Transforming Stories Wk 8
A Family that Shines!
Last sermon, based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, I concluded that the goal of every family and every church is to be a place where both the younger sons and older sons can hear the invitation of the Father to come home and find rest, secure in His loving embrace as members of His forever family. Such a homecoming was promised at the Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection and only 10 days after His ascension to the right hand of the Father. In Acts 2:37-39, we learn about how God is going to be bring this parable to real life, through the presence of the divine in His people:
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
5 Have this attitude a]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be b]grasped, 7 but c]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death d]on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
This is an Old Testament image, as we see clearly in Daniel 12:3, “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Referencing the brightness of the stars was familiar in the OT, as God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One example of this is found in Genesis 26:4-5, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.” We shine to be a blessing, to fulfill the purpose for God choosing Abram in the first place – we are blessed to be a blessing. We are given the Holy Spirit, the divine nature, to shine the message of God like the angels, to illuminate the sky like stars, to pierce the darkness. This happens intentionally as we raise up the next generation to shine like the stars, together shining like a city on a hill.
Jesus carried this imagery into the New Covenant, saying in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” The city imagery brings together many households of faith… we are in this together as a community of believers.
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Youth Truth (Pt 3)
Living & Giving Generously
- Believers are living stones built on the Cornerstone of Jesus Christ into a spiritual temple – 1 Peter 2:4-5
- All believers together are the Temple of God where the Holy Spirit lives – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
- We are carefully being joined together to build God’s house/temple built on the foundation of the apostles & prophets with Jesus being the Cornerstone that holds it all together – Ephesians 2:19-22
Living and Giving Generously
- If you sow sparingly you reap sparingly
- If you sow generously you reap generously
- Each person should do(give) how they have decided in their heart
- not out of being pressured or feeling obligated
- God loves a cheerful giver
- God is able to make sure you have everything you need
1. Sparing or Generous?
Slurpee Illustration
Luke 6:38 (NLT)
“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
- So is God’s word saying we should give to others generously so we can get something back generously? – – No.
- Jesus says it is better to give than to receive, so giving to receive a reward should not be our motivation
- God loves being generous and blessing His creation, that is how He’s been eternally
- God pours out blessings for everyone but if you’re holding tightly on to earthly treasures, you can’t hold what God is trying to pour out in your life
- So rewards is not our motivation for giving, it’s just a natural a reality of giving – when we share what we’ve been given we make room for God…
- This is NOT the prosperity gospel
- when we hold what God has given us, our wealth, resources & possessions with open hands instead of clinging to it, we are able to receive what God wants to pour out in our lives
- So, our motivation is not giving to get rewards
- Getting back generously is just a reality of giving because God is so generous
- This is a good segway into our next topic
2. Motivation to Give
7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.
- The word for cheerful in this verse is the Greek word – HILL-AH-ROSS
- It means cheerful or JOYFUL
- Our modern understanding of cheerful may not do this term justice
- When I think of cheerful I think of a calm happy, content
- But Joyous/joyful seems to carry a passion or excitement
- How does this fit with our motivation to give?
- Our motivation is to some how show God love because of the joy we feel because He has loved us
- Our motivation is to give to God and share His love with others because we are so grateful for how God has given to us
- If we have received from God, if we’ve tasted and seen that He is good, if we count our blessings, how can we not be thankful and grateful for all God has given us
- When we’re grateful then we want to respond in some way
- Realizing how much God has given us produces joy and then we give in joyful worship – this should be our motivation
- As God’s children we see Who He is and How He’s given and we do what it talks about in Ephesians 5:1-2
Kevin Michael learns to give generously.
- We can never out give God but we can give back to Him and share what we have been given by Him
- I’ll be honest I haven’t always given the way I should…
- But God has still been faithful to me and my family
- He has always provided for me
- He has never let me down
- That motivates me even more to give
- He’s given to us and loved us so well we want to share that love and those gifts with others so they can experience it too
- We give in cheerful or joyful worship – our motivation is to show God love back and share with others the way He has loved us
Our giving:
- is a reflection of what’s in our heart
- tells how much God has affected our heart
- shows how much we realize we’ve been given
It only takes a spark to get a fire going,And soon all those aroundcan warm up to its glowing;That’s how it is with God’s love,Once you’ve experienced it:You spread His love to everyoneYou want to pass it on.
Give and Take
- God appears to be telling us not to worry in this verse
- Verse 8 seems to be God reassuring us that He is going to provide and make sure we have everything we need
- SO that we can be successful at living and giving generously
- We can give generously and know we are not going to go without what we NEED
- Don’t cling on to the earthly treasures, share and give generously with your resources and time, because I will make sure you are not needy
- Giving is a reflection of our trust in God to provide for us
- Tithe / 10% – enables the local church & it’s leaders to serve & equip the body for the work of ministry
- Offerings above their 10% (tithe) – to help specific ministries & charities who are honest & do the most good
- Share – with those in need, in wise ways
- Giving time to at least ONE ministry in/to the church
- Helping others bear their burdens
- Serving others with our Spiritual Gifts
- Sharing the gospel – so people have their greatest need met
1. THINK about everything God has given you & GIVE THANKS
2. GIVE back to God GENEROUSLY in CHEERFUL WORSHIP
3. SHARE the TIME & RESOURCES God has given you with others
Resources:
You can watch the just the message presentation by clicking HERE.
You can watch the entire service by clicking HERE.
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What If…?
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”
“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
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. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.”
As you have read through the Bible, (and I am hoping you have at least once), have you noticed how many times people question God?
In the Book of James, he warns us not to doubt or waiver in our belief. When we do, we become unstable in all our ways. Many times in our own lives, we find ourselves questioning God with “But, God, what if…?” (give some examples)
I am not saying that we can’t have questions. We need to take that original question “But, God, what if…?” and pose it as “What if…? But God can!”
In our scripture reading today, we find the disciples with Jesus at the Last Supper, the last Passover meal that they will share with Him. He has been with them for over three years, and He was making sure that they were ready for what was coming next. He had already served them by washing their feet and telling them how no one who is a believer is better than anyone else, slave or free. He was assuring them of the promise of a heavenly home with the Father.
SMH Question from Thomas in verse 5: “How do we know the way?”
My response: Come on, man! Where have you been last 3 years?
Jesus’ response: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.
SMH statement from Phillip in verse 8: “Show us the Father, and then we will be satisfied.”
My response: Come on, man! Where have you been last 3 years?
Jesus’ response: Have you not seen Me? Heard what I said?
Now just believe it!
Are we any different? Have we been asking the “I should already know this” type questions? We need to take God at His word! We do that by doing asking ourselves the following questions:
- What if we have FAITH?
- What if we show LOVE?
- What if we live by the SPIRIT?
1. What if we have FAITH?
“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!”
John 14:12-14
Additional Scriptures: Matthew 17:20; Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:22-23; Luke 17:6
Song Illustration: “I Speak the Name” (Katy Nicole)
(V1). I speak the name of Jesus over you
In your hurting, in your sorrow, I will ask my God to move
I speak the name ’cause it’s all that I can do
In desperation, I’ll seek Heaven, And pray this for you
(V2). I speak the name of all authority
Declaring blessings, every promise He is faithful to keep
I speak the namе no grave could ever hold
Hе is greater, He is stronger, He’s the God of possible
2. What if we show LOVE?
John 14:15
“If you love me, obey my commandments.”
John 13:34-35
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Difference between world and believers:
Not just being good/loving person, but it comes from a personal relationship with Him.
John 14:23
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”
Cannot please man & truly serve God
Galatians 1:10
“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”
3. What if we live by the SPIRIT?
The Promise of the Holy Spirit and what He will do in our lives.
John 14:26-27
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
Galatians 5:16-17
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
Galatians 5:24-25
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
You can watch this week’s message by clicking HERE.
You can watch the entire service including music by clicking HERE.
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Transforming Stories Wk 7
Transforming Stories of the Next Generation! Week 7
Train Orthopraxis: Right Actions!
The human development of Jesus as an adolescent has been our template for these last three messages. The only biblical evidence of this stage of His life is found in Luke 2:39-52. I will show you how Jesus’ right mental picture of God led to right feelings about the situation and people, which then led Him to doing something that was totally unexpected and totally Jesus! That is the goal of Christian parenting, as we read in Ephesians 6:4: to raise the next generation in the instruction and discipline of the Lord so that they SHINE as witnesses of Jesus Christ. We will conclude this series on November 17, after I get back from our annual tour des grandparents and after our annual leadership message prior to congregational meeting with votes on November 10, which will also include the Awesome Autumn pitch-in.
Jesus showed us the importance of right thoughts leading to right feelings in how He handled situations differently than the religious culture of His day. We’ve already looked at the first three of the four Gospel stories we are examining to illustrate the connections between our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Let us never forget that right thoughts about God and creation, ourselves and other people, sin and redemption, and our purposes as stewards of God’s creation (worldview) lead us to interpreting our situations more accurately. A right interpretation facilitates us having a correct emotional response (right feelings) to our situations. We must model this for the next generation and train them up so that their right thoughts, lead to right feelings, which ultimately lead to right actions – being a witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is today’s emphasis as we look back at these four stories and then finish today’s sermon with the Parable of the Loving Father, also called the Parable of the Two Lost Sons, but commonly called the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Jesus showed us the importance of right thoughts leading to right feelings in how He handled situations differently than the religious culture of His day. We are going to walk through these four examples again today, one from each of the four Gospels, to illustrate how Jesus’ worldview led to Him to interpret each situation differently, then, today, we will see how that led Him to respond with compassion, sending a ripple effect through time and space:
- Matthew 8:1-3, Jesus touched the leper
- Mark 5:25-34, the woman who touched Jesus
- Luke 19:1-10, Zacchaeus and his friends
- John 8:1-11, the woman caught in adultery
We will conclude with prodigal son story from Luke 15:11-32, contrasting the two sons’ actions based on their mental framework and emotional interpretation of the Father’s action. What can we teach the next generation from these stories and what actions do we hope they will model to their peers and future generations? What is Jesus teaching us about right thoughts about God and how right thoughts lead to right feelings, which then lead to right actions?
If you would like to watch this message, click HERE. (This link will appear later this week)
If you would like to watch the the entire service with the message, click HERE.
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Transforming Stories Wk 6
Train Orthopathy: Right Feelings!
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Transforming Stories Wk 5
Transforming Stories of the Next Generation! – Week 5
Train Orthodoxy: Right Thinking!
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. … We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God”A.W. Tozer
Luke 2:39-52
“When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
Connect with the prophet Samuel’s childhood in 1 Samuel 2:26, “Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.” Allow me to share an important story that gives us the right perspective for today’s teaching, from 1 Samuel 3:1-19.
There are three important ways children grow in right thinking about God and how to be in a relationship with Him, as well as learn how to be adults:
- Observation: Does the next generation see your relationship with God?
- Listening: Does the next generation hear your conversations about God?
- Asking questions: Does the next generation have permission to approach us and God throughout their developmental stages? How we handle questions is life or death. (Share story from NYC.)
Right thinking comes through the development of a cohesive biblical worldview, which gives us a mental framework from which we interpret our experiences and engage with God, ourselves, people, and the world.
None of us our born with this knowledge automatically in us. Like Jesus, we must “increase in wisdom”:
- The purpose & promise of parenting: Ephesians 6:1-4 & Proverbs 22:6
- The purpose of Proverbs (the Bible): Proverbs 1:1-9
- The what & how of forming a cohesive worldview: Where to start?
- Start reading the Gospels and pray. Discuss Jesus, ask good questions, and seek Bible answers.
- Live in sacred rhythms: prayer, building healthy relationships, becoming a learner, attending church, going on retreats, taking Sabbath, and protecting priorities in your daily life.
- Model that all life comes from God, all truth is from God, and all things belong to God.
Conclusion:
Acts 2:38-39.
Trust the promise of Pentecost! The Holy Spirit wants to partner with you in your parenting and mentoring.
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The Heart of the Father
The Heart of the Father: Lesson’s Learned From Sabbatical
A sabbatical is supposed to be a time of rest.
~O.T. work the fields for 6 years, then give them a year
off.
~In the academic world: A time to be free of teaching duties and to do research, travel and writing.
~For us: A time of rest, reflection on the past years of ministry, and seeking God for what’s next. And sometimes I can be a slow learner!
So, in order to find what to do, I had to go back to the beginning…
Please stand for the reading of God’s Word:
John 1:1-4, 16-18 (NLT)
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone…From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”
I love how John takes us back to the beginning, just like Genesis, where it all started. So since Jesus was there at the beginning, and we are created in their image, think about the first heartbeat of Adam when life was breathed into him! He was in rhythm with the Father’s heart.
~When a baby is born, the first thing they want for the new parents to do is have skin time, but actually, it is a way for the baby to hear their heartbeat…a sound very familiar to them as they were in the womb.
~According to John 13:23, the disciple John was leaning on Jesus’ chest as they were around the table at the Last Supper. I believe it was so he could hear his Master’s heart.
ILLUS: Stethoscope
-need to close out sounds of the world
-need to be quiet yourself
-The Twelve Disciples has Jesus with them, and they
Still struggled to know the Father’s heart.
John 14:9-11
“Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves
In the English language we have these little connecting words call “prepositions”. Their purpose is to create a phrase that shows direction, connection or relationship between elements in a sentence. I had an ‘ah ha’ moment during this time away. I needed to quit having conversations AT God and have conversations WITH God.
-Still bring all my needs to Him
-Express how I am feeling
-BUT…Take the time to be quiet &
listening for His response.
- Lesson learned: Listen for HIS HEARTBEAT. Quit being busy doing the things OF God or things FOR God, and start doing things WITH God, fully led by the Holy Spirit which is IN We just need to listen!
Song: “Abide” Aaron Williams (see words below)
- Tina’s Takeaway
- Lesson learned: Jesus took time to get away, even during a busy time. Need to be more like Him.
Why: Prioritize relationship with God over public
Ministry (Luke 6:12)
Personal Time with God (Matt. 6:6)
Encountering God more deeply in silence. (Mk 1:35)
Able to express authentic emotions privately
Get away from worldly distractions (Luke 5:16)
Maintain spiritual disciplines
Prayer over congregation:
Gracious God, thank you for wanting us close by so we can hear Your heartbeat. Cure our spiritual restlessness each morning to wait upon You. Help us live each and every day with Your power and grace so we can become the people after Your own heart.
Abide
I depend on You, I depend on You
For the sun to rise for my sleep at night
I depend on You, I depend on You
You’re the way the truth and the life
You’re the well that never runs dry
I’m the branch and You are the vine
Draw me close and teach me to abide
Where the Spirit leads as I’m following
I depend on You, I depend on You
For the victories still in front of me
I depend on You, I depend on You
You’re the way the truth and the life
You’re the well that never runs dry
I’m the branch and You are the vine
Draw me close and teach me to abide
Be my strength my song in the night
Be my all my treasure my prize
I am Yours forever Your mine
Draw me close and teach me to abide
When I pass through death as I enter rest
I depend on You, I depend on You
For eternal life to be raised with Christ
I depend on You, I depend on You
You’re the way the truth and the life
You’re the well that never runs dry
I’m the branch and You are the vine
Draw me close and teach me to abide
Be my strength my song in the night
Be my all my treasure my prize
I am Yours forever Your mine
Draw me close and teach me to abide
Here I am Lord
Would you teach me to abide
Teach me
Would you teach me
I depend on You, I depend on You
Yes, I depend on You, I depend on You
Oh, oh
I depend on You, Yes, I depend on You
I depend on You, I depend on You
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Transforming Stories Wk 4
Transforming Stories of the Next Generation!
Make Space for Grace in the Home!
I am teaching the fourth message in our new sermon series, called, “Transforming Stories of the Next Generation.” In this message, I will continue my teaching on Ephesians 6:4, focusing on what it is we are supposed to be instructing our kids at home and how discipline works in conjunction with that training up of our children in the way they should go.
Read Acts 16:22-34
What can we learn from a slow reflective reading of this story?
[Read twice, first time to give an overview then second time with parenthetical notes through this lens: People are people and not objects!]
Parenthetical Notes:
Read Matthew 9:9-13 and invite people to see how the story makes them feel.
In light of what we learned from the story of the Philippian jailer, contrast the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees. What does Jesus do that makes space for grace in the tax collector’s home?
(Imagery of the machine that needs to be managed verses creation that we get to steward.)
The Next Generation are NOT OBJECTS to be managed, fixed, or replaced.
The Next Generation are PEOPLE! People who need to be known, discovered, invited, cared for, stewarded, and loved.
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Transforming Stories Wk 3
Instruct & Discipline in the Home!
Ephesians 6:4 (part 2)
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
I am teaching the third message in our new sermon series, called, “Transforming Stories of the Next Generation.” In this message, I will continue my teaching on Ephesians 6:4, focusing on what it is we are supposed to be instructing our kids at home and how discipline works in conjunction with that training up of our children in the way they should go.
First allow me to set up the context for this Ephesians 6:4 passage, by examining its context, starting in Ephesians 5:1-6:4. After doing so, I want to highlight how that same context is paralleled in Colossians 3:21.
In order to be fruitful and effective in the Spirit-filled life, there are three areas of a child that must be instructed and disciplined:
Orthodoxy – mind – what is it you believe (right thinking / orthodoxy). This is often all we think about when forming our children; it’s the Bible reading and knowledge of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Beliefs matter! What we think matters!
Orthopathy – heart – what is it you experience that shapes your feelings and marks your character (right emotions / affections matter!). The life of the Spirit, unity with God, manifests the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5 has a development to it).
Orthopraxis – body / soul (living being) – what is it you do, not just occasionally, but your practices of the faith (right living / lifestyle matters!). Your rule of life – the rhythms and rituals that form you (2 Peter 1).
To keep it simple, right thoughts, lead to right emotions, lead to right actions.
We are transformed through the renewing our minds (Rom 12), to fulfill the Greatest Commandments (Matt 22). To ensure a child is marked by Christ, formed in Him, the parents must look at the whole person and not just a part of the child. This is where discipline is involved. Discipline goes hand in hand with instruction. Let’s look, once again at Hebrews 12:7-17, and learn why discipline: Love, holiness, peaceful fruit of righteousness, wholeness (peace with all men).
This is how parents bring about the promise of Ephesians 6:1-3 for the child – success in life.
You can watch the entire service including music by clicking HERE.
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Transforming Stories Wk 2
Transforming Stories of the Next Generation!
Raise up the Children!
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
RAISE UP CHILDREN TO BE:
LOVERS of God and people! The home is the greatest training grounds for faith because it is where the rubber meets the road for love. Let us never forget Matthew 22:37-40, the Greatest Commandment.
WITNESSES! The home is the first and most intimate place of living out the Great Commission, the family is your first mission team, while on Earth, and your eternal worship team in Heaven (4 kids / 3 kids). You first witness the love of Jesus to one another before you witness to anyone else and when we get that opposite, we have distorted God’s design of creation – stewardship must start in the most intimate of places.
DISCIPLES! Households are the organic small groups of every congregation. HOME is where discipleship first happens, but the parents must accept the call that Christian parenting is first and foremost disciple-making, built upon the reality that is a place of love and witnessing to the first love of God.
CHILDREN AND PARENTS HAVE THEIR OWN RESPONSIBILITIES:
CHILDREN have one primary lesson to learn: Faith, to trust and obey, to respond to godly authority in love. And that comes with the ancient promise of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:12, the 5th Commandment specifically). Children learn reverence for the Lord by first learning to respect and honor their parents. When kids don’t learn this at home, then we end up with a distorted understanding of fear, authority, love, and other crucial components of a healthy person’s life.
PARENTS have three responsibilities to fulfill:
- Don’t provoke your children to anger; don’t exasperate them! Never forget that without love and respect you will only manifest rebellion in your child’s heart. There must be a focus on relationship! It is your first task, from before you even have children, to cultivate a culture of love and respect in your home, which is what Ephesians 5:21-33 teaches for biblical marriage. God designed marriage to provide a firm foundation.
- Bring them up in the Discipline of the Lord! While this will look differently at different developmental stages of the child’s life, it must always fulfill the purpose of God’s discipline, found in Hebrews 12:4-11.
- Bring them up in the Instruction of the Lord! We conclude where we began, the job of parents is to live before their children in such a way that they walk in the manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus – to raise up children who are 1) whole and holy in Christ, 2) learning how to be great lovers of God and people, and 3) living on mission as members of the body of Christ because the church is only as healthy (= effectiveness and fruitfulness) as each household is bearing good fruit according to John 15:16.
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Transforming Stories Wk 1
Transforming Stories of the Next Generation!
Jesus Blessed the Children!
This sermon series will focus on how we are called, as families and churches, to bless the children. The guiding image will be of Jesus having the children with him (Matthew 19:14). This series will call the parents, grandparents, and guardians to disciple their children in the home and for us to see the church as a partner, not a replacement, for this important work.
Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
Matthew 19:13-15
Households in the ancient world were much more comprehensive than the nuclear family. They often spanned multiple generations and servants. Moses taught the importance of discipleship in each household of Israel in Deuteronomy 6:1-9. The successor of Moses, reemphasized his resolve to lead his family as of first importance in Joshua 24:14-15. We see this priority clearly expressed in the qualifications of leadership in 1 Timothy 3:4-5.
Let’s get to the heart of this sermon series. I want to introduce it to you through a series of questions that I hope to engage you with. My desire is to not necessarily answer them for you thoroughly but to start a conversation with you that you keep going with those in your household.
- How do we experience the presence of Jesus?
By coming to Him, responding to His invitation in love through Bible reading, prayer, music, spiritual friendships and church. By looking for God at work in your life through His providence and responding to Him in love. We are to cultivate an awareness of God in our everyday lives.
- Why is His presence so important to us and what do we expect Him to do in our lives?
I am with you always (Matthew 28:20)
Transforms us through the renewal of our minds (Romans 12)
- What does it mean to have our stories transformed?
Fruit that will last (John 15:12-17) = Witness the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5)
- What is the importance of seeing the next generation impacted by our transforming story?
They will experience the Kingdom of Heaven through faith and practice. To learn about Him and believe He is and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), yes, but most importantly, to fall in love with Him and put their faith in Him. To learn how seek Him first (Matthew 6:33).
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FBC Picnick: The Heart of Love!
The Heart of Love!
We love, because He first loved us
John 3:16-17
God wants us to love well. But we cannot be great lovers until we are transformed by the God of love!
1 John 4:7-21
God Is Love
Resources:
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Because He First Lovd Us Wk 3
The Call to Discipleship
Jakob Davis
(The Ascension and Great Commission)
After His resurrection, His great victory over death, Christ spends some time back on Earth with His disciples, a span of about 40 days. We know from the beginning of Acts 1, that Christ had been ministering, instructing His followers, His disciples, about the commands that had been given and were being given. And yet for what purpose was the Lord doing this? It was to fulfill and to empower His followers to do what He had commanded in the Great Commision. I imagine many of us are familiar with it, but I will read it nonetheless. From the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 28 Verse 18-20,
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
And further in the same place of Acts 1, Christ promises the Holy Spirit, the Great Comforter, stating that once the Spirit has descended upon the disciples, that it shall empower them to be the witnesses of Christ “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And having finished speaking these things, Christ was taken up into a cloud, being received back into heaven to where He still stands today at the right hand of the Father.
(Obedience and Submission)
And Yet Christ’s promise, as all promises of God do, would ring true. The Great Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would descend upon the Apostles and what would it immediately empower them to do? To preach the Gospel! Acts 2,
“And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
These men, having just received the Holy Spirit, knowing full well the fate that could meet them, the same fate that their savior had just met only 50 days prior, began to preach! And because of this the Church grew! 3000 souls came to Christ because of the faith and empowerment of the Spirit at just one moment. And they continued preaching throughout the streets of Jerusalem, continuing to be the vessel through which the Gospel would be proclaimed. And despite jailings and warnings from the religious leaders of the time, those who had put Christ to death in the first place, they continued in boldness in the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And because of their faith and boldness, not withholding their lives as Christ did also, thousands continued to come to faith. Yet this notoriety not only brought followers, but also persecution. The followers of Christ save the apostles were driven out of Jerusalem under the threat of death and imprisonment, scattering them and the Gospel away from the Holy City. And yet this scattering did not worsen their faith, but proved to be a testament of it. Acts 8 conveys this point, Verse 4,
“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.”
This seems to echo back to the Great Commision does it not? “Go, making disciples of all nations…”. The faith of those driven out under threats of death were not broken, but only served to further scatter the Gospel amongst the world. Many others, those thought to be untouchable, whether by righteousness sake (in the case of St. Paul) or those who were viewed as unclean and defiled (the Gentiles) had the Gospel proclaimed to them and in their acceptance were made clean before the eyes of God.
Paul, formerly known as Saul, had persecuted the church in the initial dispersement from Jerusalem. Yet he wasn’t just another cog in the machine, just another priest, he was the man in charge of hunting down the Church of Jesus Christ. He was responsible for the jailings and deaths of many Christians that had not managed to escape Jerusalem in time. And yet even to him was the Gospel given, and even he responded, falling down to his knees before the Son of God on the Road to Damascus.
This man, the persecutor of the church, did not fear the judgment of the people who he once persecuted, but rather knew that his mission, the mission given to him by Him (point up) was far more important. In fact he spent the rest of his life doing it, spreading the Gospel from Israel and the Middle East all the way to present day Spain. He withstood beatings, stonings, mockings, and being a social and societal outcast of his own people so that the news he was entrusted with would make it to where he had been commanded to take it. In the his letter to the Philippians, Paul speaks on his persecution for the Gospel saying in chapter 1 verse 20-21,
“According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
(So Great a Cloud of Witnesses)
Now, I imagine it is possible that many of you out there are wondering about my point. Why have I spent the last, however long, talking about the early church and what they did and faced? And to that, I answer your question with a question. Do you know what the Hall of Faith is? There is a portion of the Book of Hebrews that bears a significant tie to my point. In Hebrews 11, we have the hall of faith, something Pastor Jerry covered a year or two ago, quite well I might add. Detailed within are the accounts of various of the saints who have gone before us, such as Abraham, Enoch, Moses, Daniel, Rahab, Samson, Jeremiah, and many, many others. I’m going to read to you portions of this passage. Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse 32,
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”
Then in Chapter 12 of the same book, right there in verse 1 it says,
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
These same, our brothers and sisters who came long before us, endured all manners of trials and torments, believing that the price that they were paying here in their flesh was far outweighed by the reward which awaited them and the reward of working towards the Kingdom of God. If we consider just the disciples that saw Christ, the risen Christ, they found it to be more desirable that they work and die for the Gospel given to them, than to fade back and only evangelize to those close to them.
The writer of Hebrews, Paul, who we’ve talked about already a brief bit, finds his end in Rome, beheaded by Emperor Nero. The brothers Peter and Andrew both crucified, along with Phillip. Thomas was stabbed through with spears. Bartholomew was flayed to death and then beheaded. Mattias was stoned and beheaded. Simon the Zealot was sawn in half. Every apostle was willing to die for what they saw and what was given to them, save John who survived the attempts on his life and imprisonment, returning immediately back to spreading the Gospel upon his release.
This pattern of willingness to suffer and die for the Gospel did not vanish after the apostles, for the early church, the church fathers took up the same mission. Hundreds died at the hands of those persecuting them, and died gladly. Disciple and dear friend of John the Apostle, Ignatius, said this as he was led to his death,
“Grant me nothing more than to be poured out as a libation for God while an altar is still ready, that becoming a chorus in love you may sing to the Father in Jesus Christ because God judged the bishop of Syria (which was Ignatius) worthy to be found at the setting having sent him from the rising.”[1]
He went on further in the same letter, begging the churches not to interfere in what he saw as the culmination of his life as a Christian. And this attitude did not change after his death, as for thousands of years after our brothers and sisters have been dying, and dying gladly for the dispersement of the Gospel, striving to know Christ and to make Him known.
And yet here we are, comfortable. Generations of saints died for this news, this Gospel, the same news we are entrusted with, and we can’t be bothered to break as much as a nail for it. Our Gospel is one of convenience. Let me take a show of hands, (walk down among them) how many of us have at any point in our lives shared the Gospel? Now how many have done it within the last year? Now I want you to really think and be honest with both yourselves and with me, how many of us have shared the Gospel with someone who isn’t a friend, a family member, a work acquaintance, or someone that our lives touch through work (this includes the pastors) someone we know and we’re comfortable with? How many of us have done it in the last month? In the last two weeks?
This is my point, our Gospel is one of convenience, one of comfort, one of fear. In many cases we don’t wanna go out of our way to do it. We worry that the other person might think that we are weird, perhaps we fear that they’ll freak out, or maybe that they’ll ask a question that we can’t answer. Our form of evangelism seems to be akin to a circle around our lives. If an individual comes close, we might just share the Gospel with them, but in many ways we remain stationary, almost waiting for people to be pulled into our orbits before we do anything akin to sharing the Gospel. So in many cases our version of evangelism is inviting them to church. Nothing wrong with that right?
The church’s function is not to perform evangelism work where you have failed, it’s to train and equip us to do the work ourselves! The church is not a catch basin. It’s not the pastors or the elders job’s to evangelize our spouse. It’s not their job to evangelize our kids. It’s ours! It’s always been ours!
Many of us, especially likely with our more finely aged brother and sisters, have likely heard the fire and brimstone railings from the old Baptist preachers, railing against our failings and sinfulness just for the purpose of scratching an itch that the pastor has. But I am not those men and I do not feel that itch. This topic, it’s not an itch but an obligation, not a desire but a necessity. I need a clear conscience towards our God, even if it means speaking an uncomfortable truth in a way that isn’t comfortable to hear and I have been stirred up by the Spirit to give this to you. This is not a suggestion or a timid request, but a command. Christ’s commission was not something to be ignored! If we believe in Him like we say we do, we must follow these commands. Matthew 28:19,
“GO therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
You see our Lord’s command doesn’t read “If you go” or “If it’s convenient to you.” or “If you’re comfortable doing it.” It reads “Go”! We are called to submission, we are called to obedience, being willing to suffer and die in the same way our blessed savior was for the proclaiment of a news that isn’t ours, but has been given to us to share! So let us join in the attitudes and conducts of the ones who came before us, who have run the race set before them with endurance, willing and happy to sacrifice all, who fixed their eyes firmly on the One who saved them.
Application
A dear friend told me a story here recently along the lines of what we’ve heard today. Back thousands of years ago was a king named Alexander, known now as Alexander the Great. He was a conqueror, perhaps one of the best the world has ever seen. Well following one of his great conquests, he stood upon the throne of one of his defeated adversaries and presided over the judgment of the enemy soldiers and prisoners captured during the battle. But when he got to a soldier who wore his colors, a Greek soldier that served in his army it gave him pause. He was told of the boy’s crime, he had deserted from battle because of his fear.
Alexander looks at the boy and calmly asks, “What is your name?” The boy looks at him and responds, “Well sir, Alexander.” Enraged and befuddled, Alexander the Great steps down grabbing the boy by his tunic and throws him to the floor and says, quite simply I might add, “Soldier, change your conduct or change your name!” You see Alexander believed that this soldier’s cowardly acts would besmirch the name Alexander and that the boy, if he didn’t change his conduct, was not worthy to bear the same name as him.
For many of us, our own fears, laziness, and complacency have placed us in the position of the young Alexander who carried the same name as his king. We flee from a battle that is already won! A victory that is already assured! I understand the fear all too well but we must move! As it was to Alexander, so it is to Christ our King. If we cannot proclaim His name, a name so much higher than any earthly king or ruler, to all the nations in His conquest, then we do not deserve to bear His name. So, I challenge all of us, pastors and elders included in the same way, change our conduct or change our names. Don’t claim Christ if you aren’t truly acting out your faith in Him, you only make it harder for the world to see Him.
Benediction:
A Psalm of David,
1Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.
Amen, go in peace.
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Because He First Loved Us Wk 2
The Cost to Christ
Jakob Davis
Good morning brothers and sisters, it’s good to see all of your smiling faces on this beautiful Sunday morning. In case you missed it, or if you need a refresher, last week we talked about OUR sin, OUR decrepit condition of a nature. We went over how Scripture details that all are found guilty in sin, marred and entangled within it as a cursed inheritance from our forefather Adam. We went over how even though Scripture calls those who are within sin “slaves of sin” it doesn’t mean that we are being forced to do something we don’t wanna do, in fact, quite the opposite. We desire to serve our flesh and allow it to master us. And unfortunately, there’s absolutely nothing that we can do about it within our own strength.
The Incarnation & His Perfect Life
Even to God’s own people, Israel, it looked hopeless! The children of Israel had faced down and fallen to the Babylonians in the Book of Jeremiah, the Temple had been destroyed and desecrated, they had gone into exile and had miraculously been released to go home to their lands after over 70 years. And yet when they returned home and began the work to rebuild the temple the manifested Spirit of God didn’t come with them. His manifested presence that had been upon the first Temple never returned after its departing in Ezekiel 10, before the judgment of the people of Israel. The last of the Old Testament prophets, Malachi, closes the portion of His book with a prophecy of what is to come, a last message of hope. Malachi 4: 5-6 reads this,
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
And with a final word <snap finger> the lights go out. The prophets, God’s divine messengers stopped talking, God stopped talking. For 400 years the people heard nothing from God, made worse by the fact that they had been conquered three different times and dispersed. First the Greeks under Alexander, then Ptolomy, then finally Rome. Bound under captivity and servitude to foreign nations and powers, the people of God wept, begging God for relief, for a release from their overlords, for the power of God to be shown again and for Israel to be glorified amongst the nations. The hopes of the peoples of God were growing ever dimer, strengthened only by prophecies of a king to come that would be a great conqueror and would bring all the nations of the world under His dominion. And that was exactly what they got, what we got, just not in the way we thought He would come.
400 years after God stopped talking, a young and unmarried woman is visited by the angel Gabriel, giving her the news that a king would be born to her, that He would inherit the throne of His father David and that He shall reign over the house of Israel forever! He would be called the Son of God, the Holy One, and His name would be Jesus. Luke 1: 30-33 says this,
“Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Yet you might think that a King such as this would be born in the lap of luxury, I mean His father was King David was it not? He’s the Son of God! Yet this young woman and her betrothed husband were not royalty, they were commoners and carpenters. And he would not be born into the lap of luxury but into a humble beginning. Detailed in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 2 Verses 6-7:
“So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Something for us that we must understand is that this was not a simple babe. He was not just another man or just a holy man. He was God. In the beginning of the Gospel of John, the apostle John records this, John 1 Verses 1-5
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life as the light of men. And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
And Verse 14 of the same book and chapter,
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The Cost
And what was this cost? It was the deaths that we deserved, bearing the iniquity and the sin of us all. In a hammer stroke of symbolism and literality, the high priests of Israel, those who were holy before their own eyes, delivered Him up to be judged before the Romans. And yet they stood for us, stood for mankind, offering up the Son of God to be judged for our iniquity. In the Gospel of Mark these events are recorded, Chapter 15,
“Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!” So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.”
When it says He was scourged, we might think of something far more pleasant than what was actually the case. The thing He was “scourged” with was called a fragrum and it was perhaps one of the most brutal and cruel devices of punishment and torture besides the crucifixion itself. We likely have a good picture of what it might look like, a handle with cords of leather proceeding from the handle itself. Yet on the end of each of these pieces of leather were nails, pieces of sharpened bone meant to puncture into the skin and become embedded, and perhaps the worst of all, metal hooks which would lodge themselves into the skin of their victims and would pull chunks out of the body when the fragrum was violently ripped away. There are ancient records of the tool leaving ribbons of skin hanging off the body and tearing down to the bone.
And for most of us we know what happened. We know that Christ, after His scourging, was led through the streets of Jerusalem, being mocked and scorned, carrying a cross that weighed near 300 pounds upon a torn and destroyed back and shoulders. And when He arrived to that cursed mount of Calvary, He was laid upon the cross He had just borne, and nailed to it, not with nails as we understand them, but rather with some akin to a railroad spike. Once He was hung, every single breath that He had to take, He had to muscle Himself up on those spikes through His feet. For six hours, He withstood the blood loss, He withstood the constant and ever present mocking and ridicule, He withstood the sheer pain of it. Yet not just physical pain, but emotional pain too. Everyone that had followed Him, His closest friends had abandoned Him. He hung on the cross all alone, dying.
Luke 23:39.
Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
This last conversation with Jesus before His death, shows mankind a reality. We can be like the first criminal who blasphemes God, showing no faith or remorse, but rather expecting God to save us. Or we can be like the second, who understands his sin and iniquity, and in faith comes to Christ humbly. And with one final breath Christ commends Himself into the Father’s hands, dying in the place of the murderer and insurrectionist Barabbas.
The Plan
But you see this was all the plan, executed perfectly and without error, just as it was intended. You see God wasn’t reactionary to our Fall, He didn’t say to Himself, “Oh darn, humanity done and did it, I better go fix it.” No, rather Christ knew and waited, for as it says in the Book of Galatians Chapter 4 Verse 4-7:
“But when the fullness of time had come, God (that is God the Father) sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
In the fullness of time? Christ came in the fullness of time to break the shackles and the binds of the slaves! Let me read verse 7 again,
“Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
Our identities as slaves to sin have been destroyed! Atoned for! Covered, with the precious blood of Christ. Christ’s atoning work upon the Cross and His resurrection broke the shackles of death and sin, allowing all those who would call upon His name to come into the newness of life as a son and heir of God. 1 Peter 2:23-25 says this:
“Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Illustration & Explanation
So you’ve undoubtedly seen the absolute mess of rope tied and wound through this front row of pews. Today we’re going to continue our theme of different illustrations with an active image of our lives. Would my voluntold volunteers come on out? As you can all see, these brave souls are fully blindfolded, completely and totally unable to see. Today they are going to be navigating through this sort of “rope course” to the way out that we can all see (crack a grin). They all have their instructions, but we as a congregation cannot help them. Please do not laugh when Beorn hits his head trying to climb under the pews, or when Aria gets frustrated and starts talking to herself. Just observe. (Begin the illustration)
Application
Earlier I read the verse from the Gospel of Mark which detailed Christ being handed over to the Romans and His crucifixion. Yet in those same verses there was a man, a man who had been arrested and was awaiting death for his crimes, who, without a doubt, was guilty of them. His name was Barabbas, if you don’t remember. His name quite literally means, “son of the father”. We are Barabbas, guilty of our own sins and deserving and bound for a death that we do deserve. No one would argue against his deserving of death! Yet Christ was sacrificed in his place, in OUR place. A man, totally innocent and undeserving of punishment, yet willing to take it upon Himself in our place so that we might be declared righteous before the eyes of God and able to come home.
This week I would like to read the rest of that Chapter of Isaiah so please turn with me to Isaiah 53. The Word of the Lord,
“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness, and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men. A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes are we healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
As we go into our last song, and as we go out into the world today, may your mind be cast back to the great and terrible cross which the Son of God went to gladly for both you and I. My prayer for you, is that each and every single one of you would know the love of Christ in that while we were yet sinners, bound and destined only for death, Christ died for us, taking into His own body our sin and suffering our death. There are undoubtedly some of you that are out there that look back upon your sin and think “I don’t deserve this, I deserve death. Forgiveness is not something I want, for how could there be enough for me?” Perhaps you’re looking at your sin right now and allowing it to stonewall God calling out to you. My dear friends, I plead with you, Christ pleads with you, all of heaven pleads with you, come home. I speak from experience when I say I know this feeling, the guilt, the painful remorse. Come home, come home to a Father who loves you, to a Savior who died for you. Come home, the altars are open, there will be men waiting at the stairs to pray with you, who join with Christ and myself in pleading for you. Let us pray.
Benediction
A Psalm of David,
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your Lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight – That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when you judge. Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
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Because He First Loved Us Wk 1
The Condition of Mankind
I wanna tell you a story, a true story. A story about a young boy turned into a young man, desperately lost and searching for anything that might bring him a shred of pleasure and peace. You see this boy hadn’t been born to Christian parents, but still grew up going to church. He had the same Sunday school lessons taught to him as many of you did, yet when this world came and broke his little world, he couldn’t cope, couldn’t reconcile what he had been taught about God with what he was facing now. He came face to face with death, the cruel sting of it, robbing him of that last shred of childhood. So, what do you suppose went first? His small and ungrown childish faith. He blamed God for everything that had happened in his life, the bullying, the suicide of his cousin who was more like a brother, the at times tumultuous and rocky home life. He blamed God for the evil that he saw within the world, for the evil that was within his fellow man. And where do you think he sought peace?
He sought it in friends, in women, in trouble and unrighteousness. Lying and manipulation were practically a language for him as was anger and rage. After all, these things gave no peace, only a momentary release and distraction from the pain. Each and every death and disaster in his life drove him further and further into that life, a life where the rule of me was the only rule that mattered. A life whose goal was self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction, which viewed others as dispensable and nothing but pawns and means to ends which he set for himself. Fiercely independent, yet ultimately reliant on others for strength and validation. Nothing within him desired after God, or what God deemed and said was righteousness, in fact the only feelings he had towards Him were contempt and hatred. He persecuted those who believed in Him, actively attacking and lambasting the faith of others, seeking to convince them and himself of the truth that he thought he had. He was stuck, bound, slave to his nature, a nature which desired what was against the God he once knew, and yet he didn’t care.
That young boy, that young man, was me. I desired after nothing but what pleased me and what pleased me, what pleased my sinful nature, what pleased my corrupted flesh was unrighteousness. And yet that is precisely what we are talking about today. Sin, more specifically our sin, our sinful nature, the things which from our birth we have been slave to. Before we begin, examining a portion of the Book of Romans, I wanted to open with this truth about my life. What we are talking about today is without a doubt, a very difficult topic to talk about and a very difficult to accept truth. I want you all to know my heart before I begin, a heart that does not judge nor condemn you for a life that you lived or very well may still live in, for I have lived a life of unrighteousness and there are very, very few things that I have not done for me to judge you upon. My brothers and sisters, dear friends and dear strangers, please join me as we turn to Romans 5:12. The Word of the Lord,
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Through just one man, sin came into the world. Who is this one man? Verse 14 tells us outrightly, it’s our forefather Adam. For from him, we inherited a malignant cancer. But what was the mode that we caught this plague, this corruption? Was it from committing sin? Practicing unrighteousness and disobeying God as our forefather Adam did? I assume we all know of David, the man who defeated Goliath, who desired to see God’s kingdom be exalted above all, who followed after God to his end, the declared “man after God’s own heart”. In Psalm 51:5, our man David had this to say,
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”
Our paragon of a man, perhaps one of the most virtuous men in all of Scripture, gives us the origin of how we came to inherit sin, not to Genesis as St. Paul did in Romans, but more simply to our births. We were given it, as a cursed inheritance from Adam. We, through no sinful action of our own at the moment of our creation, became accursed and guilty of God’s judgment upon mankind. But this inheritance was not only the guilty verdict of death, but an invasive and malignant cancer that would bind our will and desires to it, to total unrighteousness. In the Gospel of John our Lord Christ said this, Chapter 8 Verse 34,
“Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”
And yet as we know from our beginning verse of Romans 5:12, all are guilty of sin. So according to Christ, we are all slave to sin, bound to its will and its way. Yet, it is likely that our understanding of slavery carries an understanding akin to being forced to do what we do not desire to do. Yet this could not be further from the truth! Our sinful and corrupted flesh desires and longs for that sinful and unrighteous release. We serve and served sin gladly and with no knowledge or understanding of a better way! For how could we know, except it was preached unto us, and how could we understand if not for the illumination of the Holy Spirit within us? Perhaps you remain unconvinced. St. Paul, early in the Book of Romans quotes a few Old Testament passages to drive home the unchanging nature of this point. Romans 3:9-12:
“What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not, one”
Not even God’s own people, the Israelites, can escape this. I want to stress that the sinful nature is not our natural state! We were fashioned by God to be in relationship with Him! Our current nature is not new but the corruption of our original nature! We all find a commonality in our final destructions and destinations, both God’s people and the Gentiles, that’s us, for if we all cannot understand, how can we come to appease and find forgiveness in the eyes of God? It is not by our lives or our works as some might suggest, for we know from the teachings of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew that a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit and a corrupt tree cannot bring forth the good fruit. For as it says in the Book of Isaiah Chapter 64 Verse 6:
“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;”
Our works are nothing for the judgment that awaits and awaited us. We cannot seek to appease or satisfy the righteous requirements of God placed upon us. Our hands are metaphorically and quite literally tied, bound for our final destination, that is eternal death.
We all, whether we can admit it to ourselves and others or not, have sinned, have fallen short of the glory of God. But not just fallen short, we have all brought upon ourselves the wrath of God. For why shouldn’t He who is holy and perfect in all things, seek righteous judgment upon the sinful ways of the thing which He has dominion and lordship over. I cannot overstress to you enough that we do not deserve mercy, we do not deserve grace, we deserve death. That’s what we deserve, our final destination in our sins. Ephesians 2:1-3 says this:
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in what you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”
We who were and are children of wrath deserve exactly the same, yet righteous wrath. For how could we measure up? How could we appease and satisfy requirements that we could not desire?
Application
As we move into the closing, I want to leave you with just a single point of application, something simple, but something that must be accepted if one is to understand anything about what comes next. We, all of us, you, me, everyone outside these walls and doors, are broken. All of us, bound before a holy God at an impossible breaking point, totally and utterly destroyed, enslaved to our sin, a nature that we wish to serve. That’s the application, that truth, that understanding of who we are. For many of us we understand what might be coming next, Who is coming next. But I wanted to spend this morning talking directly about who WE are. For how can we understand salvation and the One who brings it, if we can’t grapple with, understand, and accept what we were being saved from, that being ourselves and the enemy.
As we leave today, I’m asking you all to do something, something much more hands-on than what we are used to on a Sunday morning. Beneath your seats or in the storage compartments on the back of the pew in front of you is a piece of paper. While this last song plays, I want you to think about your sins, who you were and who you might still be, sins that you have confessed to God, and sins that you may not have. When you’re done, write them down on that piece of paper and fold it however many times you’d like and either leave it in your pews in the same spot you found them, or take them to the offering basket on your way out of the sanctuary. This will remain totally anonymous and no one but God and yourselves will know what you wrote. If you’d rather do this in the privacy of your own home, take a piece home and bring it back next Sunday and when we collect the offering, place it in the basket. I don’t often like to reveal my hand, but these seemingly insignificant pieces of paper are vital for the next sermon. As the worship team begins to play I’d like to read to you our final verse, a verse for us to meditate on as we think on who we are and who we were. From the Book of Isaiah,
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Benediction Prayer
A Psalm of David,
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your Lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight – That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when you judge. Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence…”
Amen
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The Call to the Great Community 10
We Pray as Jesus Taught us to Pray!
“Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer” (Romans 12:12).
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).
APPROACH PRAYER WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE.
- Be real
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Matthew 6:5).
– Don’t try to impress others (or yourself!)
– Don’t try to impress God (for He knows you already, and He loves you!)
- Be relaxed
“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).
- Be revealing
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him”
(Matthew 6:7-8).
USE THE MODEL JESUS GAVE US
Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray, then, in this way…”
- PRAISE: I begin by expressing my love and adoration to God. Start by anchoring yourself in who He is and who you are in relationship to Him.
“Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name…” (v. 9b).
- PURPOSE: I commit myself to living a life of devotion to God’s will.
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven …” (v. 10).
Pray for God’s will to be done… in me… in my family… my church… my ministry… my job… my future… my city… the nation… the world.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
- PROVISION: I ask God to provide for needs.
“Give us this day our daily bread…” (v. 11).
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
“You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2).
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
- PARDON: I ask God to forgive my sins
“And forgive us our debts …” (v. 12a).
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24).
“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
- PEOPLE: I pray for other people.
“…as we also have forgiven our debtors” (v. 12b).
“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering” (Matthew 5:23-24).
“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).
- PROTECTION: I ask for spiritual protection.
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (v. 13a).
Believers face a spiritual battle every day! Satan wants to defeat you through temptation and fear. By praying for protection, you will have the confidence to face every situation during the day.
“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
- PRIORITIZATION: I recommit myself and my work to God.
“For yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. Amen” (v. 13b).
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).
HOW TO BEGIN A DAILY DEVOTION TIME (QUIET TIME)
The Important Factors:
“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” (Mark 1:35)
- SELECT A SPECIFIC TIME
The best time to have a quiet time is when I am at my best! Whatever time you set, be consistent!
- CHOOSE A SPECIAL PLACE
“And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him” (Luke 22:39).
- GATHER THE RESOURCES YOU’LL NEED
- A Bible – a good translation you can read and understand.
- A notebook or journal – to write down what the Lord speaks to you about, and to keep your prayer list. It is also good to keep you focused when other things come to your mind.
- Memory Cards for Scripture memorization.
- A Songbook – if you want to sing.
- Study tools that you helps you understand and apply what you are learning.
- BEGIN WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDES
- Reverence
“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).
- Expectancy
“Open my eyes, that I may behold; Wonderful things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18).
- Willingness to Obey
“If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself” (John 7:17).
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9).
A PRAYER OF COMMITMENT
“Father, I realize that I was created to have fellowship with You. Thank you for making this privilege possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I know that daily fellowship with You is to be the most important thing in my life. I now want to commit myself to spending time every day with You in a set apart quiet time of Bible intake and prayer. I’m trusting in Your strength to help me be consistent and for my whole life to be in devotion to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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The Call to the Great Community 9
Lesson #9:
Build the Body of Christ by using your Spiritual Gifts! (Pt 2)
(with supporting verses 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 27-31; Ephesians 4:11-12; and 1 Peter 4:9-11)
Today, we are focusing on how you can build the body of Christ by using your spiritual gifts. Last week we laid a good foundation that every Christian is called to live the life of devotion, which we call ministry (Ephesians 2:8-10; 4:11-16 and 2 Corinthians 5:17-20). We learned the 5-step process of discovering your ministry from Romans 12:1-8, which is the foundation of your daily devotional life, ensuring you’re living a life of devotion and not just checking a box. Today, we are going deeper on the spiritual gifts themselves (as described in Romans 12:6-8), but the big point we all need to remember is that God wants to build the body of Christ in and through each of our lives. God chose you on purpose because you have good works to walk in with your life! We are better together in Christ because each of us has an important SHAPE for ministry: God has given you spiritual gifts, a heart or passions for certain people or issues, abilities to meet those needs, personality to effectively work with others, and life experiences that uniquely equip you.
A spiritual gift is one aspect to how God has shaped you for ministry; it is a special ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer upon being saved, to be used to minister to others and therefore build up the body of Christ. All gifts are given to help the church fulfill its purposes to the glory of God. The spiritual gifts are related to, but are distinctively different from, the fruit of the Spirit. Whereas gifts are given to equip you for your life of ministry, the fruit of the Spirit are the maturity of your personhood as a minister of the gospel. It is the Spirit of God at work in you that defines both your person as a Christian – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” – and your work as a Christian, empowered through your spiritual gifts. In Paul’s discussion about spiritual gifts, he stated in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11:
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
The Bible does not lock us into tight restrictions as to the number of spiritual gifts, or even their definitions. The four major lists of gifts are found in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, both of which I have already read to you, and the list continues in verses 27-31:
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.
The next passage of spiritual gifts is found in Ephesians 4:11-12, which I read to you last week; it covers the five-fold ministry of spiritual gifted leaders to equip the local congregations in their unique ministries; and finally, the last one is 1 Peter 4:9-11:
Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Here’s the bottom line about spiritual gifts and why they are important to the building of the body of Christ: spiritual gifts are the temporary to build the eternal, so don’t worship the gifts (nor those who are working more maturely in their gifts), but only worship the Gift-giver! Remember the admonition of James 1:14-17:
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
You don’t need a separate “baptism of the Spirit” or a “second movement of grace” to manifest the fruit of the Spirit or use your spiritual gifts in and through your Christian life. These are your birth rite as a Christian, so learn how to grow strong in God’s grace as a Christian disciple, as Paul exhorted his protégé in 2 Timothy 2:1-6:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.
At conversion, you were already given everything in Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through God’s grace, you have everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1). You are not lacking in any way, except maybe in willingness, motivation, or obedience, but that is between you and God, and that brings us back to where we began this sermon last week, with the five-step process to mature in Christ and go forth to minister in His name.
Step 1: Dedicate your life to God!
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).
Step 2: Eliminate competing distractions!
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
Step 3: Find your identity in God!
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
Step 4: Gather with the Body of Christ as a healthy, functioning member!
“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:4-5).
Step 5: Live a life of wholehearted devotion by using your spiritual gifts to build the body of Christ to the glory of God – Live on Mission Today! CM! Live like a Champion Today! Live Strong in God’s Grace Today! This is what I’ve bene teaching you for years because this the life of discipleship, practically lived out in your life and through community!
“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8).
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The Call to the Great Community 8
Discover Your Ministry! (Pt 1)
Being involved in ministry is a fulfillment of Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ministry is anytime you work unto the Lord. It is an outward expression of God’s grace at work through you. I would argue that it’s impossible to do ministry apart from Christ or for any motive other than Christ. It may be called a ministry, but it’s not! Just like we may not call it ministry when you go about your day, doing whatever it is you do unto the Lord, but it is!
Every single person, called by God and chosen to receive saving faith by grace, is called to live by the anointing of the Holy Spirit as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by 2 Corinthians 5:17-20:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Ministry is not for an exclusive group, such as pastors and missionaries, and, if we were to define ministry as something for an “exclusive group” of people, then the simple fact that you are a Christian puts you in that exclusive group. With that said, how do you discover your ministry? That is a similar question to the philosophical one, “Why do I exist?” or “What on earth did God put me on this planet to do?” Discovering your ministry helps you find your place in the body of Christ because we are called to be members of the one body of Christ. According to Ephesians 4:11-16, the body of Christ is built up when each of us uniquely finds our ministry:
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
You were chosen by God and called to be a member of the body of Christ on purpose! That purpose is to be build the body of Christ because we are the closest thing to the incarnation the world has after Jesus’ ascended to the right hand of the Father. If people are going to see Jesus, it’s through the church, the people of God who bear His image and manifest His fruit! Discovering that purpose invites you to take a 5-step process of discovering your ministry from Romans 12:1-8:
Step 1: Dedicate your life to God!
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).
Step 2: Eliminate competing distractions!
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
These first two steps are summarized with a military image from 2 Timothy 2:4, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” The focus of a Christian soldier is what it means to the fear the Lord, or to “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
Step 3: Find your identity in God!
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
Step 4: Gather with the Body of Christ as a healthy, functioning member!
“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:4-5).
Step 5: Live a life of wholehearted devotion!
“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8).
This is the biblical, five-step process to discover your ministry, but there is a significant issue that I must help you with if this is going to be of practical assistance to us as the Great Community of God! Jesus taught in Matthew 7:24-26:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
You must now go and do what you have learned! And not just once and done, but every day of your life. We work unto the Lord six days per week, and we dedicate one full day per week to cease from our unfinished works to rest in His finished work – to delight in God!
Discovering your life of ministry is truly about living a life of devotion to the beliefs and values you hold true in your heart; it’s about being a person of integrity. You must figure out how to align your heart and mind so that you speak and act in agreement with who you say you are in Christ. A life of devotion must include a devotional life because it is in our time with God that we hear from Him and dedicate our day to walking in the Way with Him. When done properly, your devotional life fuels your life of devotion, just like your Christian discipleship fuels our community life as the Great Community. What we do personally informs what we do corporately, and what we do together gives direction and boundary to what you do alone. This is how God designed it: for us to be totally dependent on Jesus, who is the head, and mutually dependent on one another, the unique members of His body.
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The Call to the Great Community 6
Lesson #5:
The Engine of the Church is Multigenerational Discipleship!
Why did Jesus take three years to do what he could have done in three months, maybe even three weeks? Jesus came to not only die on the Cross for our sins, which He could have accomplished quite quickly in the powder-keg political and religious environment of His time, but He also came from Heaven to Earth to show us the Way to live the Spirit-led life. One of the lessons Jesus taught His disciples came through a practical illustration, found in Matthew 19:13-14, “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” The Spirit-led life emphasizes the importance of children, giving value to most vulnerable in our midst.
Later, when Jesus restored Peter to his position of leadership in John 21:15-17, He passed on His responsibilities as a shepherd to His sheep, which included the lambs:
So when 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, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again 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, “Shepherd My sheep.” 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 all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
The resurrected Jesus commanded Peter that the right response to loving him was caring for and tending to His sheep, including the most vulnerable lambs. You see, Jesus the Good Shepherd, was raising up disciples who could properly care for and feed the next generation of disciples. This was effectively done by the apostles, as they passed on to others what was fist given to them, often through women, children, and households. Paul said to the next generation of the faith in 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful [people] who will be able to teach others also.”
In the same way that Jesus walked with His disciples to show them the Way, we are to do life with others. Timothy learned how to live the life of discipleship by being a first-hand witness of Paul’s ministry. Paul expressed this point to him in 2 Timothy 3:10-11: “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
Timothy learned directly from Paul in real everyday life, on the mission field. He learned not only through words, but through actions. Timothy was more than an eyewitness; he partook of Paul’s words and deeds, and He adopted Paul’s unwavering missional focus through demanding circumstances, including suffering and persecution. Here are three passages that demonstrate how Paul and Timothy became yoked together:
1) Acts 19:21-22. Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
2) 1 Corinthians 4:15-17. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.
3) 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3. Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
To pass on your faith to the next generation is to entrust something precious to you. Never forget that you can only entrust to others what you yourself first have obtained for yourself. Paul used the same word, “entrust,” in a special admonition to his protege in 1 Timothy 1:18-19, “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” Paul taught the next generation how to walk in the Way of Jesus, in word and deed – when you remain focused on the task of multigenerational discipleship, you are protecting your life from getting shipwrecked! This principle can be applied to marriage and raising children.
The final part of 2 Timothy 2:2 emphasizes the entire point, Paul expressed that the faith must be passed on to those who will be able to teach others also. There must be a multiplication of laborers for the harvest, as Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” This is for you and me, all of us – men, women, and children – the whole family. You are called by God, and it is His grace which qualifies the called. It is the Spirit at work in you. Listen to Paul teach the church this in 2 Corinthians 3:2-6:
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Think of your life, your marriage, and your household as a small group, an outpost of the Kingdom of God to your neighborhood. Jesus Christ calls every believer to live on mission for Him in Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Once again, the emphasis is on passing on to others about what you first received yourself! Just like with Paul and Timothy, this is a call to discipleship relationships between the generations like a teacher to a student, a parent to a child, a master to an apprentice. Multigenerational discipleship involves entering relationships with others to learn and to teach, to share life while living on mission for Jesus. We are to yoke with Jesus, then with one another as the one body of Christ. We are to pass it on, this is the engine of the church, fueled by the Holy Spirit; it’s what keeps us going from generation to generation.
Who, what, when, where, and why? I just gave you the why? Are you aligned with the mission of God? Now, you need to prayerfully determine the who, what, when and where. I want every individual, couple, and family unit to pray about it this summer. In the same way that two dozen adults are investing time and energy into 29 children over the next week, intentionally doing intergenerational discipleship at our Next Gen summer camp, how are you intentionally investing your time and energy into multigenerational discipleship? Think of one practical thing you can do today.
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The Call to the Great Community 5
Lesson #5
The Church was Born on Pentecost!
It’s Pentecost Sunday and today we are going to learn about the importance of not only the historical event of Pentecost as read in Acts 2:1-13 earlier in the service, but also of the ongoing promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ gave us. Before I share this teaching with you, I want to share a personal word that God admonished me with in 2015, based on Galatians 3:1-3, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Let us learn from today’s teaching how to be wise when it comes to the things of the Spirit and why learning about the Spirit is important. Do you see how Paul connected the receiving of the Spirit and salvation through faith, as well as the ongoing sanctification of your life unto the glory of God? Just as the church was born by the Spirit, so it grows in its maturity and unity as witnesses of the gospel by the power of the Spirit.
Listen to Jesus’ clear teaching on the Holy Spirit so that you can hear this promise in the fullness of Jesus’ teaching. From John 14:16-31 Jesus taught, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.”
Jesus gave us this clear teaching, along with other teachings, on the Holy Spirit. From Acts 1:4-5, immediately before His ascension to the right hand of the Father (please listen to last week’s sermon if you have not yet listened to that important teaching on the Ascension of Jesus Christ), Jesus promised that His followers would be baptized in the Spirit: “Gathering them together, [Jesus] commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”
This is not the first time the followers of Jesus heard this invitation to be baptized in the Spirit because the baptism of the Spirit is not a secondary event to salvation itself, it is the very nature of salvation itself – the Spirit of God is our inheritance – the presence and power of God dwelling in us, the Giver of new life transforming us into a Temple of the Holy Spirit and inviting us into the eternal fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by allowing us to participate in His divine nature, as Peter taught in 2 Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” This is what it means to have salvation and being baptized in the Spirit should never be reduced to some secondary work of sanctification in our lives. The Son removed our sins from us through His sacrificial death on the Cross so that God could live in us through His Spirit!
From the beginning of the New Testament, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was distinguished apart from the baptism of John. John the Baptist’s baptism was a means of preparation for the coming of the Lord, a purification of oneself in preparation for the coming of the Lord in Christ Jesus. Listen to John the Baptist make this distinction in Matthew 3:11, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (cf. Mark 1:7-8 & Luke 3:16).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of Jesus, which is the only form of New Covenant baptism that Jesus commanded His disciples to conduct immediately before His ascension to the right hand of the Father when He gave us the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This is how we are born again; at the moment of our salvation we participate in the event that birthed the church in the first place.
This issue is often confused by people misapplying the early church history book of Acts. The early church leaders dealt with this confusion, making a distinction between the baptism of John and the baptism in Jesus’ name. Acts 11:15-18 is a powerful illustration of the importance of understanding how yoked our justification in Christ is with the baptism of the Spirit. Listen to Peter give a first-hand witness of the work of the Spirit after Pentecost and in the early church among non-Jewish people, called Gentiles, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
Why am I talk about all this? Because Pentecost is both a one-time historical event recorded in Acts 2 and the birth of the church – the promised fulfillment of Jesus Christ who ushered in the New Covenant. For which the baptism of the Spirit is a fulfillment of God’s promise to His people from Joel 2:28-32, “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”
We will be in the age of Pentecost until we experience the fulfillment of God’s Word and the return of Jesus. Until that Day, we are to walk by the Spirit. As we learned last week, the ministry of the ascended Lord Jesus Christ, right now, is to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father until He returns. Simultaneously, the Father and Son have baptized us with the Spirit so that our eternity would be secure in His covenant faithfulness, and we would carry in our very person the same anointing that the Messiah Himself had: the Spirit of the Living God! The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in you and me – the resurrection power of God is in us!
Paul teaches us in Galatians 5:16-26 what it means to live our lives in the Spirit, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”
When the power of the risen Christ comes upon the members of His body through the promised coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is keeping His promise to His followers that He will always be with us and that we will become like Him. Jesus’ ascension did not leave us alone in this world. He promised to not leave us as orphans, and He kept His word! God came upon His church at Pentecost in a new and different way than Jesus’ incarnation at Christmas. We don’t live in the age of Christmas where Jesus’ uniquely incarnated God’s presence on earth; rather, we live in the age of Pentecost where God now incarnates (I’m using this word figuratively) in each of us through His Spirit living in us. Jesus has ascended and will come again, but until that time, the Spirit of the Living God indwells the Church of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of the words of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ and the earliest church teachings. Just as Acts 2:32-33 taught us, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
God is with us through His presence and power living in us. May God be exalted in and through His church. Let us never forget that this only can happen through the Spirit. I close with the same admonishment to you that God has given me, from Galatians 3:1-3, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
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The Call to the Great Community 4
Lesson #4
Join in the Eternal Conversation of God!
Right now, Jesus is at the right hand of God, in the throne room of Heaven, praying for you! Romans 8:34b teaches, “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Ascension Day, which was on Thursday, forty days after Easter, is the crowning event of the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but is often hidden in the shadow of our proclamation of His crucifixion and resurrection.
We skip over the triumphant reality of Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Father, yet we declare His imminent return in the second coming of Jesus Christ. We leave the “where is He now” and “what is He doing in this present age” kind of ambiguous. Let’s be clear, right now, at the right hand of God, Jesus is praying for you! Amazing, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, and Jesus, who is at the right of the Father in Heaven, are speaking with one another and with the Father about you. God exists in a perfect relationship with perfect communication for His glory and our good, for eternity.
Today, I want to teach you the importance of Jesus’ ascension so that you can live with even greater confidence in your daily prayer life as a member of His body. We are held together by prayer because prayer is one of the few things we do that will stand for eternity. Revelation 8:3-4 teaches us this truth, “Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.”
This is what the scripture reading was about from Acts 1:1-11. That is not the only place we saw the ascension recorded. Listen to the following passages:
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- Luke 24:50-53, “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.”
- Mark 16:19, “So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” We also hear it recorded in the ancient creeds of the Bible.
- 1 Timothy 3:16, “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
On the fortieth day after Easter, concluding the church calendar season of Eastertide, Jesus ascended (bodily rose, “taken up in glory”) to heaven before His disciples’ eyes. Jesus did not leave behind his physical body, resurrected in the flesh, glorified in the Spirit, so that He could take His place at the right hand of the Father. No, very importantly, giving us hope for the New Heaven and New Earth, Jesus in His glorified and resurrected body, is now at the right hand of God, praying for us!
Furthermore, Hebrews 1:1-4 affirms Jesus’ fulfillment of this prophecy, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”
What does it mean that Jesus “sat down at the right hand”? It means that Jesus has the respect and authority of the Sovereign! To be at the right hand is to be the trusted agent of the will of the King. Heaven is the control room of creation from which the Sovereign Creator rules over all things in heaven and earth. Do you know the awesome news? God’s control room is one day coming to earth in the New Heaven & Earth.
Jesus has the authority of Heaven in earthly and heavenly affairs. From 1 Peter 3:22, Peter declares that Jesus “is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him” (cf. Ephesians 1:18-23; Philippians 2:9-11).
Jesus declared this authority before His ascension as He gave the Church the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Our relationship with God and our work for Jesus in His Church rest in His rightful authority, not in the authority of any man or denomination. Living and working under rightful authority (headship) is an essential reality and one that God cares very deeply about—not just for His Son, but for all of His children and all of creation, for all time. Are you living under the authority of Jesus Christ and His Word? How far reaching are the implications to your answer?
All who are in Christ Jesus are promised participants in His ascension. Paul states this in Ephesians 2:4-7, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
This event in Jesus’ ministry invites us to live faithfully and to keep our focus on Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Paul taught us this in Colossians 3:1-2, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Our work in this life is now informed by the promises of God and His rightful rule over all creation.
We are no longer bound to this earth, our place in Heaven is already being prepared for us. Speaking of His own future ascension in John 14:1-3, Jesus taught us how this is important for all those who follow Him, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
These are the comforting words of Jesus Christ, made possible through His ascension. We can share these words with others because we know Jesus is alive, ascended to the right hand of God, in a place of authority.
Jesus prays for us continually and His prayers are effective, not only because of Jesus’ authority, but also because of the intimate knowledge of Jesus’ experiences as a person who walked on the earth! So don’t feel guilty and heavy-burdened if your prayer life is lacking, just remember to never stop starting in your conversation with Jesus, who is already praying for you.
What a powerful truth that fuels my prayer life with desire to be with this God who loves me and gave Himself for me. In fact, our very prayer lives are empowered by the presence of God in us, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are joining in the conversation between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Prayer is sharing in God’s eternal community; this is what it means to be called to the Great Community – you have joined the eternal conversation of God!
Paul teaches us about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:26-27, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
God is with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us – He will see us through to the completion of His Plan A! God is with us through His presence and power living in us! May God be exalted in and through you – a fellow member of the Great Community where the eternal conversation of God is bearing good fruit in our everyday lives. Join the conversation and pray John 17 every day, continue to pray through the Psalms each and every day, joining with Jesus under His headship so that we, each and every one of us, may walk in the unity of the Spirit, so that the world may see us as one mature body, in synch with God and coordinated together. We can do more together than we can do apart.
Resources:
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The Call to the Great Community 3
Communion Celebrates Christ While Declaring our Unity as His Church!
Our current sermon series, “The Call to the Great Community,” is a series of discipleship teachings about the body of Christ and our call to be fellow members of the body of Christ. This is an important call to answer for us individually and corporately for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ (why He came!) for the glory of God. You have a purpose for belonging!
The church is God’s idea; not mine nor yours! The church is the body of Christ because we exist to embody the mission of Jesus to the glory of the Father. The mission of Jesus is the great rescue mission; He came from Heaven to Earth to show us the way to the Father; this has always been God’s Plan A; therefore, the church exists for the mission – to walk in the way of Jesus as His body, making Him known and continuing His mission for the glory of God. We have a purpose for belonging!
We are to be one in Christ as His church! In order to express our oneness in Christ we must have unity within our diverse functionality. Just like how God designed and intended men and women to complement, and not compete with, one another. We must treat one another with humility and gentleness, and we must pray for the the Spirit to give us a true John 17 unity. We must practice our belonging on purpose!
+ Read Luke 22:14-20
+ Watch educational video: https://www.gotquestions.org/communion-Christian.html
+ Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-34
- It is an ordinance of remembrance, commemorating the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
- It is a sign and signifier of the New Covenant, which was sealed through the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
- It is a proclamation of your statement of faith – Christ crucified, risen, and coming again.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (v. 26)
How Do I Prepare Myself for the Lord’s Supper? Through faith, confessing, and repenting of all known sin. It is ONLY by God’s grace you can be worthy.
Who Should Take the Lord’s Supper?
Only those who are believers/disciples of Jesus Christ.
“For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.” (v. 29)
RESOURCES:
In order to watch the message click HERE.
In order to watch the entire service with music, click HERE.
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The Heart of a Servant
(Pt 2 in The Heart series)
The Heart of a Servant
That is why we as a church are not to follow the world, but to set the example for them to follow. When Jesus called the disciples, He told them to “Come! Follow me…” In doing so, they were to give up their own wants and desires and to learn from the Master so they could become true disciples. We, too, are to surrender everything to Jesus and learn from Him what a true disciple is and how we are to live that out in our lives.
In today’s scripture, we find Paul writing to the people of Galatia to not be like the world, but to be what Christ told His disciples to be. They were allowing the things of the world to distort the message of the Gospel. Galatians 5 starts off with this reminder:
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
Freedom from the slavery of sin and selfishness is not something we can do on our own, I don’t care how much will power you have. It is only through Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and love that we can truly be free. And what is so cool about that it is a FREE GIFT for anyone who chooses to accept it. With it should come a real change in our hearts…
Galatians 5:13-14
“ For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
Love comes from the heart, and true love comes from God. When we love Him as He first loved us, then we are able to love others. So, in order for this to happen, we have to have that change from a self-serving heart to a heart that serves others.
Today, we are going to look at:
- WHAT DOES IS MEAN TO HAVE THE HEART OF A SERVANT
- HOW CAN WE DEVELOP THE HEART OF A SERVANT
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING THE HEART OF A SERVANT
1. What does it mean to have the heart of a servant?
The heart of a servant is a reflection of God, embodying compassion and love (agape), not seeking its own glory, focuses on others and finds joy in lifting up the broken, bringing hope to the hopeless, all while being selfless.
John 12:1-3:
“Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
The job of washing feet was one assigned to the lowest of slaves. Because of wearing sandals and traveling on dirt roads, when a guest came to the house, they would be offered a basin of water to wash their own hands as they prepared to sit down for a meal, but it was the servant that took care of washing their feet. They would wash the feet of the guests because they would be reclining around the table. This would mean that another guest’s feet would be close to where they were reclining. Some people’s feet just naturally smell bad from their own sweat, but what if they had stepped in something on the roadway in their travels (we call them ‘landmines’ aka ‘droppings’ from animals) Have you ever traveled behind a horse and buggy in Amish country?!?
Mary’s action was one that showed both humility and devotion to Jesus. The use of the alabaster jar of nard, a very expensive perfume was to demonstrate her total surrender to Him by giving her all. In Matthew and Mark’s writings about this event, they mentioned that she also anointed His head.
She was serving out of love for Jesus, with total disregard of what others might have thought or were even saying out loud. She was selflessly serving Jesus.
John 13:3-5:
“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”
This was just six days after the previous story. These men had shared other Passover meals together, as well as other times of sitting down to share a meal. You would have thought that the disciples would have remembered this important part of caring for the guests at a meal. But we all know that they did not have any servants, so they probably figured it would be ‘every man for themselves’. Jesus was the one to get up from the table and take care of this. He did this out of love for each of them, even the one who was going to betray Him!
John 13:15-17:
For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
Mark 10:42-45:
“Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
So, if the Savior of the world did that for us, why are we not doing the same thing for Him and for each other?
Philippians 2:1-4:
“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
We need the power of the Holy Spirit and His guidance. We are not naturally wired this way. Man is by nature a sinner (Romans 3:23). We have to surrender our own wants, desires and ambitions to selflessly put the needs of others ahead of our own.
Philippians 2:5-7:
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
Jesus surrendered totally to the Father’s will. He was not motivated by personal gain or recognition, but wanted people to see the Father’s love and compassion in everything that He said and did. He wanted to bring God glory! Are we not to do the same?
Look at David, known as a man after God’s own heart. He demonstrated his love for his fellow man and his faith in God’s promises when he went out to face Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:37a:
“…The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
3. What are the benefits of having the heart of a servant?
John 13:34-35:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
If we are going to talk the talk, we have to walk the walk. They will know that we love them when we show that we love them. That is why we need to the Holy Spirit to help us discern when we are to love gently, or love strongly, even in spite of how they are treating us.
Philippians 2:14-18:
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.”
When we become a Christian, we are freed from the slavery of sin and are to serve Christ as our Lord and King, not out of duty, but out of love.
ILLUS: Jim Baich, my brother-in-law; Pastor Jerry (how fortunate we are!)
So today I have told you:
- What it means to have the heart of a servant
- How we can develop the heart of a servant
- What the benefits are of having the heart of a servant.
All of this starts with the heart! When we put our heart in alignment with God, we are able to recognize who we are in the relationship, get rid of the pride that would cause us to stumble and embrace the humility necessary to serve Him and how we are to serve others. We need to view serving others as a way of living and that it is an expression of worship to God. There is an old hymn “Joy in Serving Jesus” and the chorus say:
There is joy, joy, joy in serving Jesus, Joy that throbs within my heart
Every moment, every hour, As I draw upon His power,
There is joy, joy, joy that never shall depart
You can watch this week’s message by clicking HERE.
You can watch the entire service including music by clicking HERE.
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The Call to the Great Community 2
Lesson #2:
The Church is One in Christ!
Our new sermon series, “The Call to the Great Community,” is a series of discipleship teachings about the body of Christ and our call to be fellow members of the body of Christ. This is an important call to answer for us individually and corporately for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ (why He came!) for the glory of God. You have a purpose for belonging!
The big idea from the first teaching last week was that the church is God’s idea; not mine nor yours! From the Scriptures, we learned that the church is the Body of Christ because we exist for the mission of Jesus to the glory of God. The mission of Jesus is the great rescue mission; He came from Heaven to Earth to show us the way to the Father; this has always been God’s Plan A; therefore, the church exists for the mission – to make Jesus known and to continue His mission, as His body for the glory of God. We have a purpose for belonging!
Finally, last week you were invited to find unity with your fellow member by participating in the 150-day Pray the Psalms Discipleship Challenge. Today is Day #7, which means we are praying through Psalm 7. I pray you are finding it meaningful to do this just as you found it meaningful to read through the New Testament together. Belonging doesn’t happen by accident!
Today’s big idea: The Church is One in Christ!
Romans 12:4-5, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
+ How can we demonstrate our unity within our diverse functionality?
Ephesians 4:1-6, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
+ How should we treat one another to preserve the unity of the Spirit?
John 17:20-26, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
+ How do we pray for one another to see the fulfillment of John 17 in us?
RESOURCES:
You can download this week’s notes in a PDF format by clicking HERE.
You can watch the message by clicking HERE.
If you would like to view the entire broadcast including music, click HERE.
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