Riverside Church: Recent Episodes
Riverside Church
In John 7 a ritual with water was being observed during the last day of a great feast when Jesus spoke up;
John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Jesus issues the invitation; “if you’re thirsty, if your bone dry, if you’re dehydrated, if there is a craving inside of you that needs to be satisfied, come to me and drink.
And when we drink not only would we be satisfied but there would be more than enough flowing out of us to others.
Jesus followers are the people of the living water.
Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you withwater for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you withthe Holy Spirit and fire.
Jesus wasn’t bringing a new tradition.
Jesus wasn’t bringing a new ritual.
Jesus wasn’t going to be just the new teacher with the new thing.
Jesus wasn’t going to start a church that would fight over buildings and carpets and paint on the walls and music.
Jesus wasn’t going to build a new kind of Noah’s ark to keep us all safe from the bad bad world.
No. He was coming to baptize people with the holy spirit and with fire. A Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire; it would be the essential and primary thing that Jesus would do in us. It would be the mark on our lives.
Jesus talked a lot about the Holy Spirit. The great word that describes the Holy Spirit is the word “helper.” John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth…
The Holy Spirit is going to take on the role of doing at least six things in your life.
- He connects you to the regenerating power of the cross and the resurrection.
- He is a revealer. The Holy Spirit teaches you in the ways of God.
- He empowers you to reach a lost world. Acts 1:8
- He gives us gifts to serve his people - his church.
- The Holy Spirit satisfies us.
- In a sense the Holy Spirit is the emotion of God.
Here is a well-traveled belief that blunts this reality of Holy Spirit baptism – that you have been saved mainly so that you can go to heaven. The death and resurrection of Jesus is a ticket to heaven.
If I could put the baptism of the spirit in a sentence, it might be like this; it is the extraordinary power and presence of Jesus filling you for Jesus exalting, living and serving.
Out of you, Jesus follower, shall flow rivers of living water.
With Acts 2:37“Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Believe, and identify with Jesus and you too will be filled with the spirit.
Last week we started the series by talking about the revival at Asbury seminary in Kentucky and other revivals. The one common thread was this; God comes where he is wanted.
The outpouring of the Spirit breaks and smashes and pulverizes in a minute years of blindness and unbelief and sin.
Couldn’t have God picked out a better place than Kentucky for a revival? Shouldn’t this have happened at a strict Baptist college? Or conservative fundamentalist church? Or a mega church?
But it didn’t. It happened at Asbury when after a chapel service people lingered - and prayed - and the spirit fell. God comes where he is wanted.
Today’s big thought; the outpouring of God’s spirit is a roof raising, Jesus lifting, awe-inspiring, Devil defeating, community shaking, and kingdom building movement birthed and carried out by God’s hand.
Acts 19:1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inlandcountry and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized inthe name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
So, the story starts in the humblest of ways; Paul shows up and he finds a few believers, but these believers were followers of John the Baptist. They hadn’t even really heard of Jesus. Paul baptizes them again, but this time he baptizes them in the name of Jesus. These disciples are now identifying as Jesus followers.
Paul now goes to his next strategy which is going into synagogues and telling the Jews about Jesus Christ.
Acts 19:8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Paul goes from rejoicing to resistance.
Acts 19:11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered allof them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
This weird little incident gets the attention of the whole city. It is on the front pages of the paper. Everybody’s talking about the seven naked men who met a demon.
And what results? The name of Jesus is lifted up.
Acts 19:18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
And now, as a result of this outpouring, they are coming to Jesus.
The outpouring of God’s spirit is a roof raising, Jesus lifting, awe-inspiring, Devil defeating, community shaking, and kingdom building movement birthed and carried out by God’s hand.
So, let’s have a prayer; keep it up Lord! Keep it going! Give us more! Fill me! Use me! I lay it all down before you! Shake the city! Stop was
FIRST – First Step - Trust
What is your plan to seek the king first this year?
What is you plan for leading your family?
What is your plan for the first day of the week?
What is your plan to experience God thru your giving this year?
To wrap up the series I want to talk to you about the first step that we must take if we are going to have any kind of experience with God; the step of trust.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
The what of this verse is trust.
The who is the Lord.
The how is with all our heart.
The depth is don’t lean on your understanding.
The path is acknowledge him in your ways.
The reward is that your path will be God inhabited.
Trust is the connection to the involvement of God inhabiting and intervening in the path of your life.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
But the key to God’s supernatural involvement in communicating to you – and intervening for you – and interceding for you – and inter-acting is this key commodity called trust.
What is trust exactly?
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
This verse defines the kind of trust that God is looking for in three different ways.
First, it is an “all your heart” thing.
2 illustrations of “all your heart” trust…
Second definition is – trust… And don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Leaning and depending on our own understanding is one of the greatest competitors when it comes to trusting in the Lord with all our heart.
Trust is acknowledging God in all my ways. Not some of my ways.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
There is only one part of this verse that is not connected yet. It is the object of our trust; the LORD.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped inblood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rulethem with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
You can trust him.
We need joy but we seek after happiness. The world is selling happiness.
Happiness is an emotion in response to the current outcome.
Jesus offers something better than happiness. Jesus offers joy. Joy is spoken of many times in the New Testament and the common link in everything about joy is Jesus.
It starts at the birth announcement of Jesus; Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
John 16: 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
I love how we just says that their sorrow, their disappointment, and their grief will be upended and turn into joy. At the resurrection of Jesus there will be joy, the kind of joy no one will be able to take away. Permanent joy. Abiding joy.
Again, Jesus and joy are connected
John 17:13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
Whose joy is it? It belongs to Jesus. And where is he going to put it? In us.
And so, if happiness is simply an emotional response to my current situation, what is joy?
Joy is a good feeling in the soul. It is a permeating gratitude and hopefulness that is rooted in the unchanging person of Jesus.
We might just say that joy is a good feeling in the soul because we know that Jesus is up to something.
Now, all joy is rooted in Jesus because he is the unchanging outcome in everything. The Bible in 1 Peter 2:6 calls Jesus “the cornerstone.”
1 Peter 2:6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
The imagery of a cornerstone means that Jesus will never move
he will always stand
he will never falter
he will never crack up
he will hold everything up
he will never shift or move
he is solid and sure and unwavering and secure.
Joy is a good feeling in the soul. It is a permeating gratitude and hopefulness that is rooted in the unchanging person of Jesus.
JOY STEALERS…
Psalm 137:1 Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. 2 We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.3 For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”4 But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?
Have hung your harp (and joy) on the branch of a tree?
- Maybe it is the grief tree.
- Maybe it is the gripe tree.
- Maybe it is the grudge tree.
- Maybe it is the wishing tree.
- Maybe it is the worry tree.
- Maybe it is the fear tree.
- Or the regret tree.
Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
What is the root of such joy in this Psalm?
3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
It is that he is God and that he is good. That is the unchanging outcome. That is the cornerstone. He is God and he is good.
Six rules of joy…
- I will walk with Jesus and every day.
- I will be grateful and live every day to the fullest.
- I will bless my family with words, pictures and videos.
- I will invest in my team for their good and God’s glory – not mine.
- I will not give up and run out the clock.
- I will let people on love me.
In our world the powerful are insulated from the peons like us. But how does the all-powerful, all wise, all knowing, creator God relate to us sinners?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 3:1 (ASV) Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are.
God responds by saying, “I’m coming down there.”
So inherent is love in the nature of God that he can do nothing without love. Every word of his is from love.
Every rule is from love.
Every promise is from love.
Every command is from love.
Every action is from love.
Every judgment is from love.
Every expression is from love.
Every move he makes is from love.
Every interaction - even his discipline - is fully drenched in love.
First, let’s explore the magnitude of his love.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
What does it mean to say “God so loved the world?”
It means this; God has a strong desire to show his goodness toward every single individual sinner on this planet - it breaks his heart to see how sin has ruled us and ruined us and broken us –
and so out of love and goodness God is compelled to act, to do something…
He breaks through into this planet by sending Jesus, his only son, at great cost, in order to make a way - to show the way - to be the way- to open a door for us to have the best gift, eternal life –
Eternal life is a life that is lived experiencing the fullness of God now and forever. Eternal life is experiencing heaven now and forever. It is knowing why you are alive.
What is unfathomable is that we look at the love of God and we reject it and we doubt the integrity of it and maybe we just conclude that this is another way God is trying to control us.
Second, think about the manner of God’s love.
1 John 3:1 (ASV) Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are.
The manner of his love. This is an interesting Greek word that can be translated “from what country, race or tribe?”
It means that the manner of God’s love is completely foreign to the human race. It is not found in humanity. The manner of God’s love doesn’t exist on this planet. It is otherworldly and unearthly.
God loves because he is compelled from his nature to love.
This is the way Paul wrote about the four dimensions of the love of Christ…
Ephesians 3:17…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
This is radical, head turning, eye popping, heartwarming, hand reaching, jaw dropping, go the distance, never give up, barrier breaking, always ready to help – love.
John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
We are finishing a seven-week series where we are focused on seven letters that were written to seven churches and are all recorded in the book of Revelation. These letters originated from Jesus but they were written by the hand of the apostle John. It is safe to say that each church that received one of these letters was completely shocked in good ways and in bad ways by what they read.
The church in the city of Laodicea received the last letter.
Laodicea was known for its great wealth.
Laodicea was famous for its wool.
Laodicea was renowned for medical wonders.
Laodicea was known for its poor water.
Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
Revelation 3:15 I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
These words of Jesus are violent. Generally we want our hot drinks to be hot and our cold drinks to be called. But there is no place in the world for a lukewarm Pepsi.
When he says that he will “spit them” out of his mouth that is a nice way of saying vomit.
There was nothing hot and passionate about this church.
There was nothing cold and refreshing about this church.
Are you lukewarm? Check out the statements from Francis Chan…
Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when the pressure is on.
Lukewarm people give money to charity and the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living.
Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.
Lukewarm people say they love Jesus and is a part of their lives. But only a part.
Lukewarm people love others, but not as much as they love themselves.
And where did this lukewarmness come from? The next verse tells us…
Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
We could probably shorten that verse and just say it like this, “I’m rich so why do I need Jesus?” I just need Jesus to get me into heaven.
Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Jeremiah 9:23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Finally he concludes the letter with an invitation that you’ve heard before;
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
The Old Testament story of Hagar is pertinent to our Scriptures today.
Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
El Roi (Hebrew name given to God) – The God who sees.
Now, almost 2000 years later, in about 90 A.D., a mailman shows up with a letter to the church in Philadelphia. A personal letter from the apostle John.
Revelation 3:7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
- The God who sees.
- The God who loves faithfulness.
- The God who is God.
The God who sees
Revelation 3:8 I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
The word to describe this church might be “frustration.” Frustrated because they were doing the right things but thought more would be happening.
Maybe this church thought they were insignificant but there is somebody who noticed them…
Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.
It seems that Satan had raised up a group - we see this in one of the other letters - a group of fake Jewish people to undermine them and discourage them. This church was certainly on Satan’s radar screen.
But this church was not insignificant.
You are not insignificant.
Jesus sees this church. And Jesus sees you.
- The God who loves faithfulness.
Revelation 3:8 I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it…
Jesus commends them for faithfulness.
That they kept his word; that they guarded the message of Jesus.
That they never denied the name of Jesus.
Revelation 3:8 I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it…
The pillars in God’s temple are the faithful.
One of the greatest godlike characters in followers of Jesus is faithfulness. Faithful people are living at the highest levels.
Faithful people always give their responsibilities their best.
Faithful people never show up unprepared.
Faithful people don’t quit.
Faithful people use their talents to serve others.
Faithful people show up even when they don’t want to.
Faithful people never abuse God’s people.
Faithful people are more committed to the mission of God that do how they feel at the moment.
Here is the most important maxim in the Bible about faithfulness.
Luke 16:10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Here is the thought of the day: “Transformation is both the miracle of God and the stewardship of man.” That means that God will do what we cannot do but He commands us to do what He will not do for us.
There are some things God will not do today…
- The God who is God.
Revelation 3:7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.
Jesus proclaims that he has the key. This key that he owns opens doors that cannot be shut. This key will lock doors that cannot be opened.
Part of the culture of Sardis was overconfidence and smugness. This plays into the letter sent to this church.
Revelation 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Club Sardis!
All the other churches wanted to be like Sardis. But Jesus looks down and he’s not impressed with the reputation that they have out in the world. He just flat out tells them, “you are dead. You’re lifeless. You have no fruit, I haven’t been there for months and you haven’t missed me.”
What is it that makes a church alive? I think that I can answer that very simply in one Bible verse. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Here is a verse from Isaiah that Jesus quoted more than once;
Mark 7:6 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
Remember.
We see the lost but were not moved.
We see the deformity of our culture - but were not moved.
We see people suffering – but were not moved.
I will admit that it bothers me that Tucker Carlson or Greg Gutfeld can move people faster than the Holy Spirit can.
Jesus is yelling, “wake up.”
God one time told Belshazzar of the Old Testament;
Daniel 5:23 says “But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!”
Then Daniel told him, “you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.”
The letter ends with a word of encouragement to those who have resisted the culture, who have not gone asleep…
Revelation 3:4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
I am what you say I am and I am your beloved.”
Romans 5:5 …God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 3:1 (NIV) See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
There is no more brutal warfare from Satan against your life then him trying to separate you from this love from God.
I am who you say I am and he says that I am beloved.
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…
1 John 3:1 (NIV) See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
What is your relational state with Jesus today?
He pours out love.
He lavishes love.
He loves without limitation or reservation.
He not only protects...
He not only provides...
But he has great affection for you and he longs for the kind of emotional connection with you that you would cry out to him, “daddy, Papa, father.”
There is nothing God will not do for his children.
I am who you say I am.
And you say that I'm loved and so I am loved.
And you say that I am yours and so I am yours.
You say that I’m adopted and so I am adopted.
You say that I am a full member of the family…
You say that I belong and so I belong.
We are in a series of messages looking at the seven letters in revelation 2–3. Seven letters written to seven different churches sent through the apostle John from Jesus himself.
The church at Ephesus had lost his first love even though they were doing great things.
The church at Smyrna was undergoing great suffering and so Jesus encourages them.
The church at Pergamum was living in hell‘s headquarters but they have begun to compromise.
Revelation 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
His eyes penetrate everything.
Jesus sees it all.
He sees the good – the bad – he sees a secret places of our life –
He even knows about the thoughts and the intentions of our heart –
19 “I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Thyatira was known to be a place that produced textiles and armor. It was also place that was highly unionized. To live in Thyatira and prosper one almost had to be a part of one of these unions.
Now Jesus begins to compliment his church in VS 19. He says, “I know all the things you do.” This was no slacker church. They were on top of things.
- He first mentions love.
- Love led to faith.
Faith is believing it is so – when it’s not so – because God said so – and so it will be so.
- Faith led to service.
- Love, faith and serving resulted in patient endurance.
The opposite of these four things would be…
- I don’t care
- I don’t have time
- why should I bother
- and let somebody else do it.
Jesus recognizes that this church really had it going. Their faith was alive.
But unfortunately, something else was going on in this church that Jesus needed to address. Here’s what Jesus says to this church…
Revelation 2:20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Jezebel!
- She calls herself a prophet and claims to have a spiritual aura and deep teachings about God and new revelations.
- She is teaching wrong things.
- Her so-called prophecies are no better than the fortune cookies from panda express.
- In fact, her prophecies are words of deception that contradict the clear word of God.
- She is leading my people to commit sexual sin.
Jesus says that she is undermining the authority of his teachers and his leaders. She usurps the authority of God’s spiritual leaders.
False teachers and false prophets…
- they will ruin Jesus for you
- they will ruin your experience of grace
- they will ruin the Bible for you
- and they will ruin your fellowship with others
- they will ruin the church
- They will ruin you
Jude 3 I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
You can’t just believe anything and be a Christian at the same time.
Tolerance is not a virtue in this church. Jesus is calling for intolerance toward whatever threatens his church.
Revelation 22:1 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rulethem with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
- I’m coming after Jezebel and those who are sleeping with her and unless they make a change in repent it’s going to turn out bad for them.
- Hold fast until I come.
We are in a series of talks called “7 letters.” These letters are found in revelation 2-3. They are letters written by the apostle John but they come from Jesus himself. When these letters were delivered to 7 churches and contained information to encourage them but it also contained instructions on things that needed to get better.
Today we read the 3rd letter to a church about 55 miles from Smyrna called Pergamos.
Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
The sword = God’s word; This is weapon for defense, protection or destruction.
Eph. 6:17…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…
Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faitheven in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
This church is living in Hells headquarters.
Satan decided that since he couldn’t beat them, he would join them.
Revelation 2:14 (NLT) “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
This is the sin of compromise.
2 Cor. 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Have you ever taken seriously that you/we are the temple of God and that the temple of God needs to be kept sacred and holy?
This church in Pergamom had let down its guard. It wasn't much of a temple anymore.
And Jesus tells this church Revelation 2:16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Compromise, tolerating lies masqueraded as the truth, being complacent and not correcting error - he calls it a sin.
It's difficult to call out, it's not popular, it offends people, but it's necessary.
1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
You see, this is precisely what the enemy is after - Your identity - your calling.
- To steal your chosenness.
- To take away your royalty.
- To destroy your priesthood.
- To nullify the message.
- To shut off the light.
Jesus finishes his message to this church like this;
Revelation 2:17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.
The pastor of this congregation was most likely a discouraged man and was fighting for the life of his church and his people as he unwrapped this letter and read it. This church was suffering. Here is what he read;
Revelation 2:8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions…
These words are the cornerstone of everything else mentioned in this letter - everything is going to stand on this one thing; Jesus is the first and the last meaning that he stands alone in his uniqueness and that he is God without beginning and without end. He transcends time – problems – people – governments - history - he is the everlasting God who will prevail.
Revelation 2:8 These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
What in the world was going on in Smyrna? It was a great city but something very bad was happening to those who followed Jesus in the city of Smyrna.
There was an organized group of haters who were deliberately trying to punish those who believed in Jesus.
Why did their faith in Jesus irritate those people so much?
The world has lots of reasons to be irritated with Christians but the Bible says that people love darkness and reject the light. John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
And so how do we respond to persecution?
Do Good - Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. …16 let your light shine before others, so thatthey may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Love and Pray for Enemies - Matthew 5:44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Overcome Evil with Good - Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itto the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Do more Good - 1 Peter 4:19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Trust God - 1 Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Really? That’s it? Fighting Hate with love? Bad with good? Suffering with patience? Giving up our rights and waiting for God to act? YES!
God develops rich Christians in the school of suffering.
Revelation 2:9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!
Suffering is real and unpleasant and yet we gain something through it.
Knowing Jesus is what it means to be rich!
What will be your last testimony?
Revelation 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
NOTE: The last few minutes of the message did not record properly and are not included in the podcast.
Do any of you remember the joy of actually getting real mail?
Paul in Ephesus Acts 19.
It is now 95 A.D. – 43 years after the beginning of this mighty church and John sends the church a letter and has these words to say;
Revelation 2:1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
And here is the message…
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting……6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
You just might say this church was dynamic, dedicated, determined, disciplined and discerning.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!
Once they asked Jesus, “what is the greatest commandment - boil it down to one thing.” Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
What Jesus boiled everything down to was; love. He didn’t say the greatest command was to obey, or study but what God desired from you was love.
The remedy…
Revelation 2:5 (ESV) Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
John calls this church to do three things;
- Remember
- Repent
- Return
Trash Talk: Sometimes we just need to stand up and talk to our enemies, our problems and our situations in the name of Jesus.
This morning we're going to travel about 580 years before the birth of Christ. I think that you're going to see that what was going on then is not so different then what is going on today.
Daniel 3:4 “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Can you feel this happening today?
This is the pressure that we face; Bow to the image. Don't make waves. Bow to what we want you to bow to and don't ask questions. There is only one problem; people who have encountered Jesus Christ cannot bow. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow. They won't do it. They can't do it. They will not worship anything else besides the one true God.
Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
These 3 men state…
- We have a God who can deliver.
- We have a God who will deliver.
- But even if we die today, you need to know that we will never serve your gods, we will never bow down to your image.
1 Peter 1:3 …he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Daniel 3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
And here we are 2700 years later still talking about these three men. Still talking about how God showed up. I wonder if we will leave a testimony like this?
The trash talking we're going to learn to do today is called praise. In the middle of our worst day, at the time of the worst defeat, at a time when we least feel like it, we are going to praise God.
We are going to sing.
We are going to defy our feelings.
I raise a Hallelujah.
I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me
I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar Up from the ashes, hope will arise Death is defeated, the King is alive!
Daniel 3:17 “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Your hands will raise to whatever you praise
you're on your feet for what makes your heart beat
you will lift your voice for what makes you rejoice
so stop being so poised and make some noise!
Take a chance and learn how to dance!
Psalm 57 let’s learn how David lifted a Hallelujah.
Psalm 57 Be to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts—the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
Even though David acknowledges the enemy's presence, he is not going to exalt the enemy through complaining or grumbling or worry or magnifying his problems while minimizing and blaming God – instead he trash talks in verse 2
Psalm 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
In VS. 2 mark the 4 ways David expects God to move.
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
We trash talk hell because our God is above the heavens.
Praise is lifting our eyes from ourselves to God.
Praise is me exalting him which humbles me underneath him.
Praise is declaring his worth, not mine.
Praise is getting lost in his glory, not thinking about my glory.
Praise is declaring that he is in control, and then being able to let go of my control.
Praise is affirming him, not affirming me.
Praise is boasting about God's greatness, not thinking about mine.
Praise is declaring the above and beyond, not just thinking about The here and now.
Praise is putting God on display, not my problems.
Praise is our declaration that we trust God.
Praise is declaring the undeniable, unbendable, unchangeable, unyielding, unwavering truth about who God is.
Who's in charge of your praise this morning?
Isaiah 54:17 …no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindicationfrom me, declares the Lord.”
Weapon. A weapon is some kind of an instrument that is used to hurt you. The arsenal of our enemy is varied and well stocked.
But also notice that he is “fashioning or forming weapons against us.”
But notice the verse - “no weapon…” “will prosper.” This verse tells us that there is someone who limits the effectiveness of any and every weapon that is formed against you.
This thought sets us up for some trash talk that Jesus practiced. We are going to be in two different passages and two events that occur at the end of the life of Jesus. Jesus has been arrested and now it seems that all the odds are against him.
Matthew 26:63 And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
Jesus just testified that no matter what they did it wasn't going to stop who he was.
John 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jewsanswered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Pilate in all his pompousness, with all of his authority, with the state on his side, with the armies of the state ready to do whatever he asks, it looks like a mismatch as this man in his fine robes and official adornment stands next to this cruelly beaten Jesus and Pilate says
John 19:10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?”
And now this beaten savior trash talks...
11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer selfis wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Trash Talk – A House of Prayer. Flipping Tables.
“Don't make yourself comfortable at a table Jesus would have flipped over.”
Mark 11:15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple…
Mark 11:15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
What did Jesus find when he went to the temple, when Jesus went to church?
And when God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, the sinless man, the one who was full of glory and grace and truth walked onto the grounds of that temple he not only cringed, not only was his heart broken, not only did holy anger rise up within him, but he took action against those who violated the temple.
Mark 11:15 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
When he called the temple a house for all nations that meant there was a standing invitation for all nations - all ethnic groups - all races - all languages - all generations - To come and encounter the living God.
Some of you may be sitting at a table right now that Jesus would be flipping. The table of;
- Consumerism – My Needs.
- Wokeology – My Truth.
- Politics – My Rights.
- Nostalgia – My Past
- Defeat – We Have Lost
John 16: In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In this series we’ve gone back to the beginning, to creation. We’ve also gone back to Jesus and looked at what he had to say. Jesus was the counterculture, he was a dissenter to the marriage and sexual practices of his day. For all who are interested in God’s original design – he draws us back to male and female, marriage, and a one flesh union that is emotional, physical, biological, spiritual.
King David.
Psalm 32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Let’s take this apart…
Psalm 32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Twice David uses the word blessed. “blessed is the forgiven, blessed is the one whose sin is forgotten.” Blessed is a state of freedom.
Here are a few diagnostic questions that may help you Realize if there’s something that needs your attention.
- Do you have an underlying sense of frustration with other people?
- Have you been avoiding certain people in your life?
- Do you have a tendency to be critical of others sins?
Look at the trilogy of words that David uses when he wants to return to the blessed state…
Psalm 32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
He talks about transgressions which can be forgiven.
He talks about sin that can be covered.
He talks about iniquity which no longer will count against us.
Now is the time to receive this offer.
In our first week the main challenge was simply this; do you believe that in the beginning God created... created everything. That he is the creator of relationship and he is the creator of sex? That he designed it for a purpose and that when we violate his purpose, it is hurtful, it is sinful.
As we talk about sexual discipleship it all starts, not with behavior, but what we believe. Do we believe that in the beginning God created all of this. Do we believe that he is the Designer? And if he is, then what is the design? What is the plan?
Does God have something to say about sex?
Matthew 19:3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
How Jesus sexually disciples us is to understand that sex creates one flesh union. The Hebrew word is Ahad. Ahad Is the divinely designed and divinely blessed way that fuses two people together emotionally, psychologically, physiologically, biologically, and physically.
Tim Keller says it this way, “sex is a way of saying ‘I'm giving myself to someone fully, exclusively, and permanently’ because sex is meant to involve the whole of who we are and our entire person is being given to this other person and I'm not giving myself to any other person in this same way. I'm creating a bond with you that can't be undone without considerable pain.”
When we violate Ahad, it sticks with us and it also sticks with other people. And the Bible is incredibly consistent, and Jesus just reiterates what is absolutely clear in the Bible - that Ahad has been designed for a man and a woman within a marriage. Any other kind of sexual activity outside of a marriage is forbidden.
- Prostitution
- Homosexuality
- Adultery
- shacking up
- same sex activities
Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Matthew 19:6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
The purpose and design of AHAD is the fuse people together.
But this isn't all that Jesus calls attention to. In the sermon on the mount Jesus says something that is equally devastating and dignifying.
Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Lust is doing in my head what I want to do in my body.
Lust is craving something that God has forbidden.
Lust is using others for my own gratification.
When we love we expend ourselves for somebody else’s betterment, lust is when I expect you to expand yourself for my betterment or pleasure.
What Jesus just did was level the playing field because we have all done this.
Pornography fuels lust and porn is inherently violent and inherently unloving.
- It is a perversion of sexuality, not a true form of it, and one that teaches violence and degradation at the expense of mutual pleasure and intimacy.
- It is about conquests, about conquering.
- It is the very opposite of God’s intention for sex.
- It tears love from sex, leaving sex as the immediate gratification of one’s most base desires.
- It lives beyond rules and ethics and morality.
- It exists far beyond love.
- And yet countless young men, Christian young men, are coming into marriage bringing with them all of this pornographic baggage. Having seen thousands of sex acts in a pornographic setting, they load the porn star expectation upon their wives.
But what Jesus says here is also very dignifying. Jesus lifts up the sexual dignity of people. Jesus is saying that people matter so much to him that they must not be violated even in the privacy of your own mind. He cares about how you think of other people. And he cares about how people think about you.
Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
This, no doubt, is very challenging. Of
- Confess what is inside of us.
- Cut off what is outside of us.
Jesus is up front with the terms and the conditions.
Matthew 16:25Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his lifewill lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Here is our foundational understanding that we're going to start with; that God created sex and he created it to be a good gift.
We should never be ashamed to discuss what God was not ashamed to create.
We want to talk about the truth of Jesus and we want to do it in the spirit of Jesus.
But that's what makes this whole conversation difficult, the truth of what Jesus says. Because when Jesus speaks he speaks as the authority, his words don't give us options, he calls us to a certain way. People walked away from Jesus all the time because they didn't want to hear what he had to say. And today is no different. Some people are not in a place that they will receive what Jesus says. Some people will walk away from this church. But I've also been around long enough to know that many of them will come back around.
And, if you are tempted today to walk away because of something that is said or a stand that is taken, maybe you should consider that when something feels hurtful it's an indication that healing needs to take place.
And ultimately that is what our desire is, freedom and healing for every part of our lives, especially this part of our life. Many people carry around much guilt and shame and brokenness but Jesus has come to make you whole and to save you and to give you freedom.
So let's start this first week by understanding that we are all being sexually discipled.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We are discipled to think of sex in two ways.
- It's no big deal.
- This is the biggest deal.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Sexuality has a divine design.
Do you believe in the beginning that God created the heavens and the earth?
In the beginning God created humankind and he says two things about humans that are incredibly sensitive truths today
First, he says that you are made in the image of God and that every person has value as an image bearer of God.
Secondly, he made us male and female.
Genesis 2:23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
1 Corinthians 6:16 Or do you not know that he who is joinedto a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Sexual immorality is anyway that you abuse sex outside of the way that God designed.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Scripture says that sex was created for a one flesh union.
Today we are going to look at the termite that begins with a heart that grows cold and shuts everyone else out and can eventually be a heart that harms other people.
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
This is the first recorded killing in the Bible.
This is the first recorded description of what happens when hatred enters into the heart.
The way of Cain is marked by…
- Anger
- bitterness
- being judgmental
- slandering
- having contempt for people
- despising people
- being hateful
- being divisive
- finding a way to hurt others
- thinking about the demise of another person and how they deserve it.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
It’s easy to be a Cain these days.
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
The other termite that John deals with is what he calls the closing of the heart.
It’s time for a reset.
When our father in heaven looked upon this earth and saw the evil what did he do?
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:16 God is love…
God’s response is the response that radiates from the core of who he is; love. These verses are the very definition of love.
Love turns judgment grace.
And then John relates it to us.
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannotlove God whom he has not seen.
1 John 4:21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
I want to present to you a picture, a picture of you, a picture of you that maybe you’ve never thought of before. You are a heart, soul, mind, and strength complex that is designed for love.
God has left you in the middle of this messy world to practice on a microscale what God has practiced on a macroscale; love.
1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The antichrist is a false spiritual leader who secretly or overtly is anti-Jesus.
How are they anti-Jesus?
- The antichrist spirit wants to diminish Jesus, or change Jesus, or make Jesus simply a good teacher.
- The antichrist will attack Jesus.
- The antichrist will say that Jesus isn’t enough.
The antichrist is after things in your life.
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Notice in this Scripture that it is important for the antichrist to pull you away from the church and from the family of Jesus. You
1 John 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
The word “anointed” plays a big part in John’s letter. Here John is telling us that the anointing is actually the infilling of the Holy Spirit. So the antichrist needs to draw us away from the baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit in our life because the Holy Spirit can always identify false teaching and false prophets.
John even identifies what the message of the antichrist is.
1 John 4:5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
- The desires of the flesh - seeking after pleasure and fulfilling our every desire and our every whim.
- The desire of the eyes – seeking after possessions and material things to fill our hearts.
- The pride of life – proudly strutting around thinking that we are something in thinking that we are great.
2 Timothy 2:4 For the time is coming when people will not endure soundteaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
“We want to hear, what we want to hear!”
1 John 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
And that leads to the last thing that the antichrist is after…
1 John 2:24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
Three times he uses the word abide. Let the message of Jesus abide in you. That will lead you to having a personal relationship with Jesus. And that will lead you to this great gift of eternal life which is heaven inside of you right now.
The intentions of the antichrist is to steal your genuine faith and replace it with a counterfeit.
1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God.
1 John 5:10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Termites. Those sneaky bugs who we usually can’t detect until some really bad damage has been done. We are talking about termites in the church walls, pesky critters eating away at our faith in Jesus.
We started the series last week by looking at the termite of relaxing God’s word.
Matthew 5:19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Today I want to take a look at the problem of idols. Things that want to take the place of God and want to be treated like God. Things that we begin to love more than we love God.
Judges 6:12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Gideon is complaining. He Is complaining because he heard the stories about God’s great power but now it just looks like God had forsaken them.
He’s taking no responsibility for the condition they are in.
Gideon forgets this principle: Your direction determines your destination.
Judges 6:14 And the Lordturned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
Here is the part of the story we overlook. It is the termite of having idols.
Judges 6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.
Let’s talk about idols.
Idols always promise what they cannot deliver.
An idol is any good thing that we elevate to a God thing.
An idol is anything in our lives that rivals or replaces the one true God.
An idol is anything other than God that becomes the object of my affection, the thing that I serve.
Idol worship is the biggest challenge that goes on in our heart every day.
Four common idols that enslave us –
- The idol of approval. It’s manifested with self-pity, hurt feelings, feelings of inadequacy and envy.
- The idol of comfort. It’s manifested because you can’t say no to pleasure or sex food or porn.
- The idol of power. It’s manifested by domineering, harsh and even abusive behavior.
- The idol of control. This is seen by our constant worry, losing our temper, manipulating others.
1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Do you have an idol that needs pulling down?
PULL IT DOWN! Put Jesus in that place!
Have you ever had to deal with termites? They do more than $5 billion a year damage to homes. They can also be in the church!
At least a couple of times in the sermon on the Mount Jesus addresses a potential termite; that God has spoken and how we handle his words will greatly determine our destiny.
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Jesus is stating something here that is absolutely foundational for every Jesus follower; GOD HAS SPOKEN!
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
The word of God is living.
The word of God is active.
Christianity is a supernatural religion based on the resurrected Jesus and informed by the Bible.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
So, Matthew 5:17 – 18 Jesus stands up for and establishes the authority of the word of God.
What Jesus says next in Matthew 5 is where the termites come in.
Matthew 5:19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
If God has spoken
and if God has spoken carefully
and precisely
and authoritatively…
Then what right do we have to ever relax what he says – or lessen the impact of what he says – or diminish what he says – or change what he says – or just simply untie ourselves from what he says.
But there’s also a great promise… but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Let’s understand this…
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The word of God is life-giving.
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The word of God is life building.
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The word of God is life living.
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The word of God is life-changing.
Matthew 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
One of the big ideas during this series of sermons has been this that before you ever got here somebody was here preparing for you. And now it’s your turn – since you’re here – to prepare for the next person that is coming.
We need seed sowers – those who give generously through the church.
And waster walkers - These are the people who step outside of their comfort zone and the safety net and allow God to use them to lead others to know Jesus.
We need humble heroes. Humble hero is the person who just shows up and says, “use me how I need to be used.” God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.
Today we need prayer warriors.
Though we can all pray, all churches need those individuals who have a God ordained ability to pray and to call upon the Lord to do mighty things, to break the strongholds of the enemy, to open the storehouses of heaven, to defeat the strategies of the devil, and to plead for the constant activity of divine power to be upon God’s people in God’s church.
Acts 4:1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
This is intimidation.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them… “10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
11 This Jesusis the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God
and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Are you asking God for something big?
Ask for a God sized
God directed
God thought
God made
God managed
God empowered
God orchestrated
move of God to happen. Where are you asking for God to show up in his glory - in his unique way, in his majesty, and something that is unmistakably God?
God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. And every one of us who follow Jesus are called to be about our father’s business.
It was Jesus who once said; Matthew 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
4 things from the life of a humble hero; Barnabas
- Barnabas gave of himself financially to the story God was writing.
Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
- Barnabas gave of himself personally to the story God was writing.
Acts 9:26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.
28 So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
- Barnabas gave of himself by serving in the story God was writing.
Acts 11:19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentilesabout the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.
- Barnabas gave of himself by developing others in the story that God was writing.
Acts 11:25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believerswere first called Christians.)
Here life principle that you will never escape;
Jesus came and you got blessed.
Jesus died and you got blessed.
Jesus sacrificed and you got blessed.
Jesus suffered and you got blessed.
The real, real is this; now it’s our turn to sacrifice so someone else may be blessed.
Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
My challenge to you today is to be a water walker.
Matthew 14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long wayfrom the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the nighthe came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
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Water walkers, like Peter, are moved by seeing the greatness of Jesus.
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Water walkers, like Peter, are inspired to do things that seem daring, unusual uncomfortable and maybe even makes no sense.
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Water walkers, like Peter, take steps that totally depend upon Jesus being Jesus.
When I look at Riverside Church there are four big areas that we want to be really good in.
- Big church – that everything that happens on the weekends.
- Kids church – that is everything that we do for those who are not yet adults.
- Little church – that is the area of connecting people into life groups.
- Outside church – that is outreach into the community.
Every one of these areas depends upon people to serve.
- Water walkers, like Peter, need saving from time to time.
Peter messed up the miracle!
- Water walkers, like Peter, don’t get the glory – Jesus does.
At the end of this whole scenario nobody was saying, “Peter, you are amazing” but they were saying, “Jesus, you are amazing.”
And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Actions today…
Fund Kids Fest
WTR Crash Course
Fill out a pew card
Today I want to invite you to be a seed planter.
Matthew 13:31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
You might want to ask a question right now; why is Jesus comparing the greatest movement on the face of the earth – the kingdom of heaven – to a mustard seed?
It’s because a seed looks inconsequential.
A seed doesn’t even look alive.
A seed is so small.
It doesn’t look like something great is going come from a seed.
But I don’t want you to miss the larger point; that the biggest and most influential movement that the earth has ever seen, the church of Jesus, started out as the most inconsequential little group.
2 Corinthians 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifullywill also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiencyin all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
You can’t out give God!
The Name – El Roi – The Lord my shepherd
EL-Roi – the Lord is my shepherd.
This is one of the most tenderest verses of Scripture written in the Bible.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surelygoodness and mercyshall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwellin the house of the Lord forever.
Yahweh is my El Roi – my shepherd; I shall not want. I have someone watching over me. I have someone who cares for me. I have someone in every season of life. And that someone is not just anyone but it is the great “I am.” He… Is my shepherd.
Jesus, who is Yahweh in the flesh, announces to the world in John 10 that he had come to fulfill that role of the good shepherd.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Here is a big thought for us this morning; the condition of the sheep always reflects their shepherd.
Here is another big thought; It’s all about Him!
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Another big thought; I lack nothing. Lacking nothing is the constant state of the Christian life.
David claims to have “found it” the highest experience, the peak of the journey, the place of the greatest satisfaction, contentment and peace.
David is saying that when the Lord is your shepherd you will not lack anything or want for anything else.
One more big thought this morning before communion; there will be bad times but HE will be with me.
The names of God; EL-Olam
Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God (El Olam), the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
Psalm 90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
He’s the everlasting God.
His everlastingness means - he’s not changing - he’s not going anywhere - he’s entirely faithful - is totally dependable - you can trust him - he is secure - and those who believe in him will never be sorry.
The everlastingness of God will do something to our minds, to our hearts, and to our bodies.
Isaiah 40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
These people are accusing God of indifference but El Olam answers.
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
El-Olam is used over 400 times in the Bible.
Obviously everlasting means that he has no beginning or ending. Everlasting can also mean that God have no boundaries. God’s power is everlasting and without limitation.
His resources are everlasting and without limitation.
His knowledge is everlasting and without limitation.
His sovereignty is everlasting and without limitation.
His salvation is everlasting and without limitation.
His word is everlasting and without limitation.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Take a look at the Scripture. Understand something; following Jesus Christ is not just another exhausting, demanding, and tedious thing.
El Olam, the everlasting God, he knows all about your weariness and exhaustion and he invites you to come and get some power… And to increase your strength… And soar up like an eagle.
To receive we must WAIT upon the Lord.
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
God has a name and his name isn’t God.
Exodus 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ 15… This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
What is God’s name?
“I am that I am.” Or, “I am who I am.”
We use the name Yahweh.
Our God is the great I am – he is perfectly God right now – he will always be perfectly God – there will never be a time he is not perfectly God – and everything that comes from God will always be perfect.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord (Yahweh) is the beginning of knowledge…
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
When we open the pages of the New Testament we are introduced to Yahweh in the flesh. And Yahweh in the flesh is going to be given a special name.
Matthew 1:20 “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,for he will save his people from their sins.”
Jesus.
Let’s read some of the foundational truths that will make you love the name of Jesus all the more.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Jesus is here to shine in the darkness.
And he’s here to remove the darkness.
And he’s here to give you eternal life.
He’s here to destroy the works of the devil.
And here is another pertinent passage of Scripture that points to Jesus and why the power of the name of Jesus is so important.
John 3:31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
When Jesus stepped foot on this earth he came from above.
The very name of Jesus captures all of the grace of Jesus – all the power of Jesus – all the glory of Jesus – all the faithfulness of Jesus – all the love of Jesus –
Jesus sent out his disciples as his representatives and when they came back here’s what they said;
Luke 10:17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
Jesus invited us to pray in his name.
John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
When we are baptized we are immersed in the name of not just the father, not just the Holy Spirit, but in the name of Jesus
Acts 4:29 And now, Lord…you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Paul talks about the life-changing power of the name of Jesus…
1 Corinthians 6:9 Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Phil. 2:9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Have you ever been involved in picking out a name for a baby? Coming up with the right name is important, it’s like you’re writing your kids future.
God has a name and his name isn’t God!
Exodus 3:7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
What did you just learn from reading that passage?
Let’s just take another look;
- Exodus 3:7 Then the Lord said… God speaks.
- Exodus 3:7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen… God sees.
- … and have heard their cry… God hears.
- I know their sufferings… God is moved by what he sees and hears.
- …and I have come down to deliver… God enters into human history.
- …to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians… He will defeat all the powers of darkness.
- …to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey… God is a God of great promises.
- …Come, I will send you… God invites us into his story.
- But Moses said to God, “Who am I”… But I will be with you… He is the God who is nearby and present.
God reveals his name that he wants to be known by.
Exodus 3:13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
What is God’s name? “I am that I am.” Or, “I am who I am.” The Hebrew translation is YHWH. In our English Bibles it is always translated Lord.
God’s name is Yahweh. I am that I am. Or, I will be what I will be.
And who is he?
I am that I am means that who God is he is always that and he is always that perfectly.
As Louie Giglio once said, “if God’s name is I am, then my name is I am not.”
This morning I want to take you to Peter’s first sermon. He begins with the bad news. This is bad news that they all knew about because they were there to see it.
Acts 2:22 (NIV) “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
The bad news is that they had killed Jesus.
But Peter wasn’t finished with his sermon. The next two words were crucial;
Acts 2:24 But God…
But means the story was in over.
All through the Bible we read about these “but God” moments.
Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
1 Samuel 23:14 David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
Psalm 49:15 But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.
Jonah 2:6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.
Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
Now the biggest “but God” moment of all.
Acts 2:24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him…32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate that the Jesus of the Bible that we so much love, and adore, and hang on his every words is alive.
Peter finished his little sermon and you know what happened next?
Acts 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
They wanted to move from information to encounter. They wanted to know what to do in order to get to know and experience this Jesus.
Let’s see what GOD can do!
2022 Go!
The missing chapter: Acts 27
This generation of believers is responsible for this generation of unbelievers. What is your strategy to reach those who do not know Jesus Christ
Is your strategy effective?
Do the demons tremble when you get up in the morning because you are dangerous to their cause of keeping lost people lost?
If you had someone that you dearly loved – a child, a deep friend, family member – and this dearly loved person in your life did not know Jesus and they just happen to move in next door to someone who is as intentional about sharing their faith as you… Are they ever going to hear about Jesus?
Paul’s simple strategy.
1 Corinthians 3:5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
Look at that Scripture and discern a couple of things;
- Found people find people.
- God has an assignment specifically for you to facilitate bringing people to Jesus.
- Your assignment is to purposefully plant and water the seed.
- God is the one who gives life and growth to the seeds that you plant and water.
- It is intentional work/labor.
- We are doing this together with all the other believers.
- You can look around and see the results of planted seeds.
In this Scripture we are told that giving away the gospel, sharing the news about Jesus Christ is like planting a seed.
So let me summarize is the make what I’m trying to say clear; our job is to intentionally plant the seed of Jesus, the seed of the gospel, the seed of the good news anywhere and everywhere that we can. That seed is any good thing that you are doing in the name of Jesus. It could be mowing the lawn. It could be helping a neighbor changes breaks. It could be babysitting child. And when you throw that seed out there it may not look like much but when it finds the right soil the miracle of life takes place and people come to know Jesus.
So again, what is your strategy for planting seeds? And, at the risk of making you angry, don’t tell me that your strategy is just living a good life in front of people! That’s a good thing but that is not the best you can do.
I’m asking you about your strategy because you are the plan!
Matthew 10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.
Before you can talk about the good news you have to be good news.
Did you notice the order of things in what Jesus said in Matthew 10:40? The very first thing is not about receiving Jesus, it’s whoever receives you.
Before you can even talk about the good news you have to be the good news. They will not receive your Jesus if they will not receive you as his messenger.
In Romans 12 Paul gives what might be the first altar call aimed at surrendering all.
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Today were going to look at one of the most comprehensive and deepest passages of Scripture in Romans 8 to discover what we gain in surrender.
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
There is a deep groaning inside of us for wrong things to be made right. And for the wrongs of this world to be exposed.
We know that day is coming but what about right now? And here is the answer…
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, becausethe Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Paul tells us that in this in-between time of finding Jesus and going to heaven we are given a gift, the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit himself.”
When we surrender to Jesus we gain the working of the Holy Spirit.
If you’ve never understood the Holy Spirit, one of the greatest descriptions of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our life is in the word “help” or “helper.” The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. He knows our deepest longings and desires and needs.
When the Holy Spirit helps you, he’s picking up what you can’t carry. He’s assisting you. He is supporting you. He is aiding you. He is sustaining you.
The Holy Spirit is called many things in the Scriptures but the main thing he’s called is your helper. He is your helper in the sense that he knows what to do.
There is another big word in this passage; intercedes. The Holy Spirit is interceding for you. He is on your side. He is moving you into the center of the will of God, that zone of blessing and peace.
In fact, it says that he is passionately groaning and working and interceding and intervening for you to put you in the place where you will fully experience the glory of God and the love and friendship of Jesus.
So thorough and all-encompassing is the work of the Holy Spirit that we have this amazing verse that just sort of sums it up…
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
This is certainly one of the most all-encompassing, almost unbelievable, supernatural and stout promises of the Bible.
I surrender all… Romans 8 statements…Suffering and Revealed glory
In Romans 12 Paul gives what might be the first altar call. Listen to what he says.…
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
When we surrender to Jesus we gain blessings, not lose them. When we surrender to Jesus we get this;
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
What we gain in our surrender is that our suffering is going to be swallowed up in something called glory.
2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer selfis wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.
1 Peter 4:12 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. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Why so much suffering? Because of the free will of people to make choices. God has given us a say in this world. And our say, for the most part, has been a rejection of God and a gratifying of our own desires and cravings. We call it sin. And we know that sin leaves in its wake hurt destruction and death.
The Bible never hides from suffering. Suffering is real. Christians have especially suffered in this world. We all suffer. But for those who surrender to Jesus we get something else. We get this…
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
2 Corinthians 4:17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you… But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
When we surrender to Jesus we get something just up ahead called glory. It’s glory beyond comparison. It’s so glorious that’ll make our suffering seem like a paper cut.
3 ways that this glory his coming to us.
- Pain will give way to glory. Glory is revealed in pain when we gain Jesus in the midst of pain.
2 Corinthains 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
He gained something in his suffering. It moved him from self dependence to a place of absolute dependence upon God.
The fact is that the suffering of Jesus himself enables you to experience this power of God.
Suffering causes us to go through a process where we gain Christ.
- Pain will give way to glory. Glory will be revealed when we get to heaven.
John 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
That is what heaven is all about - being with Jesus.
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away…
- Pain will give way to glory. Glory will be revealed when Jesus comes again.
2 Peter 3:3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
….10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
There is a day when Jesus will say “no more of this.”
All suffering will give way to glory.
In Romans 12 Paul gives what might be the first altar call.
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Paul is asking for a surrender.
Todays Point: we’re not just surrendering up something, we are not just surrendering to something, we are surrendering to gain something: JESUS!
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Trust precedes his action to make the path straight.
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can beagainst us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
When you surrender up your life to Jesus Christ this is what you can count on.
If God is for me…
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
If God is for us…
Isaiah 46:9 for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11…I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
That God is for you. That God is the one we call Father.
Because we’re not just surrendering up something, we are not just surrendering to something, we are surrendering to gain something: JESUS!
If God is for us.
If God is for us…
Mark 5:25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
The problem with this woman is not just limited to something physical. In the time of the New Testament writing she would have been declared as dirty and unclean by her community.
The emotional toll on her life would have been unbelievably heavy. Isolated, lonely, unloved, unclean, desperate, no means of income.
She was full of shame.
Guilt is felt when we’ve made a mistake and we must make amends for. Shame is when we think we are a mistake.
Shame says “I am unacceptable, I am a disgrace.”
Shame makes us feel unworthy of belonging or being loved.
We live in a culture of shame. Culture is always communicating that there something wrong with you; you’re too fat, too skinny, too tall, too bald, misshapen, too dumb, and you wear sandals with socks.
But shame doesn’t win the day in this story.
27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
There was more medicine in the hem of that garment that all the pharmacies in the world.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
When that woman fell down at the feet of Jesus and for the first time in a long time she told the whole shame story.
34 “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
The healing of the disease took place but something more happening. Peace. Wholeness. Being well not only in body, but in the soul.
Jesus begins to transfer his rightness upon her wrongness.
And Jesus transfers his love to her unloveliness.
And Jesus transfers peace to her troubled mind.
And Jesus transfers freedom to her shame.
This is what happens when Jesus meets shame.
Listen to this beautiful description of what Jesus does with our shame and our sins:
Colossians 2:13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
This is the condition that Jesus finds us in. But just like this woman, God steps in and makes alive.
And there is no sin and there is no shame that the blood of Jesus will not cover. None.
One more aspect of being healed of shame…We can’t do this alone. Because you can’t do this alone God has accommodated with you with a family called the church.
With billions of people in the world Jesus came up with the system where nobody is lonely and it’s called the church.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Romans 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him…
Confession-Bearing one another’s burden-and Welcome / acceptance.
John 6 He knew what He would do.
Jesus got to the place, before you got to the place, and has a plan in place, for that place.
If you wondered what kind of church you are in today…it is a Jesus church
John 3:31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
You are in a house that loves this Jesus.
Read the only miracle that is mentioned in all four Gospels.
John 6:1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denariiworth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”
Andrew came up with three issues.
- We don’t have enough to feed them, in fact we don’t have anything to feed him.
- Even if we had the money to buy the food, there is no food to be bought.
- If you read one of the other Gospels his solution was, “send them away.”
God may be putting us in a position where we are in over our heads but the good news is that we are never in over God’s head. God has very little regard for what you think you can handle, because he knows what he can handle.
John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Here is the main point that I want you to take away from this today; Jesus got to the place, before you got to the place, and has a plan in place, for that place.
Let me tell you where that comes from.
John 6:6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Before Jesus got to that place, he knew what he was going to do.
And they would learn….Jesus got to the place, before you got to the place, and has a plan in place, for that place.
Walk to the mess – The safest and most dangerous place in the world
John 8:2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
Have you ever been caught red-handed?
Have you ever deleted your history on your computer after you used it because you wanted no one to see what you were doing?
7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
John 8:10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you…
Jesus risks everything for this woman.
So often, we can picture God as one who is quick to condemn and slow to show mercy. But Jesus does not deal the blow of condemnation to her soul at this moment.
She is in the safest place in the whole world, in the presence of Jesus.
It’s a safe place because…
- Jesus is rich in mercy. Ephesians 2:4 ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us… In all of Scripture we are never told that God is rich in anything except mercy. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve.
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Jesus has perfect love. 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us…
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Jesus is the ultimate friend. Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can beagainst us?
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Jesus is the great healer. Mark 2:17 Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
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Jesus has limitless grace. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
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Jesus is a supernatural Redeemer. Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
- Jesus is our protector. John 10:8 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
But she’s also in the most dangerous place in the whole world – in the presence of Jesus.
John 10:8 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
This is also the most dangerous place to be because she is standing before Jesus. And Jesus a spoken to her; “go and sin no more. Don’t do this anymore. Don’t go back to this lifestyle.” Standing before Jesus is a dangerous place because we are exposed.
And at that moment of extreme vulnerability and helplessness this is the offer from Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:6 (NLT) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…
So, whatever happened to her? We don’t know.
Whatever happened to me?
Whatever happened to you?
Let’s take a walk to the mess of personal failure. Disappointment in ourselves. Let’s bravely and resolutely walk to the sin that we have committed and let’s deal with it.
On the last night before the crucifixion Jesus gathered all of his disciples together for what we call the Last Supper. Jesus reveals that all the disciples will fall away. This is the moment that Peter declares;
Mark 14:29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
Luke 22:54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
This is an epic failure.
He is a betrayer.
He is a weakling.
He is a traitor.
This is certainly me and you at times.
What kind of Jesus will you find in the mess of your personal failure? The Bible has an answer…
Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 5:2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward…
The Jesus who is awaiting you is…
- A restorer
- a sympathizer
- one who has been tempted in the same way
- gracious
- rich in mercy
- ready to help
- gentle
- inviting
- and a way maker.
Romans 5:20 But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
He meets abundant sin with overwhelming grace.
Let’s get back to Peter. What happens when Peter finally has to face Jesus?
If you know the story, after Peter’s denial Jesus is hung on a cross and dies. But three days later he is alive again! And on that day Jesus appears to the disciples.
Eight days later he appears again.
But Peter is still living under the condemnation of what he had done.
John 21:15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
By the way, have you ever thought about what God does with your sin? Here’s a few things that you can find in the Bible about that…
- He tramples them underfoot. Micah 7:19 Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
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He throws them into the sea. Micah 7:19 Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
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He blots them out. Isaiah 43:25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
- He forgets your sin. Hebrews 8:12 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
- He removes your sin. Psalm 103:12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
- He takes away your sin. John 1:29 “behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
- He cancels the debt of your sin. Colossians 2:14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
- He washes your sin. Isaiah 1:18
- He forgives your sin. 1 John 1:9
Dear Jesus follower…
Dear dyed in the wool church people…
The message today is for you. If you don’t follow Jesus, you get a pass today!
Today we walk toward the mess of the empty chair, that empty space that is beside you every Sunday. There are 300,000 people in our immediate area that might fill that space.
The empty chair makes us think about those people who are not there yet. We know somebody’s going to sit in that space, and we get one shot at them when they’re here. What will they find?
We are here for people who haven’t found their chair yet.
In one of the more shocking moments early in the ministry of Jesus he found a man named Levi. His other name is Matthew – he wrote the first book of the New Testament.
Luke 5:27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
This was a radical, life altering moment in the life of Levi. And some were not happy.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Jesus is risking everything for these nobodies.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
People matter to Jesus.
Levi mattered to Jesus.
His friends mattered to Jesus.
The empty chair matters to Jesus.
And Jesus means to fill this chair with people like Levi.
There’s a saying that maybe you’ve heard before; to reach people no one else is reaching we must do what no one else is doing.
Matthew 16:17 For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Jesus said that the mission of the church would be the one thing on this planet that could take on hell and everything that hell brings and not be defeated. The reason why we must be concerned about the empty chair is because of the reality of hell.
Folks, our real problem is a hell problem.
So, what does this mean to you? What does this empty chair mean that you will do differently?
Walk to the mess – Giving – Generosity
He gave his feet to walk to the mess.
He gave his hands to serve in the mess.
He gave his heart’s to love messy people.
And our generosity writes us into the story of what God is doing in this world.
Generosity is absurd because it rests upon a supernatural promise from God that doesn’t make any sense at all.
Luke 6:38… give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
I want to light of generosity fire under you today.
Matthew 21:1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
- Generosity begins when God asks for something from us and we cheerfully give it and the fact that he would ask something from us is absurd.
The fact that God would ever need anything from you is absurd.
We live in a world that practices what we might call the consumption assumption. It’s the assumption that everything that comes to me, is for me!
Luke 16:13“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
So what is Mammon? Mammon is the evil spirit that surrounds money. Mammon is always whispering in your ear;
- life would be sweeter if you only had more of me.
- People would listen to you if you only had more of me.
- I am what buys the nice things of life.
My mental map, for a long time, was one of poverty, scarcity, “there’s not enough and I have to keep what I’ve got.” Level 1: I’m poor, I can’t. The grudge level.
The law level fueled by guilt.
- The Second thing that we need to see about the story is that Jesus rides into town on the generosity of ordinary people. Our generosity writes us into the story of what God is doing.
Matthew 21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
That is how Jesus is going to ride into Fredericksburg – by riding in on the generosity of ordinary people.
2 Corinthians 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifullywill also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiencyin all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
The third season of giving; God is my provider, so I can. This is the grace level of giving.
The last level of giving is what I’m trying to live with now: I am rich, and I want to give.
What’s so amazing about generosity is that it writes us into the story of what God is doing.
Here we have the God of the universe who, if he chose to, could do anything that he wants.
I tell every single one of my dollars were to go. I tell so many of them to go to heat my house – to pay my mortgage – to give me water – even to take out my trash. Some dollars are given for entertainment, going out to eat and I accepted that I have to part with these dollars. But why is it that when it comes to funding the kingdom of God and being generous it can be so difficult to part with those dollars? Our generosity can write listen to the stories of all kinds of people whose lives are being changed by Jesus.
Walk to the mess - Jesus raises a dead boy. You can raise the living.
Luke 7:11 Soon afterwardhe went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Let’s imagine together this scene of Jesus walking to a mess.
14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
Everything stops. People are looking at Jesus rudely like, “what are you doing, what in the world you think you’re doing?”
And right at this very moment Jesus shows that he has command over death… That Jesus has command over the thing that we fear the most.
15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesusgave him to his mother.
16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Here is a very simple message. That message is that somebody has to walk to the mess. There has to be somebody who, like Jesus in this story, is filled with something from above, is thinking different than the rest of the crowd, who isn’t beat down like everyone else, who isn’t just another person who is mastered by the problems of life but knows the master of life.
- The Jesus I follow is awesome.
John 1:4-5 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
First, In Jesus is life.
And secondly, notice how his life was the light of men.
And thirdly, He is light in the darkness in the darkness cannot overcome it.
That’s what Jesus is showing in this little miracle, “give me all of your darkness, give me all of the world’s darkness, give me all of the darkness that the devil has created, give me all of the darkness that your sins have created, give me all of the darkness of your mess, and no matter how dark it is it cannot overcome me.”
- You’re not Jesus but that doesn’t mean you can’t do Jesus like stuff!
9 superhuman things that you can do in the name of Jesus anytime you want to walk to the mess.
- You can give away hope. “I know the God who can make something out of nothing!”
- You give someone your faith. “I know the God that I believe in and this is not going to separate you from his love.”
- You can give somebody something that God has spoken. “This is what God has said…”
- You can give comfort.
- You can give the love of God.
- You can give encouragement.
- You can pray a prayer of faith.
- You can stand in the gap.
- You can be available.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
- Live a life where people know that you have been with Jesus.
Mark 3:14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons.
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Walk to the mess - Injustice
Today we walk toward the mess of injustice.
The injustice we want to talk about today is defined by the Bible and not by all of the cultural nuances that are thrown around today. And the Bible is rather clear; where we see injustice we cannot just look away or walk away, we must do something about it.
Justice might be one of the unfamiliar passions of God.
Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name…5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Jeremiah 22:3-5 Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
The Old Testament identifies the quartet of vulnerable people; the alien otherwise known as the immigrant - those who moved to Israel for a better life. Also, the fatherless sometimes identified as the orphan. And then there is the widow. Add to that the poor.
In fact, Jesus identifies with these groups: Matthew 25:40 …‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Justice is on the heart of God.
Amos 5:18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light,19 as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
This group had been afflicted with the age-old sin from that day until this day – the idea that the system is working for me and that’s all that matters.
So what does God say when he looks down and he sees this group of highly connected, highly privileged, highly wealthy people?
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
This is not the only time words like this are used in Scripture.
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Zechariah 7:9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another…
Psalm 82:3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
What is this justice that God talks about? Justice is about fair treatment for everyone. It means the same punishment for wrong in the same reward for right. Justice means that the system works equally for all of us no matter who we are. It is the impartial application of God’s law. Justice means enforcing the rights of every individual, equally.
Amos talks about an “endless river of righteous living.” This is where we walk to the mess because righteous living is living a life of making things right. Jesus came to make things right. In this passage we are being told to get personally involved in fighting for people when the system isn’t working for and for those people who have been taken advantage of.
Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressedgo free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Understand the picture of the Scripture.
People who are tied to a life that they can’t get free of.
People who are oppressed and can’t get ahead. People who are hungry and can’t find food.
People who are so poor that they can’t find a place to live.
And our heavenly father says that our religion compels us to walk to the mess not just to save their souls, but to lift their burdens.
Many people are yoked up with things that are killing them.
They have so many financial difficulties that they will never be free of them.
Or they have such little common sense and moral guidance that they are incapable of making good decisions.
Or their education level is so low that they will never hold a decent job.
Or maybe they grew up in places of poverty and there just continuing the trend.
They grew up in homes of divorce and abuse and they continue that trend.
When they grew up in violence, drinking and drug use and know no other life.
Amos 7:12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
Walk to the mess - Division
Let’s see what God can do
Over the next couple of months we are going to be in a series of messages called “walk toward the mess.”
Why?
Because Jesus never hesitated to walk into a middle of a mess in order to show that he had come to fix things and save things and heal things and change things.
We are going to start this series in an unusual way. I want to talk to you about walking toward the mess of division. We know the world is full of division…The world thrives on division. Satan is the divider in chief – and we play right into his hands.
And then along comes Jesus. And Jesus is going to do something completely unique – something that’s never been done before – something that’s never been tried before – and he’s going to give this thing a name; the church. He is going to place all of His followers in a single family!
Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
This was never heard of before.
This is quite revolutionary.
An end to division.
In the one of the last prayers of Jesus, Jesus prayed about this…
John 17:20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23… May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
This is the heart of Jesus.
The heart of Jesus is that his church, his followers, would be one… Especially in three ways…
That they would be one with God.
That they would be one with each other.
And that their oneness would be a testimony to the world that Jesus is for real and that the love of Jesus is for real.
Well, it doesn’t mean that we are one? That those who follow Jesus may not be exactly the same but they all have a shared purpose, a shared vision and a shared direction.
We are all advancing toward the exact same goal.
Paul knows all about this and so often writes about how important it is to be one.
Phil.2:2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Eph. 2:20 Together, we are his house…21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Eph. 4:3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
Col. 3: stop was 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
These Bible commands to live in harmony with other Jesus followers are more important than your politics, than your skin color, the pressures of culture, and whatever you think the next color of the carpet should be in the church building!!!!
So how are we doing with being one?
To walk toward the mess of division let’s practice three laws
- The law of love.
John 13:34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Love is giving someone what they need most, when they deserve it the least, usually at great personal sacrifice.
Love is willing the good of another person ahead of yourself and no matter the cost to yourself.
- The law of ought.
Matthew 5:23 (kjv) Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
- The law of humility.
1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body….
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
I’m going to call this the sin of defeatism and elitism.