The Timeless Temptation Toward Racial Privilege...

This week was are beginning our journey through the month of February examining the issue of racism from the prism and lens of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. Yesterday, we started by defining racism. Racism simply put, is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

Racism is the belief that your race is the superior race, regardless of what race you are. Racism gives preferential treatment to a particular race based on the belief that a particular race is superior. So, by this standard and accepted definition of racism, any culture, any race, by definition can be racist. If you are white and believe that whites are better than blacks, you are exhibiting racism. If you are black and believe that blacks are better than whites, you are exhibiting racism. If you are Hispanic and believe that Hispanics are better than whites or blacks, you are exhibiting racism. Racism is the belief that your race is the superior race, regardless of what race you are.

We talked about the reality that the issue of racism is not a new problem; and the issue of racism is not a white problem. Instead the issue of racism is a human nature problem that has existed across continents and culture throughout human history. But, where does racism come from? And what drives us to the temptation to exhibit racism?

To find the answer to these questions, I would like for us to look at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in this event from history that we will see Jesus reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “where does racism come from?” So let’s look at this event from history together, beginning in Luke 4:14-15:

And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

Luke brings us into this event from history by providing for us the context in which this event from history took place. After successfully resisting the temptations of the devil after spending 40 days in the wilderness, Luke tells us that Jesus returned to Galilee, which is located in what is today northern Israel, in the power of the Spirit. And here we see Luke reveal for us the reality that Jesus lived His earthly life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

You see, Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human. Jesus provides for us the example of how we are to live our lives here on earth. As followers of Jesus our lives are to be controlled, influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we would reveal and reflect Jesus to others as we live in relationship with God and others.

Luke tells us that as Jesus taught in the synagogues of Galilee, news about Him spread throughout the surrounding district. News began to travel about Jesus doing the miraculous. And as Jesus showed up at Jewish religious gatherings throughout northern Israel, the sermons that He was preaching were powerful and word about His preaching spread throughout the region. And as Jesus traveled, His travels led Him back to a town called Nazareth, which was His hometown. Luke records for us what happened when Jesus arrived in His hometown in verse 16-20:

 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

Luke tells us that after arriving in His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus attended synagogue on the Sabbath. Notice that Luke uses the phrase “as was His custom” here. You see, Jesus made gathering together with followers of God a priority in His life. As part of that priority, as Jesus traveled, He found the local synagogue and attended on Sabbath.  And as part of that priority, Jesus actively engaged in what was happening in the synagogue by reading and explaining portions of the Old Testament to the crowds that were gathered for worship.

On this particular Sabbath, as Jesus volunteered to read during synagogue, one of the leaders handed Jesus a scroll that contained a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Isaiah. Jesus then opened the scroll to a section of the book of Isaiah that we know today as Isaiah 61. In Isaiah 61:1, the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that when the Messiah arrived, He would live a life that was controlled, influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit. And as He lived a Spirit filled life, the Messiah would preach the gospel to the poor. Now the word gospel literally means good news. And this good news would be proclaimed to the poor, which refers to those who were of low status and who were viewed as outsiders who were far from God.

In addition, the prophet predicted and proclaimed that the Messiah would proclaim release to the captives. In the Jewish culture of the day, this was a word picture of the release that comes from the forgiveness of sins. Isaiah also predicted and proclaimed that the Messiah would proclaim the recovery of sight to those who were blind. The Messiah would restore the sight of those who were physically blind and give sight to those who were spiritually blind. And Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that the Messiah would set free those who are oppressed.  The Messiah would proclaim good news that would provide an opportunity for people to be released from the debts that surrounded and overwhelmed them.

Jesus continued to read the first part of Isaiah 61:2, where the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that when the Messiah arrived, He would proclaim the good news about God’s grace that the Messiah would extend towards humanity. And then, in the middle of Isaiah 61:2, Jesus abruptly stopped reading and sat back down. Luke then tells us that all eyes were fixed on Jesus. Everyone waited with anticipation to hear a great sermon from Jesus that they had already been hearing about.

Now a natural question that arises here, and probably arose at the time, was “why did Jesus stop there?” We discover the answer to that question in the sermon which Jesus gave, which Luke records for us in Luke 4:21-22. Let’s look at it together:

  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

Jesus gave a one sentence sermon: "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." In other words, Jesus basically said to them “God’s promise of a Messiah has been fulfilled today as you hear Me speak. I am the Messiah. I am the Promised One who is anointed by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of God’s rescue from selfishness, sin and rebellion that will usher in the beginning of God’s kingdom”.

The reason why Jesus stopped at the first part of Isaiah 61:2 is because the second part of Isaiah 61:2 refers to Jesus 2^nd coming, where He will execute God’s right and just response to the selfishness, sin, and rebellion of humanity. Jesus was fulfilling the first part of God’s promise to humanity by entering into humanity in order to provide all of humanity the opportunity to experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for.

Luke tells us that the crowds in the synagogue responded to Jesus one sentence sermon with glowing approval. The crowds were extraordinarily impressed with the winsome and attractive words that were coming from Jesus. The crowds also recognized that Jesus was one of their own: "Is this not Joseph's son?" they said.

You see, the crowds believed that because Jesus was one of their own, because Jesus was Jewish like they were Jewish, that the result would be that they would benefit from an extra dose of God’s favor because of their close connection with Jesus as Jews. The crowds believed that they would receive some spiritual brownie points from God because, as Jewish people, they were insiders with Jesus when it came to God.

And the crowds believed that their insider status as Jewish people would provide them with insider privileges when it came to their relationship with God and when it came to their relationship with the people and nations around them. You see, the Jewish people expected to experience “Jewish privilege” because after all, they were God’s chosen people. And as God’s chosen people, they must be superior people to the other races that were around them, otherwise God would not have chosen them. However, the crowd was not prepared for what Jesus had to say next. We will look at what Jesus had to say next on Friday….

What is Racism???

As a culture this past Sunday tends to be a huge day. The first Sunday in February tends to be a huge day in our culture because this is the day that they will play Super Bowl fifty, which will decide the champion of the National Football League. The first Sunday of February is also the first Sunday of black history month. Every February, the month of February is set aside to remember the significant contributions that have been made by the African American community in American history.

However, this February, as we enter into this annual reflection on the contributions of African Americans in America, I cannot remember a time in my lifetime when there has been more tension between the races. And I am not the only one that feels that way. As a matter of fact, this past August a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that fifty percent of Americans believed that racism was a “big problem” in America today.

Just think of the events of this past year that have seemed to stoke this racial tension: Events in Ferguson, Missouri, New York City, Charleston, South Carolina, Baltimore, Maryland; over the past year, racial tension has been evident and apparent. And this racial tension does not simply involve African Americans and white Americans. This tension involves Hispanic Americans and White Americans. If you do not think that is the case just look at how easily the conversation about illegal immigration can turn into a conversation about racism against Hispanics.

And then there is the increased tension that surrounds the conversation over refugees from the Middle East, which at times has lumped every person in the Middle East into a single category surrounding race and religion. This racial tension is evidenced by words like “white privilege”, affirmative action, reparations. While many thought that the election of an African American to the white house would be sign that the days of racism were in the rear view mirror of our culture, this past year has demonstrated that racism and racial tension is still facing us in the windshield of our culture.

And because of that reality, at the church where I serve, we are going to spend the next six weeks in a sermon series entitled “Mosaic: the gospel and race”. During this series, we are going to examine the issue of racism from the prism and lens of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. During this series, our hope and our prayer as a church is to demonstrate that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provides both the explanation as to why racism exists and the solution to the problem of racism.

Now you might not buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing, and as soon as you read that last statement a natural objection was raised in your mind. And that natural objection probably sounded something like this” “Well Dave, how can you say that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provides the solution to the issue of racism? I mean what about all the Christians who had slaves? What about all those Christians in the south who fought to keep slavery in the civil war? What about all those white people who used the Bible to justify slavery? And what about slavery in the Bible? So how can you say that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provide the solution to the issue of racism?”

If those questions and objections are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And personally, I do not understand how someone could read the message and teachings of the letters that make up that Bible and walk away thinking that having slaves, that exhibiting racism was okay. And during this series we hope to address all those objections and questions in a way that demonstrates that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel best address the issue of racism.

Now, this week, a natural place to start this series is by defining racism. Racism simply put, is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Racism is the belief that your race is the superior race, regardless of what race you are. Racism gives preferential treatment to a particular race based on the belief that a particular race is superior.

So, by this standard and accepted definition of racism, any culture, any race, by definition can be racist. If you are white and believe that whites are better than blacks, you are exhibiting racism. If you are black and believe that blacks are better than whites, you are exhibiting racism. If you are Hispanic and believe that Hispanics are better than whites or blacks, you are exhibiting racism. Racism is the belief that your race is the superior race, regardless of what race you are.

And the issue of racism is not a new problem; and the issue of racism is not a white problem. Instead the issue of racism is a human nature problem that has existed across continents and culture throughout human history.

But, where does racism come from? And what drives us to the temptation to exhibit racism? To find the answer to these questions, I would like for us to look at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in this event from history that we will see Jesus reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “where does racism come from?”

Tomorrow, we will begin to look at this event from history together…

Spending our time intently soaking in Jesus...

This week we have been looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts. And it was in this event from history that we discovered the timeless answer to the question “Where are we sent to?” in that we have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus.

We talked about the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we are to live our day to day lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that reveal Jesus to those around us through our words and our actions as we love and serve those around us. Our words and our actions as individuals and in community with one another should affirm and testify to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And this mission is not a solo mission; this mission is not a mission that is simply done in partnership with one another. This mission is a mission that is empowered by the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that enables us to not only live the Christian life, but to partner with Jesus as He completes His mission. And this mission to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel is to be a mission that is ever expanding in size and scope.

As followers of Jesus we are to live lives that reveal and reflect Jesus as we share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in our immediate sphere of influence, or our Jerusalem. As followers of Jesus, we are to equip and empower other followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who are not in our immediate sphere of influence, which is our Judea and Samaria. And as followers of Jesus, we are to have a passion to help take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world.

Now a natural objection that could arise at this point is “Well Dave, if that is the case, then why don’t followers of Jesus do what Jesus has commanded them to? If followers of Jesus are sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus, then why do I know people who say they are Christians live lives that look nothing like Jesus and never talk about Jesus, let alone go to church or invite others to church?”

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that is a great question to be asking. And we discover the answer to that question in what Luke records next, which is found in Luke 1:9-11:

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.

Can you imagine what that must have been like? Can you imagine watching Jesus being lifted into the Heavens? Now place yourself in the shoes of the disciples; what would be going through your mind? How would you respond to what you had just seen and heard?

The disciples responded to what they had seen and heard by gazing intently into the sky. To gaze intently, in the language that this letter was written in, literally means to stare and look intently at something in a way that reveals that one is impressed. The disciples responded to the amazing things that they had seen and heard by wanting to spend their time simply soaking in the scene. The disciples were content to just remain where they were at and reminisce about what they had just experienced.

How often are we just like the disciples? How often can we find ourselves simply wanting to spend our time intently soaking in Jesus? How often can we find ourselves focused on all that Jesus has done for us instead of what Jesus has called and commanded us to do? How often can we find ourselves so impressed with what Jesus has done among us that we end up not engaging the mission that God has given us to reach those who are not among us?

This is often why followers of Jesus do not do what Jesus commanded them to do. This is why followers of Jesus far too often do not invest and invite those around them who are far from God to explore faith and follow Jesus. You see, far too often as followers of Jesus, we can find ourselves perfectly content soaking in Jesus and biding our time with other followers of Jesus while waiting for Jesus to return instead of engaging those in our world with the message of Jesus.

As the disciples stared into the sky, two angelic messengers, dressed in white clothing and appearing as men, come and stand next to them. However the disciples were so focused and so intent on soaking in what they had experienced, that they had failed to recognize when these two men arrived or their presence, which becomes evident in their response to the disciples in verse 11:

“They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?

In other words “What are you doing? Why are you just standing here staring into the sky all impressed? Aren’t you supposed to be going somewhere? Didn’t Jesus just give you a mission? The angels then continue to confront and comfort the disciples:

 This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

The angels explain to the disciples “well, if you think that was impressive, just wait. Just wait because Jesus is going to do something even more impressive. In the future Jesus will return to this very place in the exact same way that He left. So do you want to have Him find you here staring into the sky instead of engaging in the mission that He has given you when He returns?” And today, just as it was for the disciples, we have been given a timeless mission. And that timeless mission is the fact that we have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus.

So here is a question to consider: Are you engaged in the mission that Jesus has given us? Or do you simply want to spend your time intently soaking in Jesus? Are you so focused on all that Jesus has done for you that you are not engaged in what Jesus has called and commanded us to do?

Are you living lives that reveal and reflect Jesus as we share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in our immediate sphere of influence, or our Jerusalem? Are you equipping and empowering other followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who are not in our immediate sphere of influence, which is our Judea and Samaria? Do you have a passion to help take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world?

Because the timeless reality is that we have been sent by Jesus to engage the whole world with the message of Jesus…

We have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts. Yesterday, we looked on as Luke brought us into a conversation that Jesus had with His disciples after He had been risen from the dead. Jesus commanded His disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit.

However, Jesus command would have also reminded the disciples about another aspect of the last conversation that Jesus had before He was arrested, which that He was going to leave them. So, as you might imagine, the disciples were confused.

Just imagine what was running through the disciples minds at this point. I mean wouldn’t you be confused. “Is Jesus leaving, or is He staying? He said He was leaving us, then He was killed, but now He is here with us after being raised from the dead. This is not what we expected". And in the midst of their confusion, the disciples ask Jesus a question, which is recorded for us in Acts 1:6:

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

Now this question, if asked in the language that we use in our culture today, would sound something like this: “Jesus, is now the time where you are going fulfill your promise to restore the Jewish people to political prominence and power as your chosen people? Is now the time when you are going to defeat the Roman Empire and reestablish the Jewish nation with you as our King, so that the Jewish people would have a kingdom like we used to in the days of King David and King Solomon?”

You see, the disciples, along with the vast majority of the Jewish people, viewed the Messiah as being a military and political leader who would rescue and restore their political fortunes. So the disciples were awaiting their marching orders; the disciples were waiting to receive their mission, so that they could be a part of reestablishing God’s kingdom. What mission would they be given? “Sure we are to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit; great. But what is our mission? And when is the kingdom being established?”

And, as was so often the case, the disciples were not prepared for the answer that they would receive from Jesus, which is recorded for us in verse 7:

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

In other words, Jesus says “that is above your pay grade and that is not to be your concern. Instead of being concerned with the things that only God has the position and power to establish, I want you to concerned with what you should be concerned with, which is to follow my command and wait in Jerusalem so that you can be equipped and empowered to complete the mission that I have for you.

Jesus then gives the disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history, the mission that they were to be concerned with. And it is in what Jesus says next that we discover the timeless answer to the question “Where are we sent to?” So let’s discover that answer together in verse 8:

“and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Here we see Luke reveal for us the reality that the disciples were not given a mission to lead a military campaign. The disciples were not given a mission to establish a new political party. Instead, the mission that the disciples were given was to be Jesus witnesses. Now, just as it is today, a witness is one who affirms and testifies about something that they have seen or heard. The disciples were to affirm and testify about what they saw and what they heard when it came to Jesus life, death, and resurrection. The disciples were to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel as the means by which all of humanity had the opportunity to receive forgiveness and experience the relationship with God that they were created for.

And this mission to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel was to be a mission that was ever expanding in size and scope. The disciples were to live lives that revealed and reflected Christ as they shared the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in their immediate sphere of influence, which was Jerusalem. The disciples were to equip and empower followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who were not in their immediate sphere of influence, which was Judea and Samaria. And the disciples were to have a passion to take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world.          

And it is here, in Jesus statement to His closest followers that we discover the timeless answer to the question “Where are we sent to?” And that timeless answer is this: We have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus. Just as it was for Jesus closest followers, just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus.

You see, for followers of Jesus, the mission never changes; instead the mission remains the same. Here at City Bible Church, we communicate the never changing mission that we have been given by Jesus this way: We are a “city within” a city that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city. As followers of Jesus, we are to live our day to day lives as missionaries that reflect a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and that reveal Jesus to those around us through our words and our actions as we love and serve those around us. Our words and our actions as individuals and in community with one another should affirm and testify to the truth of the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel.

And this mission is not a solo mission; this mission is not a mission that is simply done in partnership with one another. This mission is a mission that is empowered by the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that enables us to not only live the Christian life, but to partner with Jesus as He completes His mission. And this mission to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel is to be a mission that is ever expanding in size and scope.

As followers of Jesus we are to live lives that reveal and reflect Jesus as we share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to those in our immediate sphere of influence, or our Jerusalem. As followers of Jesus, we are to equip and empower other followers of Jesus to live in such a way that they would develop relationships that enabled them to take the claims of Christ to those who are not in our immediate sphere of influence, which is our Judea and Samaria. And as followers of Jesus, we are to have a passion to help take the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the entire world.

If you do not buy the whole, Jesus Bible, church thing, this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent when it comes to engaging you. This is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and persistent about inviting you to church, their community group or to an event involving other followers of Jesus. The reason why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent in engaging you is because they are following the example of Jesus. And just as Jesus was sent to engage the entire world, as followers of Jesus we have been sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus.

Now a natural objection that could arise at this point is “Well Dave, if that is the case, then why don’t followers of Jesus do what Jesus has commanded them to? If followers of Jesus are sent by Jesus to engage the entire world with the message of Jesus, then why do I know people who say they are Christians live lives that look nothing like Jesus and never talk about Jesus, let alone go to church or invite others to church?”

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that is a great question to be asking. Friday, we will discover the answer to that question...

Are you staying or are you going?

At the church where I server, we have been spending our time together unpacking the kingdom mission that we have been given by Jesus to live our lives as missionaries that engage and embrace the kingdom mission that we have been given as a church to be a city in a city that reveals and reflects Christ as we love and serve the city. Our hope and prayer is that we would answer the question “Who sent us?” “Who are we sent to?” “What are we sent to do?” and “Where are we sent to?” Our hope and our prayer is to answer these questions in a way that equips and empowers us to live our day to day lives as a follower of Jesus that have been sent on a mission to those that God has already placed in our spheres of influence who are far from God in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to them.

This week, I would like for us to answer the final question that we are going to ask during this series, which is “Where are we sent to?” In other words, if we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent, then where have we been sent to? Where exactly are we supposed to go in order to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given?

To answer this question, we are going to look at the opening section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts. And it is in the opening section of the book of Acts that we see recorded for us an event that occurred in history that will provide us a timeless answer to the question “Where are we sent to?” So let’s discover this answer together, beginning in Acts 1:1-3:

The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

To understand what is happening here, we need to first understand how the book of Acts fits into the overall flow of the Bible. The book of Acts is the second book of a two volume set. The gospel of Luke is the first volume of this two volume set, and is what is being referred to in verses 1-3. The writer of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts was a Gentile doctor named Luke, who many scholars believe was from Antioch, which was a city that is located in the southeastern corner of what is now modern day Turkey.

Luke was hired by a man named Theophilus, who was a Roman official who hired Luke to research and to provide an accurate and orderly account about the origins of Christianity. As a result of the generosity of Theophilus, Luke, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, spent several years involved in intensive research and investigation that produced this two volume set that we now have as a part of our Bibles today.

The first volume or account that Luke composed, the gospel of Luke, was dedicated to chronicling the life and claims of Jesus Christ, from His birth to His resurrection from the dead and His initial appearances to His disciples. The second volume, the book of Acts, was dedicated to chronicling the life of Jesus early followers after the resurrection of Jesus and traces the birth and the spread of Christianity and the church from Jerusalem to Rome, which was the dominant political and military power in the world during the life of Jesus and His early followers.

In verse 3, Luke transitions from a review of his first account, the gospel of Luke, to begin chronicling the experiences that the disciples had with the resurrected Jesus. Luke explains that Jesus was repeatedly present, not as a ghost, or a spirit, but as one who was physically resurrected from the dead after suffering death by crucifixion. Luke explains that Jesus revealed His presence to the disciples and other early followers of Jesus by many convincing proofs. In other words, Jesus physical presence after being raised from the dead was decisive and was convincing.

In Luke’s research of talking with hundreds of people, there was no doubt in His mind that Jesus had been raised from the dead. There was no doubt because Jesus was visible to the disciples and others for a period of forty days. In various locations and at various times, Jesus was physically present speaking and reminding them of the kingdom of God. When Luke refers to the kingdom of God, Luke is referring to God’s royal reign over the universe.

You see, God had made a promise to the Jewish people that He would send a Messiah, a rescuer, who would come to rescue and restore the Jewish nation as His chosen people. So the Jewish people were looking for the descendant of Abraham, from the line of David that would be the promised Messiah who would bring the Jewish people back to God and back to prominence in the world. So for forty days, Jesus kept proclaiming, teaching, and reminding them that God’s kingdom promise had been fulfilled through Him.

And after forty days of being physically present and reminding them about His message and teachings, Jesus gathers the disciples together for a conversation. A conversation that Luke records for us, beginning in Acts 1:4-5:

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

Jesus commands His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received what the Father had promised, the promise that Jesus had communicated to them in the last conversation that He had with them before His arrest, which is recorded for us in one of the accounts of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of John. In John 14, Jesus explained that while He would be leaving them shortly, that He would not leave them as orphans. Instead of abandoning the disciples, Jesus explained that God was going to give them another helper, who would teach and remind the disciples of Jesus message and teachings.

And the helper that God had promised the disciples was that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained that while John’s followers were baptized in water as a way to identify with his message and their need of repentance, followers of Jesus would receive a different baptism, a baptism that involved the very Spirit of God dwelling within them. God was about to do something new; something extraordinary, which was that everyone who had placed their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel would have the Holy Spirit take up residence within them. Y

ou see, prior to this time in history, the Holy Spirit only was given to prophets, priests, or leaders that had a special role in God’s kingdom mission. But here we see Jesus reminding His disciples that not many days from now, the Holy Spirit would be given to every one of His followers. And the fulfillment of this promise was predicted and proclaimed as being a sign that would reveal the ushering in of the Kingdom of God and His reign here on earth.

However, Jesus command would have also reminded the disciples about another aspect of the last conversation that Jesus had before He was arrested, which that He was going to leave them. So, as you might imagine, the disciples were confused. Just imagine what was running through the disciples minds at this point. I mean wouldn’t you be confused. “Is Jesus leaving, or is He staying? He said He was leaving us, then He was killed, but now He is here with us after being raised from the dead. This is not what we expected.

And in the midst of their confusion, the disciples ask Jesus a question. Tomorrow we will look at that question…

We have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus...

This week we are looking at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. After encountering Jesus after He was raised from the dead, some of the disciples wrestled with doubt that flowed from two fundamental questions.

The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?” And in this event from history Jesus makes a statement that is one of the most famous statements that is recorded for us in the entire Bible. And it is in this statement that Jesus provides the answer to the question “What are we sent to do?”  

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, a divine directive to make disciples of all nations. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the spheres of influence that we have been given.

Jesus then explained that we are to make disciples in three specific ways.  First, we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever sphere of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.

Second, we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. A major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity and publicly identify themselves as partner in the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission.

Third, Jesus explains that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time. And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good.

 

At the church where I serve, we believe that the Jesus teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Him requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving. And so often, most sermons on this event from history end tend to end here. But that is not where this event from history ends. Jesus still has more to say.

And in what Jesus says next, we see Jesus make an amazing statement that helps answer the question that flowed from some of the disciples doubt, which was as to whether or not God’s presence is present. So let’s look at this statement together, which is at the end of Matthew 28:20b:

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus grabs the attention of His disciples with what is translated in our Bibles today as lo. This would be like me standing up and saying “Yo, listen up!” Jesus wanted to have the disciples undivided attention because He was about to introduce something new; something previously unheard of; something that would have been viewed by the disciples as unusual. And what was so new and unusual was this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

Jesus here is promising His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history that He is fully present.  Just because God may seem silent, that does not mean that God is not present. Just because we cannot see God, that does not mean that God is not present. You see, God’s presence is evident when followers of Jesus are engaged in community with one another and on mission with one another.

When followers of Jesus gather together in community to worship, we experience God’s presence in powerful ways. When followers of Jesus gather together in community groups, we experience God’s presence in a powerful way as we support and encourage one another.  When followers of Jesus invest their talents serving God by serving others, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others. When followers of Jesus invest their treasure, we are used by God to reveal His presence to others as we create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience community.

We are never any closer to God’s presence here on earth than when followers of Jesus are engaged in God’s kingdom mission in community with one another, because God has divinely designed the church to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His presence to one another and the world. And it is here, in this event from history, that we see Jesus reveal for us the timeless answer to the question “What are we sent to do?” And that timeless answer is this: We have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus.

Just as it was for early followers of Jesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we have been sent by Jesus to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus. If you do not buy the whole, Jesus Bible, church thing, this is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent when it comes to inviting you to church. This is why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and persistent about inviting you to their community group or to an event involving other followers of Jesus.

The reason why followers of Jesus seem to be so committed and so persistent in their invitation to you is because they are following the example of Jesus. And just as Jesus was sent to make followers of Jesus, as followers of Jesus we have been sent by Jesus to be the vehicle that He uses to make other followers of Jesus. And once again, as followers of Jesus, we are confronted with the reality that Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done.

As followers of Jesus, we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus as we invite others to explore faith and experience genuine and authentic community. We are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their time in a community group as we invest our time in a community group.  We are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their talent on a ministry team as we invest our talent on a ministry team. And we are used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus when we invite others to invest their treasure in an open handed and generous way as we invest our treasure in an open handed and generous way.

So here is a question to consider. Are you being used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus? Are you living in such a way that you are the vehicle that Jesus uses to make other followers of Jesus? What is one step that you can take this week that will place you in a position to be used by Jesus to make other followers of Jesus?

A Great Directive To Make Disciples...

This week, we are asking and answering the third question that we are going to ask during a sermon series entitled sent, which is “What are we sent to do?” In other words, if we are to be a sent people, who have been sent by a person, who was sent, then what are we supposed to be doing? What exactly is the mission that we been sent to do?

To answer that question, we are going to look at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. As we discovered in the why Christmas series, the gospel of Matthew was written to Jewish people to explain and to show that Jesus was the Messiah that God had promised would come to rescue and restore the Jewish nation as His chosen people.

Yesterday we began to look at an event from history where some of the disciples responded to seeing Jesus after He was raised from the dead with doubt. We talked about the reality that the disciples doubt flowed from two fundamental questions. The first question was “What now? What are we supposed to do now?” And the second question was this “How are you going to be present with us? If you are in Heaven, and we are here on earth, how is your presence going to be present in our lives?”

We looked on as Jesus took the initiative so that His disciples would understand that He was Lord and Leader and was the one whom God had granted the power to exercise control over the universe and to guide God’s kingdom mission. And because of the universal authority that Jesus possess; because Jesus is large and in charge of all of creation; Jesus has the right to give His followers Divine direction when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?”

And as Jesus continued to take the initiative with the disciples, He proceeded to give His disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history a divine directive that answers the question “What are we sent to do?” and that reveals God’s kingdom mission for followers of Jesus throughout history. So let's look at that directive together in Matthew 28:19:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;

Now whether you regularly attend church or whether this is your first Sunday in church; whether or not you regularly read the Bible, you are probably at least somewhat familiar with what Jesus says here. You are probably familiar with Jesus words here because this is one of the two sayings of Jesus that are described with the adjective great. This statement is often referred to as the “Great Commission”. Jesus here is giving His followers a mission; and that mission is to make disciples of all nations.

The phrase “go and make disciples of all nations” in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally reads “as you are going, make disciples of all nations”. Jesus is not commanding us to go. Jesus is commanding us to make disciples as we go. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to strive to make disciples, or followers of Jesus, as we are living our day to day lives in the spheres of influence that we have been given.

Now a natural question that arises here is “well how are we supposed to make disciples? And how do we know that we are actually being successful in making disciples?” First, we are to make disciples by going to those who are far from God. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships; in whatever sphere of influence we have; we are commanded to live our lives as missionaries that are engaging, investing, and inviting those who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.

You do not need to go to a foreign country to be a missionary. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be missionaries wherever we are. And in your day to day life, God has already positioned you in areas of influence where you can be a missionary to those who are far from God.

Second, we are to make disciples by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we see baptisms occurring in the Bible, we discover that baptism is an outward act that serves to publicly identify one as being a follower of Jesus.  A person who is being baptized is publicly proclaiming “I am a follower of Jesus who desires to be a part of a community of believers who will encourage me and hold me accountable”. So a major part of discipleship is to be used by God to bring those who are far from God to a place where they place their confident trust in God’s transformational activity and publicly identify themselves as partner in the community of faith that is investing their time, talent, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission.

You see, evangelism is not a separate activity from discipleship. Evangelism is the first step of discipleship, where a person responds to what God has done for them through Jesus life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And baptism is a step of identification with Jesus as His follower and with the kingdom mission that He has given us as His followers.

Third, Jesus explains that we are to make disciples by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”. Now the word observe, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to persist in obedience. In other words, a disciple of Jesus will naturally grow in their faithfulness and obedience to Jesus over time. While there may be occasions where a follower of Jesus acts out of selfishness and rebellion to commit sin, a follower of Jesus, over time, will live a life that is becoming more like Christ in character and conduct.

And as followers of Jesus and as a church, we are called to create environments where people are able to understand and embrace the message and teachings of Jesus in a way that results in their spiritual growth and spiritual good. That is why we are such huge proponents of community groups here at City Bible Church. That is why we create environments such as the Adult Bible Fellowship and Kids Konnection on Sunday mornings. That is why we create environments like AWANA and Fusion student ministries. We desire to create environments where followers of Jesus can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience and become a part of a genuine and authentic community of followers of Jesus.

That is why that, as a church, we have three specific goals for every attender here at City Bible Church. We do not have five goals; we do not have ten goals. Instead we have three goals. And the reason why we have three goals is because we believe that these three goals accomplish Jesus command to make disciples in a way that fulfills the kingdom mission that we have been given.  As a church, we do not ask for more than these three and we do not ask for less than these three, because we believe that these are the three things that Jesus asks us to invest in as a part of His great commission and His Great Commandment to love Him with our total being and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

First, we have as a goal that every regular attender would be investing their time, in addition to being a part of a Sunday worship gathering, to be a part of a community group. Community groups meet throughout the week throughout the community and are smaller environments that are designed to foster supportive and encouraging relationships that help you take that next step when it comes to a relationship with God.

This goal matters when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” because it is in circles, not in rows, people experience lasting life change and transformation.  And community groups create those transformational environments where people can develop loving and supportive relationships that challenge us to take that next step when it comes to our relationship with Jesus.

Second, we have as a goal that every regular attender would be investing their talents serving God by serving others on a ministry team. Regardless of your age or stage of life, and regardless of the gifts, talents, and abilities you have been given by God, there are opportunities to reveal and reflect Christ by serving in a ministry. This goal matters when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” because we believe, and we have repeatedly seen, that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us in a selfless way that serves others.

Third, we invite and ask every follower of Jesus to invest their treasure as an act of worship through weekly and proportional giving. This goal matters when it comes to the question “What are we sent to do?” because we believe, and we have repeatedly seen, that transformational spiritual growth occurs when followers of Jesus display an open-handed generous attitude toward the treasure that they have here on earth.

As followers of Jesus, when we are generous, we reflect the generosity of God, who demonstrated His generosity by giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. And the investment of your treasure enables us as a church to create environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience authentic community in a way that fulfills Jesus command to make disciples.  

As a church, we believe that the Jesus teaches us that making disciples that are growing and maturing in their relationship with Him requires that we invest our time in a community group, our talents in a ministry, and our treasure through giving. And so often, most sermons on this event from history end tend to end here. But that is not where this event from history ends. Jesus still has more to say.

And in what Jesus says next, we see Jesus make an amazing statement that helps answer the question as to whether or not God’s presence is present. Friday we will look at that statement…