Greatness | In It For Good

Message

Preceding my message: "As we continue with our series, Greatness, seeking God's will, I want to introduce a Christ Journey leader that some of you may already know and who is seeking to do God's will in every aspect of his life: Luis Santamarina. Luis is our associate student pastor, grew up in our church, and desires to lead strong in Jesus' name! On August 25, I presented Luis before those who attended the semi-annual business meeting for licensure to ministry at Christ Journey. With great enthusiasm, those in attendance affirmed his licensure and gave him a charge to lead faithfully in his duties and responsibilities as a minister of the Gospel at Christ Journey. Here is a certificate to commemorate your licensure signed by all of the pastors who affirm your calling to ministry! I am proud to introduce him to you as one of your ministers at Christ Journey. Let's show our appreciation and affirmation for Luis! Let's pray...

I give my greeting to each one of you joining us from the Kendall campus, making your connection with us online, and all of you live with us here at the Gables campus.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. Let’s say it together, repeat after me: Christ in you… the hope of glory!

Colossians 1:27 is one of my life verses, and one that I want to invite you to remember, because with Christ in you, alive in you, you have in your possession the hope and promise of glory, eternal life with your Savior.

Today, we continue with our series, Greatness!

How do you live a great life? Choose God’s will.

What is God’s will? It is God’s best offer for your best life.

This series is examining several passages in the New Testament that directly state “It is God’s will that…” And, today, we’re exploring a passage written by the team captain of Jesus’ disciples, a man named Peter, who wrote in his first letter to the early church, It is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 1 Peter 2:15

What’s God’s best offer for your best life?

Simple: Do Good!

In fact, when you do good, your actions silence the foolish talk of ignorant people and lift their eyes to greater things, so…

Do good and live your best life!

Easy, right?

Well, that is, until your doing good brings about personal hardship, and then all of a sudden, God’s will for you - God’s best offer - seems more like a punchline to a bad joke.

Do good and live your best life, but oh by the way, doing good in the name of Jesus is going to result in a downright struggle. (Punch this)

Enjoy!

All kidding aside, some of you feel tired, worn down, and defeated because of doing good.

Others of you feel alone.

I get it, I often feel all of the above.

And sometimes, in my most vulnerable moments, I wonder, “Is following God’s will worth it?”

Is it worth the struggle?

Is it worth the ridicule?

Is it worth the isolation?

Is it worth the exhaustion?

Because If you follow Jesus long enough and take His Word seriously, then these hardships find you, don’t they? They sure do!

And when hardships arise from following Jesus, it often exposes a tension that many of us may not outwardly say we believe but deep down shapes our behavior…

A belief that says: God’s best offer for your best life is supposed to lead to a life of comfort, security, and ease.

My question for us today is:

What if God wants something more for you?

What if God wants more for you than the status quo American melting pot life?

One day in fifth grade, my social studies teacher, Mrs. Jones’, introduced the class to a concept called the American melting pot. Mrs. Jones explained that a melting pot culture is a blending of beliefs and worldviews into a common set of core values.

Then, she compared the American melting pot culture to another concept called the American mosaic culture. She described an American mosaic like a beautiful ornate piece of art that gives space to each ethnic and cultural worldview.

After explaining the difference between the two cultures, she asked the class: raise your hands if you think we live in either a melting pot culture or a mosaic culture.

I thought, oh, easy, we live in a mosaic culture, so along with the majority of the class, I raised my hand to say that we live in a mosaic culture.

As Mrs. Jones’ taught that day, however, I realized through her lecture and our textbook reading that we actually live in a melting pot society.

Our culture is so much more complex than that, but generally, there are a common set of values that make up our vast American culture, and living in the melting pot ain’t easy. We live in the heat of being melted down together, and this tension is reflected all across our culture in art, stories, and music.

A few years ago, a hip hop song called “God’s Plan” by an artist named Drake highlighted this tension in a quite profound way. Now, don’t be too quick to judge Drake, and don’t pretend that you don’t listen to him. I know some of you do.

On the one hand, Drake’s lyrics to “God’s Plan” flaunt so much of what our culture values: materialism, wealth, sex, and fame.

But on the other hand, his song raises the tension between doing good for more good in return and the bad things that happen in our lives.

His song seems to resonate with our culture because the music video for “God’s Plan” has been viewed on YouTube more than 1.3 billion times - billion with a B. Plus, the song debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top 100.

The music video follows Drake as he gave away a million dollars to various people and organizations all across our city, right here in Miami, including the University of Miami and the Miami Dade Fire Department.

No question, Drake did amazing good for our city but, in the song, he raps that bad things keep happening to him.

Take a listen to the lyrics:

He sings:

God's plan

I can't do this on my own

Someone watchin' this close

Here, Drake reminisces on his Christian background and hints that perhaps something bigger than him watches him close. But then his next line says,

Might go down as G.O.D.

Which completely contradicts what he just said. Is God up close and with him or does he view himself as God?

Again, don’t judge Drake. This is the tension of the human experience. The first temptation of Satan in the garden is recorded in Gen 3:5, “And you will be like god” not in his likeness but as your own god.

This is the basis for secular humanism: that your identity as an individual begins and ends with you.

Drake then says,

I make sure that north-side eat

And still, bad things

It's a lot of bad things

That they wishin' on me

Do good and believe that doing good leads to more good, yet bad things continue to happen to him despite his good deeds. Several worldviews hold the belief that doing good leads to more good as a high value: humanism, Deism, universalism.

Drake’s rap refers to multiple contradicting worldviews in one song and probably without even realizing it because His rap embodies the internal tension of living in our society’s melting pot.

Now, I’m not criticizing Drake’s rap or him as an individual. I actually appreciate his honesty in the rap and making himself vulnerable to admit that he feels the tension of living in the melting pot.

(Punch what follows)

But what I am criticizing - and what we all need to critically think about in our culture - is how living in the melting pot shapes what we believe about Jesus.

Let me invite you to consider this question: “Do you believe that choosing God’s best offer for your best life is supposed to lead to a life of comfort, security, and ease, and if so, then what led you to that belief?”

Did Jesus teach this, or perhaps could you have unknowingly picked this belief up along the way because our melting pot lifts this value as one of THE supreme values in our society?

According to “Plugged In,” a resource provided by Focus on the Family that helps families make wise, faithful decisions about entertainment, one article says about “God’s Plan:”

Drake references the tragic death of a friend, but he doesn’t shy away from shallow relationships with women. And when it comes to God, it’s unclear whether he’s referencing God in his own way, or whether that reference might just be to himself—making “God’s Plan” sound more like “Drake’s Plan.” https://www.pluggedin.com/track-reviews/drake-gods-plan/

Drake speaks to at least three different worldviews in just one song: Christianity, Deism, and Secular Humanism.

I mean, No wonder Drake and so many others feel confused about what God’s best offer for your best life means!

The belief that doing good leads to more good in return stems from a much deeper belief that doing God’s will is supposed to lead to comfort.

I call this bacon bit theology.

(Show bacon bits)

It isn’t worth anything. It has no nutritional value for your life and faith. In fact… the belief that doing good leads to good good in return is an imitation of the real thing.

(Show bacon)

What’s the real thing?

Jesus said…

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12

In the original Greek language, the term ‘blessed’ means ‘Happy.’

Thus, another way to interpret this passage says, “Happy are you when people insult you…”

If you struggle with Jesus’ words, then you’re in good company.

Early in my pastoral ministry, I received an opportunity to attend a small gathering of young leaders with Pastor Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church, one of the most influential churches in the world. At the end of his talk, he opened some time for Q&A.

I’ll never forget what this one young guy asked, “What would be the one thing that you would want every young leader to know?”

Rick Warren said, “Easy. It’s the opening sentence of my book, the Purpose Driven Life.

Do you remember what it says?

“It’s Not About You”

It’s even written in all caps.

The belief that doing good leads to some kind of good in return is, ultimately, a belief about you.

It’s not a belief about Jesus. It’s not even a belief about the one who is receiving your good work. It’s a belief about you and what you desire.

God’s best offer for your best life is to do good for God’s glory.

…

No matter what hardship you face for doing good in Jesus’ name.

Doing good for God’s glory is a fruit of God's Spirit alive in you!

This is the upside down nature of God’s kingdom economy: less of you, more life.

Here’s how the Kingdom math works:

Less you = more God = more life in you. Therefore, less you = more life.

Jesus said it himself:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:16

My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10

Listen, None of us want to experience struggle and ridicule. It feels brutal and isolating.

But that’s why God gave us the gift of each other so that we never need to face the hardship of doing good alone.

God gave the church as a gracious gift to the world.

Truly this gathering is a gift. You are a gift to each other. We need each other.

If you feel alone in the struggle, then let me encourage you to receive the good gift of one another.

Consider joining a small group and inviting some other people to shoulder the struggle… and then gett involved in theirs.

There is Holy Spirit strength in numbers for where two or more gather in Christ’s name, there his Spirit is in our midst.

(((Show groups registration slide.)))

When the church lives at its best, walking with one another in the face of hardship when doing good, then the church becomes a tangible expression of God’s grace!

If you need some grace that you can touch and feel, then get in proximity of the church, Christ’s body, alive in the world!

A fellow brother in the faith to call a friend is God’s grace to you.

An encouraging word is God’s grace to you.

A hearty meal is God’s grace to you.

Learning about God’s living Word in the Scriptures is God’s grace to you.

In the context of small groups - whether in person or online - we receive God’s grace to keep taking steps forward on the journey to live according to God’s will.

The apostle Paul taught that in the midst of hardship, Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

Don’t give up on doing good, even in the presence of difficulty, don’t give up.

God’s got you here for good!

God’s got your back for good!

Jesus directly opposes materialism because of how much the temptation to want more stuff interferes with receiving more of God.

Some call this greed, but greed isn't the root of materialism. Greed is a consequence of materialism. The root of materialism is Satan’s lie to resist more of God in your life.

Materialism isn’t about your stuff. It’s about loving your stuff and finding your source of life in it. That’s the enemy’s lie.

But the punchline is: stuff doesn’t give life.

When we choose to place our loves and affections in stuff, then we end up choosing a lie that rejects more of God in our lives.

So, what do you love?

In the same way that a jar of water can’t fill itself, we need the source of life for fulfillment.

Doing good in Jesus’ name flows from Christ’s love being made known to you through His Spirit.

Only Jesus is the source of life… the the kind of life that Drake admits in his rap that he can’t find… the kind of life that resists being melted into the American pot… the kind of life that points to something greater than itself.

Doing good to glorify your Father in Heaven not only shows the source of your life, but also shows others where to find theirs.

In this way, the Spirit glows your life in the dark, revealing the good work that God desires to do in all people through his good work in you.

To this you were called, Peter wrote, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

Listen, when you face hardship for doing good in Christ’s name, Jesus knows exactly how you feel and exactly how to comfort you.

He suffered the most unjust ridicule, most painful death, for doing the ultimate good to save us from our own sin and death.

So if we need face a bit of discomfort for doing good in Jesus’ name, then so be it, because the hardship draws us into:

- Remembrance

- Revitalization

- Reorientation

When you face hardship for doing good, then take that opportunity to remember Christ’s suffering for you. Take a deep breath, stand up a bit taller, lift your head up high, and see the hardship as an opportunity to glimpse into the hardship that Jesus suffered for you.

When you face hardship for doing good, then allow it to revitalize you and strengthen your character and mind in Jesus’ name. Much like going into the weight room, when you push through the pain of exercise, then your muscles grow and discover newfound energy that you didn’t know existed. When you push through the hardship of pain for doing good in Christ’s name, then you discover a new depth of faith and Holy Spirit energy that you didn’t know you could experience.

***As an aside, when I hear people say that they don’t feel God’s presence, then perhaps, one reason might be that they need to get in the game, flee from the lie of comfort, and start doing some good in Jesus’ name. Live alive and free. Certainly your doing good will wake up the enemy against you, but praise God, because rather than standing on the sidelines, take some kingdom ground.

Last, when you face hardship for doing good, then your heart becomes reoriented away from the melting pot to the presence of God’s Spirit alive in your life and in this community!

Doing good for God’s glory because you choose to live in the way of Jesus shows to all of those who might ridicule you or give you hardship that God is doing a good work in you.

The struggle, the ridicule, the isolation, the exhaustion - yeah it’s real and it hurts - but it won’t break you, nor will it stop you, because God’s got you here for good… for good… not too harm you.

In fact, let your life show others how to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

As a church, our responsibility is to show and tell this truth, so let’s remember that we are not each other’s enemy, nor are the ones who ridicule us for doing good.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood… Ephesians 6:12.

Remember, Satan is our enemy, so let’s pray for each other… and let’s pray also for those who say all kinds of evil about us.

Instead of distancing them from us, let’s invite them into the love and fellowship that we experience here together.

We are God’s handiwork, Paul writes, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

The word for handiwork in this verse translates from the Greek word, poema, from which we derive our English word for poetry.

You are God’s good poetry… created in Christ Jesus to do good works in the world, which God prepared in advance for you to do, so let’s take a step forward in faith today and trust that if God prepared a good work for us in advance, then he’s got our back when the hardships come.

Let’s pray together…