Focus: God is with us.
Function: To preach the good news that God does not leave us alone. He is not just a God up in the sky. He is a God down on the ground.
Text: Matthew 28.20 (18.20, 1.23, Hag 1.13, Gen 28:15; Exod 3:12; Josh 1:5, 9; Isa 41:10)
I. Text – Jesus (and God) is with us. (and surely I am with you til the end of the age…)
II. Views of God
a. NT Wright: don’t believe in a God far away and distant
b. God wants to be intimiately involved in every way
c. Part of God’s character
III. Jesus: The Kingdom is Near
a. God’s presence: available and immanent.
IV. You are not alone (Chosen!) Gift that God has given us
V. Power to redeem because God is here.
What do you think of switching II and III? I'm going back and forth on that one...
I think IV and V could be switched (Eugene's suggestion). I'll see how it flows when writing it. Other thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I like the ending with V. I. I am with you in the text II. Everyone in the Bible believes this. God's character points to this. III. Jesus says I have your back. IV. So it is true. Take confidence in that. V. What do we do with this power? How do we "redeem" all these areas of our lives? By Grace and Grace alone. Since it is by God's power and presence that we are redeemed that we are changed.. ultimately and in the things we do in this life.. It just feels like it is building to that end.. Maybe I interpreted your notes wrong though.. haha
ReplyDeletei think II and III are okay in that order. IV and V i'm still undecided about. it really depends how you word things because that can change the flow slightly towards one way or another.
ReplyDeletei guess since the series is redemption then V might be better suited to end since that has the idea of God's redeeming power, whereas IV touches more on the fact that we are to take courage because we are not alone.
Yeah I agree with Eugene. What you end on will in large part be determined by the emphasis of the message. I don't think you are tied to either one, Brett.
ReplyDeleteI think it fits well with the series to end on the note of God's power to redeem. That really hammers home the point of the series. But at the same time, God with us is meant to be encouraging. I think it's okay to end with a word of encouragement. It could be a nice way of flipping the series - God being a part of every part of our lives is a gift! It's not just a responsibility on our part it's something we've been given and should take advantage of.
I do think it's really really important that you decide which of those two you want to focus on. What is your primary application for God with us?
I think what Ii was planning to do was meaning for it to be an encouragement, and then apply it to the empowerment towards redemption, which is more the main point
ReplyDeleteSounds good - I like that.
ReplyDeleteHey guys, here's the rough draft manuscript for tomorrow (tonight). Feel free to read and comment if you have time. I feel like I need another story or a bit more humor in there somewhere. LMK what you think... brett
ReplyDeleteTurn with me to Matthew 28, verse 19-20. I’m sure this is a familiar passage to most of us. This is the great commission. Jesus was crucified and resurrected and now, after a few weeks, it was time for him to rejoin the Father. And so, he was leaving his disciples again. Now I’m not sure where heaven is or where, if anywhere God specifically lives. But regardless, Jesus was leaving.
I can imagine some of the disciples getting pretty distraught about this… “Hey Jesus, ok, you came back, but now how are people going to believe us if you go?” “Jesus, I still don’t get all your taught, could you spend, I don’t know another few years teaching again?” “Jesus, my life is still kinda messed up, I really could use more of your wisdom”. But Jesus was taking off, off to go watch the world from afar, doing heavenly things, and maybe bringing some interesting times to Israel, but now he’s done.
But Jesus decides that though he does have to return to the Father, he can reassure his disciples that he won’t be gone. He leaves them some instructions and then offers them confidence. 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”d
We’re not going to focus on verse 19 and the commission to spread the word. I want to focus tonight on the second part of verse 20. Listen again to the text. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
PRAY
Have any of you seen Watchmen? I know its Rated R, so probably a lot of you can’t see it. But it’s a superhero movie that sort of redefines and questions the whole superhero ideology. One of the superheroes is Dr. Manhattan. He’s really the only superhuman in the story, the rest are just really strong or really smart, normal people with no extra ordinary powers. But Dr. Manhattan has real powers from a freak science experiement. He can split himself off into multiple beings, he can grow to giant size, he can fly, teleport, doesn’t need oxygen, control matter, and can make people explode just by holding out his hand and thinking about it. Oh and he’s blue and glowy. But he’s basically a god-like character. He can do almost anything, create things, and he can see the past and the future.
But the problem for him is that he has begun to lose his connection to people. To him, people are just specks of dust in the universe, completely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. In fact, humans, he realizes are the problems in the universe. They’ll just go about their silly lives… and then they die. So when the world is on the brink of disaster and about to destroy itself, he really isn’t that concerned. And when his girlfriend leaves him because he simply can’t connect with her anymore since he’s too caught up in cosmic things and just can’t connect to people, he says, “Why would I save a world I no longer have a stake in.”
He had no more purpose in trying to save the world. He ultimately couldn’t care about that world. There were bigger things in the universe, people were, in the end, meaningless. And so he tinkered with the idea of just letting them destroy themselves.
And I think sometimes we might think God is like this… He’s up there in heaven, watching from afar. Maybe he created the world, but he’s not really involved in the world. Or maybe he’ll come down occasionally, cause an earthquake or save a life here and there. But mostly God is just not really here. Maybe like Dr. Manhatten, he’s more concerned with the rest of the universe. Afterall, we’re just a speck of dust compared to everything else.
This is how the world would prefer God perhaps, if it really does believe in a God. One who is uninvolved, one who is cold and distant, unconcerned with our daily lives. He’s just a guy in white robes, with a thick white beard watching us humans go about our ultimately pointless lives.
But is that who God is? Is he just a spy in the sky? Is God more than a God who occasianlly swoops down from heaven in some act of justice and mercy? Is he more than a Father figure?
We’ve been talking about redemption in our lives, how we might find God in our families, in our friendships, in our school and so on. But if God is just some guy who may have created us, but just left us on our own. Just set the wheels in motion and then went off to go on vacation or something… I think we’d better look elsewhere for redemption. Oh sure, he may have left us the Bible and some instructions for life which might have some redemption… but, and this may be slightly scandalous for me to say, if we have that but just a distant uninvolved God, it seems kinda pointless.
NT Wright, a bishop in the Anglican church in England tells this story. P 157 The Meaning of Jesus.
I too donn’t believe in that God who is just staring at us from above. Because that’s not the God that the Bible talks about. That is not the God that Jesus portrayed. And that’s why I want to suggest to you tonight, that we must keep our image of God as the image embodied by Jesus. It is this Jesus who, before going up I suppose to be “in the sky” that reassured his disciples that he would be with them. That God who is distant and uncaring cannot help us find redemption in our lives. That God ultimately wouldn’t care. But the God of the Bible, the God whom Jesus knew is one who wants to be and is intimately involved on the world. Only a God who wants to be involved in the lives of people can bring redemption.
And we actually see a God who wants to be involved in life all throughout the Bible. In Genesis 28, God says to Jacob, “Know that I am with you and I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.” When God sends Moses to confront Pharoah in order to free the Israelites, he says to Moses, “I will be with you.” In Joshua 1, God says to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, I will be with you.” Isaiah 41.10 says, “do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
And all throughout the Bible, it is the story of God with his people. You see God acting in every part of the story, he isnt’ just the creator, but he’s an actor. He participates in events and he comes to the aid of his people. He’s not a God up there! He’s a God right here.
Its just part of God’s character. God is a God who loves his children. God is a God who cares about their wellbeing. God is a god who wants to be involved in people’s lives. God wants to see people turn their hearts to Him so this life might be redeemed. You see, God isn’t just waiting for us to get to heaven. He hasn’t just put us here on Eearth so that we could live our lives get people to Christ and then die. I think we as Christians sometimes place too much emphasis on going to heaven. Now, I know that’s really important. I know that’s pretty central to what we believe. But its not the only thing. Christianity is not just about going to heaven.
No, what we see about God is that he cares for our lives right now. He wants to see us turn to him and participate with us in life at this moment. He doesn’t want to wait until you die. He doesn’t want to sit on the sidelines while we are in this world. He wants to be with his children. God hasn’t forgotten or left anyone behind, he’s right here and right now.
And this is what Jesus came to preach! The Kingdom of God is at hand. He’s saying that God is coming, God is here. His presence is available to everyone. Whether you’re having the time of your life or in the slumps of depression He is here. Whether you’re successful and popular or if you’re alone and struggling, he is here. Whether you’re following him close or if you’ve strayed from the path, He is here.
Maybe you’re feeling abandoned by God. Nothing I going right. You’re struggling, in sorrow and pain. You have issues that really need dealing with. Or maybe you’ve found yourself straying God so far that you can’t even see the road back. Or maybe as you’ve listened to these messages the past month or two, you’ve heard some good ideas about how to find God redeeming life. But it seems so hard, so hard to change, so hard to get out of those habits of selfishness, blame, and the regularity of life. I hope that you hear good news when I tell you that you are not alone in your journey. You are not alone in finding redemption. You are not alone in your quest of seeing God move in your life. You are not alone seeking God, because the good news is that God’s already found you. He wanted to be with you and, hey I mean, he’s God, if He can’t find you no one can. And He found you and like 1 Peter 2.9 says, He chose you, he made you holy and set apart, and he made you a part of his royal priesthood.
And he tells you that you’re loved and that you’re his child and that you’re usable. He tells you, “Son or daughter, I want to be right here with you, right now. I want to know what your struggles are and I want to comfort and help you. I want to see each aspect of you’re life redeemed so that you might find yourself in a life that is free, fulfilling, and one with me.”
And this is so like God, we see it all through the Bible. From stories like Ruth and Esther, the exodus, and the coming of Jesus and the gift of the holy spirit, we see that God is present. He’s the God of the here and now and the God of all the world. He is not just a God in heaven, but a God whose reign extends to us here on Earth. He is here and desires to become a vital and integral part of your life.
This is what Jesus came to preach. The Kingdom is here. And Jesus embodied that just as we are to embody the kingdom. And how do we embody the kingdom, well, the many things that we’ve talked about over the last few weeks. Redeeming our relationships and friendships by making sure they’re not about what we get out of it. Instead, we place them in God’s hands and see our friends as God sees them. We serve them. We find redemption in our families by working towards peace and deeper love and understanding of each other. We remember that God is creator of all knowledge and we find God in even our school work. Our learning can be for his glory. We live out serving, trusting, and loving dating and romantic relationships (when you’re ready for them) in the hopes of embodying God’s love. NEED MORE
Jesus’ ministry carries on to us today. Remember I will be with you until the end of the age. And Jesus wants to see our redemption come to fulfillment. But you are not alone in seeking this. He is with you, just like He is always with his people.
And that’s good news. The power to redeem comes from God. And its not hurled down like a lightning bolt from heaven to Earth. Rather, its like a friend giving you a hand carrying a bunch of stuff or when we all form a factory line in moving chairs to the CE building. It’s a knowing that right by your side, God is with you to help you find redemption in all parts of your life.
Ya know, when we went on retreat, I was reflecting on the meaning of 1 Peter 2.9. Knowing that we’re a chosen people, a holy nation, and a royal priesthood, what does that really mean for my life. And I came to the conclusion that those things are meant to be empowering. Those statements that Peter makes are supposed to stir us to action, to give us a new identity so that we might go out and live it.
Again, its dependent on God. We don’t choose ourselves, we don’t become holy ourselves, and we aren’t automatically royal priests. Now, God makes us that. But once he calls us that, we then know we can do those thing. STORY of becoming leadership in AACF. So God says, you’re chosen, now you can act like it. We didn’t do anything to be chosen, but God makes us chosen and so we can now act like it. God says, you are now holy, and now I can think, yeah, I am! I am set apart for God, that changes how I look at the world. And God says, you are my royal priest, my minister, my messenger, and now you can go be one.
And in that same way, God says, I am with you. You have a companion. You are not alone. You are redeemed because I am with you. Now, because we are called redeemed, because God has declared that His kingdom is here and redemption is here, we can live that way. Our friendships, our family all can be redeemed because God is here and he wants to be a part of that redemption right now. All we have to do is open our eyes and realize that we have the power, the power of God. Reeady and available for us to start finding new ways to live life, new ways to interact with people, new ways to make little steps in finding redemption.
It is a gift from God that we find our lives intertwined with Him. Walking alone, even walking with people will ultimately lead to failure. But walking with God and with other people cause they are important and vital to our lives, But walking with God in the picture shows us a new way of living. A new potential to our lives. You can go from nothing, from being down in the depths of your heart to new freedom, new hope, and new clarity. Remember Jesus, I am with you. Jesus knew God was with him. He was at the very depths hanging from a cross yet God raised Him to new life. And He can raise you and redeem you and every part of your life with you. Do you believe in a God who is here right now? Do you believe that He has the power to redeem your life? If you do, then know that redemption is at hand. He will raise you up to new life along with Christ, not just eternal life, but life right here and now. And if you don’t or aren’t sure, know that God is tapping on your shoulder, saying, Shh, I’m here, you don’t have to be afraid anymore. You don’t have to be alone or worried anymore. Know that I am God and I am here to be at your side and help you find redemption.
Pastor Gary ends all our services with the line, And now may the Lord Bless you and keep you, may He make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. The Lord be with you.
I’d like to end tonight with modifying that line. Its actually from the old testament, but I want to add a little bit to it.
And now the Lord blesses you and keeps you, because He is here, pouring out his blessings and keeping you in his arms, right now. He shines his face upon you, showering you with redemption. He is gracious to you, for the gift of himself remains with us forever. He lifts up his countencance upon you and gives you the peace that we find when we live redeemed lives. It is a gift from Him, perhaps one we do not deserve, yet he gives it freely anyways. Right now, right here, to redeem our lives, to give us new life, to pour out his love, and to help us love others, The Lord is with you. Amen.