Simply Christmas | Simply Future

I feel so grateful to share our final message in the series “Simply Christmas.” As we begin a new year and consider our future together as individuals, couples, families, and a church, I am enthusiastic about what God wants to do among you and through you this year for the sake of our church and community.

90 years ago this year, in 1926, the Founding Pastor of University Baptist Church - now Christ Journey - William Russell Owen penned these words as the Lord placed upon his heart a dream for a church in Miami. He wrote: “The future beckons us to build a great church…making North and South America one…Our future is as bright as the promise of God.” 90 years later - 4 generations removed from those words, and indeed our future is still as bright as the promise of God… The future you long for is already yours in Christ.

***A couple of weeks ago, I experienced the joining of the North and South firsthand when I received an invitation to join the Spanish-speaking Bible class for their Christmas party lunch. The title of the class alone precludes me from ever attending. I know how to say baño, comida, and pantalones. Three very crucial words, but not enough to get through. Although, I am learning, and perhaps one day, you will need an English translator to understand my sermon. How great would that be?!

Just before I left, though, I asked if I could share a few thoughts about how grateful I felt that they would ask a new guy like me to join their party. I spoke through a translator and said that what we experience each week - what we’re experiencing right now - with so many cultures, languages, and ethnicities represented in our church not only bears witness to the Spirit-filled dream of William Owen, but it is a glimpse into very Heaven itself when the redeemed of every nation and language will one day be united in worship to our Lord Jesus Christ!

I long for that day, and until it comes, I pray that we continue to be a church in Miami for Miami where men and women like yourselves can experience the hope and redemption of our Lord. I believe that 2016 might be our best year ever, which beckons a heartfelt evaluation for ever one of us, asking: what do I need to release in order to cling onto the future that God promised us in Christ?

Each of us long for something, but The future you long for is already yours in Christ.

What do you need to release now in order to embrace the future that Jesus purchased for you long ago? Is it your Control? Power? These very characteristics that face our lives today… also permeated the world of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Christ.

(hold up my nativity scene)

About a year and a half after Jesus’ birth, three wise men appeared from the East who brought gifts to honor the now the toddler-aged Savior.

How many of you own one of these in your home? Of course you do, I have one, everybody does, my mother in law owns has more than I can count.

This tranquil scene of Baby Jesus lying in the manger with his parents, the wise men, and a few token sheep appears as perfect as a Christmas morning, but truthfully, this scene could not be further from their reality. Matthew chapter 2 records what happened after the Spirit led the wise men a different direction from which they came in order to avoid death, beginning in verse 13:

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.

As new parents, Mary and Joseph lived in an insecure and uncertain world.

Refugees living in a foreign land, fleeing a ruthless, murderous king. A far reach from this scene here.

The Christmas that continued for Mary and Joseph - and the future in store for them - looked much less like trees and presents and twinkly lights - but more like political unrest, desperation, and insecurity.

Sound familiar?

But the Good News of Great Joy about what this scene represents is that nonetheless God entered into our world as one of us - as a human being - breathing our air, walking our land - the incarnation - with all of the pain and brokenness contained within it.

Given the recent tragedies from the last month, the questions showing up on my twitter feed have been asking: Will the violence ever stop? Will the terror ever end?

I lament the growing violence and insecurity of our world, as well, but our laments and fears are not new. The same violence and political unrest in our world that occurred then still exists to this day.

But as a church this should not surprise us… did you know that every book in the Bible describes some aspect of our human brokenness and our longing for restoration, beginning all the way back to the very beginning in the Book of Genesis.

Of the 1189 chapters in the Bible, only the first 2 chapters record a time of perfection and goodness. From the outset, the enemy stood near, and using the fruit of the tree, Satan promised Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:5 that in succumbing to him:

“You will be like God.” Genesis 3:5

Sometimes we confuse sin and pain entering our world because of a piece of fruit. Rather, sin entered into our world because Adam and Eve - and every person thereafter - including you and me - believed in the false promise that we could live like the god of our own life. It’s infused in our DNA to think that we can truly live this way.

What a tempting offer! Who doesn’t want:

Control

Power

Immortality

Authority

Security

Every person who ever walked this earth desires the very characteristics inherent in living as the god of our own life.

Herod killed every boy under the age of 2 in his province because the birth of King Jesus threatened

his control

his power

his authority

ultimately, his future as the king.

Sure, Herod did live a couple of thousand years ago… but think about those areas of your life where you have faced the greatest amount of tension and conflict. An argument with your spouse? A beef with a coworker? Tension with your kids? Think about what part of your future causes you the most amount of fret? Is there a common thread?

A threat to your power?

A diminish of your control?

A question of your authority?

Afraid of your future?

Perhaps the greatest threat to your future is… you, and your desire to live like the god of your own life. It makes me wonder if we have a bit of the wise men in us and also a bit of Herod in us, too.

While all of us want so badly to hold onto our power, control, and future, even to the point of our own demise, ultimately, we lose it because these characteristics belong solely to God.

Recently, my beautiful… 2 year old daughter, Hannah [[[Show Picture of Hannah]]] - already parents of 2 year olds are nodding their heads - learned a new word, “Myself”

Hannah, do you need help up the steps? She lets go of my hand… “myself”

Hannah, would you like me to cut your vegetables? She’ll snatch the knife, waving it around, yelling myself!

I gotta admit, it’s kinda cute.

But where this new word “myself” has gotten us into trouble is when I go to buckle her in the car. She wants to push down on the buckle… by herself, but her little 2 year old fingers are not yet strong enough to secure it.

So every time Daddy tries to help, she grasps onto the buckle as tightly as she can, yanks it away, and screams “myself!” And every time I attempt to regain control, instantly my beautiful 2 year old chubby cheeked daughter transforms into a raging 25 lb ball of emotion and anger… and why? Because even my 2 year old daughter understands the feeling of control, and she wants it! She desires - at 2 years old - to live like the god of her own life… already! Pray for us!

All of us desire to live like the god of our own life - all of us do - but rather than letting God be God in all of his perfection and goodness and love and us follow his perfect way, how often do you instead buy into the age old lie that you can do it yourself!

If I just hold on a little tighter… If I just work a little longer… If I just get a little more…

Like my daughter holding onto the buckle of her seatbelt yelling “myself,” we hold tightly onto the things of our life over which we fear losing control…

Like a vice, we grip so tightly onto

our family - our kids

our work - our job security

our dreams - our identity

our health - our livelihood

and, our future!

All good things that God instilled within us!

But what happens when these things become bigger than our grip can hold?

When death or separation occurs within your family?

When the economy goes bust and your job comes to an end… Take control?

When your dreams become unrealized… Fight all the more?

When you receive a devastating health diagnosis… Worry? Do you worry yourself into sickness?

When the trajectory of your livelihood goes down and to the right…

Or when the hope of your future dramatically screeches to a halt…

What do you do in those moments? Some of you may very well face one or more of these challenges in 2016 - some of you might be facing them right now.

For many of us, our first inclination wants to hold on tighter, but… Sometimes the things of life break.

No matter how hard we might want to control a situation and make the future we want come to fruition, sometimes

The marriage ends in a divorce…

The person never recovers from the illness…

Your salary never returns to what it was…

That dream will never be realized…

Your future will never look like you thought it would…

And then what do you do? What do you do when you lose your control… and your power… even your future? When life breaks down? Try to take control of something else? And satisfy that desire to live like the god of your own life?

Just to see the same broken pieces fall again and again? Or perhaps even worst, have you ever attained what you sought to control and still felt dissatisfied? Like your life has been a bait and switch?

Even Tom Brady, a 3 time super bowl quarterback winner once said, “Why do I have these super bowls and still think there’s something greater out there for me?”

Tom Brady said what so many of us think. The things we chase never seem to quite fill, and the sin of living like the god of our own life will ultimately destroy us.

Regardless of whether or not you believe in God or attend church - the truth is life breaks down - sometimes on its own - sometimes because of something we caused - sometimes because of something done to us - but at some point life falls apart, and when we respond to these situations by choosing to live like the god of our own life, holding tightly onto our own control and power, our future consequently becomes clouded with:

Doubt - we doubt God, we doubt ourselves, and we doubt our faith by raising questions about the goodness and fairness of God.

May I be completely honest with you? Most of the doubts that I hear from people - and this is purely my experience - are less about the philosophical questions of God - and more about feeling like God failed them because life broke down. Perhaps you feel that way? But did God fail you, or could you not relinquish control and let God be God and lead you?

Our future also can become clouded with Discouragement by allowing the fear of our future drive our identity.

Our future can become clouded by Diversion. Rather than doing the difficult right thing for the sake of our future, we choose the easy wrong thing to divert our attention from the real issues facing us.

I saw this so often as a student pastor. Teenagers are masters of diversion. But truthfully, many of them fear their future.

Our future can also become clouded by Defeat because of our failures and hurts.

Our future can become clouded by Delay when you put off what you know to do, but instead, stay trapped amongst the broken pieces surrounding you.

A future that we control with our own grip always ends in broken pieces… always…

Jim Carey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

So, what is the answer?

What makes the Christmas narrative so profound is that even while we chose to live like the god of our own life, rejecting the very one who created us, God entered into our world smack dab right into the thick of our pain and sin and doubt, discouragement, diversion, defeat, and delay to reclaim us as his own!

Each one of the books about Jesus - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - clearly articulate that through the Christmas narrative God proclaimed an alternate ending to our destined future, promising to take the pieces of our life and put them back together again.

Hip hop artist Lecrae wrote an amazing lyric in his song, “Broken” saying, “Forget the King’s horses and forget the king;s men [[[and why because earthly kings simply desire to retain their power and control - just like all of us do]]], but the true “king is coming to put us back together again!”

A couple of chapters after Baby Jesus lay in the manger, we read that he grew up, became baptized, and started his 3 year ministry by walking into his hometown synagogue, speaking these words:

The Gospel of Luke records Jesus saying this,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the oppressed will be set free,

and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

In the biz, we call that a ‘drop the mic’ moment.

Of all the words that Jesus spoke to begin his salvation work, he began by declaring a new future. For The future you long for - the future you tried to make for yourself - is already yours in Christ.

Jesus read from Isaiah 61 when Isaiah - a prophet, a man of God - spoke to the people of God living in exile who were desperately longing for a restored and redeemed future.

Some of you are sitting here now on the 3rd day of 2016 longing for the very same thing - and the only difference between you sitting here today and the exiles back then is that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, he has made that future hope that they longed for… your present reality! Whether you realize it or not - whether you even believe it or not, this does not make it any less true for you. It is your future to claim!

Jesus secured a future day when lives would not shatter, and a way would be made available where every person could live a free and satisfying life - the kind of life that God originally intended for us so long ago in the garden!

A day when:

Good News would take the place of our Doubt

We would receive Release from our Discouragement

Be given Sight amidst our Diversion

Given Freedom over Defeat

Find Favor instead of Delay

Here Jesus proclaims the The Day of the Lord’s Favor, which references the Day of Jubilee mandated by God in the Old Testament book of Leviticus. The Day of Jubilee would take place every 50 years. On this Day, all debts would be canceled, slaves would be released, land would be returned to its owner, and captives would be set free. Amazing, right!?

Part of the rhythm that God wanted so badly for his people included renewal and restoration every 50 years.

And although God mandated that his people follow this instruction, that day never happened.

As one biblical scholar wrote ‘because the wealthy were unwilling to accept the social and economic implications that would have been costly and disruptive to them.’

[[[The Theology of work citing Chris Wright, Mission of God” p.296 - https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/leviticus-and-work/the-sabbath-year-and-the-year-of-jubilee-leviticus-25]]]

In other words, the Day of Jubilee - though mandated by God - never came to fruition because it ultimately threatened control, power, and the ability for some to live as the god of their own life.

When left up to us, we’ll nearly always choose ourselves.

The good news of Christ, however, and what the manger represents is that only God and God alone can declare favor, and for those who believe, that day is today! The future you long for is already yours in Christ.

The author of Hebrews carried on this vision of a new future writing, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Hebrews 10:23-25

You see, God actually created you to hold tightly onto something, but it’s something very specific. Not your control. Not your power. And not your authority. In fact, the ministry of Christ and the teachings of Paul show us how to let those things go.

Rather, Jesus gives us permission to grasp as tightly as possible onto the very promise of redemption and restoration that Christ affirmed in his death and resurrection.

Let go of living like the god of your own life, and hold onto that!

A couple of chapters later, the same author continues saying, Let us keep “our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:2

If Jesus trusted that his Father would secure his future hope, even to the point of enduring the shame of the cross for our sake, then how much more can we can trust our future security to the one who sacrificed everything for us.

We can only understand the purpose of the manger… if we understand the reason for the cross. What Jesus started, he promised to finish.

Paul understood this concept and included it at the opening of his letter to the

Ephesian church, where he stated more boldly and clearly than any one of his other letters the future hope for every person who trusts in the promises of God in Christ. He says this in chapter 1, verses 3-14:

The Father blessed you in Jesus - verse 3 The Father chose you in Jesus - verse 4 The Father predestined you in Jesus - verse 5 The Father poured grace on you in Jesus, the one whom I love - verse 6 The Father gave you redemption through Jesus - verse 7 The Father lavished grace on you through Jesus - verse 8 The Father made known to you the mystery of my will as I purposed in Jesus - verse 9 The Father intend to bring everything, including you, into unity under Jesus - verse 10 The Father provided you with an inheritance through Jesus - verse 11 The Father gave you hope in Jesus - verse 12 The Father marked you in Jesus with the seal of salvation - verse 13 The Father guarantee your redemption through Jesus - verse 14

Release your grip! The future you long for is already yours in Christ.

Start by Surrendering control.

The truth is: your control is an illusion.

Instead, surrender the illusion and grasp onto the one who made reality. You are not an end to yourself.

After Hannah turned 1, she learned how to crawl - sianara to the days of stationary children.

At that time, she woke up at 5:30 am on the dot - before the sun even woke up! Generally, I would wake up with her and play with her in her room until I needed get ready for the day.

Nearly every morning after she learned how to crawl, she would inevitably crawl outside of her room into the dark hallway. I would always keep my eye on her and let her do it so that she could learn her boundaries.

Every morning, I watched her crawl to the same place, the darkest and furthest part of the hallway from her bedroom, and every time she arrived at that spot, she stopped, sat down, put her arms up, and yelled, “Daddy.” Every single time.

And do you know what I did, every single time… I chastised her… I reprimanded her for leaving… NO! Every single time, I picked her up., threw her in the air, gave her tons of kisses, and told her that Daddy takes great joy in coming to your rescue!

Let me tell you, I am not a perfect father, nor am I perfect husband. Far from it. I’m a broken man. But if I take that much joy and pleasure in chasing after my daughter, then how much more does our perfect, loving Heavenly Father who crated you take joy in rescuing you at the moment of your surrender.

Surrender your control, put your hands up to the Father, then Choose a different direction.

Repentance simply means changing direction. In fact, in the early days of the church, followers of Christ did not make a distinction between surrender and repentance. They are essentially the same thing. As you surrender yourself to the Lordship of Christ, you effectively change your direction and course of action.

Begin by trusting each step to the provision of God.

This might be the most difficult discipline to cultivate, but the Lord promised you 2 ways of support: his continued presence through his Spirit and the accountability of the church - you and me - in love. Begin stepping forward into 2016 by taking 3 minutes everyday to pray, read 10 verses of the Bible, and doing something in love for someone else everyday. These little investments everyday will heal your sin ravaged heart from living like the god of your own life to living your life according to the God of the universe who came to save you! Cling to that!

Because eventually beauty will fade, the economy will go bust. But Christ will live forever.

Today, turn from clinging onto the promise of where only you can take yourself, and this year, opt in for a hope that can take you through eternity! You can’t lose it. You can’t earn it. And it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, but you got it.

William Russell Owen clung to the right thing: the promised future of Christ as he started this church 90 years ago.

The future you long for is already yours in Christ.

Would you pray with me? Then, go into salvation.