we’re gonna pray for more laborers, but also if things don’t go as you desire and I’m sure for many of us there are people that we want to know christ whether it’s family members, neighbors, friends and it’s like God what why why is it taking so long? Why are you not answering our prayers in this way? And and I think jesus is saying to his disciples and to us, don’t give up hope harvest is plentiful, pray earnestly for more laborers that would go out and and carry the good news of christ to those in need. He also in verse three and 4 here he’s wanting to teach his disciples and to help them learn trust and dependence upon him. As they go and carry this message, he says uh he that I’m sending you out as as lambs in the midst of wolves that there’s gonna be opposition that you face. There’s gonna be a persecution that you face. But I want you to learn trust. I want you to learn dependence upon me in the in the difficulties that you face as you go about this work and also that you’re not gonna have everything that you need up front that I’m gonna provide all that you need along the way that you’re not to carry a knapsack a moneybag sandals because I’m going to provide all that you need as you go to each house and they provide the food, the clothing and whatever is needed for you. So he’s teaching them that that I want you to learn to trust me and to depend upon me as you go about your life, as you go about this, this work that he’s called you to and then when they get to the town there to say as they into the house, peace be upon this house and if they were received as they’re carrying the peace, the message of peace, as an ambassador of christ, so if they were to be received and welcomed with the hospitality that they were receiving christ and his message in that way and they were to say the Kingdom of God has come near to you, there to heal the sick uh and to bring the blessings of the kingdom upon them. But if they were rejected, they were still to say the Kingdom of God has come near to you, but in the form of judgment and not so in the form of of blessing. So as I read through this passage, one question one of the first questions that come to my mind is what was jesus purpose here, what was his goal in sending out the disciples? What, and I think in this mission, but also even more broadly, and I think this gives us a sense of even his broader mission and purpose of, of what he’s doing and sending out his ambassadors and 33 things come to mind that I see in this passage, the first is pretty obvious that he wants to win more souls to himself, jesus sending out disciples and really wants to send us out to win more souls to himself. The harvest field is plentiful, the crops, the fruits are ready to be taken in, there are lives and souls ready to come to christ to find the well of living water eternal life. And I think about what an incredible joy it is to drink of the living water of christ. I mean the if you remember that, if you continue to to drink of this living water of christ, the joy that is found in the forgiveness of of God and the great debt that we had towards our creator, the guilt and the shame that the weight is down, that he washed white as snow, an incredible act of forgiveness. And many of you spent time with, with family and friends uh this last few days and or will and and you’re well aware of, I’m sure if you’re like me, if you’re breathing the need for forgiveness or the need for others to forgive you and how a lot of the times that isn’t there. So I think we’re well aware of, of the power that is found in forgiveness and what God has forgiven us. I also think of the reality of being given a new heart that God gives us a new heart and he breaks the chains of the power of sin in our lives, the sin that that held us down, that that we were walking in darkness and God set us free and the freedom of christ that he gives us. That is in no comparison to the freedom that the world offers us. And even just the joy of being reconciled with our God to know him to walk with him to be his his child, his son or his daughter. Like this is the joy that we’ve experienced. This is the reality of winning souls to christ uh and his man that God would bring more and more people to the amazing grace of God and the redemption of God. Amen. He wants to win more souls to himself. # two, he also he wants to equip laborers. He wants to equip us as disciples to go as ambassadors. We see this In Romans 10 a familiar passage uh says for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But then it says how then will they call on him and whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him, in whom they have never heard? How are they to hear without someone preaching and how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news again, I think of the story I knew I started with how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news to us and brought us that salvation jesus carries out his plan through equipping and sending us his people with our various gifting with our various callings into the harvest field to the people around us. And he also, he also just loves to work with his Children. When you think about how if you have Children, just the the the beauty, the power of working with your Children, God wants to work with us, his Children, he wants to carry out his plans not just on his own, but he wants to equip us. He wants to work with us in bringing about the beauty of salvation and and reconciling all the world To himself. # three here, what is his purpose? What is Jesus goal and sending out disciples is he wants to win more souls to himself. He wants to uh work with us, send out disciple makers and he wants to awaken people to the reality and the nearness of the long awaited kingdom of God. Just as we went through the advent season, the Israelites, the people of God awaiting the christ, awaiting the Kingdom of God. And he’s saying, go and tell the people the Kingdom of God is near and the christ, the king of the kingdom is here, it is, it is near to you turn and and submit your life to this King, submit your life to this jesus of Nazareth and receive the blessings of the kingdom. I see this here in in verse uh in the verse where it talks about bringing peace, he’s jesus says when you go into a house, say peace be upon this house, that jesus is wanting to bring peace, which is blessings it’s wellness of God, it’s the prosperity of God. He’s wanting to bring peace upon the house upon the families upon these people, the kingdom ways of his peace. He also says to heal the sick. And then later we’re gonna see the disciples coming back and saying we were even able to see demons delivered from these people. So jesus is wanting to bring the blessings of the kingdom of God to his people in us knowing God and being saved, but also that the people would receive the blessings of his ways that the joy of life following and submitted to christ? This is this is the goal that I see him working out and and really the goal that is for us, Because I think that’s an important question, because it gives us a sense of what jesus was doing and it’s really his work is the plumb line. His work is the reference for the work that we are to be about for our lives and what we are to be about. Which leads me to the question are we aligning our lives and our gospel work with his as we consider, how, how is this last year been? How do I want to go forward? What are the resolutions or or things that I wanna do differently in this next year? How am I? How are we aligning our lives and our gospel work with his when we see the the Brokenness and our families, when we see the the challenging circumstances situations that coworkers, neighbors are facing, when we see the injustices in the world taking place in the world, do we think of the state of the souls? Of our neighbors? Do we think of the state of the souls of the people that are bringing about the fruit that we see in the Brokenness around us? Do we see the connection between the fruit or the fruit and the root? The root being? The state of the soul and the fruit being the Brokenness uh in our lives? Because often the fruit of Brokenness and unhealthy relationships is the result of the soul of the root of where the soul is. If the unhealthy relationships often are rooted in a soul that is walking in darkness and in bondage to the sin that that God sets us free from and amongst other things that is needed to bring health and and change in these situations at the core is an ambassador of christ to bring the message of good news of deliverance of freedom of life with christ and as the years take by for me and I really I realized more and more how right Solomon was in the book of Ecclesiastes right. If you remember the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon talks about how all of life is vanity. Life is full of vanity and it’s full of opportunities for us to get off track, you know, we are we aligning our lives with what God is doing well, it’s there’s so many opportunities for us to get off of track and I want to give my life to things that matter. I know you do as well, I want to give my life to things that are eternal and yet I know that there are so many opportunities and ways for me to get off of track and to give my my time, my energy to things that really matter little. And the vision that I’ve tried to put before myself before my wife before my family is that I want to get to things right, some other things there, right? But I want to get two main things right, I want to get our family right, and I want to get our church right. I want to get our family to where there is a a love for God and and healthy relationships, but that they would know God and that they would pass on the faith to their Children and to their Children, if I can get that right man, that would make me a happy man at the end of my days. And then the second thing is I want to be a part of a healthy faithful church that reaches people and makes disciples of christ If we can get those two things right, like man that would be sweet and amazing, but when I think of that second part, the church being a part of a faithful church, one element of that is something I think we do well and is helping each other, helping, helping each other become faithful and flourish as disciples of christ living before him loving one another, serving that way. Uh but I think another part of the healthy church, I think we do well, but I think we can grow in is reaching the lost and multiplying and this thing is somewhere we’re pressing into more and and like I said, I’ve been encouraged by and I think it’s been happening and it’s something even in my own life that I’m wanting to to grow in, I mean as I’m ministering to people and leading a community group and and teaching and preaching occasionally and and disciple in people, it’s like these are great ways for us to build up the body of christ, but I know for myself that I need to grow in going to the lost, being an ambassador of christ to the people around me that that need to know christ. So I’m thinking about who are the people around me that I’m interacting with and how can I be more intentional of pointing them to christ or developing a relationship with them, what are some settings that I can put myself in, that I can meet people and point people to christ uh those are some things that I’ve I’ve been trying to to think about and and pursue growth in this area. And then at some point here in the future uh near future mid future at some point we’re gonna be planting a church and I’m gonna be being a part of that. And and that’s gonna be another part of us going as ambassadors of christ of this church, uh planting a church in this Lincoln region where we can plant the gospel, the word of God in areas in communities that need the gospel that need to know who christ is. And we’re gonna ask some of you to join us in this going so be ready for that, We’re gonna be, we’re gonna be going. So uh so for you, where are you at with the going part of life before God of being an ambassador of christ? How how have you been doing this with being an ambassador of christ to your kids, to your coworkers, to your neighbors, to your family? And what’s one thing that you can do to take a step in this direction? What’s one thing you can do to to take a step in this direction? How can we grow uh in in honoring christ or obeying his command to bring his his gospel to those in need? Alright. So that’s that’s my first point of four, the last three are going to be much quicker uh this the so we’re we’re called to go and we see this in this passage, jesus says go as ambassadors. But another part of being an ambassador and I’ve seen this passage is that he calls us to receive that were to receive the ambassadors of christ uh in our life. So as we saw here, he sends them out and he says you’re gonna go bring peace as an ambassador and then they’re either going to receive you and welcome, welcome you and and then they’re welcome you, welcome me or they’re gonna reject you and then they’re rejecting you. They’re gonna reject me. Now for many of us this receiving of initial ambassadors is is something that we’ve already done. We’ve we’ve received the initial ambassador, we’ve received the gospel, we’ve been saved, we are a child of God and were in many ways good there. But sometimes it can be different with the ongoing ambassadors that christ sends into our lives. God loves to bring about our growth through other people coming into our lives, speaking into our lives and calling us to uh to love to spurring us on to love and good deeds. Uh and we are not exempt from being able to reject these ambassadors from christ that this is something that we can we can fall into just like the people who rejected the ambassadors coming to them and it can be pride that keeps us from allowing other people to speak into our lives. It can be rebellion. It could even just be a love for the world that that leads us to not want to listen, not want to change various areas in our lives. And so if you want to continue to grow in your faith to grow in in serving christ and it is of utmost importance that we kill the flesh that you kill the flesh when opportunities arise when community group leaders come and and want to be able to speak into your lives or when people want to uh speak and help you grow in your faith that we receive them and receive them as christ sending his ambassadors into our lives. But also know that those opportunities won’t always, they’re not always gonna be coming knocking down your door that sometimes we have to reach out to other men and women that we respect our brothers and sisters in christ that we respect that are that are walking alongside of us to say, hey, help me come like uh speaking to my life and and hear about what’s going on and help me grow and walk out this faith that we are to to seek this out because of how important it is for others ambassadors to come and to help us grow in our faith. Alright, let’s read the rest of this passage and finish out here. So 13 through 20 says Woe to you, cores in Woe to you, Bethsaida for if the mighty works done and you had been done in tire and Sidon on, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for tire and Sidon on. And uh it will be more bearable in the judgment for tire and Sidon than for you. And you Keiper nam, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. The one who hears you hears me and the one who rejects you rejects me and the one who rejects me rejects him, who sent me. And then this the 72 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And he said to them, I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. So this third point is that ambassadors have authority that they are to walk in, Jesus gives authority to his disciples and then he gives us, he gives us authority as well. We see this with Ambassadors of the United States, that ambassadors are given authority from the President, from the people of the United States to speak the will and the words of the message of us, the people that that they represent and the same goes for us as christ that, that we are not mere merely speaking our words as we are interacting with the people around us as we’re going to our family as we’re going to people. We’re not speaking merely our words, but we when we speak in the in the words of God and the spirit of God working through us that we’re speaking the Will and the message of the King of the earth that we are his ambassadors and he gives us authority again when we pray in his name according to his will. When we walk in the power and the spirit within us. And this is important because we face opposition right? There’s not not everybody that we are gonna go to. It’s just gonna be yes, this is amazing. I love this. Come and tell me everything you know right? We’re gonna face opposition and we’re also gonna face our own fear, our own doubt and our own sense of wanting to to shrink back and not go forward and the authority that christ has for us. So it’s important that we hear and receive and walk in the authority that that christ has given us and some of this has to do with our words as well. And we see this with jesus saying his woes upon these different cities uh these cities that saw his great power and saw some of his teachings saw some of his mercy uh and great grace given to them. And he gives these woes, which is like a mixture of, of cursing and judgment and even of of of great sorrow. So our words have power. Words have authority and we are to walk and the authority that christ gives us. Lastly here, Jesus encourages the disciples and us to rejoice not in our own authority, not in our own success, but to rejoice first and foremost in the position as sons and daughters of God. That we are to rejoice in our position as sons and daughters of God. You may be a successful ambassador. You may be a failure which even a failure as a success if you’re, if you’re obeying christ stepping out and if someone doesn’t receive you, that’s really not as much on you as it is upon them. So whether whether it goes really well or it doesn’t go as well that we should not base our identity, our value on the success of our ministry, but on our position as sons and daughters of God. One of the things that has been of utmost importance in my life of my life before God is this aspect right here remembering that I am a son of God and reminding myself of that in my time with the Lord in my prayer. Uh, there’s a frequent reminding myself of who I am and what he has done. One of the things that I’ve embraces is a passage of scripture that says that basically all that I am and all that I have is because of God’s grace. And that’s such a refreshing. Uh, just word for my soul. God thank you. That’s all that I am and all that I have is because of your grace. It’s not because of how great I am or how bad I am. I am your son. I am loved by you because of your grace and because of your love and that that is where God calls us to to rest in. That’s where he calls us to to stay consistently daily is in the position as a son and daughter of God. So as we close here, the harvest is plentiful. Harvest is plentiful. Go and carry the gospel of the kingdom to those around you. How how is God calling you to take a step of faith in this direction? How can you begin being intentional with the people around you, praying for more laborers uh, to set the captives free and then not only going but receiving well the ambassadors God sends into your life as God sent people into your life. Do you need to reach out to some people uh, to help them walk, help you walk through what god’s calling you to. And then third walking with authority and all that christ gives you and the mission, the work he’s called you to that we would walk and the authority he’s given us and that we would rest in this position of adoption as sons and daughters of God. That you are a son. You are a daughter of God. Rest in that. And let’s go and see more stories like my great uncle Les And and his salvation and him going, let’s see more stories like my my life, your life. Let’s see God pile up more and more stories that bring praise and glory to his name in 2022. Amen Amen. Let’s pray, jesus. Thank you for your salvation. Thank you for the mission that you have called us on. We pray that you would bless us with the authority that you’ve given us and that we would see your power, your love bring transformation and the people around us through this church. God, we want to see your your name. Exalted people worshiping you and walking in your ways in jesus name. Amen.
well merry christmas, merry christmas to everyone of you, this is the last day of advent and this is so good to be in the house of the Lord with you all tonight to worship him to lift up our praise to him and to hear from him and his word and I just want to say real quickly to the parents. We I know this is a special occasion. We have the little kids in here with us, don’t be embarrassed by their little sounds, they are a reminder to us of life and vitality and our savior came once as a little babe and that is so amazing to me and so tonight as we gather in in the name of our savior, I want to say yet again merry christmas to you, merry christmas man, have you ever considered why we say merry christmas, have you ever thought about that? Is it simply a traditional holiday saying that we just toss around? No, there’s something more to it isn’t it? We say merry christmas because we wish and we hope for the recipient to be full of joy and happiness and cheerfulness at the revelation of the Lord, jesus christ and him have him come to the earth, we say merry christmas because we want you to be full of joy at the revelation of the Lord jesus christ so we say merry christmas and yet too many people during this time of the year, they feel the very opposite of joyfulness of cheerfulness of happiness, they feel pain disappointment, frustration, a time of the year. What we ought to be full of cheer is for too many people a time of despair. Okay, and there may be a few of you in this room tonight who are in that place, maybe you said merry christmas, but inside you are well acquainted with your pain and disappointment and hurt and my goal for you tonight. It’s for you to drink deeply of the hope that we have in christ is for you to see him with fresh eyes and for you to drink so deeply of his hope and his life. It will set you free of the very things that you’re feeling right now and for others of you, you may actually be in a good place in your soul. I still want you also to drink deeply tonight of the hope that we have in christ. I want you to drink so deeply of this hope that it will overflow from your life into the lives of those around you, so that you would encourage them to have hope in christ. I want to offer you encouragement to drink deeply of the hope that we have in christ tonight. I want you to leave here tonight with the kind of hope that we find in hebrews chapter six verse 19. It says hope is an anchor for the soul, the kind of hope that we have in christ that anchors your soul in every circumstance, I want you to be able to say with the Apostle paul as he said to the the church and colossi christ in me the hope of Glory, I want you to drink deeply of this hope and I want you to experience it in such a way that it anchors your soul and then it spills over into the lives of those around you. And so tonight I’ve entitled this teaching the incarnation of hope. Now that word incarnation, it simply means that God has come in the flesh. God almighty God has come in human form and because he has come in human form, we always have hope, We always have hope. We always have hope. God incarnate is for us. Hope. So I’m going to talk about the incarnation of hope because the bible directs us to have hope in God, the kind of hope that reflects a confident expectation or a solid assurance regarding future outcomes. That means right where you are at a hope in God that allows you to have a confident expectation of the outcome, a solid assurance that your God is good and that the outcome will be for your good and his glory. And because God has come in the flesh, we always have this kind of hope. And so tonight you need to drink deeply of this. I want to I want you to turn with me in your bibles to Isaiah chapter nine we’re gonna read verses six and seven. This is the quintessential christmas passage and I wanna let you know from the beginning that in this passage, you’re not going to specifically see the word hope. And yet when you fully understand this passage, it is all about hope. It is a fountain of hope. It is a fountain of hope for you and me right now. Without further ado must read the passage, Isaiah nine verses six through seven. 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 for evermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts. We’ll do this. Let us pray. Okay father in Heaven, I thank you for this fountain of hope that you’ve just given to us, help us tonight to drink deeply of it. Help us to see that because christ has come in the flesh and because he has done a great work on our behalf, we are to be a people always of hope. I pray this in jesus name, amen again. The past is just not specifically use the word hope and yet it is a fountain of hope when you understand the context, Let me tell you the context at the time in which God speaks this word to his people, Isaiah 96 and seven, his people were a complete mess, they were an absolute mess. They had become a divided kingdom in the north, you had the 10 tribes of the kingdom of Israel and in the south you have the two tribes of the kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel was under the rule of the ancient empire of the Assyrians and the assyrians that come in. They enslaved, the people took them from their homes, took their possessions, forced them into servitude all around the people in the north with spiritual darkness, idolatry oppression, people harming one another without any sense of justice. And so the people in the north are without hope. There’s terror on every side and God speaks this word for them. But then the people in the southern kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, they also were a complete mess. They had at the time, the most wicked ruler ever to sit on the throne as a descendant of David king a has, wow, he sacrificed his own sons, Two demons hoping that it would confer upon him some kind of favor and blessing in life. He was a terrible military leader. He lost battles in which hundreds of thousands of his own soldiers were killed and in one battle, 200,000 of his people were taken into captive and then on top of that, he was just a ruthless and wicked man. He took whatever he wanted from his people he killed and he confiscated to his own delight. And so if you are a jew living at that time in the Kingdom of the South, where is your hope? If you’re living in the North, where is your hope? And God says this to Isaiah? I’m sending my son. He shall be your hope. This will be your hope and for you and I. That’s a lesson. We’ve got to see whatever it is you’re experiencing whatever it is your loved ones are experiencing. God gave his son as the answer. That is the hope. And you’ve got to see it. And you’ve got to drink deeply from this fountain of hope that God offers us. And so God, God’s son, he’s the hope that God offers. And what I love about the passage that we read God. Mhm gives four names to describe The sun and why we ought to hope in him. four names. Do you think about that four names and each name? It’s a combination of two words, one reflecting his divine nature and the other one reflecting his work on our behalf before names. To a people in darkness. To a people feeling hopeless. Four names to help them to see that christ is the incarnation of hope that God’s people are always to have hope. The first name That we read in verse six is wonderful counselor. He shall be called wonderful counselor. Now that’s two ancient hebrew words that are joined together to bring us the english word of wonderful, but in hebrew, the pairing of these two words and also means supernatural. In other words, the life of God’s son on earth would be marked by supernatural and miraculous activity. And then you combine that with the term counselor and the indication is that his life will reveal divine planning and strategy. And forethought. God is saying to a people in darkness that his son will be a better ruler than king, a has that his son and his kingdom will be a much better kingdom than the Assyrian kingdom. And God said the same thing to us today, he must be wonderful counselor in your life and my life, he is the one to put your hope in. Even his disciples came to this conclusion In March 737. And they were astonished beyond measure saying he has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak, That’s his miraculous life and John seven it says so they were seeking to arrest him, jesus, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. The divine planning and strategy. His life reflected everything according to God’s plan. The wonderful counselor. But the second name God uses to describe his incarnate son is mighty God. The fullness of divinity was wrapped in human flesh. Thank you. The fullness of the Godhead was in him, in the form of a man fully man and fully God. And so some would see that human form and conclude that he cannot be the son of God. And God says, no, he is the son of God. He is the one that you are to put your hope in. Okay. And even his disciples again, Matthew eight, they come to the same conclusion during the storm when they saw him calm a storm and the men marveled saying, what sort of man is this? And even winds and sea obey him. He’s mighty God, how many of you are experiencing a storm right now and you need God to calm it in your life. Put your hope in him, Put your hope and almighty God. But God has a third name. He wants us to know. He calls him everlasting father. In other words, he’s saying the Eternal one always has a watchful and a concerned fatherly heart for his people. That gives me great hope. You may be thinking that you’re going through your trials and your pain alone, that your loved ones that they are somehow beyond the glare and the vision of God. And yet God says no, he is everlasting father. He always looks towards you but following concern and care. This is why hebrews 725 says that he lives to make intercession for you. He lives, he lives, he lives to make sure that you are cared for. Now, these three names are enough to convince me that it’s not safe to put my hope in anything else other than jesus christ. But God doesn’t stop there and neither can I. He gives us the fourth name. It gives us the fourth name because he wants us to be overflowing with this hope, so that will spill over into the lives of the people around us. And so God says that his son, his royal son is to be called the Prince of Peace. Now this name speaks to the deep longings of our heart, the desire to be free from sin and the corruption of this world and to have peace with God and to have our lives make sense. And God says, here look upon him, the Prince of Peace, put your hope in him for he has conquered not with the physical sword, but with a message of peace and his kingdom is the way of peace with God Colossians 1 19 says that the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on Earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Our Prince of Peace, He is the one we hope in. So these four names were given by God to cultivate hope in his people and we are to drink deeply from them. You know, the scriptures reveal that hope is made strong by first a revelation of who God is. So that’s why he gives us these four names and then secondly by believing in what God has spoken and that’s why he is not only given us names that reveal the divinity of christ, but the work of christ. And then thirdly hope is made strong by reflecting on what God has already done for us. Lastly coming into the presence of God is how we see our hope and God made strong so friend. If you want to have your soul anchored and the hope of jesus christ and then you must know him as wonderful counselor, you must experience him as almighty God, who forgives your sin and gives you a new life. You must believe every word that your everlasting father has spoken, knowing that he watches over you to encourage you to teach you and to correct you. Lastly you must reflect on that bloody cross where he died to bring you peace and you must pursue him in his resurrected glory as your prince of peace. This is how you strengthen your hope in him. This is how you teach yourself to drink deeply of that fountain of hope that we have in him. But what should you do if you don’t know him in these ways? C. H Spurgeon said this, He said this child is not born to you unless you were born to this child. Speaking of jesus coming in the flesh and essentially what Spurgeon is saying is that christ lays the foundation for us. But we must have faith in him in order to be filled and overflowing with hope in him. You must first believe in him as our savior. We must know him as our savior. So that hope can spring forth in us and overflow in our lives because he came church, we always have hope and the darkest hour of God’s people, God sent his son so that we might always have hope. He is the incarnation of hope. Therefore we always have hope. Let us pray. Mhm Father in heaven, I thank you. You’re not a god who does not see you’re God full of mercy and compassion and you are God who call your people to be full of hope in you confident expectation, solid assurance that you will come through in our darkest hour that you will lead us for your glory. That you will keep us in your name and that you will be with us always. God may we drink deeply of these truths tonight and they will be encouraged to go forth as your kingdom people in christ’s name. I pray Amen
All right, good morning. It’s good to be here with the eyes. I love the advent season christmas. My our christmas events have already started this last week. We came back last night from our first set of christmas events and so it’s off right off to the races here, plenty of things to do. Uh We’re back home, I was back home in Norfolk and I I was driving by and I seen the the biggest nativity scene I’ve think I’ve ever seen Um I think the camels were eight ft tall, so I mean it was huge, just spread out on this whole church for the whole on and so it was pretty cool to see. I that’s kind of how my brain works. I was just like where do you store that in the off season? You know, like Alright, so uh but yeah, I mean the nativity scene is very common, it’s very familiar, we we see it a lot and uh you know, I got one up here, it’s been kind of been going around and so alright, if you see if you can catch the the air in here, right? Yes, Yoda doesn’t belong there I guess. But so a lot of times with christmas season though, you see the nativity scene it’s very common, right? But but what happens is the story gets so condensed and you’ve got everything going on at one time and you got the shepherds and you’ve got the wise men and you got everybody, it’s just everything’s together And so real quick. I’m just gonna kind of lay out, it’s very high level, very elementary, just the where we’re at in our story because we’re gonna be looking at Luke 225 through 35 and write the events happen so fast. Sometimes it gets a little convoluted. And so the beginning part is pretty easy right? Where we see uh an angel appeared to mary and tells her that she’s gonna be pregnant and give birth to the messiah. And then an angel appears to joseph reaffirming that right, don’t leave her. And so they go through and then there’s a census happening. So that’s why they have to go to Bethlehem, that’s where the the origins of joseph’s family is at. And so they go up, she gives birth at Bethlehem. The angels appear to the shepherds who then come in and praise God and give him glory. And then they leave. What happens though in that process now is on the eighth day, they are they are believers and and they’re gonna follow the mosaic law. And so on the eighth day, they’re gonna come in and they take jesus up to Jerusalem to be circumcised, that’s part of the jewish law. And then they go back to Bethlehem and then after 40 days after the purification that that has to go through again through the mosaic law for mary, they go back up and they combined two events. One is this dedication where they dedicate and they present and they give their firstborn to God and then they redeem the child back and that kind of um goes back to the Passover but then mary also offers a sacrifice for her purification. So we’re right here, that’s that’s in the midst of our story, this is why when we go into luke too, they are up in Jerusalem at the temple and just to kind of close out that season here is then they go back, right and and when the wise men come, jesus is a toddler. So we got the whole nativity scene with these wise men and the shepherds and that’s probably a year and a half to two years apart. Alright, so there’s a huge time gap and we just kind of throw it on the nativity scene. Um Rightfully so it’s perfectly fine but it’s but the stories are separated by a lot of time and then they flee to Egypt and then later after Herod has died, come back to Nazareth. And so that’s again that’s kind of the gist of where we’re at but we’re we’re right, there day 41 probably uh them going up and presenting jesus and dedicating jesus. So we’re gonna start right here when it when we look at luke two, we’re gonna jump into 25 so luke 2 25. Uh In fact actually I I told my some of my family yesterday at christmas hey we gotta go, we gotta leave some saturday night, I gotta get back, I’m gonna teach sunday morning, they’re like, what are you teaching on? I said Simeon and there’s kind of some blank stares and was like, yeah, and that’s why I actually really like this story is it’s Simeon gets 10 verses and people kind of forget about it, you tell them the story and they’re like, oh yeah, I remember him, but it’s just not like the household name biblically when it comes to um people you would know right away and we’ll see why I like it so much. But it says in verse 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. And so right, we’ve come to this time, I think about the song O Come o Come Emmanuel redeem your people, Israel, they’re, they’re waiting for this messiah and he’s born, he’s here, right, this is the pinnacle of history up into this point. The paramount of all the anticipation is right here. The Savior has come and in one sense, it’s just as it was foretold, the old testament has told us many of the details of how this was gonna happen, where to who, alright, how it’s gonna go down, but yet there’s a lot of obscurity, you know, because it didn’t happen the way you expect if you expect something, hey, you know what’s gonna happen and then you expected a certain way and then it happens in a different way, It can still kind of throw you off, right? And so there’s a lot of obscurity here, even though they knew the messiah was coming and you think about just the time and history, right? Much of Israel was apostate. They were, they were following these laws, but they had no relationship, they had no faith, genuine faith and that’s told even later when they talk about a remnant, there’s only a few true believers at that time. And so it’s in this weird portion, this obscure time in history, they show up to in a secure couple, right? This young couple, I mean marry a teenager at best, they’re poor. So if the Savior of the world is going to come and be in the line of David, this mighty warrior king, you would think they would come back to somebody at least of some prominence, well known. No, I mean even john the baptist, right? Like, okay as families are respected priestly family. No, this is a poor young couple. I mean really nobody right, but God has seen their faith, he calls them righteous and it’s an obscure town. Right? Nazareth, Nathaniel later even says one of the disciples what good can come from Nazareth, I mean it’s a town of no respect, no esteem and then you have Simeon and anna after this, but Simeon is like, who’s Simeon, well, it doesn’t tell us a whole lot, there’s actually a lot that is you know trying to people trying to dig up and thought like oh maybe he was the priest and there and that’s why he was involved because they had to bring the baby to dedicate and he was the priest, so that’s why he was or maybe he was from this family, this this famous family of gamma meal. And but it’s all speculation. I mean God doesn’t include that in this story. Why, I mean, the story is about jesus and it’s about him receiving the glory and thats why even just like this, I I call it the glory and the obscure God doesn’t need fame in in your prestige to get glory, like he uses many people who are just average in common, me and you Right? So that’s that’s really one of the things I like about this, but it does tell us the things that are important. It doesn’t tell us his position, it doesn’t tell us of his esteem, his ranking, his position, that he was well known. It tells us nothing like that, but it tells us the things that are important, It says that he is righteous, he’s developed and he’s led by the spirit those were important enough for God to mention and righteous. When the bible talks about being righteous, this is not something you can just self declare, well you can self declare it, it doesn’t make it true, right? When God talks about someone being righteous, it’s that they are justified by their faith and not by their works, they have been justified, they have been forgiven. And they are a person of true genuine faith. They are a believer, they are a christian and this is what God tells us of him, not of his own self admonishment, not of his own self acclaim. God says this is a righteous man, he is righteous and devout and devout, right. I mean, we think about someone whose devout, their their steadfast, they are committed and some of the traditional translations would say careful, he was very careful to obey what God has commanded right? Not just to listen, but to listen and then obey. And so as he says, this is a righteous and devout man. This is a very, a very high prominent praise for this man. And we see he’s led by the Spirit. It doesn’t tell us how he’s led by the spirit exactly. But we know that he’s led by the Spirit, this is pre Pentecost. So the Spirit is not descended in a permanent residence upon believers yet, at this time, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit would come and go. It would be on people from for a portion of time. And yet now we have the feeling of the Spirit, but this is before that, but what it tells us again, it doesn’t tell us of all these different things about his life. It tells us about these uh these characteristics of being righteous and devout and and following the spirit and this man, I mean this man has lived a successful life, right? He has lived a very successful life. And and some people say, well, how can you say that well? Because if you are righteous and about you, you fulfill what God has called you to do. And so we measure success Weird, right? I mean, think about how we measure success. How do you measure success in anything in your life? It’s generally based on a quantity measure. Is it how many people you have following you? Is it how much money you make? Is it how much influence you have? It’s how many people know you, is it? What is it? Right? It’s generally based on a quantitative measure. And yet God is like, you know that you don’t have to be famous, you don’t have to be well known, you don’t have to be any of that. What he measures, not the quantity of things. He measures it by the quantity of our faith. Think about throughout the bible, all the other stories that come into play when when people are rich man would come and he would give all this money and in fact they would like ring these bells and they would be like look at this man, look how much he gave, they just praise him and you know, you know it’s okay, you know, he’s acting like he’s humble and it’s like, you know, they they loved it and jesus never walked by, I was like, oh he didn’t join in that, but when the, when the poor lady gave her might, you know, a couple of pennies at best and he’s like, hold on, he stops everyone. Did you see that? Did you see her faith? I mean, this is probably what she has to live on. It was probably like, do I sacrifice to God or do I by some small crumbs of food just to fill my stomach. And he calls out her, he’s like, did you see her faith? Her quantity was nothing, Her faith was incredible. And so when we think about Simeon, he gets 10 verses and it’s like, who’s Simeon? Simeon is an incredible man of faith, I hope my life can at least replicate that in some degree, right? All of us could probably resonate with this, Who are any of us really to the rest of the world, right. Do we have famous people? I don’t think so, and can’t be that famous, I don’t know what you’re famous, I mean, right, that’s we can’t be that famous and we’re probably that obscure person. Sure, some people know us, we know each other, you know, we have our networks of friends and people, but none of us are probably that famous, we probably resonate with Simeon, we’re going to live a life and not be famous and well known and super rich or whatever it might be but we all can live that life of just being devout and righteous and faithful and led by the spirit just like Simeon and so I love, I love characters like this because it feels like me yeah, I’m primarily can be well known but I can be faithful and God can use these same words for my life and that’s what I hope he does. But what, what are you doing? He is waiting for the consolation of Israel. I grew up playing sports and consolation was generally not a good term right, you were in the consolation bracket, you’re like well the best I can get his third alright, I lost consolation here is to console right there waiting. They were as as this christmas songs that we’re singing right? They were, they were under oppression and they were waiting for their comfort, their redeemer, their messiah, they wanted to be peaceful, they wanted to be redeemed from this situation and again we always are reminded that they looked at it in a physical way and and God came and he gave gave them that spiritual peace, he didn’t promise to free them from roman rule when he showed up but that’s what they thought, which is why some of the obscurity happens is they were expecting something and he came in a very different way, they expected this mighty king to forcefully take over and he comes humble king, the picture of the cult riding in on a cult and all these different areas of humility, a poor family but he was waiting and a couple of verses prior to this as a couple weeks ago as we were talking about the shepherds, it says suddenly, right when the angels showed up says suddenly there was a multitude of heavenly host of angels praising God and saying glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to the people he favors. They were waiting. They were waiting for peace. That’s what they wanted. And I mean who doesn’t want that? Right? That’s that’s what we are after in this life we are after peace. It’s been revealed. It says in the next verse, it’s been revealed to him by the holy spirit that he would not see death before the before he saw the Lord’s messiah. It’s an interesting promise right? How would you like to have that? It was most likely that he was old based on the the words that they used describing him and the time difference here of waiting. He was probably an old man. I don’t know when he got that promise. But can you imagine getting that promise and be like I could see him tomorrow and that or next month or 10 years from now. Like he was looking Right, he didn’t give up, he trusted God whether that was a month or 20 years. He trusted God. He continued to look, he remained faithful looking because he expected that promise to come true right. For some of us would be like, you know, do you do you tell people and then they think you’re crazy. Well I mean did he tell anybody? I don’t know. But he was very faithful and at least doing his part, some of you might be like, you know what, I’m gonna do something dangerous, I’m gonna skydive like well that’s dangerous. You could get hurt unless jesus is on that plane, I ain’t dying right. Like he was guaranteed that he was going to see the Lord’s messiah and so he lived that life and he waited and he waited and he waited expectantly and that’s what we should be doing. We should be faithfully walking with God expecting God and his timing to be faithful to all his promises. But he was guided in verse 27, guided by the spirit. He was guided by the spirit. He entered entered the temple when the parents mary and joseph brought in the child, jesus to perform For him. What was customary under the law. Right? As we talked about on day 40, the purification and the dedication Simeon took him in his arms and praised God. Now we’ve dedicated for kids and this might be the weirdest baby dedication ever. Like you walk in and some old guy comes up and he’s like let me take your son and start saying all these things about and you’re like who are you? Right, like it would be kind of weird, but you’d probably kind of just go along with it and smile and like you know make sure he doesn’t drop them but so he walks in but think about how he was guided by the spirit, the temple was probably an active place, probably very active, might not have been the only kid being dedicated, I mean there’s a lot of babies being born and so but he was but he was lead, he saw jesus and he was led and guided to him and he knew he knew this was the messiah and so he grabs him and he lifts him up and he has this physical encounter with jesus, I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure we would all love to have a physical encounter with jesus. Many people as you here as they are wrestling with their faith would, will say things like, I mean if if I could live in that day where I could see jesus where I could touch him, I can watch him perform miracles, then I think my faith would really be strong and complete. I think then I would be this man or woman of faith. If I could just see him that tangible aspect of being right there and remember this happens later with thomas as jesus dies and he’s resurrected and thomas says and they’re telling him jesus is alive Yeah right, I’m not gonna believe that. And how gullible do you think? I’m not believing that unless I can put my hand in his side, unless I can touch my savior? No, and Jesus was very gracious in this moment and he allowed thomas, he shows up and he allows thomas to put his fingers in his side and touch his wounds in the in the physically touch him after his resurrection. But remember what it says, I mean, Jesus says very specifically to thomas says because you have seen because you’ve seen me, you believe, but blessed are those who do not see and yet believe that’s us, that’s us blessed are us blessed. Are we who believe without that physical tangible experience with God? Now we do have to have a personal experience with God. But it will not be tangible. This side of this side of life, there will be a day on the other side of life. Well, I will get a physically be with my savior, but not on this side of life, it is by faith that we are gonna believe in and experience, Jesus christ. And once he does once he has this encounter with him, he says some pretty amazing things he says. Now master, you can dismiss your servant in peace as you promised. You can dismiss me, my life is complete. I have fulfilled. I’ve looked, I’ve long that I’ve waited and you answered, my life, take it. I’m ready to go home. And he says, you can dismiss me in peace as you promised. For my eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the presence of all people, a light for the revelation to the gentiles and glory to your people, Israel. And again, it’s interesting because this was foretold. It wasn’t done in secret. It says you have prepared it in the presence of all people. It was not done in secret, not hidden, but yet because of the difference in what they expected versus what was happening, it was lost to them. It was obscured. They didn’t see it. and in verse 32, even more profound was the fact that Simeone said here says, you know, he’s going to be a light of revelation to the gentiles and the glory to your people. Israel, If you remember at this time, the jews hated the gentiles and vice versa. In fact, they didn’t even like the half jews the Samaritans, if you weren’t jewish through and through, you are not the people of God God’s not coming for you. Okay, Do you think about Jonah? And the old testament when he was told to go to these gentiles and he’s like, okay, God, nope, I’m I’m rejecting that I’m going the other way. You want me to go there, I’m going there, right. And then we know the story of just how God pursued him to go there. He he hated them. He did not want them to get saved, he literally did not want them to get saved. And so there’s this animosity right there right now happening. And even Simeon says, no, jesus is gonna be a light to all people, to the world, to the gentiles, to the Israelites, to all people. He is coming back for everyone, he is here and he’s gonna die for everyone. And so he has this spiritual agenda that was different than the expectations. And so what was happening in public was not even noticed by many, but Simeon, he saw him just as he had promised and he was a humble servant, Just Lord, this is what’s happening. I see it, take me home, this is so good and he has peace, but that that’s a special kind of peace then he can just say Lord, this is, I’m ready to go, my life is fulfilled. You have been faithful and people are looking for that. I think about the christmas season, how many times do you see peace? The word piece on signs in songs, we are searching for peace and people can look all over the place and many people will tell you that they have found peace right there at a place in their life where they just they found peace and and they’re not a believer and so at best you can’t find, you can maybe find appeasement, that’s all you got without jesus, you don’t have peace, you have appeasement, you have found something to temporary appease what you think is good. But when that fades, you’ll find out there’s no true peace in it. If it’s money and something happens and you have no money, your piece is gone. If its possessions, it’s experiences, if it’s relationships, whatever it is, that can be taken away and then your piece can get taken away. If that’s what you find peace in. And so when people look for peace, the only true lasting peace is if you come to jesus christ, that cannot be taken away, it is not dictated based on your circumstances, Jesus remains true and faithful and we can experience peace even in the most difficult at times. And so that’s what they’re looking for. A lot of them don’t even know Isaiah 967, this is a very common verse. You’ll hear around the Christmas time says for us, 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, jesus is the piece that we’re looking for and it can only be temporarily satisfied by other worldly things. But it will not provide lasting peace unless you have given your life to christ, unless you’ve come to him through faith. And just like Simeon, when you have done that, you are declared righteous and devout as Simeon is so with or without a personal encounter, we can’t encounter peace. And so every one of us needs to experience that and we need to submit our lives to him. And so this happens, he has a personal encounter with jesus And it says that his parents, in verse 33, his father and mother were amazed at what was being said, right, you’d be pretty amazed if someone says this is the salvation of your people, right? He’s gonna be a light of revelation to the world. You’re like, oh my goodness, this old man is awesome, I love this old man, right? He’s saying these great things about my kid, but then he keeps talking and then he says, and Simon blessed them are Simeon blessed them and told them and told his mother mary indeed this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and it will be assigned to be opposed and a sword will pierce, pierce your own soul, that the thought of many hearts may be revealed. So you’re like this, Well man is great and he starts saying that, hey, your son is going to cause the fall of many people actually is gonna be really opposed. There’s gonna be a ton of people don’t like him, you’re like, can I have my son back, you’re no longer my favorite old man, right? Like I’ll take my kid back, please. But these these are hard things to hear. Can you imagine hearing this as a as a parent? But the interesting thing is, is Symbian speaks to mary, why not joseph? Even in God’s providence, in his, in his sovereignty and knowing the situation, he speaks to mary, Because somewhere along the way, the last time we hear is about age 12 and Joseph is not mentioned again, he dies and Jesus has a responsibility to take care of his mom. And you even see that on the cross as he’s dying, he goes and tells john john, this is now your mom, mom, this is your son and she goes into his home and he takes care of her. Like he had a responsibility as the oldest son to to take care of her. And so he speaks Simion speaks to mary saying there’s gonna be some hard things coming. This this man is gonna be raised up and he’s gonna be, he’s gonna cause the rise and fall, he’s gonna cause a division. He’s gonna be opposed, he’s gonna be hated, he’s gonna be ridiculed, It’s gonna be tough, it’s gonna be so tough and it’s gonna pierce your own soul, It’s gonna be painful. He was telling her beforehand. Before she even cognizant lee understood what that was too mean, what was gonna happen many who have an encounter with, Jesus will reject them and that’s the truth of the matter, Not all who encountered, Jesus will accept them. Many. We’ll reject them. I mean think about Peter, all these different biblical characters were Peter, he accepts him, changes his life and lives after after christ all the days of his life. And yet judas walked in the same situation and he turned and he walked away from jesus. You got two people on the cross next to jesus to thieves, One repents and one doesn’t, one spends eternal life with Jesus Christ and one doesn’t. There are many you got characters like mary Magdalene who have a sketch background at best and demon possessed and she gets saved and she follows christ and then you have the religious people who you would think yeah this this is me who would choose jesus. Yet the Pharisees and the Saddest sees and describes the religious the good that the reputable people and they reject jesus, many will reject. Few will actually accept jesus as their savior. Think about an ax when when Pentecost comes and there’s how many people are in the upper room right after Jesus gets killed and all they’re like oh my goodness! I thought this was the messiah, what is going on? There’s 100 and 20 up in the upper room, praying Romans eight tells us there’s only a remnant list And Romans 11. It says so too at the present time. There is a remnant chosen by grace. There’s a small number of people who are faithful because this is a very difficult situation. He was a man opposed and if you chose to follow jesus and you put your faith in christ especially in this time you would be opposed, you might lose your position, you might be kicked out of your own family per se. You would not be invited back, you could lose all kinds of reputation, not be able to go in the temple markets, your livelihood, jesus would cause the rise and fall of many. He was a very polarizing figure and I could not imagine the difficulty as a mother as mary sees her son being ridiculed. Can you imagine if your child is ridiculed publicly and disgraced and for doing nothing wrong, I would just be like the angry guy right? Like I’d be so mad and I would want to probably seek revenge and I would probably do things that would not be Godly right? And but it would be like can you imagine seeing your kid go through this and you can do nothing or him on the cross dying being pierced ah like I don’t even want to fathom right? Like that’s not even something I want to pretend to fathom and he prepares her along the way, right? He he goes and think about the different stories in the bible where he says you know, hey look at your mother and your brothers are out here and he’s like who are my mother and my brothers and he starts to shift this position where he has to change eventually from sun to savior, right? I I don’t go home and say mom I am now your savior. That would be weird right? Like because I’m not, but it’s like how do you shift at a point in time in jesus life, he had to move from being mary’s son to being mary’s savior and Simeon for warned that there would be pain some of that from that opposition, some of it from seeing his son crucified, but some of it also from her son pulling away that she didn’t understand that this was her savior and so he tells her of these difficulties that are coming. They would pierce her own soul. But then also at the very end it says that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. So Simon is an obscure man, probably no different than you and I in a sense of just nothing prominent, he’s an obscure man. He has a personal encounter with jesus which we are called to have a personal encounter with jesus, all of us are and it doesn’t just happen one time per se. Yes, you get you have an encounter with jesus and you get and you choose, you put your faith in him and you are saved but then it’s not like okay I no longer have to walk with jesus. No, then then I can encounter him throughout his word through prayer on a daily basis, right? We are called to have a personal encounter with jesus and we can’t fake it out, we can’t fake him. We can’t just pretend you could walk into church and you could be sitting here each week every week and you could have the biggest smile, you could greet everybody, you could you could pretend all you want and you can fake me, Oh you can right, you can do me, I I don’t know, but you will not be able to convince jesus of something that is not true. He can he knows the thoughts and intentions of our heart. He knows why we do things, he knows the motivation. Is it for me? Is it for looks, is it just because right, I want to gain something now he knows the exact intentions of our heart, which is both comforting and a little scary because I know my heart’s deceitfulness and so God knows my heart the genuineness of it. I think about about when I had an impersonal personal encounter with christ, like I I was lead over time and I can look back now and say man, God had just led me and drew me in, but there was a time when I gave my life to christ and I remember that I remember that specifically just how I right my pride and I and I submitted and I gave my life to christ and I chose to walk by faith and it was a very special time in my life. Do you remember the uniqueness of that experience for you when you chose to put your faith in christ and that you received the Holy Spirit. There there’s a very significant time in our life when we are called to do that, but then I think about the christmas season and it gets so busy and we’re here celebrating jesus and his birth and why he came to save us and where we get christmas parties and work parties and friends and late nights and traveling and we’re doing all these things, how many of us miss spending time with jesus walking with him, that personal relationship, that personal encounter with christ on a daily basis in the business of life isn’t that kind of backwards when it comes to christmas? We celebrate something by not celebrating it by not right, we want to celebrate jesus by not spending time with them. Mhm. I know that’s not our heart and our intention, but that’s life, it really pulls you in all these different directions. And so for you who have experienced that you’ve put your trust in christ you, he is your Lord and savior during this christmas season take some time if you’ve got a busy schedule, you’re running around schedule time make it a priority to step back and to be with jesus, to spend that personal time with him right to read his word, to pray to meditate to really take the season for what it’s for, to celebrate that our God would send his son to die for each and each one of us and like Simeon that we would be counted as these faithful. These righteous, devout sanctified, led by the spirit people day in and day out. Amen Lord, we thank you, we thank you that you you get the glory in all things and that we can just be part of that. I pray as Simeon was righteous and devout Lord, that that would be something that marks my life, that marks all of our lives. I pray that you would help us during the christmas season to take time just to be with you, to be in your presence, to read your word, to praise you, to worship you because you deserve it Lord. And this is why we celebrate Father, we love you and we just thank you for our time today. Amen
merry christmas livestream people merry christmas, real people in the room, we sure appreciate and love you. Um just thank you for bearing with us christmas I think like four years ago when we did christmas, we don’t even like saying christmas songs and we kind of forgot I’m saying the royal, we like me. I kind of forgot about we’re rolling through some other passages and stuff and I know how do you forget that? I don’t know. So we’re growing up here as a church and getting our act together. I mean like I’m wearing a jacket then and dan wore jackets, we’re just we’re getting better at celebrating christmas as a church. Amen. All right. All right, so merry christmas welcome. So a lot of christmas parties. I’ll give you a conversational piece. You should not use a conversational piece. You should not use for all these many christmas parties you’re going to is tell me your birth story. That’s a that’s an awkward exchange. Every time my my friend’s wife started talking about babies and births and what happened and stuff. I leave the room or try to awkwardly change the conversation. I have my own kids, birth was traumatic enough. I am not looking forward to hearing about someone else’s kids traumatic birth. It is just brutal what fathers have to go through. So bring life into this. Welcome merry christmas. All right, So today we’re looking at the birth story of jesus before we jump into that I had a New Year’s resolution last january that I would send and receive more memes that I gained weight and I watch more netflix and so here is a mean one of our leaders posted into our leaders group, me threat where we communicate, it was supposed to be a broadcasting communication thread but it’s becoming more like a ha ha funny meme thread for our 50 some leaders in our church. So we just love you all merry christmas and so this week is advent week three next week, Shane is doing advent week for christmas eve, we like that fifth candle for our christmas eve advent advent series. So I appreciate you taking time to come here and think and celebrate and contemplated worship with God and others. So let’s bow our heads and take a moment and pray God. I just, this is a visited planet God, we are lucky to be able to spend time together and worship you this morning through songs and through prayer and through contemplation and through the way we live, this is a visited planet God, you’ve been very good to us. Up to this point in our life, we can trust you gonna be good to us the rest of our lives Lord, this is a visited planet Lord where you sent your son, jesus the visit of this planet through the birth of the virgin teenage mom in Bethlehem that is an amazing birth story that we’re gonna look at today. We just want to worship you, appreciate you, admire you and let you and your example form the rest of our world do we just commit this time to you, create the word of God will come alive in our lives and that we would respond rightly to the word of God. We’d listen rightly to the word of God. We listen to understand and listen to obey the word of God. We commit this time to you in jesus name. Amen in luke eight luke two verse eight we’re gonna pick up in verse eight, but I’m going to tell you the quick backstory to the birth story vs. One and two. We talk about the caesar who is leading the known world at that time, who is occupying the nation of Israel mary and joseph lived under the roman rule. They required all of the people to go back to their their their hometown to register for a census so they can tax people. All right. So taxes is what got mary and joseph mobilized 80 miles on back of a donkey mary on the back of a donkey. Nine months pregnant. As the miles went by. The reality, the cold, grim reality of that cold winter day was that she is going to most likely as a young teenage mom give birth to the messiah jesus, the savior of the world. Her personal savior away from her friends and family and the only one that’s gonna birth that baby is this man. She’s engaged to joseph last week. Barry looked at mary’s magnificent, her praise her worship and praise to God and how mary was contemplating what God has done when the angel came to her and told her that she would carry and give birth to God. Her husband to be joseph was a young man himself. She was also incredibly young young teenage mom and she’s carrying the Savior of the world, 80 miles on the back of a donkey. They arrive in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is an extremely poor, impoverished part of the nation of Israel at this time. And the best case scenario, best case scenario, if they land in the manger in time, the major, the communal hospital hospice place in time, it would have been maybe not as big as our stage and they would have been like 6 to 8 stalls with some privacy with a middle hearth. The owner of the inn would have had a heart of like fire to keep everyone warm in straw, to keep everyone’s livestock bedded. That’s why the supply, that was like very primitive housekeeping if it went well. But it did not go well. And so mary and joseph did not have space there. And so the cold reality of that winter’s night was just that the contempt, the obscurity of these young poor couple that was getting pulled around by powerful forces beyond their control. They had to go and look for shelter. And there was no where they couldn’t get birthed in the town square. They couldn’t give birth there in the cold winter night having a baby in the middle of the town square. So they eventually find their way to this barn cave hybrid where jesus board luke nicely calls it a manger. It is a bar that the savior of the world is born into. It is a wild story of christians claim that God became the messiah. He was not jesus who became the messiah, who became God. Like caesar was a man who became caesar who became God. He was God’s son, holy man and fully God came and visited this planet. I just, just think of all the, if you’re joseph, you would feel like a failure. I did not care for my wife. Well I did not care for the messiah, the savior of mankind. Well I am a failure as a parent. Think of all the insecurities of a young teenage mom having birth, have anything of like your birth plan. If those who’ve had babies, you did not, you would never think nine months pregnant, We’re going 80 miles on the back of a donkey when I’m nine months pregnant, I can pop any day. And my husband doesn’t have a place for us lined up and you’re giving birth among the ammonia, the manure, the animal smells and a small little barn and it’s cold. Things like the rough carpenter hands are uneducated illiterate joseph and mary and it’s cold and there’s a slippery, bloody wet little baby getting born, You’re just trying to keep him warm. You’re thinking God’s gonna die, this is gonna die in this manger as a newborn baby. All the insecurities of a teenage mom. It is wild. The beginning of christian faith, the beginning, the christian started how jesus came to this planet, extremely poor couple. They were unknown and unseen by their people, but God saw them. We see here in luke two and God knew them had a plan for them. The proud and the powerful God did not choose, choose if it is that this planet through proud and powerful people. But he chose to come to this planet through poor and powerless people. This is just an emotional, emotionally loaded birth story for mary and joseph as they came as they came to Bethlehem with all the fear, the insecurities of any young couple of the baby and then giving birth to such a high stakes birth. That’s where we pick up in Luke two verse 8, Group two vs 8, think about think about jesus perspective, he’s standing at the pinnacle of the known and the unknown world in the heights of heaven and he takes a dive off and he goes down to the lowest of the low to a barn in Bethlehem to a teenage mom where he entered the scenes of mankind, this is the wild events and when you read over this passage, you can read over this passage multiple times in your life. And there’s always new, compelling things that hits you from these passages of the bible. The depth and color of this passage of the bible is amazing. I love Kent Hughes, he’s a biblical scholar and author, author, he talks about this. He says, we must never forget that this is where Christianity begins and where it always begins with a sense of need, a graced sense of one’s insufficiency, christ himself said in an example, comes to the needy and that’s the title of this passage I titled It sympathizer and savior. We’re looking at Luke two versus 8 through 20 every advent season reminder of the reality of the wonder of God becoming a man and visiting this planet and all of his weakness so that we might have a relationship with him. The Infinite God became a finite baby, but all the while remaining an infinite God. It’s an amazingly humble story about only God could have or would have worked out in the history of mankind, the wonders of God’s rescue plan for mankind, beginning in a barn in Bethlehem, a sympathizer and savior. Many of you have heard of, or you’ve heard of this jesus who is the savior of mankind. But the reality is this is more than just a savior of mankind. He’s able to sympathize with the plight with the struggle with the weakness of mankind. Although he himself never sent, Jesus can deeply sympathize with the experience of being a human and the hustle and the struggle and the hard parts of life. Jesus can sympathize with your weakness. Look at Hebrews four, it says this for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. His name is jesus christ, he’s the savior of the world and he’s a sympathizer of mankind. So let’s look at luke two verse eight. The story moves quickly and follow along with me luke two versus eight, I pick up here and says and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and an angel, the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear which is natural. Your shepherds out in the field watching sheep. It’s not a very eventful job, especially at night. The sheep of trial bedded down and sleeping in an area is probably a little bit of noise coming from the flock. You’re basically watching paint dry, You’re watching sheep sleep and then all around you. The glory alone shines around you in this desolate little country field. The Glory of the Lord. We see this throughout the bible in different times, moses experienced. The glory of the Lord. You talked about seeing God’s face and God said, You cannot see my face and live in exodus 33. Exodus 40. It talks about the glory of the God resting on their Tabernacle Exodus Ezekiel eight and 10 talks about the glory of God leaving the nation of Israel. The glory of the Lord coming and going. It’s been an amazing, powerful, pivotal thing in the nation of Israel’s history. and 600 years later, the glory of the Lord came back and it came back to who to moses to the Tabernacle to the temple, dedication to the nation. It came back to shepherds. The glory Lord came back to shepherds. Our our culture’s view of shepherds does not matter that culture’s view of shepherds, they viewed shepherds like thieves like low lives like riff raff. The social socially, very low class is untrustworthy scoundrels of the day. If you couldn’t get a job doing something else, the shepherds would hire you. If you had a criminal record, the shepherds will hire you if you if you’re a corrupt con man. Well, the shepherds will take you shepherds with the lowest ranking people in that culture at that day, shepherds were out highly respected at all, especially by the law. If you had a legal dispute as a jewish person and you knew something happened. Someone stole something or someone murdered someone and you knew a shepherd saw you could not call a shepherd as a witness in court. They were diligent witnesses in court. Social class views viewed one notch of people lower than shepherds. And those people had leprosy one notch above leopard’s as shepherds. These are not prominent, powerful, influential movers and shakers of the day. These are the least. And the lost among the nation of Israel. This time of the day shift of shepherds, this is the night shift of shepherds. I’m having fun. The private same shift of people. But the night shift like what about night shift mike, I’m just having fun. All right, moving on. Think about this. Does this does echo what the whole new testament church experienced and especially what we have experienced. Those who have come to a saving knowledge of jesus christ. Look at first Corinthians one First Corinthians one says for consider your calling brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world. To shame the week God chose what is weak in the world. To shame the strong God chose what is low and despised in the world. Even things that are not to bring to nothing. Things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. We can identify with those shepherds. Those shepherds should should you should feel like you have a place among the shepherds as we hear this story. And we pick up here in verse 10 and then the Angel said to them. Fear not for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which are advocate candles about today. That will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is christ the Lord and this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger and suddenly there was an angel. They’re suddenly with the angels, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. Peace here in this passage means wholeness or well being for those who have been favored by God. We look at verse 15 when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. They went with haste and found mary and joseph and the baby lying in a manger. So you notice a multitude of heavenly host. Normally in the bible, you’ll see one or two angels because they’re scary beings. They’re frightful and terrifying. Even like the most prominent generals in the biblical history of the nation of Israel are terrified. They’re mortified when they come face to face of an angel. Normally you’ll see one or two. But in this story luke describes that we see the entire legion army host of heaven. It seemed to get emptied out. scholars think to show up to watch God becoming a man. So jesus to go to the lowest of the low and enter the scenes of mankind. This is earth shaking news, this is heaven making news. And all of heavenly angels showed up. The entire heavenly army was emptied to see the feet of jesus becoming a man and the angels tell the shepherds the lowest low that God is saving not only the nation of Israel but the whole world. This is good news for the whole world and the whole world through this messiah’s life, the glory of God is shining all around these shepherds and this little quiet country fields, this desolate countryside and then the angels break out into worship. I bet it was amazing worship. I bet it was just awesome. I don’t know if you let your mind dwell here for a minute, but our christmas songs are good, I’m glad we’re singing them. I hope we sing more of them as we keep going here. I bet this was an amazing worship. Full time of angels singing. This is a big deal. We, as christians should make christmas a big deal in our lives. It’s not just a little another holiday. You know, we can’t have thanksgiving, Halloween christmas just be all the same christmas is a big deal, you should celebrate God, you should play christmas music at home, play some good old school christmas hymns at home, those good ones. amen, come on Shane and Shane has a great christmas hymn thing, there’s some amazing christmas music and I’m not talking like a baby, it’s cold outside or you know those, those, those that, I mean there’s some great christmas songs out there, so you gotta get those and crank those in the car people and you christmas and christmas, people look at this angel situation and you just contemplate, you know, the angels of Heaven show up and they worship God when he gets born, we can worship God when he’s born. This is this is the light as there’s an exclamation park, the exclamation mark on this passage and we should have that in our lives as christians, the rest of our lives celebrating worshiping christmas, worshiping God, visiting this planet during christmas time in our season of life, God the angels showed up to see what that God loves us so much that he sent his son, jesus christ to be born in a barn in Bethlehem, that is, that is like compared to where he came from, to where he is now, that is quite the contrast why? So that we might have a relationship, reconciliation, forgiveness for our sins. We can have a right standing with God and then after the angels leave the scene, we see the shepherds and I get that, I get what they did naturally, they want to see all what the angels and the heavenly commotion was about and they took off, I imagine they took off running uh to find out where this jesus messiah was born. Um They’re jumping low fences. There’s probably dogs barking in the night. They probably sparked start, you know, start a few animals as they’re running. They’re going, they’re running that little primitive end and there’s no couple, no baby in that primitive end. They hear that they left, They go look in the town square, there’s no couple in the town square and then finally here and find mary and joseph in the cave barn hybrid. The shepherds finally find the messiah, the messiah. They find the sympathizer of sinners, a savior of sinners being born in Bethlehem. And you know what? The prior relieved the pride dramatically relieved that juice that they can go and see this messiah because it’s not like a wealthy hospital. It’s not like a prominent political persons house. It’s not a rich man’s house that they’re born into, jesus in a space that they can be, they can go and have access to the messiah. They can go to this bar, nothing fancy about here. They have access to the barn and all are welcome in the bar. All are welcome in the manger shepherds probably wide eyed and panting out of breath, just run a mile or more and this awkward run into this young mom who just gave birth to a baby, maybe he’s probably crying, it’s probably blood and fluids and animal manure and ammonia. And if you would have smelled that barn for especially you city folks, if you would have smelled that bar in the winter, it’ll stick with you. That smell. I bet they awkwardly asked to hold the messiah the baby, I bet they awkwardly asked his teenage mom to hold the baby. I bet the first person to hold jesus and see jesus other than mom and dad, it was probably a shepherd. The lowest of the low. The social outcast, the rift raft, the least of these in the society juice would later call himself the good shepherd. The first person that held him was probably a smelly shepherd. There are no social clout among their peers. And we see here in this passage, the first convert to believe in the messiah and go and evangelize about him is these shepherds. This isn’t a warm and fuzzy sterile hormone hallmark story. This is a story that is anything but sterile. This birth story of the savior. The messiah jesus is filled with humanity in a sovereign God, sending a sympathetic savior. If I were a betting man, I would have predicted the messiah would entered mankind’s history, something like a prominent, wealthy, influential, political, powerful person would have a full grown bearded, full head of hair. God man, walk into the scene, I would have never have envisioned a teenage mom born out of wedlock from an angel visiting her in a barn in Bethlehem. This is the most anticipated event in human history among the nation of Israel and they missed it. Think of buddha buddha’s mom was a queen Mohammed parents were prominent, respectful political leaders and this news parent was a God. The savior of the world. The christian faith is first told to the least and the lowest among the social class. two uneducated, poor, illiterate teenage mom and joseph and shepherds. That’s who the angels went to and that’s the first people to experience and see and do business with God is the least of these. The savior of the christian faith. The savior of mankind is able to sympathize with every single center In the verse 17 read me it says, and then they saw it. This is the shepherds, they made known the saying that have been told them concerning this child and all who heard it, wondered at what the shepherds told them. They begin, they start evangelizing the first converts. The first evangelist of this messiah verse 19. But mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen and it was had been told them. So they were looking at an incredibly anticipated event in the nation of Israel’s history. They spent 2000 some years as a nation looking forward to the coming messiah. This is the most anticipated event in the nation’s history up till then. And what happened? People of God missed God. How does that happen? How do we miss God? As people that are supposedly God’s people looking for God? How does God visit this planet? The messiah come and the nation of Israel miss it? Well the big thing that you need to understand is the bible talks about to add vents. Two comings of christ advent one we’re reading about today, you’re familiar with advent two is the second time. He just comes back. And what happens is Advent two is way different than add than one as that one. It’s meek, mild, least lost the lowest below the poor. He comes in quietly and wrapped in blood and little scraps of cloth and he leaves wrapped in blood and scraps of cloth and he dies and a birth is filled of shame and disrespect what happened to him in contempt for mankind and he dies the same exact way he comes and goes and shakes the world from the ground up. The 2nd Advent, Jesus coming back, he’s going to come and shake the world from the top down. She’s gonna come rip the sky open. Every enemy of God will bow, every tongue will confess that God his Lord, He will rip and rule over this entire planet, burn it down and create a new kingdom. God’s second advent is in the bible and the first advance in the bible and we didn’t know as people which was first, we kind of washed over the first admit because you don’t want to dwell there, baby in a manger teenage parents are glory Craving hearts do not enjoy that story. We crave the second story, Like the passage in Daniel seven talking about he was given Dominion and glory and a kingdom so that those of every people, nation and language should serve him. His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion that will not pass away and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed. The people, the nation Israel confused the first and the second advent, they got the timelines mixed up. But as we conclude this story and what do we walk away? What can we take away from this story, jesus born, where no child should be born, He’s born in a barn, a rebranded version of manger, the god of the universe, is laid to rest in a feeding trough and his first visitors are shepherds. There’s no glory in the story, no dignity in this story. We all have stories, We all have sacred stories, stories that have a printed you and defined you become part of who you are and your testimony. Stories that you carry for the rest of your life. Nothing about jesus birth story says glory power. God flexing on the enemies of God, the strength of God, put on display for all of mankind and said, You see the meek, humble God who came to reach the least in the lost in a discreet corner of the world. But this bird store has implications for the rest of us. This passage. There’s principles in this passage. We should be leaning into the first main principle I’d like you to hold onto this morning as you go out of here is sympathy proceeds savings, sympathy proceeds savings. I was reading in Psalm 76 this last week versus 22 through 26. It says this yet, I’m always with you. You hold my right hand, you guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me up to glory. Who do I have in heaven but you and I desire nothing on earth but you. My flesh and my heart may fail. We got is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. I remember writing this verse down in college. I read this last week. I read it also in college and I wrote it down like that is a heartwarming fuzzy nice story. Later that day, I got a call that my cousin got in a car accident. He was dying and I got to go visit him in the hospital bed and he was brain dead and they’re gonna unplug him. He was going to go and be at the war. I was a young 15, some year old 16 year old young man. I share this verse of him. My flesh and my heart rate fell. We got the strength of my heart, my portion forever in life. your flesh will fail you. Your strength will leave you and he will die and stand before a holy and just got on judgment day. And who do you have on heaven? But jesus, who do you have here on earth that truly got your back? But Jesus, God’s sympathy compelled our savior to leave the heights of heaven and come to the lowest of low the least of these and come and share that hopeful saving message of all of mankind. Your flesh is and will fail you, Your heart will and is failing you. But God is the strength of your heart. Your portion forever. You have a real savior, a sympathetic savior who loves you and cares about you has literal physical skin in the game. He’s lived this life here, so you can live your life there. The real savior of the world was not caesar, where political figure or a high powered leader. The savior of the world is Jesus, the great sympathizer with the struggles of sinners. Although he did not sin, Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life died the death on the cross. None of us would ever wish upon our enemies, was punished for our sins, rose from the dead and lived the perfect life for us when we failed and now he stands glorified at the right hand of God. We have a friend of sinners, a sympathizer of sinners. We have a sympathetic savior. He was. he lived and experienced life here on earth, was familiar with the suffering of mankind. Think of I mentioned this earlier, I think at the beginning of his life and the end of his life they’re bookmarked by shame, by scandal, by humiliation, by man’s contempt as he bled out on a cross and his he was born by this couple in this barn and his amazing humble story of how God doesn’t care about our social structures or our social rankings. He plays by a completely different set of rules of his truth and his power and his righteousness does not care what we think is prominent, influential wealth is a joke to God. You know, being politically powerful or popular as a joke to God. He sympathizes of everyone. We have a sympathetic savior, jesus came and left this world with a few scraps of cloth on and God chose to use this God man simple and profound life to shake man, kind of the core with a christian core message that God came to save us, all of us that are humble enough to receive him. Wise men still seek him. Police and law still find him and those who have desperate dependence on him still find him proud heart, still miss him. Learned minds are still ignorant of him. An independent heart, still scoff at the idea of dependence on him. The story is so true today. Look at look at this quote, my one of my brothers co pastors at his church, Billy johnson share this quote a couple of weeks ago at their church. He says this jesus, the mighty God protects us from our internal enemy, the flesh. He protects us from our external enemy, the world and he protects us from our eternal enemy, satan our flesh. The world in satan juice has done business of all three. He’s defeated all three for you. When the flesh defeats you, jesus defeated the flesh. When the world defeats you, jesus defeated the world and when the eternal enemy would have his steak on your life and defeat you, jesus defeated our eternal enemy, satan minimum. We have a sympathetic savior who can sympathize with our polite here and our plight there and he’s going to usher us from here to there for giving us reconciling us and all the wrongs we’ve done in our life. That is an amazing thing to be married about this year. The next main principle from this passage. To reflect on this passage, humility precedes glory. This is the pattern we see in scripture. God’s upside down Kingdom is defined by humble humility, low meek that proceeds glory, Power and strength. Mark 10 31 says first will be last and the last will be first. James. Joyce’s brother said this and James 46. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble someone found that verse and started quoting to be in college and they didn’t stop. I have a love hate relationship with that verse because I was a very proud man, God and the bible and life come with me in a lot of ways God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble And James 10 4 10. It says this, humble yourselves to the Lord for in due time he will exalt you humility proceeds glory. We see this in jesus life, we see this in our lives, find the savior of the world and an animal’s feeding trough surrounded by manure, shepherds and a teenage parents brought our brings our glory craving hearts to a knee. Our glory craving hearts. I just love glory. We do not love this story. We have trouble to store. We want to move on quickly. We don’t want to dwell here in this reality. That’s how God came to visit us this planet. We want to move quickly on to parties and presents and move our heart off of this. This is good for our heart to dwell here. That humility precedes glory. God knows his humble people. God gets excited when he sees humble people. God gets excited when he sees smell the in you And then I, God works exclusively with humble people. Matthew, Henry pastored a church in like small town, I think it’s England and he got multiple job offers to go to the big city and pastor bigger churches, He turned them all down, he stuck with his little country church. He wrote this about this passage, he says, but when we by faith view the son of God being made man and lying in a manger, our vanity, our ambition, our NVR checked and we cannot with this right, right object object rightly before us see great things for ourselves. It’s kind of like a young athlete showing all this promising young amateur athlete, all his potential, all this promise like an adolescent athletes sitting next to their parents and in walks in, you know, Adidas and under armor and Nike and puma all wanted them to sign over exclusive contract rights to be their brand and wrap them wearing their merch, being on their advertisements. It’s kind of like that. There’s a young christian with so much promise, so much hype about what they’ll do with their walk of God and their public ministry, what they might and will accomplish in their lives and walks in team technology saying if you bow down and sign exclusive rights to team tech, we’ll go viral. You’ll get a lot of likes, A lot of shares right behind them comes in team influence or saying popularity and fame, we control it will make you a popularity, fame, full christian influencer right behind them comes in Team Gifting, which is a rebrand of team pride, look at how gifted they are. It’s such a singer, such a dancer, such a joke teller, such a preacher. Team gifting comes walking into young christians and then it comes in Team network, oh this person’s network to this person and this person they have jobs options here and here and here. Team mankind’s network but team humble comes in gentle and lonely with a contract slid across the table asking for exclusive rights and jesus is the team captain of team mumble, hashtag team humble men and women, humility proceeds glory in the Kingdom of God. It’s true in jesus life and it has to be and it will be true in our life. See the gospels for everyone, the meek, the humble, they obscure the lowly and this this jesus birth is the first shot across the bow of the ship of the enemies of God, the world, the devil in the flesh, Sin and satan all of them will bow neither jesus, there’s a solution to mankind’s ancient problem our sin and you only see the solution when you’re humble the gospel has permeated the entire society and will permit the entire society and it starts at the bottom and works its way up. It starts with humble people, shepherds, people are outcast, thought lolita people, there’s no room for them in the end. My room for them in the cool kid party jesus, there’s room for you in that barn of jesus, we have a great sympathizer and a great savior who was born to us is that if we could worship that and remind ourselves of that. Remember we have so much to be grateful for as the people who are redeemed, ransomed and bought back. Amen merry christmas. Let’s bow our heads and prayers Lincoln comes up and ends at our time here God, I thank you for I thank you for luke’s words to us. I thank you for what he highlights and what he emphasizes and he reminds us of. I asked her that you would just give us wisdom for how to live, help us to be truly humble people. I want to be people that are sympathetic of people purchase, use us in a way to reach our friends and our family. Just give us wisdom for how to live in jesus name. We pray Amen.
well good morning we are in the second week of advance and then did a great job last week setting the stage for what advent is and how we are in between two different events. First advent which is the birth of christ that he came as God to this earth. We celebrate every year at christmas and the second advent which is the coming of christ again. And we look forward to christ’s return. And so part of the event is celebrating the birth of christ and how he came to pay for our sins and all of that. But also to look forward to his second return. And today we are in luke chapter one vs 46 through 56 or grab your bible turn with me to that passage because we’ll be reading through that passage today um it’s a it’s a song, a psalm of praise from mary and it’s called the Magnificat. It’s that’s a latin term. So it describes uh the glory to God, praise to God Magnification of God and that’s what mary does in this psalm um is that she praises God and lifts up and glorifies him. And so we’re going to be seeing different character qualities and attributes of God today as mary proclaims this psalm of greatness. And if you recall what happened was marrying Elizabeth were coming together and as they did Elizabeth makes some proclamations and some prophecy and uh the baby within Elizabeth john the baptist leaps within her womb as a response to hearing mary’s voice and and uh and then she makes these proclamations and mary turns and then uh proclaims this overwhelming joy this welling up and she proclaims the song and it’s a psalm of praise. She proclaims to us all today who God is And it’s similar to the kind of the song of praise that Hannah did. If you’re, if you’ve read the scriptures a lot in first Samuel chapter two, you can read that later today. Hannah makes a song of praise psalm of praise and it’s very similar. Hannah focuses in on how God has triumphed over his enemies. And mary here focuses more on humbly receiving the mercy and blessings of God. Okay, and so we’re going to read this psalm together. My name is Ben Lander Pastor here at so our church and and glad to be going over this psalm together. It really is a uplifting uh glorifying psalm to God. We’re gonna learn about God together. So let us read beginning in uh four verse 46 after I pray here Lord, we just come to you this morning. We ask you to speak to us from your word. We ask you to help us learn about you today. Um and to to trust you in jesus name. Amen. Okay verse 46. And mary said, my soul praises the greatness and glory of God, My spirit rejoices in God, my savior because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant, surely from now on all generations will call me Blessed Because the Mighty one has done great things for me and his name is holy. Yeah, his mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has done mighty deeds with his arm and has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts. He has toppled the mighty from their Thrones and exalted the lowly he has satisfied the hungry with good things and is sent away the rich empty. He has helped his servant, Israel remembering his mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever. Just as he spoke to our ancestors. And so you see this uh this kind of overwhelming joy that that bubbles up and flows over. And as you read that song, you see four different sections. This this psalm of praise is broken up into four different sections and I want to highlight four different aspects for different character qualities of God and who God is, that mary has proclaimed to all of us through this song. Okay. And so the first one I want to look at is we go back to verse 47 and it says oh how my soul praises the Lord, how my spirit rejoices in God my savior. And the first thing that we see there is that God saves God is a God who saves this is the very first thing that mary proclaims as part of this psalm of praise is that he is a savior and not only that but he is my savior. She says that’s the first time that this is personalized in the new testament. As you look at Matthew you see references to how God will save people from their sins and things like that. But here mary personalizes this and she says this is God my savior. And so what she’s proclaiming and recognizing and realizing is that the savior, the messiah that has come into the world is going to be coming, who is inside of her is actually her savior. That God shows her that he selected there and that he is rescuing her and saving her from sin. God also took her out of her current situation, out of her plan for normal life, rescued her out of poverty, gave her incredible mission in life and rescued her from her sin. She didn’t know it yet, but her husband was going to die. She’s going to be widowed, but she was going to be taken care of and provided for. God shows her and he saved her. God saves and the reason that we celebrate advent is because we look back and we go thank you Lord jesus for coming to this earth for being our savior who came down on this earth to save us. You God became man to take care of our sin. And one day we also with advent look forward and and reach for and and look to his coming again when he will make every wrong writes when he will take that sin away from us for good. She says, all generations will call her blessed because of things that God has done for her, not because of the things that she’s done. Not because she earns or deserves any favor. God hasn’t saved her because of the things that she’s done. No, she’s just praising God because he saves and he has saved her. And that’s the way it is with God. We can’t earn his favor. We can’t make him do things for us. He has chosen us and he saved us, not because of who we are, but because of who he is. And she recognizes her humble stance before God that doesn’t over anything she owes got everything. And she’s amazed and astounded at this blessing of God. And so this is this overwhelming rising up joy and proclamation and prays that God is a God who saves and he saved me how deserve it. But he saved me. She recognizes every good thing. His grace and mercy comes from him. And there are acts of his grace and mercy towards his people towards anyone who would fear him. And God offers salvation not only to marry, but he offers salvation to you. And to me as well. The reason God came to this earth was to offer the salvation he lived and he died for the sins of you and me. And because we’re people because we sin because we do wrong things, we earn a penalty for that. And that penalty is death and we deserve to be separated from God forever in hell. That’s the just punishment for our sin. That’s what we deserve. And that’s what we earn. We do evil and we will be separated from God and hell, God is holy, He is holy Holy Holy. And he cannot allow impurity into his holy presence. And so we desperately need or we will be banished forever. We desperately need our sins to be taken care of, to be covered, to be made right and to be made righteous in God’s sight and image, that only comes through a perfect sacrifice. That only comes through what our savior did by coming to this earth, living a perfect life and then dying for us. He saves and we need a savior and to be saved. What you must simply do is to humble yourself before him, to give your life to him and to submit yourself to him. And we’ll talk about this in a little bit, mary has this humble posture. Yes. And so as she recognized and realized that God is a God who saves. What is her natural response is just to praise my soul, praises the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices why in God, my savior, he’s a God who saves. And I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful I am so thankful that God has saved me from my sin. I’m so thankful that he saved a wretch like me and I too am overwhelmed with joy and well up with praise as well, just like mary her that she just wells up and pro praises and proclaims God my savior. And so God is a God who saves. That’s the first aspect, the first character quality of God. Let’s look at the next one Which is found in the next verse, that’s God sees 1st 48 he took notice of his lowly servant girl and from now on all generations will call me breath blessed. He look, he took notice he sees God is a God who sees and not only did he take notice of mary, but he takes notice of us as well. Mary was a poor woman in a small town, in a poor family, in a tiny little country in the Middle East, right. She had a genealogy that went back as long as history was recorded, but they weren’t a family like the buffets in Omaha’s right. They weren’t a family like Elon musk’s kids will be where they didn’t have this wealthiest money, it wasn’t like that. She was getting ready to settle down. She was marrying a carpenter and they were getting ready to settle down to a life of subsistence of just trying to make it each week and just to try to make it through life too eat and to survive and to keep going. And yet God took notice here, she says, he took notice of this lowly servant. He saw her. He found her. He stopped his eye on her and she is astounded by it and she just is overwhelmed and praises God for it. And I think she probably had in mind psalm 1 44 which says, oh Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them? Mere mortals, that you should think of them. There’s this this, this theme in the psalms. It’s just like God, you’re so big and we are so nothing. And yet you stop and you notice us when the angel came to marry the first time and he let her know that he was going, she was going to be pregnant by the Holy spirit and give birth to the messiah. Her response was, I’m the Lord’s servant. And dan talked about this last week. He talked about the importance of that humble posture. That was her first response when unexpected circumstances happened. And that continues to be her response. This is several months later, she’s going to meet Elizabeth and Elizabeth says some incredible prophecies to hurt. And then again, her immediate response is my spirit rejoices because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servants. She’s astounded that the Lord would look upon her. She’s the lowly servant of the Lord. She’s one person in the midst of all of humanity. Right. And yet God took notice of her And we are just one people in the midst of this room here in Lincoln Nebraska in the middle of the country, the United States, in the middle of the world, in the middle of the Milky Way in the middle of the universe. And we are nothing. We are nothing. We can’t even get our minds around and comprehend the vastness of the universe. And yet the God who created all he stops and he sees and he notices and he knows you and he knows me and he saw mary you’re one person in the midst of all humanity. Yet God notices and takes notice of you. Think about this. Think about this. The most significant events in all of human history was coming to pass when God created Adam and Eve and Adam and Eve sinned and brought sin and death into the world. God made a proclamation of promise of a coming savior. And that was thousands years before this. And all of the events that happened culminated toward this coming messiah. This this savor that was coming. God promised it. And it was about to happen. And so the most important, 30 years of human history was about to happen. It’s the crux and culmination of the plan of God that he put in place. And what does he do? What does God do? He looks down on this earth and he finds too Middle Eastern jewish women and he chooses them and he incorporates he sees them and he brings them into his plan. One woman is old and Baron, the other is young and a virgin God takes notice of them. He sees them and he chooses to use them as a part of his plan and he brings glory through his name to them. And both of these women were overwhelmed and astounded because God chose them. And it’s because they fully recognize you know what we’re nothing God is everything. How would God possibly look at me? But they were humble. I I really think that’s why God chose to use them. That’s why God’s likeness because they were humble. God uses the humble, she says here that again that she is his servants. He has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servants. Her posture as a servant is so important here. And that will lead us later to some of the application this message but it’s so important. God chose her as a humble servant into user. And I’ve got an illustration here. Um I like to go walking in the woods. Um you know your prayer walks in the woods, things like that. And so a few years back I was walking in a chunk of woods near Ashland Nebraska. I came across this tree in the forest, it has fallen down and it was rotting and falling to pieces. Uh and as I was just kind of walking pretty, I thought you know that that that kind of looks cool. I think I could do something with that. And as you can see, I mean it’s it was all rotting falling apart, but I grabbed a chunk and I brought it home and then I carved into this chunk of wood a hebrew phrase which when you read it backwards because they left left, right, right to left, you know um it’s a holy to the Lord set apart to the Lord is the phrase. And uh and and so just as I was going through this woods, I found and I selected, I chose this chunk of wood, I I grabbed it and I made something beautiful out of it. God looks through the mass of humanity. He sees you and he chooses you. You may not be much to look at, you may be worn out, discarded, rotting, right? But God chose you. He picked you up. He sees you. There’s a reason you’re here today in this room. There’s a reason God is working in your life. He wants you, he wants to save you. He wants to, he sees you and he wants to use you and he gives meaning to your life by choosing you and rescuing you. He wants to use you for his glory as you are his humble servant. Just like mary said, I’m your humble servant. I’ll do whatever he wants. God chooses to do great things through ordinary people who serve him so choose today to serve christ choose today to follow him, choose today say Lord whatever you want me to do I will do for you wherever you want me to go. I will go whatever you want me to say, I will say whatever you want me to do, I will do. Serving God is the best life, it is the best life. There’s no other question. Everything else is unsatisfactory. When you humble yourself and choose to follow him and to be his servants, he’ll use you and he gives your life meaning and purpose. A life following jesus as a life filled with meaning and purpose and is the best life. Let’s go back to the passage was 49. Mhm The Mighty one is holy and he has done great things for me. His name is holy. His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has done a mighty deed with his arm and has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts. He’s toppled the mighty from their Thrones and exalted the lowly Mhm. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty handed he has helped to serve in Israel and remember to be merciful. The next character quality next aspect of God that we’re looking at here this morning is that God sustains so God saves Mary’s proclaiming God saves he sees and he sustains you see here she’s talking about him bringing down rulers and exalting and lifting up the humble, providing food for those who are hungry, sending away the rich empty handed Merce providing mercy and showing mercy from generation to generation on those who fear him, She’s proclaiming God’s mighty hand and the tremendous things that he’s done for her and for Israel, God doesn’t operate the same way that the world does. The world is all about gaining wealth and power and privilege, there’s oppression, the world put structures in place to make sure that those who you know if you’ve got it good, they want to keep that right, they don’t want to lose out on that and when you have evil and you have sin, it’s just a bad combination. A lot of times the wealthy will put in things in place to try to maintain that and keep their grip on power. Think about dictators around the world right? Think about all of the horrendous things that is done by dictators to just maintain their grip on power, including killing people. A pressing lots of people harming people. Think about the large companies around the country, right? They want more and more and more, more money, more power and they take that cash they buy and they acquire other companies so they can get bigger and bigger and bigger right and a lot of times they will do whatever is needed to get that and they’ll take advantage of people. So there’s all kinds of oppression and yet mary here is proclaiming about who God is God’s more powerful than God is bigger than all of that he rescues and he provides, he sustains those who are humble, he’s the provider and mary praises him and lifts him up because he has lifted her up and he’s lifted Israel up from oppression. The messiah the Savior was looked for from Israel for many, many years and this country, this people were underneath a roman rule which was tyrannical Rome had conquered Israel and they were pressing them and they had looked for God to provide and they were looking for the messiah. Now God was doing that exact thing. Now though God didn’t release them at that time from the roman rule, they thought he was going to, although he didn’t do that, he provided so much more in salvation from sin and death. And one day again, advent, we’re looking for it one day, jesus will come again and he will right every wrong. One day we eagerly look forward to that through advent that he will bring justice perfect justice. And we are a multiethnic, multigenerational church. We have people in this church that experience all kinds of different things, different hardships. We’ve got different racial backgrounds, We’ve got different socioeconomic backgrounds, we have people who come from poverty and people who come from means. We’ve got broken homes, we’ve got people from different countries around the world here in this place, we’ve got all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds in this church who experienced all kinds of different difficulties and some of you or many of you can relate to some of the racial, social and other kinds of oppression that the people of Israel are experiencing and that mary was experiencing under this roman rule And it’s important as she looked to Jehovah jar, as she looked to the sustainer God who sustains God, the one who uplifts. We too should look to Jehovah, Gira our sustainer, our savior, our provider. No government can save us from the evil of people’s hearts. No philosophy can change the wickedness that is bound up in the heart of man. God is the one who is the sustainer, he’s the one who is the provider, he’s our savior, the one who rescues us from sin and who can lift up from oppression. He one day will bring perfect justice to any injustice that you’ve experienced in your life. Those things that drive you crazy, those things that you just, you, it just uh there’s nothing you can do about it and it makes you angry. God will bring justice one day come, Lord jesus, We look forward to the, to the return of the perfect king to the return of the savior. The provider, Jehovah, Jr the one who will sustain his mighty arm has done tremendous things. She says he has scattered the proud in the hottie ones. He’s brought down princes from their Thrones. He’s exalted the humble, He’s filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. Think about think about who’s proclaiming the song? Think about mary here, the one proclaiming this, She’s an impoverished Middle Eastern young woman who lived under a tyrannical european nation. She trusted God, her savior, trusted God who sustains the Lord who provides we should trust him as well. Trust and is sustained you in whatever situation, whatever difficulties you’re going through the place that you need him to provide, the place that you need him to sustain. You trust God for him to sustain you, you will lift you up one day he will right the wrongs experienced one day he is just and he sustains. So God saves God sees God sustains. And the last thing that mary proclaims here is that God stands by his word. God stands by his word. He keeps his promises. Read verse 54, He’s helped us serve in Israel remembering his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Just as he spoke to our ancestors. Read that again, he has helped his servant, Israel remembering His mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever. Just as he spoke to our ancestors, what she’s doing here is she’s bringing up and remembering the promises of God God spoke to abraham and you can read about it in Genesis chapter 12 and he made a promise to Abraham that God would bring the savior through his descendants that God would bless the whole world through the sentence. And God was fulfilling that promise in jesus christ and mary’s proclaiming and praising God because he was fulfilling a promise. He was remembering his mercy. He had told them that he was going to grant mercy and now he remembered that and he was doing it. He remembered his promise to Abraham and he was fulfilling that God is a promise keeper and he always stands by his word. You can count on it. You can depend upon it, you can rest your life, your soul, your strength, your mind, your everything upon God and his promises. You can absolutely trust it. You can stand on it, the rest of your life, your faith, your soul, everything. You can trust God. God made that promise to Abraham that he would send a savior. And he was fulfilling it. And mary proclaims and praises God, you’re fulfilling your promises. You are a promise keeper gone. You can absolutely depend, stand upon that and stand upon God fulfilling his promises. He has all throughout history. He continues to do so. You read the promises in his word right here and you will see them fulfill time and time again and there’s more that he will fulfill. He will continue to fulfill them till the end. So how how do you depend upon God’s promises. Just a quick aside here first thing is you got to you got to know him first. You have to know his promises. So as you’re reading his word, look for those promises. Look for the promises of God right here. One of the things that I do, it’s a simple thing, but I highlight in a different color, the promises of God, it’s that way as I’m going through and I’m reading through, I can those jump out to me. Hey, that’s a promise of God. That’s something you can absolutely depend upon and stand upon. First you got to know them. Secondly, you trust him. Trust those promises by putting action to them. You aren’t simply a hear of the word but you’re a do er right. So yes, you can know them. Ok? Yeah, that’s nice God thanks. No. Put your put your faith behind and put some action behind it. Let me give you just a brief quick example, God promises that he will provide and sustain those who are generous as you are generous as you give to God, he will bless. And so how do you put action behind that? Well, you have to take a step of faith by actually giving to the Lord. Right? So it’s nice to know the promise but you have to you have to stand on it. You have to take action on it by taking a step of faith. And then the third thing is rest in those promises, you can know them, you can act on them but you can still be filled with all kinds of anxiety and worry right and so rest in him. Trust that as he will fulfill those promises he will do it. He’s demonstrated that over and over again throughout time and he will come one day and he will make them all good. He’ll fill all of them and and we will spend forever in eternity. Those who have submitted their lives to him spend for every eternity enjoying and getting to know in seeing how God has filled with promises and and and demonstrate his glory and his greatness and he will continue to do so through the new heavens and the new earth and it’s going to be incredible. So this is a song, my song of praise that has four different sections. God saves God sees God sustains and God stands by his word. And so to conclude this time to bring application, there’s an application for each of these sections, mary was filled with joy. She gave an incredible solemn of joy which praise God for who he was and what he’s done. First application Yeah. God saves make God your savior. Have you humbled yourself before God? Have you made God your savior? It’s not do so today right now humble yourself before him, yield your life fully and say Lord, I desperately need you to save me from my sin for myself. It’s a humble posture well and I’ll save you if you already have given your life to christ humble yourself again and just with gratitude and thanks just like mary here as a part of advent and when we take community just say thank you Lord and let that same joy fill you up and just the gratitude say thank you, thank you for saving me for my sin. Secondly God sees be a humble servant of God. God wants to use those who are humble servants, just as God took notice of his servant mary, he wants to use those who humbly serve him for his glory. It’s about him, not about you, so seek to humbly serve him and everything that you do. Third God sustains trust God as your provider for everything. He will provide for you. He will sustain you to trust him, depend upon him for whatever you’re going through right now. Any difficulty that you’re going through, you can trust him. And lastly God stands on his words, stand on God’s promises, depend upon them. Put your whole life standing on them, he will fulfill them. So no those promises, put your faith in action and rest in him through prayer. Let’s bring Lord jesus just as mary was filled and overwhelmed with who you were and that you look upon her and save her and see her and sustain her in the nation of Israel and fulfill your promises, Lord, we to lift up our voices in our hearts and praise and proclaim you you are God and we worship you. We give ourselves to we humble ourselves before.