More Than Enough: Kindness

More Than Enough: Kindness

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: We must redefine our shallow idea of kindness to fully embrace the depth of God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ. 

• Kinda Kind

• Real Kindness 

• The Kindness of God 

Kinda Kind

We could all use and give more kindness in our worlds.  

But the question is, how would you define kindness?

We see the reflection of kindness all throughout God’s word.  

Kindness in its purest form comes from the Holy Spirit of God.  

Kindness encourages. 

Kindness serves. 

Kindness gives. 

Kindness speaks life, not death.  

Kindness initiates rather than remaining passive in relationships. 

Kindness looks to use the authority of Christ to build others up, and not simply tear them down. 

“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.”

- Blaise Pascal

“He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king.”

- Augustine

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting…Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well.”

-Mother Teresa

Yet at the end of the day, being kind and being nice are not the same thing. 

Though the two can overlap, if you are simply trying to be nice, you will avoid necessary conflict for the betterment of your neighbor and loved ones.  

The problem of a kindness that is not God-centered is that it is deceptive and incomplete.  

How many times have you had people deliver niceties to you but not address something that in retrospect would have really helped you?

Real Kindness 

Real kindness grounds people in the truths of God which make sense of life and our existence.  

God’s appeal to all mankind sounds like this:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.”

Kindness is not avoidance.  

Consider such passages:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

God is in no way speaking of or condoning abuse here.  

He is not giving parents a cart blanche to express their frustrations in outbursts of anger towards their children.  

Instead, just as we are image bearers of God, stewarding and cultivating his creation, so parents are to be imitators of God executing careful, loving, instructive correction for the shaping of their children’s character and souls.  

Yet think about this, for a beautiful garden to grow, continual pruning (cutting) and weeding (pulling up that which does not belong) must take place.  

Kindness is not overlooking the ways that people are destroying their own lives through destructive relationships, addictions and pursuit of peace in identities that are superficial and untrue.   

The kindness of God addresses sin that is leading to people’s death that they might be led to repentance through grace and truth.    

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”

You can not be an enabler of sin if you truly love people.  

Whether it be disciplining your children or rebuking and correcting a friend, real love is found in speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15,16). 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

You have to be close enough and open enough to others for the Holy Spirit to be able to produce the sparks of sanctification in the midst of your relationships.  

With remote work, where we interact through avatars and are continually moving to spending more time in the virtual world (Apple’s new products, Meta’s educational ambitions), we lose the power of a shared life to which the early disciples were devoted (Acts 2). 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭27‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.”

Kindness is not simply a sentiment in the heart, but is a diligent pursuit to seek God to know what to say and how to communicate the loving thoughts of Christ to others.  

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭28‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.”

If you have truly experienced the grace of God, that means that you look to love your neighbor, family and friends, even when they disagree with you.

This is how Jesus treated us when he came to sacrifice himself at the cross for us, communicating both grace and truth (John 1; Romans 5). 

He is the only one who can be both just and the justifier of those who come to faith through his sinless life, substitutionary death in our place and resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:26).  

“Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.”

-George Washington Carver

The Kindness of God 

The kindness of God leads to true life through repentance and faith in Jesus.   

‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.”

True kindness allows people to see the cross of Christ.  

The greatest gift anyone can receive is the gift of eternal life through reconciliation with God and the forgiveness of their sins.  

Sharing the gospel with others that they might see and understand God’s kindness when they know all too well the harsh realities of our fallen world is a gift that you are continually called to give to others. 

Kindness is delivering to others the eternal hope of God through Jesus’ sinless life, substitutionary death at the cross and resurrection from the dead to usher us into God’s grace forever.  

“The gospel is the good news that God became man in Jesus Christ. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died—in our place. Three days later He rose from the dead, proving that He is the Son of God and offering the gift of salvation to those who repent and believe in Him.”

-Rice Broocks, Man, Myth, Messiah: Answering History's Greatest Question

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More Than Enough: Goodness & Gentleness

More Than Enough: Goodness & Gentleness 

Associate Pastor Cole Parleir

Warm Up: How do you define good and gentle?

Word: Psalm 34:8-10, Matthew 11:25-30, Mark 10:17-31

Focus: God is good and gentle with us so that we can be shepherded into abundant life.

• Points:

• God is good

• God is gentle

• The Gospel of The Good Shepherd

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."  "Knowledge of the Holy: What God is like" by A. W. Tozer, Caleb Sinclair -

Message

God is good (Psalm 34:8-10)

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭34‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.34.8-10.ESV

God is good, therefore he defines what is good.  (Genesis 1)

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/gen.1.31.ESV

The English definition of “good” is: 

To be desired or approved of. 

Having the qualities required for a particular role.  

The quality of being morally good or virtuous. 

"The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people." 

-"Knowledge of the Holy: What God is like" by A. W. Tozer, Caleb Sinclai

God created that which he desired and approved of. 

Everything God makes is perfectly equipped for the purpose in which he made it. 

Did God make you?

Then he did not make a mistake.

The qualities that you have are for the particular role he created you to accomplish.

In Genesis 2 we see the battle we all face: 

Will I trust God with what he says is good or will I choose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil making this choice myself?

We also see in Genesis 2 God’s first pronouncement that something is “not good”: the man alone. 

We can trust that God is good all the time, even when it means telling us that something is not good.

We see God defining for us clearly what is good for food and fellowship. He has told us where and whom to draw life from.

Eat from the tree of life: the Cross. 

Become a tree of life: carry your cross.

Live in the garden: God’s presence. 

Commune with God’s people: the Church (the vineyard)

Work that which he plants: make disciples of all nations.  

This is the good life of God. 

This is the life that is blessed and multiplies into eternity.  

God’s goodness is vividly displayed in the calling of Peter. 

“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/luk.5.1-11.ESV

An experience of God’s goodness makes us aware of our sinfulness. 

God’s goodness changes us.

His goodness is a reality to be experienced. 

His goodness protects, provides, and blesses. 

Have you had this kind of experience?  This fear of being in the presence of a holy god while being a sinner?

When we have experienced the goodness of God we become those who have more than enough goodness to share with a corrupt, sad world in need of a good God. 

God is gentle (Matthew 11:25-30)

“At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭30‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.11.25-30.ESV

God’s gentleness is an invitation to come and rest in his goodness.

English definitions having or showing a mild, kind, or tender temperament or character.

As Adam and Eve were innocent and naked in the garden, we too can be vulnerable with a gentle God. 

When we believe that God is harsh, not completely good all the time, we are afraid to stop laboring for our salvation, because we are not sure he can be trusted or if he is safe. 

In contrast…

Gentleness does not mean weak.  

Gentleness is a commitment to apply strength for the benefit of the beloved. 

As a father of a very strong toddler, I have come to understand that my gentleness is in proportion to the strength of the person fighting against me. 

Gentleness is a commitment to avoid unnecessary roughness while getting us where we need to be.

I tell my toddler “stop fighting me and trust me because I love you”. 

The gentle, humble, and meek shall inherit the Earth.

““Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.5.5.ESV

The same Greek word is used by Jesus to describe who will inherit the Earth as well as his own character that brings rest to people souls. 

The Gospel of The Good Shepherd (Mark 10:17-31)

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/mrk.10.17-31.ESV

This wealthy young man desired eternal life, but did not desire the approval of the One who bestows it. 

In essence, this young man wanted success and not life. 

Do you want your idea of Heaven or do you want God’s Kingdom where Jesus His Son, the Good Shepherd, rules and serves?

“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.10.7-11.ESV

The Good Shepherd came to give life to this man and all who rejected him.

He does this by laying down his life for him while he’s still a sinner.  

Because of God‘s goodness and gentleness today is the day of salvation. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More Than Enough: Patience

More Than Enough Patience

Associate Pastor Cole Parleir

Warm Up: How do you know if you are patient?

Word: Galatians 5:16-25, James 5:7-12, 2 Peter 3:1-13

Focus: Patience is godly character that when grown produces righteousness and salvation for you and those whom God loves.  

Points:

• Patience is Fruit of the Spirit

• Patience is Profitable

• Patience is Necessary For Salvation

• Patience Is Fruit 

Galatians 5:16-25 ESV

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit in opposition to the works (passions and desires) of the flesh.

The fruit (singular) of the spirit all compliment and compound each other for one purpose  

The works (plural) of the flesh are at odds not only with the spirit but even each other..

Definition: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset:

The Fruit of The Spirit: Patience, helps us wait for the impossible in a manner that would be impossible without it.  

The fruits of the Spirit all compliment and compound each other.

Like an edible fruit that needs to be peeled, opened, washed, etc we cultivate the fruit of patience by crucifying the flesh with is passions and desires.  

Crucifixion is a public, slow, and painful death. 

“There is scholarly support for several[42] possible causes of death: heart failure or arrhythmia,[44][45]hypovolemic shock,[41] acidosis,[46] dehydration,[36] and pulmonary embolism.[47] Death could result from any combination of those factors, or from other causes, including sepsis following infection due to the wounds caused by the nails or by the scourging that often preceded crucifixion, or from stabbing by the guards”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion

My father died of bladder cancer, however sepsis almost took him out before the cancer.  It caused hallucination in him. 

The flesh will fight you.  The flesh will “gaslight” you into thinking you need something you don’t. 

The Apostle Paul considered himself crucified with Christ. Yet he died daily. 

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/gal.2.20-21.ESV

This crucifixion of the flesh is what Jesus means when he tells his followers that they must take up their cross and follow him.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.16.24-27.ESV

If we crucify the flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit and let the fruit of patience do its work, we can wholeheartedly look forward to Jesus‘s return, and the reward that will be with him.

However if we do not crucify the flesh by the power of the spirit and continue in sin, we will not inherit the kingdom of God but will reap from the flesh a kingdom of our own making. 

Spirit produced patience plays a part in overcoming every work of the flesh listed here in verse 19-21

1. Sexual immorality - sex outside of God’s design for marriage of one man and one woman. 

2. Impurity - compromise.  

3. Sensuality - more than you need.  

4. Idolatry - worship of the creation rather than the creator. 

5. Sorcery - spiritual manipulation. 

6. Enmity - active hostility.  

7. Strife - angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues. 

8. Jealousy  

9. Fits of anger

10. Rivalries - selfish ambition. 

11. Dissensions -  disagreement that leads to discord.

12. Divisions - conflict within your community. 

13. Envy

14. Drunkenness

15. Orgies and things like these

Patience, perseverance, suffering, and praying all go together. 

Patience is Profitable

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/jas.5.7-12.ESV

Patience will be needed until Christ returns.

Patience waits for the coming of the Lord in the return of Christ,  but also for the presence of Lord to lead us into all righteousness.

James echoes the Psalmist…

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.27.14.ESV

Patience is waiting, but it is not laziness.

Patience is the posture from which our hearts take courage in the Lord. 

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 19:11 NIV

https://proverbs.bible/proverbs-19-11

The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

This holy wisdom yields patience. This holy patience gives power to overlook an offense. This patience is glorious. 

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.13.4.ESV

The overarching purpose of life and God’s ultimate command for humanity is to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. This is holy worship.

The fruits of the spirit enable us to the love and worship God in holiness even while we live in the body, this side of heaven. 

This beautiful intimate worship is a foretaste of Heaven. 

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/col.3.12-13.ESV

This holy patience empowers us to forgive others in the same way Kreist has forgiven us. This is the kingdom of God advancing.

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.2.24.ESV

Holy Spirit, patience, empowers us to endure evil. 

“A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭15‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.15.18.ESV

Patients breaks up fights. Patience gives more time for truth to enter the equation.  

Patience protects us as evil comes to into the light. 

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.16.32.ESV

Patience is true might.

“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.145.8.ESV

Patience is godliness.

"Enthusiasm is very common.  Endurance is very rare." (Patience)  - Donald Miller via Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

When have I ever regretted yielding to the holy Spirit by being patient?

Patience is Necessary For Salvation

2 Peter 3:1-13 ESV

“This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/2pe.3.1-13.ESV

God’s patience is for our salvation.

Patience delays  judgement and condemnation because people CAN change.  Patience creates margin for the Gospel to work.  

God has a plan of salvation. 

Plans require patience as they work.

God‘s plan of salvation is that through the preaching of the gospel sinners may be saved. 

The gospel is the good news that God sent his one unique Son Jesus Christ into the world. 

Jesus lived the perfect sinless life that we should have lived. 

Though he himself was sinless and not deserving of death, he died the death of a sinner on the cross.

He was buried and three days later, raised from the dead by the power of God proving that his sacrifice for sin was accepted. 

All who by faith turn from sin and trust in Jesus for their forgiveness are promised salvation. 

You were called to Freedom in Christ, and patience is proof of your freedom and the method in which we stand firm in that freedom awaiting the promises of redemption of our bodies, our prayers for the salvation of others, and Heaven. 

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:11‭-‬12 ESV

https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.6.11-12.ESV

Illustrations

• Patience is easier when you're focused and on mission.  What do you do while waiting in line? You get engaged with something, whether your phone, a book, or a conversation.  Being engaged helps you be patient.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we can constantly be on the mission he's sent us on to make disciples: jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.  God has provided the mission of discipleship for the salvation of the lost but also for your endurance to the end.  

• A dog in the hunt doesn't know it has fleas.  (Photo)

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More Than Enough: Self Control

More Than Enough: Self Control

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: God’s abundant grace gives you not only unmerited favor, but power over sin to live a victorious Christ-centered life.

• Power Over the Darkness 

• God’s Abundant Grace

• The Christ-Centered Life 

Power Over the Darkness

God gives you more than enough power over the darkness.

Especially pertinent in the summer months is the good news that God has given you more than enough power to overcome lust, sexual temptation and other like sin. 

The truth would have come as welcome news in light of the recent scandal revealed in the Illinois Catholic Church.  

I’ve observed over and over again:

Those who are living in the light are winning.  

Those who try to hide temptation and sin are covered in shame and condemnation. 

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

People today are talking about where and what is your power.

*As you come into the light of Jesus, he literally sets you free from things that you once thought gave you power (and control of your life), but come to realize actually had power over you.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

Lewis B. Smedes, Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve

God’s Abundant Grace

God gives you abundant grace to overcome the darkness while walking in his unmerited favor.

This means we have more than enough self control as a fruit and by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

We need the grace of God to do what God said to do - to walk in love and obedience to him. 

To refuse to live a life congruent with God’s commands and dependent on the Holy Spirit’s help to fulfill those mandates is to live a life of pride.  

“Pride in the religious sense is the arrogant refusal to let God be God. It is to grab God’s status for one’s self. In the vivid language of the Bible, pride is puffing yourself up in God’s face. Pride is turning down God’s invitation to join the dance of life as a creature in his garden and wishing instead to be the Creator, Independent, reliant on one’s own resources. Never does pride want to pray for strength, ask for grace, plead for mercy, or give thanks to God. Pride is the grand illusion, the fantasy of fantasies, the cosmic put-on.

The fantasy that we can make it as little gods leaves us empty at the center. Once we decide we have to make it on our own, we are attacked by the demons of fear and anxiety. We are worried that we cannot keep our balance as long as we carry no more inside our empty heart than what we can put there. We suspect that we lack the power to become what our pride makes us think we are. So we learn to swagger, to bluff, to use symbols to cover up our fears that we lack substance. We force other people to act as buttresses for the shaky ego that pride created by emptying our soul of God. In the words of God’s love song, we become arrogant.

Vanity is emptiness. A person who is empty at the center of life is vain, and a vain person is almost always arrogant. Every new situation calls forth the questions: ‘What can I get out of this to support the need of my ego for power and applause?’ As he encounters new people, he wonders, ‘How can this person contribute to my need for applause and power?’ He projects his own anxieties onto other people, so when others come to him he wonders, ‘What is this person’s pitch? What does he want from me?’ Life becomes a campaign to use people to support oneself and a constant battle to avoid having others use oneself that way. Vanity creates the need to use people because we cannot keep our balance spiritually if we are empty at the center.”

— Lewis B. Smedes, Love Within Limits: Realizing Selfless Love in a Selfish World (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), pp. 34-35

As opposed to pride, humility and dependence on the grace of God enables us to overcome sin.

‭‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

God gives us this grace in abundance as not even day by day, but moment by moment, we look to Christ.  

This is what it means to walk with God and keep in step with the Holy Spirit.  

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

You must know what you have available to you from God through his word and discipline yourself to continually walk in it by faith.  

As was said, the recent Attorney General’s report of child sex abuse by Illinois Catholic clergy is said to have spanned the state for decades.  

This is condemnable before God and was not authored by God.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

If you or someone that you love has been affected by such sin, we are here to help - Jesus is able to comfort, restore and heal you.

A powerful picture of someone born again and being both healed and sanctified:

The Christ-Centered Life 

The Christ-centered life is the key to living in this abundant life and power.  

‭‭

1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

This means that we have more than enough power to go to the nations and actually believe what Scripture says will happen.

“I believed, therefore I have spoken.”

As Titus says, Jesus is God in the flesh who lived the perfect, sinless life that everyone of us should have lived.  

Jesus drove out demons and worked miracles showing the world that he has more than enough power to change circumstances and lives.  

Jesus went to the cross to not only sacrificially take the wrath of God for the sins that we’ve committed, but also the punishment for those that have violated you and deserve such wrath.  

The access to this same grace of God comes through the cross where all may repent of their sins, no matter how heinous, and beg forgiveness of the one who died and was raised again to make men and women new.  

The truth is none of us deserve to be forgiven.  

We are only forgiven because a price has been paid and grace has been given through the love of Christ.  

“Any person who only sticks with Christianity as long as things are going his or her way, is a stranger to the cross.”

-Timothy Keller

The truth also is that no one can free their own hearts - it too is a supernatural work by the power and gospel of God.  

All we have to do is repent, believe and ask.  

When we do, we will have more than enough power to continually walk with God because he has already distributed his mercy through the cross of Christ through which he provides forgiveness and a second chance for us every time we come to him.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More than Enough: Purpose

More Than Enough: Purpose 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Happy Father’s Day!

“The obviously well kept secret of the ‘ordinary’ is that it is that it is made to be a receptacle of the divine, a place where the life of God flows.”

-Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy

Focus: God, the giver of life, is also the giver of purpose which brings our sense of value, meaning and fulfillment in life through Christ.

• Value Shopping 

• Looking for Meaning 

• Found in Christ 

Value Shopping 

God is the author and giver of value for all human life.  

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““I myself said, “ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the Lord their God. “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God. Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.”

There is no other objective measure for life giving value but God. 

It is the same for any type of measure of ethics.  

There must be an uncreated plumb line. 

“Brother John, why is there such value and mystery to your existence? The really deep reason is because of this tiny, fragile, vulnerable, precious thing about you called your soul. You are not just a self; you are a soul. ‘The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ You’re a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God, which means you were not made to be self-sufficient.” In one of his books, Dallas (Willard) further explained,

What is running your life at any given moment is your soul. Not external circumstances, not your thoughts, not your intentions, not even your feelings, but your soul. The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self. The soul is the life center of human beings.

We all have two worlds, an outer world that is visible and public and obvious, and an inner world that may be chaotic and dark or may be gloriously beautiful. In the end, the outer world fades. We are left with the inner world. It is what we will take with us. I am an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s glorious universe.”

-John Ortberg in Soul Keeping

Everyone desires to be valued. 

Our value is found in being image bearers of God.  

“The modern self is exceptionally fragile. While having the freedom to define and validate oneself is superficially liberating, it is also exhausting: You and you alone must create and sustain your identity. This has contributed to unprecedented levels of depression and anxiety and never-satisfied longings for affirmation. The modern self is also fragmenting, as Bellah argued, its individualism leading to the erosion of family, community, and unity of shared values in the nation. The breakdown of neighborhoods and communities means that, more and more, our lives are run by faceless, massive bureaucracies and inhumane technologies aimed solely at economic efficiency.

-Timothy Keller 

Looking for Meaning 

God desires to be a Father to you who gives meaning to your life.  

Everyone is searching for meaning in life.  

We find meaning in God’s story of creation, the Fall and his redemption in Jesus.   

Our greatest question heading into retirement should not just be, 

“How much did I make?” or “How will I be remembered?” but, “How will I be judged and held accountable by the living God?”

https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/401216/global-rise-unhappiness.aspx

“In 2006, Gallup began conducting global research on subjective wellbeing, which is used interchangeably with "happiness." The goal of the research was to definitively report -- by country -- how people's lives were going from their perspective. Was the world getting more stressed? Were people more hopeful? Were they getting angrier?

…

You might think that income inequality explains wellbeing inequality and, therefore, rising unhappiness. That is certainly part of it. But a great life is more than just money. After studying the 20% of people who report having a great life, Gallup finds they have five things in common: They are fulfilled by their work, have little financial stress, live in great communities, have good physical health, and have loved ones they can turn to for help.

The 20% of people who rate their lives the worst have very little of any of those things. They don't have a quality job, their income is not enough to get by, they live in broken communities, they are hungry or malnourished, and they don't have anyone in their life they can count on for help. And the 20% who rate their lives this low are getting sadder, more stressed and angrier than ever before.” 

Your purpose is not just to “get yours” - consuming the infinite supply of deceptive, temporary pleasures and empty, falsely advertised experiences in life. 

“God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves (no matter how thankfully) what we ought to be using to alleviate the misery of unevangelized, uneducated, unmedicated, and unfed millions. The evidence that many professing Christians have been deceived by this doctrine is how little they give and how much they own. God has prospered them. And by an almost irresistible law of consumer culture (baptized by a doctrine of health, wealth, and prosperity) they have bought bigger (and more) houses, newer (and more) cars, fancier (and more) clothes, better (and more) meat, and all manner of trinkets and gadgets and containers and devices and equipment to make life more fun. They will object: Does not the Old Testament promise that God will prosper his people? Indeed! God increases our yield, so that by giving we can prove our yield is not our god. God does not prosper a man's business so that he can move from a Ford to a Cadillac. God prospers a business so that 17,000 unreached people can be reached with the gospel. He prospers the business so that 12 percent of the world's population can move a step back from the precipice of starvation.”

-John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭31‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!”

*Things inevitably break down when we don’t seek the Lord first to lean on his direction, wisdom and strength (in our personal health, mental well being, families, relationships, careers and pursuits). 

We are to seek first the Kingdom of God.

This does not mean that we are all called to be monastic.  

What this means is that all of your work is not only worship, but is the field and people that you are called to cultivate for the Kingdom of God.

‭‭

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

We find meaning in life when we realize that there was a perfect example of humanity found in the sinless life of Christ, that the wrath of God directed against the evil in the world was taken at the cross with the substitutionary death of Jesus (for your sins and mine) and that eternal hope was revealed to the world by Christ’s resurrection from the dead offering us the promise of eternal life in him. 

Found in Christ 

God the Father gives both purpose and true eternal fulfillment in Jesus and his gospel. 

When we are found by Christ, we are reunited to our Creator and his purpose for our lives.  

The sin of greed and selfish ambition are continually crucified at the cross of Christ when we seek his face to accomplish his will.   

All of the suffering of life finds context in the cross of Christ and God’s redemption in him.  

‭‭

Psalm‬ ‭92‬:‭12‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

“As we grow older and our bodies weaken, we must learn from the Puritan pastor Richard Baxter (who died in 1691) to redouble our efforts to find strength from spiritual joy, not natural supplies.”

-John Piper, Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

There is purpose in Christ from the cradle to the grave when we repent of our sin, come to know Jesus as Lord and live in the light of the resurrection. 

“God is calling us to live for the sake of Christ and to do that through suffering. Christ chose suffering; it didn’t just happen to Him. He chose it as the way to create and perfect the church. Now He calls us to choose suffering. That is, He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him on the Calvary road and deny ourselves and make sacrifices for the sake of ministering to the church and presenting His sufferings to the world.”

-John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

As you live in this posture, the God who owns cattle on thousand hills, opens doors that no man can shut and shuts for us doors that no man can open, provides abundantly for our every need as we do his Kingdom will.

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More than Enough: Peace

More Than Enough: Peace 

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: We will have more than enough peace as we realize that God is both willing and able to supply abundantly for all of our needs as we find ourselves in Christ, orienting all of our doing around his Kingdom purposes.  

• Power to Produce 

• Promise of Provision 

• Posture to Receive  

Power to Produce 

In God’s covenant with his people, he has given us the power to produce wealth.

This means that God is willing to provide for you.

This is for the timid.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭7‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. "Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.”

Through his covenant relationship with us, God endows each of his people with creative ability to produce in this world.

This means that no matter how hard you work, what degrees or job get, income or accolades you may receive, the ultimate source of all of these things is God.

No one created in the image of God or with hopes of seeing the glory of God should ever simply be a consumer.

He gives you both the skill and the strength to produce based on the unique gifting, talents and acumen that he has entrusted to you.  

This means that as you develop your gifts and talents, you will develop your ability to PRODUCE wealth.

(CNBC’s app has an inspiring section called “Make It” that can be encouraging for those looking to put their gifts and talents to work in unique ways)

i.e. - While my daughter continues to work at Chick-Fil-A, during the Pandemic, my son started an eBay business and does window washing to help pay for upcoming undergrad costs (their Dad is proud of them 😆). 

In addition to their professional careers, we have friends in here who’ve started their own businesses, done side hustles of DoorDash, created vlogs, converted their home for Airbnb use, flipped houses for sale or rentals, invested in the stock market, start-ups and the like, all giving God additional avenues to confirm his covenant by enabling his people to produce wealth.  

According to God’s command through Moses in Deuteronomy, the key is that as you do these things and God blesses you, you do not forget the Lord.  

In fact, Jesus said to make sure we put him first, which we’ll speak more about next week.  

Work is honorable and is worship before the Lord.  

Work or the product of your work is not to be your idol, but it is to be a manner in which you worship the Lord. 

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”

If God is the one who ultimately arranges our reward, then as we work, we must do it with the right attitude. 

***Without complaint***

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.”

Entitlement mentalities today are sinful and often have at its root the sin of covetousness. 

These attitudes simultaneously strip people of both a Biblical work ethic and peace.  

“Lord, 

I worry because I forget your wisdom.

I resent because I forget your mercy.

I covet because I forget your beauty.

I sin because I forget your holiness.

I fear because I forget your sovereignty.

You always remember me. Help me to remember you.

Amen…”

-Timothy Keller

When we renew our minds by the Word of God, we are able to live in his promises.   

Promise of Provision

God promises to provide for his people as we diligently execute our work as service unto him.  

This means that God is able to provide for you as you follow his ways. 

This is for those who are unsure.

If we see our work as service to God, it prevents a lack of balance where we either overwork, making an idol of career success; or underwork, never reaching our Christ-ordained potential.  

Jesus is interested in neither sluggards nor workaholics - rather he is seeking those who see each of their pursuits as a calling (John 5:19-20), part of the good works which God has prepared in advance for each of us to do (Ephesians 2:10). 

Diligence is a virtue with a promise in Scripture.  

It is juxtaposed with laziness or the mentality of the sluggard.  

What does the Bible say about each?

Everyone needs an element of being a self-starter within them. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

Why?

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

We begin to see in progression that God is showing us his ways, and giving us sure promises when we choose to follow them.  

‭‭

Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”

Fantasies are big ideas without a plan - without prayer, godly counsel or the work needed to see it come to fruition. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.”

“I do not know anyone who has gotten to the top without hard work.  That is the recipe.  It will not always get you to the top, but it will get you pretty near.”

-Margaret Thatcher

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.”

In a recent Desiring God article, contributor Greg Morse challenges men in particular who attempt to look and sound busy, but would better be characterized as the hunting sluggard.  

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/roast-what-you-kill?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paidsocial&utm_campaign=NTP+–+USA&hsa_acc=1624234290982548&hsa_cam=23853351830210267&hsa_grp=23853351830270267&hsa_ad=23854952712480267&hsa_src=fb&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3

“The wise king of Proverbs shows us this active sluggard. He, unlike the traditional sloth, is up early in the morning. He has his eggs and drinks his coffee. Instead of being discovered in the sloth’s usual habitat — buried beneath sheets and pillows — he is up and about, stalking through the forest, pursuing his prey. He is a hunter.

See him tracking his animal — thoughtful, calculated, alert. He sets his traps and camouflages himself for the kill. He knows his target; he knows his weapon; he lies in wait. While his brother sloth is sleeping in the trees, he is armed in the bushes. While the other excuses inaction by complaining of lions in the streets, he is crouched where lions roar. When he sees his quarry, he times his assault perfectly and springs violently. The king sees this man return in the morning with a carcass draped over his shoulder.

So far, he is full of manful action. But notice where the laziness of this hunting sluggard manifests:

The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting. (Proverbs 12:27 NKJV)

What a strange picture. The man woke up early. He prepared his tools. He lay in wait. He acted deliberately, forcefully. He took the prize, brought home the meat — but never cooked it. Perhaps he decided he had worked hard enough for one day. Perhaps he realized just how tired he felt. His enthusiasm died before the meal was prepared.

He labored promisingly, for a time. He remained focused, for a while. His was hard but unfinished work. In the end, his plate is just as empty as that of the other sluggard, waking at his return.

Incomplete

Men, how many tasks have you started strong and finished weak (or not at all)? How many deer have we killed but never tasted? How much nourishment has laziness robbed from our souls, our families, our churches, our world?

I think this spirit of so-far-and-no-farther plagues our generation. We recreate at life; we rarely commit. Manhood seems less tethered to follow-through, to roasting the meat we hunt.”

He then gives at least three poignant examples:

• Relationships : date but never marry. 

• Church : attend, but never join. 

• Work : labor, but for appearances. 

I would say this also applies to when God opens doors of relationship with the gospel and there is a lack of follow-through to see men and women become disciples.  

Proverbs continues with the frustrations we see so prevalent around us.  

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Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”

“The harder I worked, the luckier I got.”

-Thomas Jefferson

We also see the dangers of laziness:

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.”

You need to make prayerful plans buffered by godly, biblical counsel. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.”

Some people spend all of their time jumping from get rich quick scheme to scheme, never wanting to put in the time it takes to make things grow.  

Others have a poverty mentality spending all of their energy finding reasons why the promises of God and the diligence that he requires won’t work.  

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!" As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.”

We need to repent of such thinking and live as people of faith.  

We need to crush excuses (one of my favorite t-shirts) and allow God to come through at the appropriate time on his promises!

Posture to Receive

The power to produce is based on God’s promise to bless those who live according to his ways.

This means that we are able to live in more than enough peace as we set our hearts on that which Christ has provided for us.

This is for us all.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”

Our highest aim should be to, in all of our work, enter the Sabbath rest and righteousness of God found in Jesus Christ alone.

Hebrews 4‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Because God showed that he provided for our most dire needs through Jesus’ sinless existence lived for us, his sacrificial death to pay the price for our sins and Christ’s resurrection from the dead to pave the way to eternal life, how much more so should we have confidence that he will take care of our earthly needs?  

Once we’ve done all that we can, we need to receive what God has for us.  

This is the essence of the gospel - coming to the end of your own efforts and depending on God’s abundant wisdom and grace found in Christ.  

“There’s an old saying that we should “pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on you.” It’s been attributed to St. Ignatius, who said something similar, if not using those exact words, as reported in Vida del Bienaventurado Padre Ignacio de Loyola by Pedro de Rivadeneira. Many think the phrase captures the Ignatian spirit: turning it all over to God in prayer and then working tirelessly and urgently to do God’s work.

I prefer to reverse it: “pray as if everything depends on you, and work as if everything depends on God.” This means that prayer has to be urgent: God has to do something dramatic if everything depends on me. It also puts our work in the right perspective: if it depends on God, we can let it go. We can work hard but leave the outcome up to him. If God is in charge we can tolerate mixed results and endure failure. 

Ignatius writes about work and human effort in a letter to an aristocrat named Jerome Vines, whom I imagine was a busy, hard-charging, Type A character who was getting upset about the fate of his many projects. A busy man, Ignatius writes, “must make up his mind to do what he can, without afflicting himself if he cannot do all that he wishes. You must have patience and not think that God our Lord requires what man cannot accomplish.” He concludes with this: “There is no need to wear yourself out, but make a competent and sufficient effort, and leave the rest to him who can do all he pleases.”

-Jim Manney (author of God Finds Us)

We can therefore live in the reality of having more than enough peace as our King and our God has provided for us not only salvation, but will provide all things pertaining to life and godliness through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More than Enough: Love

More than Enough

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: There is more than enough love for you in the Kingdom of God when you discover your place amongst his people, recognize your evolving role in his family and find the living God in the midst of it all. 

• Know Your Place 

• Know Your Role

• Know Your God 

Know Your Place

You are called to thrive when you find your place within the family of God.  

How does God view relationships?

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭68‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV

“Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.”

‬‬

You enter into the family of God when you are born again, repenting of your rebellion while putting your trust in the sinless life, substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. 

You then learn that the Kingdom of God is all about God’s truth forming and shaping our lives, families, cities and nations through relationships - relationship with God and one another.  

God has for each of us a spiritual home within which we are to settle and grow in those relationships.  

Though once prisoners, in the spiritual home, God leads us to the prospering of our souls.  

Those who reject God’s design live in a parched land. 

We see this playing out in our everyday world. 

A May 2nd NPR podcast relayed our present realities from the U.S. Surgeon General:

(https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general#:~:text=There%20is%20an%20epidemic%20of,from%20the%20U.S.%20Surgeon%20General.)

“There is an epidemic of loneliness in the United States and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General.

The report released on Tuesday, titled "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation," finds that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.

And it warns that the physical consequences of poor connection can be devastating, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease; a 32% increased risk of stroke; and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults.

"It's hard to put a price tag, if you will, on the amount of human suffering that people are experiencing right now," Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told All Things Considered.

"In the last few decades, we've just lived through a dramatic pace of change. We move more, we change jobs more often, we are living with technology that has profoundly changed how we interact with each other and how we talk to each other."

"And you can feel lonely even if you have a lot of people around you, because loneliness is about the quality of your connections."

Across age groups, people are spending less time with each other in person than two decades ago. The advisory reported that this was most pronounced in young people aged 15-24 who had 70% less social interaction with their friends.

Murthy said that many young people now use social media as a replacement for in-person relationships, and this often meant lower-quality connections.

"We also know that for some kids, being online has been a way to find community at a time when many of them have not been able to," he said. "What we need to protect against, though, are the elements of technology, and social media in particular, that seek to maximize the amount of time that our children are spending online at the expense of their in-person interactions."

So the question becomes for us, if God and his ways are more than enough, what types of relationships should I prioritize?

There are two types:

1. Those that will help you grow in Christ and his Kingdom 

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Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭31‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you." And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."”

Why would Jesus say such a thing?

“Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death.”

-Rick Warren

Even the apostle Paul understood this, even as he was used uniquely in the history of the church by the Holy Spirit to write approximately three fourths of the New Testament letters and birth many of the early churches in the Gentile world. 

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Romans‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.”

It is great when the natural and spiritual overlap, but when it doesn’t God has you. 

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.”

When natural and spiritual families do overlap, there is also a blessed confirmation and strengthening through supplementation of God-ordained relationships beyond your bloodline.  

God speaks a lot about family in the Bible where we would experience the abundance of love that he has for us.  

Loving, Christ-centered families are God’s blueprint for a healthy society.  

God desires to begin building such a society in the natural, but in a fallen world, rebuilds what was lost through sin by Christ’s redemption and through the church - which is the household of the living God (I Timothy 3:15). 

God has the writers of the New Testament speak in familial terms when they describe their relationships with one another. 

Does God really mean these terms?  

If so, what do they imply in the Spirit?

What will we have when we walk in such Scriptural dynamics?  

What will we lack when we don’t?

2. The second type of relationships that we should prioritize are those that you are praying for and believing to play a part in bringing into the Kingdom of God

Know your role

You are designed to grow as you learn to give and receive love while embracing your evolving role in the family of God.  

How can I build Kingdom relationships?

A man or woman with friends must show themselves friendly. 

‭‭

Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Be proactive. 

Come and get what God has provided for you.   

We often look for echo chambers and facsimiles of ourselves with whom to relate.   

What we see that God is building Scripturally and throughout history is a Kingdom of worshippers devoted to his commands that are multiethnic, multicultural and multigenerational. 

God described himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

*This means that God is moving across demographics, seasons and generations. 

God is making a point by giving different designations to people during different seasons of their lives, whether they be  mothers, fathers, brothers or sisters.   

*The breakdown in relationships today comes when people are looking at everyone else as if they are supposed to be and relate to them as solely as their peers, when they are not.  

For example, I am not going to come to your apartment and play video games with you, but if you want to talk about what it means to be a husband, father, serve God in your workplace, etc. I am delighted to do so.  

*Many people never find their church home because they are looking for homogeneous environments, where amongst other things, they are surrounded by people in the same season and stage in life.  

This is not the natural dynamic of a blood family, nor is it of a spiritual family.  

God places you in his body with people of different ages and in different stages of life because like in any other family, you have a God ordained role to fill.  

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” –Desmond Tutu

In the family, you fulfill a role, using your gifting.  

Gifting is a matter of function. 

Role is a matter of your place in another person’s life. 

You can walk out your role with a variety of gifts.  

You can only fulfill your God-given role with genuine love and faithfulness. 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.”

Your role in the body of Christ grows and expands with age, experience and faithfulness.  

Faithfulness is literally the fruit of faith lived out to obey and do the works of God over and over again. 

You then make disciples of Jesus by teaching others to do the same. 

We need mothers and fathers in the house. 

To be in God’s best for you, you should always be able to identify three sets of people in your life:

• Fathers and Mothers (Mentors)

• Brothers and Sisters (Peers)

• Children (Disciples of the Lord)

‭‭John‬ ‭19‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

Know Your God

We are destined to live an eternally rich and fulfilled life when we strive to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ as a genuine part of the family of God. 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."”

The parable of the sower reminds us that Jesus’ theme is that we’d bear fruit that lasts in and through our lives, no matter the circumstances, in every season of life (whether a youth, in college, a young professional, single, married, with children or retired). 

Because he identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he is showing us the importance of relating within the loving spiritual family unit to fulfill his purposes throughout the generations.  

We do this through constantly by remembering the baton pass.  

Our methodology for seeing this baton pass effectively passed is every individual, community group and ministry team continuously referring to our 

Growth tracks. 

“The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends. Where the truthful answer to the question "Do you see the same truth?" would be "I see nothing and I don't care about the truth; I only want a Friend," no Friendship can arise - though Affection of course may. There would be nothing for the Friendship to be about; and Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice. Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travellers.”

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher

More than Enough: Joy

More than Enough: Joy

Pastor Rollan Fisher

Focus: Joyful relationship with God must be our highest aim and a prioritized goal within itself from which all of the rest of life and ministry flow.  

• God is 

• The Bible is 

• The Cross is

God Is

Knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he’s sent is the aim of eternal life.  

Prior to his crucifixion for which he would die for the sins of the world and provide a pathway to reconciliation with God, Jesus would clearly communicate the end game. 

‭‭

John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

If God describes eternal life in this manner, then there is nothing higher or better.  

“The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.”

-Oswald Chambers

The Psalmist would speak about his relationship with God this way:

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭84‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!”

A dwelling place implies a place of habitation and a place of meeting. 

Our desire must be to meet with God and not to simply know about him.  

There is no substitute for God in our pursuit of joy because he is both the giver true joy and sustainer of it.  

This is why joy is characterized as a fruit of the Holy Spirit.    

When the Psalmist speaks of the sparrow and swallow finding a home near the altar of God, it speaks of the security, peace and eternal provision that only God can provide. 

“Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially “deify.”

-Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Until your soul longs and faints to meet with God, you will never be satisfied with earthly things.  

No amount of success, wealth, sex, companionship, travel, enlightenment, prominence or accolades will ever be able to replace a growing relationship with Jesus. 

The Sons of Korah acknowledge God as their King, their ruler, their Lord.  

This is the only way to come to God, in repentance from sin and faith in Jesus as Lord, in obedience to his Word.  

The Bible is 

Daily feeding on the Word of God is the only way to truly know this abundant life in Jesus.  

“Normal Christian life is a process of restoration and renewal. Our joy is not static. It fluctuates with real life. It is vulnerable to satan's attacks.”

-John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

I had to learn that having margin in your life is not sin. 

You have to have the time and space to seek the Lord.  ‭‭

John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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 was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

What does the Word tell us about meeting with God?

Psalm 84:5-8

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.  O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

When you are invited into fellowship with God and pursue dwelling in his house, it means you have found a home both personally and corporately.  

What was Zion and what does it represent?

Zion was the city where the temple was and where corporate worship took place.  

This means to relate with God fully, you must go to Zion. 

Even an only child has parents with whom they must relate to remain healthy and grow.  

When you live in the community of faith, God gives you continual encouragement and a song of praise to him to sing.  

Selah means to pause and think about this reality.  

You find your strength in God as your heart leads you to Zion. 

There is no knowing the fullness of God without his body because a heart full of God leads you to Zion, the city of worship amidst the community of believers.  

It is then, that as you go through the Valley of Baca (which means weeping), that you turn it into a place of soul satisfying springs for you and others.  

God pours out continual refreshment upon his people from Heaven and gives pools (abundance) where people can relieve their thirsts together.  

They go from strength to strength as each appears before God in Zion. 

We are meant to be relational people, a communal people.  

This starts and ends with God as we obey his word to dwell in his house. 

What this means for us: 

When you realize that God is more than enough, you are able to endure trial with joy, knowing that he who is in charge is trustworthy.  

You are able to serve with joy because you know that the one who leads you is worthy.  

You are able to obey his commands with joy because you want to love the one who has loved you more than any person ever has or ever will.  

When God is your goal, you have a new measure of success.  

You are freed from insecurities because your success is found in knowing him and making him known (think about the prophets).  

“The Calvary road with Jesus is not a joyless road. It is a painful one, but it is a profoundly happy one. When we choose the fleeting pleasures of comfort and security over the sacrifices and sufferings of missions and evangelism and ministry and love, we choose against joy.”

-John Piper, Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

The Cross is

The cross of Jesus will forever be your ticket to a growing relationship with God and his Kingdom purpose for your life.  

‭‭

Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."”

The cross is how we find rest in the presence of a Holy and righteous God who will judge sin. 

Psalm 84:9-12

Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!”

When we meet with God understanding our unworthiness, but his greatness, we begin to learn that there is no better place to be than the with the one who literally gave his life for ours, in love.  

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

You must be made a new creation to fully enjoy the joys of Christ.  

You must remember the power and purpose of the cross to continue to daily live in the joy of that life.   

“The pursuit of joy in God is not optional. It is not an “extra” that a person might grow into after he comes to faith. It is not simply a way to “enhance” your walk with the Lord. Until your heart has hit upon this pursuit, your “faith” cannot please God. It is not saving faith. Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have and forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will satisfy your deepest desires. Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only that Christ is reliable, but also that He is desirable. It is the confidence that He will come through with His promises and that what He promises is more to be desired than all the world.”

-John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher