The Heart Of The Story
The Story – week one
Video: The Bible
(sermon spice)
“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
AND MG – check out what happens when God’s Word prospers, when it bears fruit, accomplishes what GOD wants it to accomplish!
12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” – Is 55:10-12
Prayer
MGCC – welcome to The Story!
WOW! I am so pumped up, I am so stoked, I am so jazzed, I am so jacked up that I can hardly stand it. Seriously. For real.
I MEAN – this Friday morning as I begin the process of putting into my laptop all the thoughts that have been running through my head, and that I had scribbled down on my ‘vanilla folder…’
I ACTUALLY – stood up in my room and jumped up and down.
YEAH – for weeks, months… we’ve been talking about The Story…
AND TODAY – January 13th (the 2nd Sunday of 2013) it is here!
YES - the journey has begun!
A JOURNEY – that I am 100% confident will change God’s church at Maple Grove forever!!!
HEY – please stand up and look around this room, look at the people who are in here… MG – I am confident, I am convinced that it will not, that we will not - look the same on the second Sunday of 2014!
AGAIN – I have been pumping and promoting The Story for weeks…
TELLING ANYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN – in no uncertain terms, that God is going to use THE STORY to take us to places that we cannot even begin to imagine, BOTH - individually and as a church!
AND – perhaps you may thinking…
Okay Steve I hear you. I hear your hype, I hear your cheerleading…
BUT HOW – can you be so sure that 2013 and The Story is not going to be a bust and turn out to be just another year of the ‘some ole, some ole…?
HOW can you be so certain that the hype will match reality?
AND LISTEN – I understand that kind of thinking…
BECAUSE – in life a lot of times things we get all fired and pumped up about… fall short, don’t deliver. YEAH - the big band becomes a soft thud!
THIS - is going to be the BEST…party, Christmas, New Years, family vacation, day, job, relationship, the best … (and you fill in the blank)…
BUT – when all was said and done the hype does not come anywhere close to meeting reality…
BUT LISTEN – let me tell you why I stand before you today (1/13/13)
100% confident that The Story will deliver much more than any of my hype or pumpification (yeah, I made that word up, I do that a lot…)
‘pumpification’ – the act of becoming so stoked, so fired up and excited that you want to jump up and shout as if you have won the lottery or the Super Bowl. (Go Patriots!)
OKAY…
WHY - am I 100% confident that The Story will deliver much more than any of my hype or pumpification?
BECAUSE - we can never over-hype the Word of God… Never!
Let me say that again… we can never over-hype the Word of God!
UNDERSTAND – God’s WORD will always prosper, it will never come back empty, it will always accomplish the purpose for which HE sent it! Always.
I MEAN – think about it…
HOW - could we ever over-hype God’s WORD when, with just HIS WORDS God created EVERYTHING!
CHECK OUT – these passages of Scripture…
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
– Hebrews 4:12
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
– 2 Timothy 3:16,17
AND JESUS – talked about the power of the Word to produce in a Story He told in Matthew 13…
It’s about a farmer sowing seed… (the seed is God’s Word)
AND – the seed falls on 4 different types of soil…
AND LISTEN – every single time we are in a place where God’s Word is being shared (sown)… you and I are one of the four types of soil in Jesus story.
HARD – this is the kind of soil that is packed so tightly that God’s word cannot even penetrate
ROCKY – hear it, receive it… but the roots are not deep and they quickly fall away.
THORNS – hear but the message get’s crowded out by so many other things in life.
GOOD SOIL…
The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
- Matthew 13:23
Wow… thats
A 3,000 – 6,000 or 10,000% return!
MG that is why I am so confident that this will not be the same place and we will not be the same people on the second Sunday of 2014.
UNDERSTAND – my trust, my hope and my confidence are in The Lord and in the sheer power of His Words.
This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the LORD.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
- Jeremiah 17:5-8
OKAY…
SO – what exactly is The Story?
WELL – it’s the Bible…
The Story is made up of words from THIS – Supernatural, God breathed, sharp living and active book…
THIS BOOK – that is like no other
UNDERSTAND…
The bible was written over a period of 1500 years; in 3 languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek), on 3 continents (Asia, Africa, Europe) and it was written by 40 different writers from all walks of life; including kings, military leaders, peasants, poets, fisherman, prophets, statesman, priests, scribes, scholars, shepherds, fig pickers and even an IRS agent…
The bible was written in many different places; Moses wrote in the wilderness, Jeremiah in a dungeon, Daniel in a palace, Paul behind prison bars, Luke while traveling, John while in exile on the island of Patmos. The bible was written during different moods; some wrote from the heights of joy, others wrote from the depths of sorrow and despair, some wrote during times of certainty and conviction, others during days of confusion and doubt. The bible was written in a wide variety of literary styles – in this book we have: poetry, song, romance, law, biography, prophecy, historical narrative, parable and allegory.
How can there be such unity of story with so many different authors? Because in reality there is only one author, God.
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:20,21
LIKE I said The Story is the Bible…
(Pick up a copy and explain it)
The Story is in chronological order.
It’s about eighty percent of the Old and New Testament.
HEY – if you have a copy of The Story go ahead and open it up, I want bring a couple of things to your attention.
Table of contents
Timeline of The Story
Turn to page 7… now the print that is ‘normal’ is Scripture (the NIV)
NOW - toward the bottom of seven there is a section in italics, and you’ll find this occasionally throughout The Story. AND - what it is, is it’s a transitional summary that will help take you from one passage to another…
SO - this particular one takes us from Genesis 4:9 all the way to Genesis 6:5.
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. – Genesis 4:8
AND THEN – the transitional summary fills in the gap.
The tragic accounts of the mistakes and poor choices of Adam and Eve, and their firstborn son Cain, are echoed in the later stories of hardship and tragedy for their children and their children’s children.
As people begin to populate the globe, leaving the area of Eden and traveling as far as feet and beast could carry them, humanity’s legacy of hate, anger, murder and deception play out as people continue to neglect their relationship with God.
Eventually, nearly everyone just plain forgets their Creator and the whole point of being alive. For most people, life becomes one big party with no thought of consequences… except for one man.
AND THEN…
THE STORY – picks up again with Scripture and the account of Noah.
NOW – at the bottom of page seven where you see a footnote there. There are several different places where they will explain a term or something to help you understand it and they’ll go into a little bit more detail for you.
And in the very back of the book there are study questions that you can use in a small group. Additionally it will go through a description of every character that is mentioned in the Bible.
And our prayer is that at the end of this year you will have an incredible understanding of what this story, God’s Story, is all about... and how your story is part of it.
NOW – we have these available, and if you have not picked up one of those yet, we really want you to get one. The cost is just $5 dollars…
IF - you don’t have five dollars… we will give you one…
WE – want everyone to have their own copy.
AND LISTEN – one of the really cool things is…
EVERYONE – at MGCC is doing the same thing…
Children – Youth – Life Groups…etc
NOW - I want to make certain that you understand something, though. THE STORY, this book is not a replacement for your Bible.
INSTEAD – it’s a tool, a resource to be used alongside of your Bible.
AND LISTEN – our goal at MGCC is ultimately not for us to get through THE STORY, but for THE STORY to get through us!
In a recent survey George Barna found that…
90% of Americans have a Bible (avg house has 4)
86% of Americans Bible is sacred and holy
84% of 19-29 years olds how no idea how the Bible applies to their life
(it’s confusing, the language is awkward, the names are funny…)
AND…
Do you know what, I get that…
I still remember my first Bible. Even though I no longer have it I can still see the page that said…
Presented to Steve Malone
June 1967
From Mom
It was in red ink… so were the spoken Words of Jesus, it was a KJV.
AND LISTEN – though I remember that Bible (that black leather KJV) and the page my mom filled out with red ink…
DO – you know what I don’t remember? I don’t remember EVER reading it.
Not really sure why? But I am sure part of it was intimidation….
BUT – I also remember when this book – when THIS STORY started to grab for the first time.
I was 19 years old studying at The Navy Nuclear Power School in Orlando Florida…
IT – was then, that The Story started to come together… “Wow, I can actually read and understand this thing…
NOW - what I want to do in our time remaining is to take a look at a passage of Scripture in Luke chapter 24… AND – the reason I want to look at this is because in this snapshot we see a picture of what happens when THE STORY begins to come together in someone’s life…
Luke 24
13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
19 “What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.
22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”
25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
HEY – did you notice that before Jesus told these guys about His Story He asks them about their story…
“What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
- Luke 24:17
POINT…
Your Story Matters To God (17)
AND – aren’t you glad it does?
LISTEN – when Jesus meets these two guys on the road their stories were not a real good place? Ever been there and done that?
Nothing made sense.
Nothing added up.
Nothing was working out the way they had hoped it would.
YEAH – at the time their story, pretty much had crashed and burned… sucked!
NOW – I may not know where YOUR STORY is right now?
BUT – here is something I do know…
YOUR STORY MATTERS TO GOD!!!!
It really does!
Tell the person to your right and left… ‘your story matters to God!’
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. – Ps 56:8
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. – Exodus 3:7
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
– 1 Peter 5:7
Most, of you know that I’ve been journaling for about 20 years… And in much of my journaling I am simply telling God my story…much of it is telling God my story.
Read an excerpt.
The Heart Of The Story Is Jesus (27)
Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. – Luke 24:27
You know, we could summarize the entire Bible by boiling it down into just three sentences.
Old Testament - Jesus Is Coming!
• Genesis, God Reveals His Coming (planned before Genesis)
• Exodus-Esther, God Prepares For His Coming (by delivering them, giving them the law and a king)
• Poetry, God’s People Long For His Coming (Lord, we need your wisdom and guidance… we need your kind of love… we need the meaning that only you can bring)
• Prophets; God’s People Hope and Expect His Coming (things are really messed up around and here… But Lord I know the Messiah is coming)
Gospels – Jesus Is Here!
New Testament – Jesus Is Coming Again!
God’s Story is all about Jesus and how He came to rescue, redeem, renew and restore us.
FROM - Genesis to Revelation it’s one story. The Story of a loving God. The Story of a father and Son who will do whatever it takes… to bring their people back home, regardless of their sins, flaws, failures and mistakes…
And here in Luke 24 as Jesus walks along the road with these 2 guys. He takes them back through all the prophets and He shares His Story.
AND LISTEN - without Jesus, without His story… our story never really feels complete. UNDERSTASND —regardless of the money that we make, the promotion that we land, the home we live in… the applause we receive, the pleasures we experience, the stuff we accumulate…
It is meaningless; it is incomplete without a relationship with God.
NOW - one of the reasons that I am so excited about this series is because of a recurring theme and concept that I’ve been learning a lot about as I prepare for these conversations, and it’s called “the upper and the lower story.”
And basically…
The Lower Story is what happens in our day-today life.
The lower story is the one that is being written and told from a six foot perspective. It’s horizontal. It’s what we experience in the here and now…
IN - the lower story we’re dealing with the things that, we all deal with day in and day out. It’s paying bills. It’s crying babies. It’s dealing with grief. It’s trying to get over the flu. It’s dealing with break ups and conflict.
It’s just life. It’s just kind of the stuff that happens. That’s the lower story.
AND – the truth is sometimes our lower story, ain’t so pretty…
I MEAN – the story wasn’t so pretty for these two guys in Luke 24 before they met Jesus… was it? They were: broken, weary, discouraged and downcast. WHAT – they had place all their hope in had just crashed and burned before their very eyes on a hill outside Jerusalem.
AND UNDERSTAND – as we go through The Story this year, we are going to meet a lot of people whose lower story is pretty much tanking.
BUT – the good news is that there is another story going on beside these lower 6 foot story, that is not always so pretty…
A great example is what happened on D-Day.
Where the troops on the beach “we’re losing, we’re losing”
(now, we’d probably say the same thing if we were there)…
HOWEVER – the commanders who were watching the action from the air had an entirely different perspective… “we’re winning, we’re winning…”
UNDERSTAND… with God there is always an… upper story.
The Upper Story is how God is moving in and through all events to restore the world to the way it was meant to be.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28
UNDERSTAND – as we view the Bible (as we view life) through the lens of the upper story we see that God has been up to something pretty amazing from the very beginning.
Working out of the mess
Making plans for our final and forever homecoming.
YEAH – I gotta tell you, I love this upper story thing.
Okay, one final take away from this account in Luke 24 and we will call it a day…
The Story Is Still Being Written
UNDERSTAND – these 2 guys weren’t just learning a story or hearing a story… they were becoming part of it.
YOU SEE - God’s Story was being written thousands of years before we were ever on the scene. God’s Story was being written when a flood covered the earth. God’s Story was being written when he promised an elderly man that his barren wife would give birth to so many children that their descendants would be more than all the sands of the seashores. God’s Story was being written in a manger in Bethlehem. God’s Story was being written on a cross at Calvary.
AND - God’s Story is still being written today…
IN - the life of the student who feels like he is the only Christian on the campus.
God’s Story is being written… in the life of the person:
• who has just lost their spouse
• who just received a bad report from the doctor
• who saw their hopes and dreams evaporate like ice on an August side walk
• who has been fighting an addiction for years
IN - Luke chapter 24 it says, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”
‘woe, what a minute. It’s Jesus, I see Him. And He has been here with me, the entire time that our lower story was crashing.
And that’s what Jesus want to happen to each of us in 2013. He wanst our eyes to be open so that we will recognize Him
LISTEN - the goal of this nearly year long series – is not just to know the story; But to know the Author of the story.
AND – when we do… when we recognize Him… when we see this upper story… when the pieces come together…
I am confident that our hearts will BURN!
They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
- Luke 24:32
“YEAH… There is something going on here…. Something that is: more, bigger, better, lasting, good… and that can NEVER be shaken!
LIKE…
MOSES – in the desert for 40 years… another story was going on
JOSEPH – thrown into a pit
DAVID – on the run for 18 years
DANIEL – taken into exile as a teenager… another story (God’s upper story) was going on…!
MAPLE GROVE…
It’s January 13th 2013, and our journey into THE STORY has begun.
How to get the most out of The Story?
1) Get a copy and read the chapter each week
2) Talk about The Story with your family
3) Join a life group
4) Share The Story with someone who needs Jesus
HEY – I want to share something with that I think is pretty cool as we wrap up…
Jesus taught us to pray with this upper and lower story thing in mind.
AND NOTICE – which one comes first… The UPPER STORY.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
JESUS – was telling them (and us) that God’s will, His grand plan for the universe comes first… HIS NAME – being hallowed… HIS – perfect, upper story will being done!
THEN – Jesus says, these words about the Lower Story…
Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
AND AGAIN – that’s lower story stuff.
We need to eat
We need to pay our bills
We are going to get hurt – so we need to forgive
AND – we need to avoid that little voice that says, ‘go ahead, do what feels good. No one will ever know…’
YES…
God empowers us to live our Lower Story
from an Upper Story perspective.
YOU SEE
Everything that happens to us in the Lower Story, whether good or bad, WILL work out for the good,
IF we align our lives to His superior calling and Story.
God is FAITHFUL…. Always!
