Oh isn't that cute.....

We tend to think of the nativity scene as a real cute event, baby Jesus wrapped in fine linen and all. But recently thinking about Christmas I realized that perhaps it wasn’t so cute for Jesus after all. Jesus’ life was more like being born into prison, straitjacketed for 33 years.

Colossians 1:15-17 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Here was someone, son of the almighty God, who used to have all of the universe at his immediate senses, now restricted to two hands, ten fingers with which to feel His world. Here was someone who used to enjoy the splendor of all of space and time, who was now thirsty and hungry, and in need of a bathroom on occasion. Here was someone who used to put the sun in the sky and the stars in their place, and He would now carry around pieces of wood, following His earthly father’s footsteps. He would eventually carry a wooden cross which was probably full of splinters and not very well polished. And he would know, he was a carpenter by trade.

Philipians 2:6-8 (Jesus) who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

I flew around a bunch this year and I just moan when I get into one of those seats. They're the reason I can’t sleep on planes or buses, etc. As soon as I sat down in one of those seats I can immediately foresee the misery ahead, whether it's a one hour bus ride or that crazy 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. So imagine uncomfortable, how restrictive, how demeaning, how insulting must it have been for Jesus, being born in the likeness of men, humbling himself to such a treatment for 33 years.

He could have said, screw this finiteness, they’re going to betray me anyways, I’m just going to take my rightful place as God over these people. But he didn’t Lord himself over us, knowing that the Father did not want to scare us into being with Him.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Even his displays of power, his miracles here on earth would be done quietly on the down low, and they were really for our sake,

John 4:48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."

Yet frequently He was mocked for that restraint. Satan tempted him after fasting 40 days in the desert when He was hungry and thirsty.

Matthew 4:3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

People mocked him about it as they looked at Him hanging, dying on the cross.

Luke 23:34-40 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." I wonder how many times daily Jesus would have to say that for us if He blood didn’t wipe us clean once and for all.

At any point in His 33 years on Earth, ending with his crucifixion on the cross, Jesus had every right to say you don’t deserve what I’m doing. He had every right to say I’m not enduring humanness, frailty and suffering for you people anymore. But he didn’t. He wished to save us, so he embraced being human, and submitted to the cross because he shared the Father’s love for us. He endured his entire, what must have been comparatively abysmal, human life, which started in a dirty animal stall and ended on a cross separated from His Father, whose wrath for us for all time rested against Him. He embraced that for us.

I’ve heard some people say that Christianity is really about Easter, and certainly without the resurrection there wouldn’t be hope of life, this one or the next, for any of us. But this Christmas, and right now before communion, let’s not just think about Christ’s birth as just a cute nativity scene with fluffy lambs and old wise men. The Son of God gave up His splendor, submitted Himself to being a man, so He could wash us clean by His blood. The price He paid began long before the cross, Christmas was truly the beginning of our salvation.

What Do You Remember?

Luke 22:
19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

Matthew 26
27And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus, on the night he was betrayed to those who would have him crucified, washed his disciples feet, and had supper with His disciples. He said, “do this in remembrance of me”, because clearly he knew, as most of us have done one time or another, that we forget. We forget why we call Him Lord.

I’m going to play a video for us right now, probably one of the most accurate on screen depictions of Jesus’ time with the cross. It’s pretty graphic, but don’t allow yourself to take your eyes off of it. Don’t be like some of His disciples who fled and hid their eyes from what they thought was a sorry sight. Let us remember what Jesus was talking about in the broken bread, and poured out cup. “Do this in remembrance of me”, let us know what we’re remembering.

I remember everything that stood between me and God being placed on the perfectly innocent, the very Son of God. I remember that everything Jesus went through, all of that was originally meant for me. That agony, that torment, that anguish, I remember that that was my now and forever apart from Jesus. I remember, as the prophet said in Isaiah 53, he took up my infirmities, carried my sorrows, he was pierced for my transgressions, crushed for my iniquities. I remember that He was wounded, punished, chastised, rejected, led to the slaughter as a sacrifice for my sins. I remember He was oppressed, afflicted, judged for my rebellion by God own Father, who had to turn His eyes away and break ties with His own son.

But oh how I remember that through Jesus there is now peace between me and God. I will remember that I now walk with the creator, and fellowship daily with my maker. I will remember that my real destiny has been restored to me, the purpose, mission, love and joy that I was originally created for. I will remember that God loved me first, even when I was still a sinner, and by faith I live in His glory in this life and the next.

I will remember that Jesus is worth calling Lord. I remember what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:

Philippians 3
7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him

I will remember that all of this life, my degrees, my career, my relationships, my possessions, my future, everything in my life is rubbish, just garbage apart Christ. I will remember how often I forget that and pledge my allegiance to earthly things. I will pray to remember to do this gift of life in remembrance of Him. I will remember that Jesus Christ is my my Saviour, my Lord, my God.

Before this bread and this cup, what will you remember? Some of you will remember the moment you entered into God’s love, and how you’ve danced in it ever since. Some of you will remember, alarmingly perhaps, that for a long time now you haven’t felt anything close to love or  joy when you looked at the cross. Some of you will remember how being under Christ’s lordship has freed you from fear, anxiety, and hopelessness. Some of you are remembering that midterm or paper coming up, that grad school you’re working so hard to get into, that payment you need to make soon. “Do this in remembrance of me”. What will you remember? Tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. What will you remember?

Still others of you have never walked with Jesus and don’t have anything to remember, and I do ask you to refrain from taking the bread and cup. I do want to tell you though, that journey of finding life with God that Amanda talked about at her baptism last week, you can start that journey today! I can’t promise that you can repeat a prayer and be guaranteed to be sealed for all eternity, there isn’t some magical chant that gets heaven into your pocket. Even this bread and cup is useless if the reality behind it, God’s act of sovereign, loving sacrifice, is not fully encountered and embraced.

But what I can tell you are the same words that Jesus told his disciples, ”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” And so if you really want Jesus, and you’ve realized His love is worth living for, this community will commit to walking with you until God brings you through that door into His Kingdom. Talk to one of us, talk to someone you trust, the friend that you came with. Talk to them about it today, like in the next minute after I’m done talking. ‘cause to be real I don’t know if you have a tomorrow. Your step towards God’s love, towards eternity is here right now. Go grab your friend, grab one of us, talk about it pray about it with them.

So come, take the bread and cup, go back to your seats. Examine your hearts for idols which have claimed some of Christ’s Lordship, and pray over such with one another. Let us take communion in remembrance of no other love, of no other Lord, than Christ. Come take the bread and cup back to your seats, and we’ll take it together when everyone is ready.

Is Suffering Optional?

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, BUT... (Pt. 5/5)

I’m not implying that suffering is the mark of a Christian and we should all go out of here and look for suffering. But when you look at all of these scriptures that describes a life lived for Jesus, and you look at the comfortable, stable, well established lives we plan for and work hard to attain, I think we have to wrestle with the question of whether we’re really living for God. Or have we taken God’s blessings, and with them make a life for ourselves where we won’t need Him anymore? Where we’ve spent most of resources creating our own stability, our own provision, our own security. Rather than us dedicating our lives to God’s purposes in love and gratitude, we really only want God for our purposes, our goals, our ambitions. Degree, job, car, wife, house with a fence and a dog.

You know what’s really scary? All of those things we think are blessings, all of that provision, status, and security here on earth, Satan is just as capable of giving those to us. The devil said to Jesus when he was tempted in the dessert that I would give you the whole world and all its splendor if you’d bow down to me, if you’d just ignore and deny God.

The gospel message, salvation, is not that Jesus saved me and I get to have a picnic on a breezy summer day and have heaven as a cherry on top. The real gospel message is that what Jesus did on the cross for us, that’s worth it. That’s worth us, that’s worth our everything! That’s the message of salvation, that’s the message we’re to believe in and live by.

A lot of us who grew up in typical North American churches have this bulk of teaching about how following God brings earthly prosperity, “How to receive God’s best”, "Your Best Life Now", how God is for the good of those who love him, how He wants us to have life and have it to the full. Some even look at the genealogy records in the OT, the part where it says so and so begot so and so, and find this one guy named Jabez who asked for land and got it, so therefore we should have land. There’s even a book on that. Some of you throughout this sermon have been nodding and saying Amen, but I know some of you in your heads right now you’re scouring through every previous piece of teaching you’ve heard because you want to find something that will explain this whole sermon away. You know what, I did that too! This week I read every verse, every chapter these verses were in, just in case I missed some context thing, 2 sometimes 3 times, just to make sure this was for real. It’s as scary to me as it is to you.

Trust me, I don’t like pain, I don’t want to suffer either. I work in the government, the place that invented political correctness, where people are so polite a conversation of any substance gets you awkward looks. I don’t want to acknowledge or even know that following hard after Christ is going to result in chastisement, mockery and hurt. But you know what, if I really believed in Jesus I don’t get to put blinders on and pick and choose what I believe about him. A lot of stuff in this book I don’t want to believe, but I don’t get to tell God what He ought to be like, and how he ought to run His universe. And more and more I’m realizing Jesus died for me. He died so that I could stand before my maker, the one who gave me life, the one whose wrath used to be against me, ‘cause I took that life and said screw you, but now because of Jesus I could call God my Father and friend, and my eternity rests with Him. So come what may, come whatever, Jesus is worth it.

Question is, what’s Jesus worth to you? Let’s get real practical, is he worth a couple hours out of 1 day a week to go pray, to go to war, with some brothers and sisters in a prayer meeting? Doesn’t have to be with us, but is Jesus worth that to you? How ‘bout a small group or bible study where you can encourage and hold other brothers or sisters to living for God? How bout lovingly confronting the salvation, or lack there of, of those you’re close to? How bout confronting your own salvation? Is Jesus worth those awkward conversation to you?

And yes I know, you’re busy. Yes I know you’re tired. And yes, I work at the government so I have no idea what you’re going through. But who are you busy for? Who are you tired for? What’s Jesus worth to you?

I’m not talking about going out there and getting shot in the head, let’s start with small practical things. So in your time of prayer I really challenge you to commit to a change. I mean if this message spoke to you at all do something about it.

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, BUT... (Pt. 4/5)

1 Timothy 1:18

18This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare

This idea that following Christ’s calling is not a picnic, it’s a war. He’ll keep talking about it in the 2nd letter.

2 Timothy

1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God

2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Doesn’t get much clearer than that. So what does that say about those of us who are not at all close to being persecuted or suffering trials for Christ? A brother recently started to confront his own sister whether she was really saved. Maybe not hardcore persecution, but how ‘bout risking just awkward situations? The world loves its own.

Titus 1:10-11

10For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

Philemon 13

13I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel

You know what, Apostle Paul could’ve lived a lot longer if he kept his mouth shut about Jesus, could’ve done more “ministry” even if he turned the volume down once in a while. But he wanted to proclaim Jesus, and Jesus was worth it to Paul.

Hebrews 13:12-13

12So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

This verse just sends chills down my spine. The Jews wouldn’t crucify Jesus inside the city walls, they didn’t want that trash crucified on their property. So they nailed him to a cross outside the city gates, Golgotha, where the rejects, outcasts and scum live. The writer of Hebrews says, let’s go out there with him, carry the same reproach that he carried. I don’t want to stay inside the city and just blend in, my Lord and saviour hung out there on a cross. I love Jesus. I don’t want to just stay in here and be safe. I want to go out to him, bear the same reproach he bore. I want to go to the cross.

We sing that don’t we? Lead me to the cross? This is what that looks like.

James

1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

2:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Crown of life. The eternal crown. That’s what we’re persevering for, that’s why we live for Jesus. So count it all joy when trials and suffering happens, because we’re on that eternal path.

1 Peter

2:19-21 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

4:12-13 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

We’re going to suffer if we follow God. We’re called to follow in Christ’s steps. It’s not just we suffer cause we messed up, everyone gets that. But that we’re called to wrestle with this world for its sake, for the world’s eternity, just as Christ suffered for our sake, for our eternity.

So yeah, don’t freak out when you do good and get garbage in return. Peter says don’t find that weird. We’re called to follow Christ’s example. So rejoice when we get to share in what Christ did, share that glory.

2 Peter 2:2-3

2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 John 3:13

13Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

John means hates you because you represent Christ, not because you’re just annoying. Lots of times people are pissed at me because I’m a jerk, not because I’m Christian. But to lovingly tell someone “Hey, that’s not what God says about that. And what you’re doing is leading you to an eternity in hell and I don’t want that for you.”

Sometimes we think that the world is just confused, if we just explained Christ to them, they’d love him. And that might be true for some, but there definitely are people who aren’t confused, who know what Christ represents, the love that is also sovereign, and will hate Him for that, hate us for sharing that. To love the world as Christ loved the world. some will hate us for it, we will suffer for it, just as Christ was hated and suffered for it. Don’t be surprised.

3 John 9-10

9I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

Jude 8

8Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

This persecution will existing inside the church too. People are going to trash those of us who live hard for God’s glory.  3 John is talking about church. Jude is also talking about church, talking about false believers who will infiltrate the church and lead people astray. Some "churched" people will think living hard for God as too radical, too hard core, when they really just mean too inconvenient and too uncomfortable. 

They just won’t like it, they won’t like how the glorious ones reminds them of who they really are, of where they’re really at with God. They’ll want to cast out these real Godly people from the church.

Revelation 2:10

10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, BUT... (Pt. 3/5)

Romans 8:16-18

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

You’ve got to be kidding me, there’s a second part to that verse? I didn’t even know there was a second part to this verse. Normally we just stop after “we’re co-heirs with Christ”. “provided that we suffer with him”.....What does that mean? What could that possibly mean?

But the Apostle Paul says, you know what, being with Christ means I suffer now, but compared to the glory revealed to me in heaven, all this stuff in present life is going to look insignificant, not even worth comparing. He’ll say it again in 1 Cor.

1 Corinthians 15:19,30-32

19If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

30Why are we in danger every hour? 31I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

He says, man if this life is all there is to live for, we’re like the world’s biggest suckers. We would’ve gotten beaten up, spat at, imprisoned, all for nothing. If this life is all there is, forget Christ, eat, drink, just spend everything on ourselves. Enjoy it all.

But then he says you know what, I know there’s a next life. So I’m living hard for God and I’m running the race not for the temporal for the eternal prize.

Funny thing is, how many of us would say that about our lives? I mean for most of us, even if heaven didn’t exist, we’re building for ourselves lives that would be pretty good. Are we sure we’re on the path for the eternal crown?

2 Corinthians 1:5-7

5For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Galatians 6:12

12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

So there are people who won’t get persecuted. Just to give you a little background, converts being circumcised appeased the Jews, who still cling to the law as salvation, who still cling to being circumcised as being converted to a Jew, and they’ve applied that to being Christian. Apostle Paul will speak out against this multiple times in his letters.

So there are people who won’t be persecuted, they’re the ones that avoid it. They’re the ones who just want to make a good showing, be bold when it’s convenient but otherwise not ruffle any feathers, or step on any toes. They’re the ones who don’t stand up for what’s right in God’s eyes.

Ephesians 6:11-12

11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Apostle Paul says that when you live for God, Satan is going to come after you. So you better put on the whole armour of God, everything that God gives for us to stand, ‘cause your life for Christ is going to be a battle against all of hell. How many of us feel this in our lives? Does the evil one even consider us worth targeting? Or is my allegiance so ambiguous, so watered down, that Satan doesn’t even need to bother.

Philippians 1:29

29For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

Put that on a bump sticker. Why isn’t this in the 4 Spiritual Laws? I barely even read this passage before this sermon. When we share the gospel, why don’t verses like these come up? Oh yeah, cause that’s really gonna ruin the success rate. Come be saved! Come suffer. But that’s what it says. Is Jesus, is the Cross, worth it?

Colossians 1:24

24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

Man, such an embodiment of love. Paul says that he rejoices in suffering, because if you can’t can’t see, can’t relate to Christ’s affliction, Christ’s love for you, then you can at least see mine. My love, my affliction, compelled by Jesus, for your sake. The love that compelled Christ to give his own life, I’m living out.

1 Thessalonians 3:4

4For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.

(1 Cor 8, says that the churches in Macedonia, Thessalonica is a republic in Macedonia, went through severe affliction). Apostle Paul kept telling the Thess, you’re going to suffer affliction for what you believe. You’re gonna get outcasted and beat up for proclaiming the name of Jesus.

He kept telling them, this is going to hard, all of hell is going to come after you. And I bet you the Thessalonians weren’t surprised when crap happens, not as some of us are. You read the rest of the letter and you see that they gave beyond their ability even in their affliction, ‘cause Paul told them, and they knew, they were running towards the eternal crown.

2 Thessalonians 1:5

5This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, BUT... (Pt. 2/5)

Matt 10:34-35

34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

I know this rings real close to home for some of you. But I want to encourage you it is not your fault. Jesus didn’t guarantee great family time. Jesus said that him coming, him doing what he was sent to do, families will have divided opinions about Him, will stand on opposite sides. We will continue to pray for God to break that bondage, but it is in fact because you are living for God, and your family is not, that friction is happening, not because you’re not loving enough or shining brightly enough.

Mark 8:34-36

34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Jesus says to deny yourself. That your desires and ambitions, of living a certain way, having certain things, being of a certain status, you’ll have to forgo them to follow him. He says that those spend their lives attaining those things, who spend their lives on themselves, on attaining their own ambitions, will lose their life, will lose their eternity. But those of us who would just give up everything for the gospel, who would just lose our lives for Jesus, we would have life.

The verse in Luke is even clearer.

Luke 6:22-23

22"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

24"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25"Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26"Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

This hit me hard. It’s like every we take as blessings Jesus says are woes, and everything we think as woes, Jesus thinks are blessings.

You know, when I stand up here there is a tendency to worry about what people think of me . Even for me. I know some of you think that I’m a real jerk and I don’t care about what anybody thinks. I do, I do want to people to speak well of me.

But I fight it, ‘cause 2 Tim 4:3-4 says that a time is coming when people will flock to teachers, false teachers, false prophets, who will tell them what they want to hear, and I don’t want to be that guy. That’s why I fight that worry. Sometimes it’s like I’m scared I’m not telling the whole truth if I’m not making some of you uncomfortable.

How bout you? Have you ever stood up for Christ? Have you ever lovingly stood up for Christ knowing it’ll make the situation uncomfortable? Or have you always appeased people, and not cause any trouble. That’s what the false prophets did in the OT too.

John 15:18-20

18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Sometimes I wonder, how did John 3:16 get so popular? I mean this passage is in John too, These are also Jesus’ words. Why isn’t this in the 5 point gospel? It’s cause John 3:16 feels good. And I’m not denying there will good things in living for God. But for those of us who say we have Jesus, the things that we think are good, has that changed at all? Does my joy come from knowing that I am pouring my life out for the saviour that I love? Do I find my peace in knowing that I’m running for a crown that will never rot? Or are my good things still based on God helping me get a degree that will get me a great job, so I can have a nice house and go to a nice church?

In my 17 years at church I’ve read the NT at least a half dozen times and it’s like I’ve been taught to focus and draw all of our perspectives from like a dozen feel-good, “victorious” verses. It’s like we have blinders on and when we get to verses like these we don’t even see that wow, it really does say that if I’m chosen out of this world, if I’m really with God, I’ll be persecuted. This world of hoarding security and attaining status, this world and its system is going to hate me if I live for God. Not only that, if I’m not feeling any of that, if this world, if everything around me loves me, I have to be careful because maybe it’s just because I’m of the world.

Jesus said that people who really follow him would suffer and be persecuted. So guess what happens in Acts.

Acts 5:40-41

40and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

Guess what, they get persecuted. And they rejoiced, just like Jesus said too: blessed are you when people hate you. I know I was like, “I don’t want that blessing”. It feels all backwards. I know that sounds weird, but that’s what it says. And the saved believers in the bible saw it that way too.

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, BUT... (Pt. 1/5)

Acts 7:54-60

54Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Not sure how many of you have siblings, but me and Dorothy used to throw things at each other. In hindsight, I almost always instinctively picked up something that I knew was threatening, but not life threatening. So when I imagine the stoning of Stephen, I just thinking of people picking up smooth pebbles like they were going to skip them over a pond. Think about stoning for a sec. Take a moment and imagine this scene. Murderous people. They weren’t picking up smooth pebbles. Dozens of people were picking up jagged rocks and pitching them to this one guy in the middle of the circle, until he was literally a bloody carcus.

Which is what made Stephen’s response just crazy to me. In the middle of this circle, facing a choice between appeasing the crowd or facing certain death, he picked death. But not before he boldly proclaimed Jesus, which pretty much sealed his fate.

When we’ve been trying to be obedient to God, “do something for God”, we naturally expect to be rewarded somehow. So when we step out in faith and give beyond our means, or rep Jesus’ name and stand up for Him, and we just end up broke, judged, uncertain about our future, and outcasted from our relationships, we naturally think something is wrong. Like maybe we shouldn’t be so bold, or not so radical, or so black and white. The prayers we say to God is usually “Why am I suffering?” and “Please stop the suffering”.

But neither of those sentiments were even on the radar here. I mean Stephen wasn’t praying that the persecution would go away. When the church in Acts 5 got persecuted, got beaten up, they prayed for boldness to keep doing what got them beaten up in the first place. Suffering and persecution was something the Acts church embraced. They took it as an honour to suffer for the name of Jesus. They didn’t think it was weird at all.

So I got to thinking about why we think it’s weird when our lives don’t work the way we would like, when our lives seemingly turn out worse than the non-Christians around us. Isn’t God suppose to bless me and love me and take care of me more than these secular people? Then I bumped into this sermon on Youtube by Francis Chan, this bald, dirty ‘stached Chinese pastor. He gives me a lot of hope for teachers in the Kingdom that are Chinese. I mean hope as in we can also be bold and courageous, and utterly truthful about the Word, not hope in the bald mustache part.

We’re going on a survey of the earthly consequences of living for God as found in the Word, and I gotta confess, the content isn’t entirely original. Well, no sermon is really original, but the list of scriptures I got from Francis Chan’s “Is Suffering Optional?”. Look it up on Youtube. I wrestled with these scriptures all week, and I’m just giving an abbreviated version of what really hit me. So yeah, it’s on Youtube, look it up, he’s a lot funnier.

Some of you already resonate with these scriptures, and I’m not trying to make you feel like you’re not good enough or anything like that. But I know for a lot of us, myself included, haven’t really looked at these passages before. These verses aren’t popular. So today I really want us to encounter these often ignored passages that describes what living for God is like.

Journey to Vision ... Conclusion (Pt. 5/5)

That’s the last 4 years here at Westside Hamilton; ups and downs, learning and obeying, laughing and grieving, sometimes at the same time! It’s very much a journey that’s still going on today. But know this, we are going to be a community where God is gonna be God, where church is gonna be church, where Christians are gonna be Christians. We are going to become God’s people, His Royal Priesthood, His Holy Nation. We are going to become his Church. And I hope you’ll join us. Dom is going to invite you guys to more specific things next week, but I really want to invite you to join us on this journey.

I’m going to be straight up though. If you’re looking for a place that has it all figured out, has everything packaged nicely on a silver platter for you to partake, this isn’t the place for you. We just don’t have that. But if you’re looking for a place to discover your God, to find out for yourself this Jesus that your pastor’s been talking about for 15 years, and to have a family to walk that with, this is your spot. Come along for the ride, there might be some motion sickness, but I gurantee you it’s going to be sick.

Journey to Vision ... Christians have to be Christians (Pt. 4/5)

Christ-ians

VS

“christians”

Every year God brings us deeper into His Kingdom, into His Word, into His will for us as a church. For guys like me, Paul, and Cedric who’ve been here from the beginning pretty much, we’ve had the blessing, and frankly a calling, to have our minds transformed, perspectives redefined in just about everything of God. The things that were drilled into us for decades in Sunday school are beginning to give way to their true meaning revealed by the Holy Spirit.

First year, God compelled us to be freed from bondages that were holding us back from Him (some of us were in some awful relationships). 2nd year, even though we didn’t exactly dedicate ourselves to the right things, he compelled us to give our lives to His Kingdom. 3rd year, His Kingdom began to invade our very reality. Last year He redefined for us what it means to be church.

This year, something that has gripped our hearts more and more, myself definitely, is to teach, to challenge, those gathering with us about what it’s really like to be saved.

I had a summer job one year where I ran a clinical trial for a new chronic muscle pain treatment. 2 hour sessions where this person had to talk to me. So I talked to people about Jesus. And I came to realize one thing: people love God, people want a saviour, they just hate church, what they’ve seen of the church people. And I had to explain to them that there are lots of people in the church who aren’t Christians, how some “christians” who say they’re christian, but aren’t; explain to them the parable of the weeds, and that passage where Jesus says “I don’t know you” to some people who were sure they were getting into heaven. Hypocrisy is like the top thing on their hated list; people who say they’re Christians, but act nothing like the saved believers in scripture.

So what did saved believers look like?

Ephesians 1:13-14

13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Holy spirit is the seal, the proof of our salvation. That having the Holy Spirit in you, in your life, is your sign of being saved. So the next question is, what does that look like?

Acts 2:37-38

37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

38And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2, they repented, they were baptized, they received the Holy Spirit, and they lived this way. That's the progression of being saved. Jesus already said that’s what people who believe in Him would do too:

Matthew 13:44-46

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

 44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Jesus said that people who’ve found heaven would want to live Acts 2.

You see, God’s Word paints a picture of salvation as our receiving the Holy Spirit, which is supposed to radically change us. Apostle Paul used a word in his letter to Titus that really sums it up. Titus 3:3-6 says that the Holy Spirit regenerates us; that salvation is this metamorphosis of who we are.

In contrast, nowadays when I ask people are you Christian, they reply is usually “Yeah I go to church”. Most people today think they are saved because they prayed a prayer, and someone told them they are saved, and yeah, they go to a service. Living radically for God by the power of the Holy Spirit has become, well, a radical thing. A rarity. And for many “christians” today, living like that has become optional; they don’t really even want to.

And I struggled with this. I read that Acts passage and thought, “well, I say I’m saved, I say I’ve repented, I’ve been baptised, I say I have the Holy Spirit, why doesn’t my life look like that?” Half the time I don’t even want that. And worst of all, why hasn’t it bothered me? What I desire of my life looked almost nothing like the lives of saved believers in the bible. Shouldn’t that have bothered me?

I’m not saying salvation is by works or our own efforts, but the question is if the Holy Spirit was really in me, if the Holy Spirit is really in my life regenerating me as Apostle Paul says, would I be as content with living the way I do? Would I be as content with the priorities that I have?

Ultimately my point isn’t to get into debating the criteria of being saved, I just want to raise some questions. Questions that we’ve been taught never to ask:

“Am I really saved?”

“Where am I with God really?”

Those are some of the most important questions you could ask God in your entire lifetime. Yet I know lots of people who say they’re christian who’ve never asked that question to God; mostly because they don’t know, and that’s really scary. Some just plain don’t want to know, afraid they’ll actually have to surrender if they really faced it.

I hope and pray everyday that those of us who claim to be saved, who claim to be Christians will have heard so, have known so, from God, from the spirit of God that’s supposed to have entered into our lives. That we would face those questions, and pursue hearing from God on our salvation, and not just rely on our pastors, friends, or you telling yourself that you’ve made it. On the last day only God’s affirmation matters. At the gates of heaven what your pastor said, what your friends said, what you say about you isn’t going to mean didly squat.

Right now I want to invite up a dear brother of mine, the first person I ever had the guts to ask “how do you know you’re saved?”. I want him to share with us a bit about his journey in wrestling with salvation:

Chat with Sam

Transcript coming soon.

Some of you have already gone through what Sam went through, and God has shown you and told you how His Spirit has transformed you and made you His child. I’m so happy for you guys; that’s a great moment. Don't keep that to yourself! Share it with someone, everyone.

For some of you what I said rang some alarm bells, perhaps alarms that have been ringing for a while just like Sam, or maybe you’ve just heard these words for the first time and you wonder where you stand with God. I ask you to sit down with God in prayer and simply ask Him, “Where am I with you?”, and continue to pursue God and ask His Spirit into your life if you want to see that the “old has gone the new has come”.

And some of you have already rejected what I said, and are committed to doing nothing about it. For you guys I beg you, I plead with you, if you want to throw out everything that I just said, that’s fine, I don’t mind at all. But please sit down with the Word of God, and read it. Don’t just go back to what you’ve been taught about the bible. Actually sit down, and read what Jesus said. Encounter the words of your God.

This is one of the first topics we want to address here when we meet people, so we ask that you not be offended when we ask how you know you’re saved. We are not trying to condemn or judge people, we just want everyone to be affirmed and convicted about salvation, not by men, but by God.

To me one of 2 things can happen, either you ask and are affirmed by God (great moment), or God says nothing (or worse) and wouldn’t you be glad you asked? Either way it’s a win win situation. That moment of affirmation is the best moment of our lives, when Holy Spirit enters into us and we are convicted of God’s grace and HS begin to transform us to live like we are his children, live like we really believe He is our God.

Journey to Vision ... God has to be God (Pt. 3/5)

Self-Indulging Experiences of God

VS

Seeing the Gospel Break Into Reality 

When we first brought our attention to the church in Acts, something that really attracted us was how they experienced the reality and the power of God in their lives. They saw God in such powerful ways. So the next historical lesson I want to share about our church is our successes and failures when it comes to the charismatic gifts. Don’t worry about it if you haven’t heard of that word before, but it’s the technical name given to miraculous happenings like speaking in tongues, physical healing, prophecy, etc.

Long story short, we didn’t put much effort into discerning what we were being taught in regards to these things, but we retaught them to others here. People were taught as if these were the things that will make us more mature in Christ. And as our approach to these topics were challenged, faiths were shaken, and our lack of effort in discernment was exposed. It was a very difficult time for our community. For us leaders, it really was the spark that led us to stop just eagerly accepting whatever we were taught, but to spend effort discerning and seeking the voice of God for what we as His people should be like, and to teach this community to do the same.

This was was the pivotal event that really what got our church moving in the direction that I’m sharing about today. And I know talking about this spiritual gifts stuff is scary to some of you, and I as a leader don’t really want to talk about it because we messed up so badly, but I know God has redeemed us from it and we want to bring Him glory by telling you guys what He showed of Himself through it.

I’m gonna invite our dear sister Viv to share a little more about what transpired as we struggled through this stuff:

Chat with Vivian

Ken: What were you first experiences with the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit?

Viv: I think I started to recognize the tangibility of the Holy Spirit when I started seeing my family relationships being reconciled and restored. Specifically, I was angry with my dad for 6 years of my life. He left when I was 12 and I never talked to him since. But that was the first thing God worked on. It was through his Spirit that I was given a chance to forgive my dad before he passed away in that very same year. I mean this is something that God is still working on in the rest of my family, but since knowing God, He had definitely started changing a lot of my perspectives towards my family.

A place where I saw the Holy Spirit working powerfully was in the discipleship groups that I was a part of. I really saw a great deal of transformation and growth not only in myself but my other sisters in the group as well. All of us were experiencing breakthroughs, freedom, chains were being broken, lies were being revealed and gifts were being discovered. I actually received the gift of tongues during DG.

Ken: Before this I don’t think I ever actually heard the details of what happened in the disciple group you were in, tell us a bit more about that.

   

Viv: So, with our discipleship group, we were committed to meeting once a week. It was really hard to find a time for all 5 girls to meet since some of us were working and some of us were schooling, but we found a way and that was 5:30am in this room. It was tough, but I’ve never been so excited to wake up at 4:30am… ever. Each week would be different, but we’d all come prepared to share our deepest secrets, to pray for each other, to encourage each other, to worship together, to rebuke each other when necessary, and to see cool things happen. While all of that was exciting, in the midst of getting caught up in all the cool stuff that we were seeing, I think we forgot that the sole purpose of everything happening is because of Jesus.

So there was one meeting in particular where we were talking about spiritual gifts and the gift of tongues was something that came up. To me, I wanted it. I thought that it would somehow help mature me spiritually so that I could live up to certain spiritual “standards”. So that night, we all made the mistake of blindly receiving it without checking with the Word, without really checking with God. The week after, a sister rebuked us all. Many of us were really hurt and discouraged, some of them had left this church… actually I think all of them left.

Through this experience, I was pretty shaken up but humbled by God’s grace. I can’t deny that even through my selfishness, God was working and is still working. I actually stopped praying in tongues for a while, but it wasn’t until this past year that God has confirmed with me that He has blessed me with this gift.

Ken: In light of us learning from that mess, of your experiences with your family, JnF missions, etc, what has having the Holy Spirit working in and through your life looked like to you?

Viv: For me, having the Holy Spirit work in me and through me…means a transformation of my  character.  In these past 4 years, when I let God do what He does, He shines through, even if I didn’t know and naturally the fruits of the Spirit are produced:  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Seeing God move during Jane and Finch missions stretched me in so many ways. I was scared going into it. I didn’t know how God was going to use me. Thoughts of being young in my faith made me feel like I was incapable of doing God’s work. But there was this one specific woman that I remember talking to during the missions trip and her name is Elizabeth. God used ME to bless her. She was a beautiful and joyful woman of God. She was born deaf. I was so encouraged by this woman. Her faithfulness was so inspiring; she couldn’t stop praising God despite the misfortunes life has dealt her. Through her, I saw God. Through her, I experienced the fruits of the Spirit. What I saw through this experience was God glorifying Himself. It was never about me and what I can do but everything about who He is and what He can do. 

In hindsight, I confess that we had pursued those giftings, those displays of God’s power, with not much wisdom or humility, and not much purpose other than wanting to see cools things from God. And while wanting to experience God wasn’t in itself a bad thing, we missed the key purpose for God’s manifest presence, we missed the key reason why God would invade our reality.

Acts 4:27-31
27for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

31And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

In the midst of persecution, in the midst of being outcasted, the early believers prayed that God would show up as they continue to proclaim God’s word boldly. They never thought of the gospel as simply an idea that was to be taught to people. They wanted it to be real, and God responded by being real to them right then right there.

That’s how the disciples view Jesus when he was on Earth too; they never thought He was just about spiritual things. Listen to  Matthew talk about Jesus healing people in Matthew 8:16-17:

16That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."

The passage refers to Isaiah 53:4-5:

Isaiah 53:4-5
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
   and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
   smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
   and with his stripes we are healed.

Matthew saw the fulfillment of the Isaiah passage when Jesus was physically healing people. The disciples didn’t see Jesus’ arrival as just spiritual healing and deliverance. And the church in Acts continued to view God this way even after Jesus returned to heaven, leaving us the Holy Spirit as His keepsake until He returns.

Looking back at Acts 4, for the original church miraculous signs and wonders isn’t just about strengthening themselves or blessing the church as it’s so often taught as. The Acts church prayed to show the world that God is as real as we claim Him to be, as we know him to be.

Now we’re definitely not going to claim we know everything when it comes to these charismatic gifts. We’re still discovering that stuff all the time, as we encounter the Word, and as we proclaim it boldly, and trusting in faith that God will teach us as keep our eyes on Him. But we will not write off these miraculous things as too far fetched or too dangerous to pursue because we want God to be real, we want him to be more than just an idea in our heads, more than a philosophy we bought into. We want to see the gospel break into reality.

Which leads us to the last thing I want to talk about today, just how real is God to you? Just how much do you believe, do you know, that Jesus is your God and saviour?

Journey to Vision ... Church has to be Church (Pt. 2/5)

Biblical Community

VS

Corporate Institution

One of the biggest lessons we’ve learnt over the last 3 years, and probably one of things most people will notice about our church (whether you’ve been churched for a while or not) is how simple this community is: we don’t have a 10 person band that needs to practice for 4 hours before a gathering, we don’t have 17 bible studies of increasing levels of complexity. Sometimes the sound isn’t good or the video doesn’t play, and you’ll notice we don’t really seem to mind.

Goodness gracious the geeky guy who would normally be running the sound board is up here talking to you! But yet many of you would describe this place as family.

This is no accident, it’s not because we’re lazy that we choose to be church this way. It came from us learning the hard way how viewing church as an corporate institution - a schedule of well-planned, polished, and “excellent” events and strategies – how viewing church that way actually distracts us, even straight up keeps us, from truly encountering God, from truly being His Body.

I’d like to invite someone up here right now. I know it’s a title which he doesn’t particular like used lol, but as the director of Hamilton campus, someone who was put in charge of “building” this church, I’d like to invite Paul up here to share how God has reshaped our thinking about being church here at Westside Hamilton:

Chat with Paul

Ken: What were some of the things going through your head as you first took on being the director of Hamilton? What did you think church or running/building a church was back then?

Paul: The shoes were too big to fill, but my ego made me take it up. If you know me, you’ll know that I have stupidly high expectations on myself. And the way I was led and taught by my own leaders, and even as a youth, is that a leader or a pastor is one that KNOWS what he’s doing. And I am one that THINKS he knows what he’s doing. In short, I knew I would fall short of my own expectations, as well as others’, but I wanted to think that I could do it, so I took it. I wanted to make everyone’s worship experience as powerful and dramatic as possible. I wanted to see people grow. To me, running a church was SOLELY to create an atmosphere of worship to everyone who comes in, whether you are mature in your faith, or just started in it, or you were forced to come by a friend.

Ken: What were some of the things the God spoke to you, or things that you saw in this church, that made you reconsider those initial plans? What made you reconsider what church was?

Paul: Well, before God spoke, God allowed me to try. So i tried it... I gave it my all to make sure the atmosphere was compatible to as many people as possible. What ended up happening was that people started to get burned out, only select few grew because we as the leaders could only mentor so many people, and worse of all, no true disciples were being made because all of our efforts/energies were spent on creating quality services. And the more burnt out our leadership became, the more evident it became that something was off in our priorities. No real disciples were being made other than those who served, and even they weren’t finding Christ. There was an incorrect correlation between serving and discipleship. If there was any hunger for the Lord, we automatically plugged them into some sort of service ministry, like worship team or ushering.

At the same time, we kept reading about the Acts church, and how it wasn’t created, but it was a natural reaction to the movement of the Holy Spirit. I couldn’t reconcile that idea of church with what we saw at Westside.

Ken: In light of that redefinition, what do you feel are some of the practical shifts in focus necessary to respond to our new convictions?

Paul: So what did we do? we cut out a lot of ... extras. Whatever we can so that our focus and energy may be concentrated on prayer, the Word, and making disciples. Anything that required justification of its direct relation to the above were cut, simply because we didn’t have the energy. And what happened was this: 1st - a lot of people just felt free to be family. Intimacy grew. 2nd - a lot of people who don’t usually go to church, or believe in this faith, came... and stayed! It wasn’t (hopefully) because of our well planned, flawless, good sounding worship sets or sermons... they (I believe) really found people who cared... and, in our case, people who actually had energy to SHOW that we cared.

What’s pretty cool was that the fluff came back! When I say fluff, I mean absolute no disrespect to those things... we cut out newcomers ministry, ushering, special song during offering, harvest, even sound equipment sometimes. Some of these came back NATURALLY, with the people who serve in them having attained the right heart, that is, that we do all things for one purpose: to love God and love others, and to build others up.

Basically, I want to have people come in on saturdays and leave hungering for more, and then encouraging them to BE what we experienced on those days, everyday, wherever they go.

Throughout the NT, the church was always described first and foremost as a community, a community that held deep relationships with one another and with God; a community that represented what Jesus said were the 2 greatest commandments. The bible is full of descriptions of how believers should treat one another:

Carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
Bear with one another (Colossians 3:13)
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  (Ephesians 5:19-20)
Have mercy and compassion for one another (Zechariah 7:9)
Love one another (23 passages)

But somewhere along the way, in our attempt to “build our church”, we’ve created this system where there are a few leaders who fed hundreds of spiritual consumers, who are coming just cause they’re taught to go to these church-y events. And nowadays whether a church is good or not is mainly judged on whether the leaders could drum up engaging events and programs, and do them with “excellence”; whether there’s good music, whether there’s good teaching, whether there’s child care, whether there are good products offered that will help me grow. All the while these leaders are so consumed with planning and logistics that they can’t do or teach or demonstrate the one thing that really matters in a community, loving each other (written specifically in 23 passages).

The church in Acts, the original church, paints such a picture of love.

Acts 2:42-47
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

It was a picture where everyone gave their lives to God’s kingdom wholeheartedly; no one was there just to take, everyone gave however they could. The church was “a royal prisethood, holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9), these souls who were knitted together for the name of Jesus.

I’m not saying this community should be a free-for-all and everyone does whatever the heck they feel like with no regard for being organized. You do see that we try to start on time, you do see that we prepared music, you do see that we have snacks, you do see that we have teaching.

The praise team does practice, but when Paul doesn’t mind singing off key on stage, it’s because he wants to be free to worship and he’s encouraging you guys in that, so that those of you who are annoyed by it may be freed by his humility, and those of you who don’t think you can sing could feel free to praise God. ‘cause if the dude up on stage could be off key at the top of his lungs, then certainly you can praise with whatever voice you’ve got.

When someone greets you at the door, it’s not just because we wanted to make you feel welcomed and smile for you for 20 weekends a year, it’s because we hope and pray that eventually you’d get it that this is family and you'd start greeting people, you'd start to make people feel welcomed into this family.

When the Fernandez’s so graciously provide snacks for our gathering, it’s not just cause they want you to sit and eat yummy snacks, they’re modeling for us a way to give to this community, and we hope you’d do the same in your own way too.

Ultimately us leaders, those of us at the forefront of this community, we’re not here to give you a nice, comfortable, well-received time every service, that’s not our purpose, that’s not the reason we have this every Saturday. That’s not the reason we have anything.

Jesus didn’t say we’re to be known by our excellent music, or our eloquent teaching, or our flawless logistics, He said in John 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

We gather to love our God, we gather to love one another, and we gather to see to it that we live for those 2 things. As Paul said, we gather so that we could help each other be disciples of Jesus Christ. That’s why we gather.

“Believers don’t come to church. Believers become church.”

That’s what we’re committed to living out here.

Journey to Vision ... Introduction (Pt. 1/5)

The past 2 weeks at Westside Hamilton we’ve talked about Jesus, what He did for us, how that changes us, and how that defines what church is. Today I want to talk about Westside Hamilton itself, our church. I want to share with you how we got to where we are, what we went through these past 4 years, and the things that God has convicted us of, the things that this community stands for.

And I guess most people would call what I’m sharing today the vision of Westside Hamilton. But I just want to make it really really clear that we didn’t make this stuff up. We didn’t just sit down together and come up with a vision for this community. Actually, I wished we did that. But we had some pretty hard knocks and the stuff I’m sharing isn’t just theory. It’s is real to us.

Now I can’t go through the all the topics in detail today. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to get into some of these topics more as we sit and chat with you or other chances up here on stage. But I’m hoping that what I share today will give you some idea why this community is the way it is.

Acts 4 ... Boldly Wanting (Pt. 3/3)

29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Our church has wrestle these past 2 years on whether we should "pursue" signs and wonders. We've been on that pursuit before, without nary any wisdom or humility, or even purpose for pursuing such things other than it was exciting to see God tangibly. But in Acts the community had a very good reason to ask for such signs. To them it wasn't just about seeing more of God, it wasn't even about strengthening each other and blessing the church, it was about backing the message of Jesus' sovereign grace. The disciples have always recgonized Jesus' grace as real and tangible, as Matthew saw him doing in Matthew 8:16-17

16That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."

Matthew attributed more than spiritual deliverance to the famed words in Isaiah 53. This isn't to say we are to dazzle people to salvation, v29 says these signs and wonders happen while people speak God's Word with all boldness. And boldness, as we saw with Peter and the council (and pretty much all of Peter's sermons up to that point), included saying not so "loving" things. But some of us, myself included, closed our hearts to the desire of God showing up. For me it was because I're scared of the mistakes that I had made in pursuing these things before. A lot of us are opened to the idea of proclaiming God's Word. But this passage shows us that the first church was eager to not just to explain the kingdom of God to people, but to see it happen, to see salvation happen.

14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

There's just no trash talking when God actually happens! No arguments, no academics, just jaw dropping awe. I believe God wants to back us when we say that His grace is awesome. God responds to their prayers by shaking the place up. God gave them exactly what they asked for, as if to say, "yes, I have heard you, and I will be there just like I'm here now!", and healings signs and miracles continue to happen in Acts. God responded to people desiring to proclaim his kingdom as a real thing, not just in the next life, but here and now.

Acts 4 ... Boldly Going (Pt. 2/3)

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

This is a bit of a tangent from the chapter, but beyond just talking about Jesus, do people recgonize that you've been with Jesus?

What was astonishing, what was the standout characteristic about the leaders of the early church was that they were regular folk, not priests or pharisees or teachers of the Law (our cultural equivalents being pastors, theologians, full time ministry people), and that they've been with Jesus. I had to wrestle with this one a lot because I'm innately a teacher, and apart from being know for my past of easily being angered, I'm known for explaining and articulating stuff. But I had to admit that what was powerful about the early church wasn't what they could explain about Jesus. What was astonishing was that ordinary people could proclaim/live/love as bold, supernatural witness of Jesus Christ. And this wasn't just restricted to the people who were literally with Jesus, God was responding throughout the entire community in tangible ways. Later on he would shake up a prayer meeting where they were asking for more of this boldness!

It wasn't their theology that was rocking people, it was their testimony. 1 Peter describes the body of Christ as a "chosen people, a royal prisethood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light". Does that sound like it's centered around knowledge and understanding? Or does that sound like a people who are celebrating and walking with God?

I'm not saying teaching is not important, or studying the word is not important. It's God's word, we need to know it. I'm just saying that walking with God, being with Jesus, obeying and pleasing him, is even more important. That's why I've been talking about obedience all the time, because for one, if I have no desire to obey God, no desire to bear fruit, how can I be sure the Holy Spirit is in me (Galatians 5:21-23)? And if the Holy Spirit is the seal, the proof, of our salvation (Ephesians 1:12-14), and if I don't know if I have the Holy Sprit then I don't know when I'm at with Jesus. But that's a whole different sermon. More relevant to what we're talking about today, I believe obedience is the best teacher of all. Nothing enlightens a passage more than when it becomes reality in your life, and for me that has happened most when I've obey the Holy Spirit's desire and motivation to please God.

Are we seeking to just be well educated in things of Jesus Christ or are we actually walking with God? Are we actually witnesses of the gospel or am I just explaining it? That of course requires that we stop just studying about Jesus, but we need seek to go somewhere with Jesus, to live our lives in simple, joyful obedience. We have to pursue that if we haven't had anything in that regard.

Um, about those CCF rants......

Man, I was reading those over today, and just had to laugh about how unbelievably bitter I was. What a wonder the Holy Spirit can do in anyone! And while I still believe in a selected few of those opinions (I still think guys need to be guys, and leaders need to listen to God, and musical praise should be about....praise lol), a ton of that is just my bitterness picking fights. So yeah, whoever is reading this (this a reminder to myself too), face reality, face trials, face mistakes, face failures WITH people, not AGAINST people.

When Sin Looks More Enjoyable Than God

Lukewarm and Loving It

Slavery Can Be Fun

Sequel to "Lukewarm and Loving It!"

Is This Really Church?

The Joy of Suffering

Acts 4 ... Boldly Speaking (Pt. 1/3)

8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Peter does this warning every time he preaches, said it to the crowd at pentecost, said it to the crowd after the lame man was healed, now says it to the council that's questioning them the same way they questioned Jesus. There's this theme of you messed up, but God saw that coming, and he's prepared a way for you to be saved from his wrath.

Sometimes we present the gospel like people's lives are pretty good already, but if they just received Jesus, their lives would be that much better. Peter's messages didn't quite sound like that, he made people's rejection of God plain to them, and that "there is salvation is no one else". The gospel isn't about how much better your life would be with Jesus, but that we messed up, that we don't don't have life at all apart from Christ.

Jesus said that he will separate the wheat and chaff (what's leftover after the valuable wheat is gone) and will throw the chaff into unquencable fire (Watt 3). Jesus said the worthless servant, who did nothing with what the master gave him, will be thrown out of his property, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 25). Jesus says that he will separate the sheep to his right and goats on his left, and those on the left will be thrown into eternal fire (Matt 25).

Hell is real! I know we don't want to talk about it, good grief even I don't want to talk about it. We all want to think that Jesus is all nice and peaceful and cuddly. But he said himself that hell is real, that He would be the one who judges who goes there. Some of you here are not followers of Jesus, and really I don't want to have to be the one to say that you by your nature have chosen against God, and that because God being in nature God, you choice will have consequences, and those consequences are described here in His word. Telling you that stuff doesn't feel good to me! I'd rather us come and sing some songs and just leave it at that. But I know that's the most loving thing I could say to you this afternoon, that Jesus died hanging on 2 pieces of wood, He rose from that death and made a way for you to choose God, and the journey to that reunion with Him can start today if you so wished.

To those of you who are sure you are followers of Jesus, how much do you have to hate someone to not warn them about hell? Jesus doesn't just enhance our lives, he saves from certain eternal damnation. Saying that is not judgement, it's the same truth and you and I live by, the very thing we want people to be saved from. The question to you guys though, is do you believe in hell enough that you'd warn people about it? That you'd plead with people not to go there?

Some of you know that I went to Hong Kong in April. And one afternoon when me and Dorothy were touring the beaches with my oldest uncle, he mentioned that we should probably pay our grandparent's grave a visit. You could sense the hesitation in his voice. He was Catholic, and was clearly uncomfortable with the pagan stuff that surrounded the grave sites (they have separate pagan and Christian semetaries in HK). I figured why not, we could at least pray when we're there. Then I thought about, well, what am I praying for exactly? My grandparents wanted nothing to do with Jesus, nothing to do with righteousness, and as much as I don't want to fully acknowledge it or think about it, I know they're in hell. And my mom's family has long since gotten over it. So what exactly is there left to pray for? Then God brought my mind to Luke 16, the story of the rich man and Lazarus.

19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

I just remembered this story, especially the part about the rich man's reaction to hell. He just wanted a drop of water, but when he was denied that what did he want instead? He desperatedly wanted someone to warn his brothers. He begged that someone would go and tell his loved one not to go down his path.

The gospel isn't the cherry on top. Apostle Paul said that we've been given a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5)

"that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

We are called to more than just bless/"love" people, we are called to help reconcile people to God. And so we need to tell people they need to be reconciled, that they are far from God, that they've chosen against God, and they need to know the consequences.