Sunday - Traditional Service 3/1

Again going to read the word of God together. It will be on the screen 1st Peter chapter or excuse me 2nd Peter chapter 1 verses 5 through 7. Let's start with verse 5. For this very reason make every effort to add your faith goodness and a goodness knowledge and knowledge self-control and a self-control perseverance and a perseverance godliness and to Godliness Mutual affection at the mutual affection. Love You may be seated. So my hope is that these words have become very familiar to you that they have been planted on your heart. I have said this for many weeks now that Peter as he pinned these words was trying to give a picture to those who work in the congregation hearing it for the first time and he wants there to be a picture for you and me that in our spiritual maturity in our development from our first encounter with faith and as we start moving uphill Immaturity that we would be intentional about our spiritual climb none of us get to where we should be spiritually on accident all of us have to be intentional extremely intentional about our development about our growth and and and here's a reality. It's an uphill battle. But most of us lived with downhill habits. Most of us don't do the work necessary. We don't lean and we are willing to let our muscles are spiritual muscles burn. We just think it should happen for us. And if God wants it he'll give it to us and here's the deal God wants it and he wants us to want it just as bad he wants us to put into practice these things that the ad Warface that build our faith internally that begin a transfer. Haitian inside deeply shape and form a since we talked about some habits that I believe will transform your life. If you will lean into them if you'll be intentional we've talked about the word and how important scripture is in our lives. We have been working our way through the book of Psalms and we've done that because the book of Psalms are I think some scripture that Jesus would have planted deeply into his heart into his mind to shape him. And if you're keeping track we've gone through each week. We've been working our way through and so we should be at Psalm anybody know Psalm 40 4747 starting tomorrow. And so I hope that you have been keeping track with us and are doing that too that we have been talking about the power of contending prayer that we have to be a people who died. Just say we pray we shouldn't be a people who just kind of half-heartedly pray at dinner time or half-heartedly Pray when were told to pray but we should be a people who are daily contending with God for the needs that are around us for the world before us for our own Spiritual Development in maturity where people who should be worshiping worship takes those trees of God that we Proclaim. It makes us Proclaim them with our lips and a moose from our head to our hearts into our steps our lives and our action. We want that to be the case and we believe that we need physical tangible reminders of our great need for God to show up for our desire to hunger for him. So we decide to abstain from too fast for certain things whether that be social media or news or television shows or food. Some of you for lint have just jumped in It is practice wholeheartedly in the next 40 days you have decided that I'm going to abstain from something and we don't just do that because hey, that's what you do it. When we do that to give ourselves more time and focus to hunger for God. So we want to do that. And then last week we talked about this discipline of the table this discipline of like Levi inviting people to Worship in to celebrate Jesus to love them and invite them in into that practice this week. I want to add one more before we pause and take a break on these habits so that we can then come back to them and develop them up more this week. I want to talk about a spiritual practice called serve as we took communion today. I took your mind back to John Chapter 13, and this powerful image of Jesus. Being a servant who had all the power of Heaven incarnate in flesh and blood stepped down as Philippians 2 would say and wrapped a servant's palace slaves towel around his waist and bent down to wash the feet of his disciples. This is the kind of life that Jesus led and the life he calls those who would walk in his way to live a life of service and we're not just talking about a random act of kindness. We are talkin about an intentional Life Style devoted to the service of other people. If you would flip with me to Matthew chapter 23 and your scripture if you've been in 2nd Peter, you're going to go work backwards to the left and we're going to get right to the beginning of the New Testament in Matthew chapter 22. Jesus has begun his long journey. So to speak to Jerusalem there he he is teaching his disciples and and he comes in contact with some Pharisees and some people in a crowd. So if you would just imagine a crowd like this has gathered I Found Jesus to hear him teach and in that crowd are people who are just interested to hear Jesus and there are also people in that crowd who are religiously trained they know all of the right things to do by by scriptures standard and they hold High the scriptural standard standard. They have put their own kind of flare to it. They have put their own demands upon it and they not only have those demands for themselves. They begin to believe everybody around them should have the same demands upon their life. And this is what the gospel says. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses seats. Do you know what he's saying here? They sit in this place to lead you out of your Wilderness experience out of your slavery. They say they are there to help you to deliver you. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you but do not do what they do for they do not practice what they preach.

Can you imagine having the audacity to stand up in front of a crowd? And say hey, they're telling you the truth. Just don't live like they live because they don't do what they tell you to do.

Wow, that's a powerful moment.

I think you could have heard a pindrop in that room I think that the phases of every religious person in that room got bright red. I think an intensity rose up in them and they thought I'm going to kill this guy. By the way, they did. They were so angry because he hit them right between the eyes with the truth. They don't practice what they preach and Jesus goes on to say this in verse for they tie up heavy cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders. But they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

everything they do is done for people to see they make their I'm going to try to say this, right? Phylacteries. Do you know what that is? It's a little box that they tied onto their head. It's a box that had scripture in it because way back in Deuteronomy Moses was teaching them to follow God and he wanted the words of God to be so dear to them. He said it needs to always be before you and so they made a tangible reminder. Put God's word always right before you wherever you go. It's gets there before you do because it's sticking out unless you have a belly and then you're made your belly gets there first, but the reality is the idea is that the word of God would be right here central to who you are and then he goes in to say this and then they make why the tassels of their garments they make them along. This is a prayer shawl. This is this is that traditional Jewish prayer cloth that you have probably seen in movies or in person and maybe you've been in a city and you've Near where there are some Orthodox Jews and out of their clothes. You see these passwords coming out these little things. This is a reminder that prayer is to be Central in their life that there's constantly to be a a prayer concern for the people around us. And he says you make long you make a big show of your faith yet you do nothing with it. They love the place where the seat of honor at Banquets and the most important seats in a synagogue. It's kind of like this. Many of us have grown up in churches where there were seats on the platform. It was like these Pharisees wanted the seat on the platform. They wanted to be able to look out at the crowd. They wanted to see the vanar to be above everybody else. This is where they wanted to be. Jesus makes it very clear. They love being greeted and they love the idea of respect and they love being called teacher. But in verse 8, Jesus says, but you get this you are not called to be a rabbi for you have one teacher and you are all brothers and do not call anyone on Earth father like a priest for you have one father and he is in Heaven nor are you to be called instructor for you have one instructor the Messiah? And look at verse 11. The greatest among you is to be a servant you want to be great become a servant verse well for those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted be lifted up as we climb this road to maturity this uphill intentional battle towards becoming all that. God has created us to be there's a caution. I have to give The caution is this is that as we become more spiritually mature as God begins to transform things in us as we begin to see the wretchedness in Austin. We begin to get rid of those things that bring us down. It's really easy to start looking at everybody around us and seen all their flaws to and Jesus says that's not the calling. The calling is to be a servant that they might be drawn to their own transformation that they may be drawn closer to me because you have taken on the nature of of a servant and this is the very nature of Jesus himself that Jesus is the greatest servant think of this for a moment. In the Old Testament and the Old Testament. There are sometimes that we call Christophe Annie's times when we believe Jesus showed up and spoke to people in guided people before he actually came incarnate. Jesus could have done that in the New Testament if he just needed to be a teacher if he we just needed to be inspired he could have chosen to just do that. But instead as he look down or he looked at us from wherever he might be. and he recognized the malformation inside of us the Brokenness and how far we are from him. He didn't just come to preach to us in to be a teacher. He came to take upon himself the weakness and the the fleshliness of human beings and to die in our place.

He left all glory everything. We hope to enter one day and came down to be one of us. This is unbelievable. What God would do this what power and deity would humble themselves in such a way to say, let me be a baby out of control. No ability. Let me be raised in a peasant's place. Let me be a mere Stone worker or Mason. Let me find my way and culture and not until I'm in my adulthood and I mean squarely in my adult hits. Let me begin to teach not to take a seat of authority not to take a position of power, but yet simply to teach And allow people through my presence to know that God has come near and then to die for them yet again showing humility giving up all power so that God might be exalted. This is the kind of servant that were talking about. As his power grew he willingly gave it up submitted it over to God Jesus stepped down. This is a powerful demonstration of who and what we're supposed to be. So we need a God who comes close to us because the truth is no matter how good you are. You're still not as good as you could be with a touch of the Holy Spirit the drawing and the coke scene of God's love. but I believe that as much as anything Jesus wanted us to have an example of what it looks like to be truly whole and mature and I think this is an example that we forget really quickly. The true maturity is not about how much you know. How many bad habits you booted out of your life true spiritual maturity is beginning to see the needs of other people around you and giving up your place of power to serve giving up your position to meet a need stepping out of the comfort of being upfront to go behind and to love this is the power of the way of Jesus. Jesus Matthew 23 said that religious leaders often try to make the way the spiritual way cumbersome and difficult. If you remember we talked early on in this series that Jesus said my yoke is easy. My burden is lights. Come be yoked with me take upon yourself this way this way that moves closer and closer to God. And as we get closer and closer to God, we begin to recognize Our Calling to love everybody. God has put around us not to sit in Moses seat or seat of judgment, but instead to leave them to Jesus.

To put them in a position to experience God's great love for them. Jesus calls and says that the greatest among you will be a servant. I think one of the hardest things we have right now to do.

Is the ask the question how do we become Servants of God? How do we truly become a servant of God? I know we don't have a lot of time, but I want to give you some real practical things. The practice I want to beg you. employ add to these other practices we have outlined at best. I want you to become a servant. Last week we talked about this idea of inviting people to the table and some of you said, that's great. How do I get him there? This is how you get them there. You serve them. You serve them you look at what needs to be done. Here is the question. Would you write this question down? Would you plant this question in your mind? I think I don't know. I think this may have been a question that Jesus asked as he surveyed situations what needs to be done. What needs to be done? This could be really simple you you might go visit a person and let's just say they have small children and you you might just say wow. This mother is overwhelmed what needs to be done here. Maybe I'll now this is overwhelming. I know this is way out of our comfort zone. Maybe I'll say hey, can I watch the kids for an hour? And you just go breathe? You remember being there right moms? I just need an hour to breathe. Oh, and by the way, I'm going to tell you a secret you probably already know the secret, but I just want this to be practical. Do you know what every human being says when you offer something? I don't know. You don't need to do that. Can I give you a Christian word? No, I insist. Would you do that would you practice that word this week? No, I insist. I want to do this for you. And guess what? That might be a little white lie. You might not want to do it for them.

But in your uphill battle to do what God wants you to do to become more spiritually mature to love to take on the sheer nature of God that steps down from the seat of power the place of comfort and prominence into the Brokenness in the mass of the swamp of the world. That's to take on the nature of God to love. Damita need I need they may not even know they have but to step in all guys. Maybe it's mowing the lawn or fixing a gutter or I don't know what the question that you can ask to determine what God wants you to do you say that again the question to ask to determine what God wants you to do to be a good neighbor to be a servant is what needs to be done. What needs to be done if you will look at the world with those eyes, you will see all sorts of ways to take on the character and the nature of Jesus. I want to give you these these two things these two things about stepping down intentionally. First is I want you to pray pray that God will break your heart for a need around you. Put on that prayer closet and don't just pray. Oh God heal my neighbor. Oh God fix this country o God fix this neighborhood of God. Put that on in prayer God fix this neighborhood in then ask God. What do you want me to do about it? What do you want me to do to step into this mess pray that God will break your heart and pray that God will give you eyes to see because we are blind 2nd Peter 1 reminds us at the end verse 8 and 9 that if we aren't practicing this uphill battle. Then we're blind or nearsighted. Oh God open my eyes to see open my eyes to care open my eyes to make a difference. I can't continue to be numb like this. I can't continue to leave this to somebody else. I can't leave this to the paid clergy. I can't leave this to the person who's more gifted than me. God. Give me eyes to see and give me a burden to do that'll bring some Holiness into your life that'll bring a hunger for God into your life that I don't know how to do this. Help me into your life. John Wesley who we in our movement in many movements in this room Revere as kind of a guide and and into this idea of personal Holiness. I'm going to summarize but I believe he's believe the spiritual maturity is love the ability to love other people to serve them. And so I want to give you some real practical ways because maybe your eyes haven't been opened and I just want to give you some some real practical things as we close up today number one. I want you to pray for and ask this question what needs to be done for the Next Generation? friends every generation that's gone before you and every generation that will come after you will say all those young kids. They don't know anything. They're so messed up your parents said it about you. Do you remember that? And now we feel it about what's coming next? I just I want to ask you this question. What will God burn your heart for for the next generation? And will you pray pray that God will give you a way to step in to do something. Maybe it's the babysit those screaming kids. Maybe it's to provide a meal or snacks the backpack Ministry. Maybe it's to serve at the local school. Maybe it's the volunteer in our children's ministry. But listen. If we don't reach him when they're young our chance of reach them goes down and that's getting younger and younger and younger because our world our culture is farther and farther and farther from God and so we got to get them while they're young number to see the least and the less I don't know about you but I'm often surprised when I drive around and I see people in need and my tendency as is yours is to say I don't want to be involved in that. I'm scared of that. They got themselves there somehow. And hey, I don't know maybe that's true. But Jesus says this we have served him we have ministered to him. We have loved him when we see the least and the last and the outcasts and the Christian Women's connection of our church has a burden on their heart. They prayed and God has given them one and in your seat, you found a blue piece of paper like this. And on the back of it is a list of things that will fill a one gallon Ziploc bag like this so that those of you who God prompts to be involved in seeing the least and last could take one of these with you instead of saying I have nothing to give you. I don't have cash you could say I have something for you and I just want you to have this and I think the Lord wants you to have this and this is just a real practical thinks CWC the Christian Women's connection. Thank you. I think this is bold. I think this is brave. I think this is Godly and I think we as a church should get a gallon Ziploc bag and fill one of these up with these materials. He's a very specific and it needs to fit in this and I don't want to duffle bag. I want a ziplock bag and I want you to get Brave about seeing those needs. When you see the person holding the sign you can meet that need when you don't know what else to do. You can do this and offer a prayer, but I want to invite you into seeing the least. And then we're going to have another opportunity coming up, but I don't know if you drive through our neighborhoods and we have some people in our church who are faithful to picking up trash because they want to improve our neighborhood.

We just think that if we made a day for people to come in to swarm our neighborhoods and pick up trash that that would impact our neighbors and they would see us as incarnate as people who really care about them. And so we're going to tell you about that and coming weeks of the day that's going to be but I want you to just start thinking how can I help serve like that this area immediately. Hey, but by the way, if you take a little walk around your neighborhood a great investment, maybe one of those little reach out and grab her things and and you can pick up trash wherever you are as a statement of I care about this place for the second time number three. I like this one and I just made this made the list this week because you have made meals for my family and we have recognized how powerful that is and how thankful. We are for each of you that have done that for us. As a matter of fact, it's almost to the point. We said what are we going to do? When these stop right it is it's unbelievable having a dozen personal chefs or it is an awesome awesome thing, but you don't need to do that for me.

There are people around you that Emil will go a million miles.

So can you do that? Can you do that the next one in this this service? We see an increasing need men. Maybe your ear should perk up right now. We see an increasing need at some events that we make is tools to reach people for the gospel or motivate motivate people in their faith to move forward parking is an increasing problem around here a man. And this matters giving it has been stated. I didn't make this up that we literally have 3 minutes from a person time. The person pulled into getting Park to capture them if their experience is terrible before they get in the doors. The chances of them not coming back goes way way up and I'll tell you what we could just use some men that would be willing to come early and help put out signs who would come early and just helped make sure people can figure out where to go and on special events like the ball brother concert coming up in a couple of weeks, which you're probably going to come to and dr. Dar said we're moving over there because we know nobody can take how crowded it wasn't here last Sunday night, but water problem, huh? but if you can help us part people and direct them to the right place to great way to serve and then finally and I'm not meaning to just slip this in here. This way of serving one of the ways we serve whose to come next is by being faithful and tithe and offering and this isn't I don't mean to twist anything or push anything on you. So many of you are unbelievably faithful and thank you, but maturity and serving others. The reason we give is to serve others and I'll leave it at that. I wanted to give you these five practical things that you could be involved in but you know, there's dozens and dozens of others and God has a specific calling on your life. I want to ask you to Intentionally make a move towards God and then step down and serve. Don't become prideful. Jesus says woe to you Pharisees and teachers of the law. That's his way of saying you Wicked terrible awful people. Woe to you being whitewash tune to act all good on the outside and on the inside are dead and corrupt and evil. You don't care about anybody else. You're selfish. We're not supposed to be like that. So as we move intentionally uphill, let's step down to serve. I'm going to pray for us. Dr. Is going to come and we are going to seal this service with a song. Lord Jesus we pray that you would just give us wisdom that you would speak that you would help us to serve in Jesus name. Amen if you would like more information.