2019-02-25-CCCC - Abiding Part 4 - The Word
We are going to be a church of disciples or we're not actually going to be at church because the church is disciples be Disciples of Jesus. So we are taking several weeks between now and Easter to really dive into what that means. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus disciples aren't just you know, the 12 that Jesus called when he was here and walking around and doing things and saying things we are to be the Disciples of Jesus the foundation of that is in the good and in the Great Commission Matthew 18:6 go therefore and Make Disciples of all Nations. That's our charge. That's what Jesus has left us to do to make disciples to care for widows and orphans and make disciples. We praise God leave the leave the the heart resurrecting to him. And then Those whom he has resurrected we disciple by the grace of God, that's our foundation to go and make disciples. The heart of what we do is from John 10 for it to Jesus speaking in the sheets follow him for they know his voice. All we do is we remind ourselves of the words of the shepherd. We speak the words of the shepherd and the Sheep respond to the voice of the shepherd are great Good Shepherd Jesus and then the warning from John 15 a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you we are not in this for fame or popularity. We are in this for faithfulness. We are going to be faithful to what the Lord Jesus has called us to be with the Lord. Jesus has called us to be both his disciples and as his church We can expect it. We can expect to not be liked by the world, but we will abide with with John. So what are the marks of a disciple of Jesus in this is kind of our outline of the whole series. What are the marks of a disciple number one that does Niall of self and and abiding in Christ and we do that true love and through prayer. We did not buy ourselves and we abide in Christ and love and prayer. Number two. We have a thirst a knowledge and a dependence on the scriptures. That's where we're going to be this week. Number three. We find purpose enjoy pleasing the father and number for We Make Disciples. The making of disciples is like one of the definitive Mark of what it means to be a disciple if you're not making disciples and you are not a disciple. How do we make disciples while we know our calling we know our gifts and we use our gifts. Faithfully fulfill our calling which inevitably results in bearing the marks of a disciple and it says awesome cycle that repeats itself and has over 2,000 years and it will until Christ returns. That's what we do. I was I was I was giving a quote one time in a meeting says if you're doing Ministry the same way you were this time last year. You're already falling behind in failing and my probably slightly snotty response was I am doing Ministry the same way. I did it last year and I will be do Minister the same way next year. Like we don't have to revolutionize this part. Okay, we can throw some fresh paint on the walls if we want to so to speak, you know what I'm saying, but we don't change this. We are disciples and we make disciples pursuing faithfulness and not fun trusting in God's sovereignty over our size. That's what we are. That's who we are. So again a quick recap of what it means to deny ourselves and abide in Christ. What is that abiding life look like it looks like love John 13 34 to 35 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. brothers and sisters like
might find yourself asking yourself a question, you know like a man. They recline so much of me. Okay. Are you giving more than Jesus house? Man, they need so much love and attention. Have you given more love and attention than Jesus has like we can't outgive we can't out love Christ, right? We can certainly try the great goal. It's not going to happen. Right? No one has given more than Christ himself. So we're talkin about brothers and sisters. Loving one another are model as Christ himself. Let me just like husbands. Our model is Christ on the cross. Like how has that been required of you as a husband yet? No, okay, then you haven't given enough. Right. You haven't been asked to give too much like our standard is Christ himself. We are to have love for one another. So if the church is disciples, but that's who makes up the church are the disciples not just people here but the true Disciples of Christ at the church his disciples and disciples love one another the only way to truly witness and experience the church is to be loved by her. If your experience with the church in your own past or maybe maybe have a family that has experienced the church. I'm doing are quotes here because I mean that like what I'm saying is if they haven't been loved by the church, then they have an experience to church because the church is disciples and disciples love one another they probably experienced a counterfeit. The calls itself church. Maybe you've been a member of an organization called Church. And if you weren't loved and if they did not abide in you and if they did not challenge you to love like Christ loves and you weren't a part of the church. You were part of something else cuz John 13 3435 says by this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another meaning One another disciples disciples love one another and how does the world see that we know the truth? The way and the life we love one another like that's our testimony. That's the most important testimony to one another and to the world like we can talk strategy. We can talk you can talk evangelism. It's all for nothing if we have not love, right? That sounds familiar, right? I will just be a noisy gong. If we do not love one another that's how the world will see that we know the way have the truth and live the life if we love one another.
We also smell like prayer. Write our life looks like love and it's smells like prayer from Revelation 8 and he was given much and sense to offer with the prayers of all the Saints and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the Saints Rows before God. Like it not only are our prayers are abiding prayers with God. Not only is it is it pleasing to him right now? Not only does it bind us closer with him cause us to abide closer with him. If you think about it, like forgive me again with the marriage thing like my wife and I are married. There's nothing can change that. Right, but what brings the intimacy of our marriage closer is time spent together words shared words listened those things behind us our prayers to God. They bind us closer like a week. We can't undo the work of the cross in our heart if we've been washed in the blood of Jesus. Good luck trying to wash that blood off you have been made, right? But that close intimate relationship with God. It's it's made in a biting intimate prayer to not only does it affect our relationship right now with God, but those prayers are kept by God will actually bring about the return of Jesus and all the answers that we think that God has said no to or that God might have said later to trade in the will and according to the character of Jesus. They're kept in there poured out upon price return to not only do our abiding prayers right now to change a relationship with God but actually bring about the return of Jesus and all the all the Justice in and Grayson and Holiness and Perfection that we're wanting to see in the world that comes with Jesus through our prayers that we pray right now. Should we love one another and we pray together into our heavenly father? That's what disciples do. And this week Disciples of Jesus Christ have a thirst for a knowledge of and a dependence on the scriptures. A thirst for a knowledge of and dependence on the scriptures. Why well, here's a Sunday school answer Jesus. Right. It's actually true Christ the revelation of God read this a couple of the timesheet for when God the holy spirit gives you eyes to see and ears to hear the truth about the Heart character in nature of the father made manifest in the Life Death and resurrection of the son want what was once old opinion becomes Living Truth and that Living Truth is contained in but not limited to and will never contradict the written truth. So pause for a second we talked about what this means, okay. That Living Truth that is found in the person and work of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to show us who the father is that Living Truth. It's found in the scriptures. It's contained in the scriptures, but this is important. It's not limited to the Bible. Now that's that that could be taken in a scary Direction. That's not where I'm going to take it. The Bible is everything that God wants us to know about himself everything. We need to know about him right now for this life. But certainly the incidence of God is Not confined to the words of scripture take the written word of God is like a body. It's a body of written and recorded truth just like like I'm a body you're a body right and you have a name k the name of my body is is Tommy. Jackson Thomas, but you know call me Tommy Wright. So the truth of who I am is found right here, right it in this body. But the thing is it's not confined to this body, right because I used to be like a baby and they are true things about me that only my parents know right? There's true things about me that that only my wife knows the truth about me that my children know that no one else knows. Right show the truth of who I am is not just contained at this body. I'm not just a body.
Right, but but all these other things that are true about me will never contradict me. So we have an eternity to learn everything there is to know about God if we're in him, right then when this body ends and we go on to glory to be with him or when Christ returns. We will have eternity to learn everything there is to know about God we will never learn everything there is to know about him but not once in all of eternity will we ever learn anything? That is contrary to what is recorded right here. How amazing is that?
Everything that God needs us to know about himself. He placed written down in the scriptures. But I'm so excited that there's so much more. So much more to know. For right now if we want to abide in Christ.
We need to abide in his word. We need to have a thirst for his word. We'd have a knowledge of his word. We need to depend on his word because he's giving it to us.
Don't understand the Bible like this written word is this book? Would be eternally worthless. If it didn't reveal to watch The Heart character and nature of God, if it was just like helpful tips and rules for living that might be beneficial for what like 80 90 years 92 years.
but then if if that benefit ended on our desks and All right. I mean it's ultimately eternally pointless CS Lewis says whatever is not Eternal is eternally pointless. The Bible would be worthless if it didn't reveal God his heart is character in nature, but it does. And here's what's awesome about it it being written and in this kind of occurred to me in a new way just while we were praying for the family that's going through so much right now and I think about this children son is 16 and the little girl when my wife and I first knew her for years old. I guess she's not 27. But they're going to be without their their mother and I'm thinking about their face.
What they needed something secure. Add something solid to stand upon how beautiful is it that God wrote it down. It doesn't just reside in the imaginations of his people cuz we know what overactive imaginations can bring and how they can change. Like how they can shift. Like the written word of God is written. So it's secure and steady and it does not change.
Right. I mean sometimes you know, I'm trying to be on smart TV in preacher lien and I'm working through a sermon and I've got a key passage and it might throw me a bit for a loop sound like I'm going to look this up in the original. Can I find that? Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly what it means. Good job English Standard Version like it here. It's written and it's not changing. We need to have a thirst for a knowledge of and a dependence on the Bible. So we got a lot of scriptures here this morning. It's fitting right first from Psalm 34 Verse 8. It says, oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste and see that the Lord is good. My family kind of makes fun of me a bit last night. I was semi just laying on the floor moaning because my stomach hurt and dumb and I thought about what I had consumed Thursday evening a little movie night with my older kids on Thursday night and a little movie morning with my younger kids yesterday morning and in between that there is some pizza involved. So when I thought about it, it's like, okay. So since Thursday night, I've had a Godly amount of popcorn and soda candy Pizza.
Yeah, it was good. for a moment Right from the moment. I swear every time I don't like shouldn't wear nevermind. That's bad figure of speech. I promise you every single time I go to the movies. I'm thinking you know what not this time. I've Got My Ticket. They have enough. I'm just going to walk in and I'm just go sit down and watch the movie and that smell. Watch them every single time and then I got okay. I'll just get a small popcorn, right and then you look at the prices and they have like I'm I'm telling you like I mean NASA computer scientist or some artificial intelligence in the future has come out of price things. So you go in saying what I'm already spending so I might as well pull if I'm going to spend that that I might as well and then I can walk away with this genelec. What happened to me.
But yet where does it leave you leave you on a Saturday night going? I'm so sorry. Cuz while it was good in the moment, right does It ultimately disappoint you.
Like to my Everlasting shame, I have learned that spending time in the scriptures never disappoints me. The time I spend on almost anything else. always does But yet, where do we go? We continually go back to what tastes good and then ultimately betrays you but yet every single time that I indulge or binge myself on the written word of God. It never disappoints me. I never go. That was a waste.
Can I say that to my Everlasting shame because how many more years before I actually have the courage. Right and the discipline to know let me just spend a little bit of time right now with God's written word. Because he is good and when you taste him see him in his word, you see that he is good. From John 4 13 through 14 says everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him you will never be thirsty again never lack. This would never thirsty in that context means you never lack your thirst will always be asswaged and satisfied the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Imagine your actual Thursday of every time you went satisfied. But that's what that spring of water means. It's now he knows Jeremy. That's what it means to be a Christian is to have the spirit of God residing in you and does that needle ever go on E. No like that spirit of God residing in you Wells up.
1st Peter 136 according to his great Mercy he has caused us to be born again to a Living Hope. in that fascinating turn of phrase a Living Hope like we have a hoe and we talked about the real definition of Hope before Hope is Faith just in future tense, right? We have faith that Christ real and he came and he lived and died when he was resurrected. We have faith in what he did in the past right keeping the promises all the way back to the Patriots all the way back in the first days of creation. God has kept his promises. We have faith in that hoe is that same plate bins at that same Faith placed in the future. So we have a hope. So, why does Peter say to Living Hope? What's the difference between Fried Chicken and a chicken? K Fried Chicken is delicious. It's packed with protein and delicious and did I say delicious and Chris penis and delicious Chris penis and it is there for a moment and then it's gone a chicken. Brings meal after meal after meal after meal after meal, right? Let's hope versus living out where they Living Hope Every Spring in us. It's inexhaustible, but the scriptures are inexhaustible.
I've reached all the way through Genesis two different times for talkin like 56 weeks at a time and I'm really itching to preach it again because I've learned more stuff. Like I remember the second time preaching through them like well, I'm glad I'm pretty sure does a second time cuz I miss some things a first-time now me to get it right exhaust Apple. You never come to the end of I mean you've experienced this right? You have a passage of scripture maybe even memorized maybe the passage of scripture that your eyes always fall on when you're just thumbing through trying to find something and you see it you read it and you've known it for decades, but then you read it and then it's I've never seen that before isn't like new. Where the pages stuck together like, how did I miss this? The scriptures are inexhaustible? And so we should have a thirst for them knowing that it will always be satisfied. What are thirst will always be satisfied? Because it's it's not just a jar or bottle. It's a spring. and that should bring us to a knowledge of we have a thirst for those scriptures and then that brings us to a knowledge of them. Because to know the scriptures is to know Christ from 2nd Timothy 3:14 through 15. Posting this encouraging Timothy you however continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing from whom you have learned them and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to Salvation through faith, which is in Christ. Jesus Paul is telling Timothy lean on the knowledge that you have received from day one. Check this out pause not talking about the New Testament. It didn't exist yet. He's currently writing it. He's the Old Testament scriptures the ones that we usually ignore. Red because it's weird and God seems angry all the time and genealogies that when my son started reading through the scriptures and I think he's read almost every page. Am I asked him one time hate Fisher? What's your favorite party goes on the genealogies. Mike did come from Jesus not like you felt bad for one of the 12 sons of Jacob because he only had like two children. He was bummed out by that sad for him. Poasttown Timothy those scriptures that you have been taught in and it says another a front bug from your grandmother Lois and that he had a grandmother Lois. It just seemed so Random. The grandmother I'd love that. I mean granny Louis and and she knew the scriptures the Old Testament scriptures the Torah she knew it and she taught it is that will lead to Salvation through faith in Christ. Jesus all of the scriptures about Christ. All of them. All of them. Jesus himself said that when he was arguing with religious folk, right that had the Torah memorized by the first five books of the Bible. They had it memorized in Jesus. Like I'm standing right here in front of you and you don't realize that all that stuff you've memorized yet that to me, but you don't get it. Do you?
Right. I mean it is Christ and he's right there for us to know him. He's right here for us to know him John 20331 there for many other signs. Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book see not limited to but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and not believing you may have life in his name. So it's like there's a lot I haven't even said if I were to write all the things Jesus did the Bible, I mean the gospel John would be endless might be too much for us to read. Please sing these things have been written down so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
Why are the words in this book so that we would know that Jesus is the Christ.
So you can't truly know Jesus if you don't know what is written.
You can't have an existential just spiritual encounter with Christ and know everything there is to know about him. I mean every day we're hearing is amazing accounts of Christ visiting like like militant murderess Islamic terrorist in the middle of the night. Jesus comes to them until you know, this Christians that you were going to kill tomorrow. The followers of me and and then I'm telling there's so many of these stories. He then goes to the Christians that he was going to murder and says tell me about this Jesus and where do they turn? the scriptures the illegal Contraband underground Scriptures, it always comes back to the written word. Now, there are there are movements in the Orthodox Christian church. And if there is some you can come denominations or wings or whatever you want to groups flavors. I kind of prefer flavors at Sky nights. There's some flavors of Christ centered churches that that are that are very alive with the living breathing active Holy Spirit and amazing things are happening in their churches. But often they go, awry they go off the rails, right because they're so focused on the immediate power and presence of the Holy Spirit and it's not Tethered to the scriptures. Then there are other flavors in the Christian church. Where is God the Father God the son God the Holy Bible Diane Saul Bible and it falls on deaf ears and it's cold and it's academic.
We're going to be a church that beseeches the living and breathing active Holy Spirit to make his written word alive. We're going to depend on the written word or going to live by the Holy Spirit making it living and active in breathing and leaping off the page and molding Us in shaping us as a church and as his disciples we're going to know what is written so that we can know he who wrote it.
The scriptures also show us who we are.
It shows who we are Hebrews 4:12 says for the word of God is living and active sharper sharper than any two-edged sword piercing to the division of Soul and Spirit of joints and Marrow and Discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Remember, what is it? The hardest Wicked Above All Things Jeremiah Jeremiah like who can know it? the word of God the power of the Holy Spirit can help you to know who you are. And so did this is the this is the struggle that we live in is that Upon Our on a moment of Resurrection when the Holy Spirit resurrect our spirit to live eternally, it's still in this body this flesh and we have the spirit. We have this flesh that are at War one with another right you guys crazy as it is just being okay. I'm the only one that struggles between what God has resurrected in me and the flesh. That's still dying. Brightness this battle in and I'll have thoughts. Is that a my flashers out of the spirit and sometimes it's hard right? Because the enemy steps in the enemy can use facts to tell you lies. It's so complicated. It's so difficult. We need the written and immovable word to divide it one from the other and it's like this. I don't know if you've ever had one of those like an MRI or a cat-scan and I have to inject the dye contrast so they can see the scan they can say. Oh, yeah, this is Anime. This is friend. This is good. This is bad that that's what the written word of God can do. It's like injecting yourself with this dye contrast you'd say. Yes. This is what God has resurrected in me and you can feed that. This is what's going to die someday Lord killeth quicker.
In your feelings can't do that. We can't walk and live by feeling. We have to walk and live on something and praise God. It's something written and immovable. What I'm getting at is sweet depend on it with a thirst for it a knowledge of it and a dependence on it. Matthew 4:1 through Ford says then Jesus was led up by the spirit Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights. He was hungry as one would be. And the temperature came and said to him if you are the Son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread, but he answered it is written man. Shall not live by bread alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of God, we need to live. From every word depend on every word found our life upon every written word. Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 8 verses 2 and 3. He's quoting this and you shall remember the whole way. What did Jesus use to combat the devil and his temptation the scriptures the devil was using scriptures. Do you even know it? You can just find a person put out the sky in a like to know it. I don't think I should use this word in church, but sometimes it's not really sexy. Sometimes it's hard work but that you find a verse in your like wow. That is fantastic. Look at that is so beautiful. That's different ways to know it Jesus knew it. Writings and I see what you're doing there devil. You're even using Bible on me. All right. I'm sorry. I let my nerd flag fly for a moment in The Chronicles of Narnia. Right in the White Witch is quoting the Deep magic to Aslan and Azan says do not quote the Deep magic to me witch I was there when it was written.
right
We know the scriptures you live by them. We would battle the enemy with them. We battle our own flesh with him. Jesus was calling for Deuteronomy 8:2 to 3. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness that he might humble you testing you to know. What is in your heart whether you would keep his Commandments are not any humbled you and let you hunger. Dude, this is one of his versus right? Cuz sometimes we will provide everything we need and I'm hungry right now. Are you not keeping your promise?
Jesus is quoting God let them hunger. And then fed them with Manna what you did not know nor did your father's know that he might make you know, that man does not live by bread alone. That's god making his own scripture is living and active.
But man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the lord. We thirst for a knowledge of and a dependence on the scriptures. Because we have a thirst for my dependents knowledge of any dependents on Jesus.
No, I want to I want to read a passage from from 2nd Samuel chapter 9 it's not going to be up on the screens. I just want you to hear it. And it's it's going to sound like an odd story.
The way I think that it'll come alive. ISM if we say to ourselves.
I am mephibosheth.
My struggle to send it to the chef. I am mephibosheth.
the story of
God's provision And his grace to story of one who is dependent.
Listen to this and say to yourself 2nd Samuel chapter 9. I am must have a chef a chef.
2nd Samuel 9 and David said is there anyone left of the House of Saul? That I might show him kindness for Jonathan's sake now. There was a servant of the House of Saul whose name was Ziva and they called him to David and the King said to him. Are you Ziva? And he said I am your servant and the King said is there not still someone at the house of Saul that I may show kindness that I'm a show with the kindness of God to him is he was said to the king there is still a son of Jonathan he is crippled in his feet the king said to him. Where is he and Zeba said to the king. He's in the house of Macker the son of a meal. Habbo lodebar
thinking David Santan and brought him from the house of Mac or the son of a meal at lodebar and mephibosheth. The son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David fell on his face and pay homage and David said mephibosheth any answer behold. I am your servant and David said to him do not fear for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan and I will restore to you all the land of saw your father and you shall eat at my table always and he paid homage and said, what is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I Then the kings called zebra self-serving and said to him all that belong to us all and to all his house. I have given to your Masters grandson and you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and she'll bring in the produce that your Masters grandson may have bread to eat but mephibosheth your Masters grandson show always eat at my table. Now to see if I had 15 sons in twenty servants then Siva said to the king of cording to all that my Lord the king commands his servant. So will your servant do so mephibosheth ate at David's table? Like one of the king's Sons? And mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah and all who lived in see this house became the fittest just servants. So mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem for he ate always at the king's table. He was lame in both of his feet. We are crippled. We are paralyzed.
Broken, and we're orphaned but yet the king out of kindness and Grace brings us draws us to his table. near to him that we might know him and we might eat from the kindness of his hand. In live is one of the king's own Sons.
The scriptures are a banqueting table of abiding intimate knowledge of Christ himself and a provision all of our days for what we need to know not to win in trivia. Right. We don't know the scriptures just to win the Bible Bowl. We know the scriptures to know him so that we would be intimately connected with them so that we would abide in him.
He's inviting us to abide in him.
And yet we ignore him. I ignore him to my Everlasting shame. When will I learn that? This scripture will never disappoint me.
spray
Jesus we want to know you.
do we
is that our prayer right now? That we want to know you.
And that is our prayer got it. how far mine's Hearts be disciplined to desire end to open up your word and depend on it to know it.
It's like Seems to be so hard, but it's not complicated. We just surrender to it. Can your scriptures can be? I can be confusing in obscure. I flushed.
Flash finds it revolting.
Because our flesh is dying. But what has been resurrected in US is alive and that's why I always satisfies because it fuels what's a live in US deported more life into our life. And you said that you have come to bring us life and bring it abundantly. How much of our Abundant Life do we just keep it at arm's length.
Thank you God for all the times that you have just forced my hand to open your word.
How ridiculous? To thank you, it's your grace at work in me. May you Grace be at work in all of us me your disciples. Love one another and we abide in you. We lift up our our hearts and prayer.
And may we surrender our minds and our hearts to your scriptures? We love you Lord, Jesus your name, we pray I'm in. I'm in so Church. Let's go and let's be his disciples. Let's do that thing. Be his church. Be blessed I'm in.