ILLUST> So hey there, good to see you and welcome to this place called DCC. What a crazy weekend it has been already! We had our backpack bash yesterday which was absolute chaos, but thousands of people were fed, thousands of kids had lots of fun and received free loaded backpacks and the love of Jesus was poured out on our city in an unbelievable way. If you were a part of that effort in anyway, donated a backpack, gave money, or served in anyway during the bash would you please stand? Can we give it up for these great people? Thank you for everything. I know that you didn’t do it for the applause which is exactly why we did it. I love the heart of this place. Let me show you what else you did. We decided to lead the way with our Mayor’s request for church school partnerships and recently partnered up with Doherty HS and completely remodeled their teachers lounge. Here are the before pics. Here are the after. If you were a part of this project in any way would you please stand. Let’s give it up for these people. If you stood up today, you need to know you are a hero. The rescue that takes place inside and outside the walls of this place, the love of Jesus that is being poured out on our city doesn’t happen without you. So thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this. I have never been more proud to be a part of this place.
So, hey, if you are a new friend here with us for the very first time today we want to give a special shout and welcome to you and to say thanks for taking a chance on us. Hopefully, you’ve already gotten a feel for who we are, and what we are about, and how important the word rescue is to us in this place, but we also want you to know that you are safe here no matter how your story past or present happens to read or what you do or don’t believe. We are people just like you, the struggle is real for us too, and we hope that you have a great experience with us and want to come back and do this all over again with us real soon. (As always, if you are live online right now, wherever you are, you mean alot to us too.)
So, we are in week 5 of a series called Route 66. We are working our way through the larger story that is told through the 66 books of the Bible and I have to be honest with you as we jump back in. I was really looking forward to this week until we actually got to this week. Let me explain. So we have unpacked creation, man’s rebellion, and seen God’s love for people and his heart for rescue over and over again in the thousands of years of history that we have unpacked together over the past 4 weeks. It has been a tall task, but we have covered 1,000 years of history in each of the past two weeks. Which will help you understand why I couldn’t wait to get to this part of the series. Today we are only covering about 3 years. So, if I covered 1,000 years in 38 minutes and stay on track today I have about 7 seconds to this. Actually, I’m already done. Let’s just pray and go home. Best church service ever right? You know me, I can’t even pray in 7 seconds. So, why are we spending an entire day on just 3 years? This is the epicenter. This is what it is really all about. It’s a completely different story without this. In fact, check this out. The 1,000 years we covered last week was contained in parts of 22 books. The 3 years that we are talking about today is so significant that it is unpacked in all of 26 books...26 books that describe the coming of the true king in the story. So, as we jump back in let’s stay with our focus questions. What does what we are reading saying about God and about us? How does this story intersect with and apply to each of our stories as we sit here today?
If you brought a Bible today we are going to pick up where we left off in the story and start in Luke chapter 7 today. If you don’t have a Bible they are back on the back tables that you can grab right now if you would like if you close or on you can always grab one on your way out. As always you can hit our app or the YouVersion app too. Or you can ignore all of that and read along with me on the screens. So here we go, Luke 7 verse 18...
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, ‘John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”’ 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, illnesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.’
So for the past two weeks we have covered the part of the narrative or story that we know the least. Today, we are in the part we tend to know most. The story that we unpack on the biggest church days of the year Christmas and Easter. Because of that as we step back into the story today I want us to make a few strategic stops like this one in Luke 7, stops that are not intended to teach us the story but to help us understand the significance of this critical 3 years in the story. So shortly after Jesus turns 30 and starts his ministry his cousin and friend John the Baptist is thrown into jail. John the Baptist had fearlessly preached that Jesus was the Messiah, the lamb of God that would take away the sins of the entire world. Jesus said that he was the greatest of all men ever born of a woman and yet here he is doubting and asking Jesus, are you really the coming king? If you are the Messiah then why I am I sitting here...on death row in prison? I think we can all relate to this moment can’t we? If you are Jesus then why the cancer diagnosis, the divorce, the relationship breakdown, the bankruptcy, unemployment, the accident, the death...this is not what I expected. It is often a struggle for us, it seems to be a struggle here for John the Baptist, actually it was a very common struggle for most people when Jesus comes on the scene in the story. Here’s what I am getting to...
THIS KING WAS NOT WHAT ANYONE EXPECTED. Let’s go back to where we left God’s people Israel last week. They got to return home to Jerusalem, God promised them that one day things were going to be different that there would be a coming king but then God decided to go silent for about 400 years. The silence ends with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem but Israel remains under Roman rule and nothing about his birth suggests that this is the birth of a king. A king is born in a palace surrounded by nobles and celebrities. Jesus was born in a barn surrounded by lowly shepherds and sheep. The coming of the king was not as anyone expected and this same theme continues as Jesus grows up and starts his ministry.
Now, it’s important that we remind ourselves of the expectations of God’s people at that time. They have been waiting for over 400 years for a king to come and a kingdom to be established. Their anticipation is building and their patience is wearing thin. When we think of how kingdoms were established their expectations make sense. Here is what they expected of their king. First, the coming king was expected to crack down and enforce God’s OT law. Watch this now, we are going to see that Jesus actually does the opposite. He doesn’t abolish the law but he does demonstrate that not only is it impossible to keep the law but also that the law alone never leads anyone to the life that they are looking for. God has to break down his peoples’ addiction to trusting in rules and regulations in order to bring this new love and trust kingdom. The coming king was also expected to make Israel a supreme nation over all others. Again, Jesus has a different plan. He establishes that being a child of God has nothing to do with nationality and that God sees and love the world without any national boundaries. His heart for all people and this rescue mission that he has initiated is for all people. The coming king was also expected to punish, crush, and conquer all of their enemies by violence. Let’s pause here and listen to what Jesus has to say about that in Matthew chapter 5 verse 43…
43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Jesus says you have heard it said hate your enemies, but actually they have heard it said worse than that haven’t they? Remember two weeks ago when they were getting ready to fight the battle of Jericho and begin to take the land God promised them. They have heard it said, slaughter your enemies, kill them all, men, women, children, babies, and animals. That’s no small thing. They heard that from God himself. Can you imagine how inconsistent and radical this love your enemy thing would seem to them? Here’s a question. Does the God of the Old Testament ever seem inconsistent with the God of the New Testament to you? Hold on to that, more about that in a minute, but first something else about this King...
THIS KING BROUGHT AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. So right out of the gate not only are we dealing with a king who is not what anyone really expected he is initiating a different kind of kingdom too. We don’t have time to talk about all of those differences but one of the major ones is that this is a now and not yet kingdom. The Kingdom of God has come and will continue to come. It has started but it is not finished. There will be a time when the Messiah returns again to finish his work. We will talk about that in the last week of this series. Jesus comes back again on a white horse with a sword in his mouth, blood on his robe, and a tatoo on his leg to finish the story. Yes, Jesus has a tatoo...Revelation breathe you will be okay. You need to make sure you are back for the end of the series...for the not yet part of the kingdom. The people of that day even the Rabbi’s were expecting a “now” kingdom. The new king will arrive, crush the old, establish the new and everything will be great. Instead, the king allows the old stuff to remain. The real enemy in the story remains and ups his game as God brings the kingdom to earth. There will be a time of struggle between two kingdoms for the entirety of creation until the king returns again...now and not yet. This is the world and part of the story that we find ourselves living in today. We will talk more about that next week.
So now and not yet is a different perspective but the reason I say entirely different is because this new kingdom is different on so many fronts. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, considered by many in the world who aren’t Christians to be some of the best moral teachings ever, is full of examples of that. Jesus says “you have heard it said don’t murder, I say don’t hate.” Numerous examples of a different perspective on what Israel has believed to be absolute truth. Let’s zero in on the one we just read which in and of itself is a challenge for most of us.
ILLUST> I’ll be honest, that’s where God has been working on me the hardest in the past year or so. In my time with him it goes like this. Greg do you love your enemies, people that have hurt you, left you, betrayed you, stabbed you in the back, said things that are not true? Do you pray for those who curse you? Do you turn the other cheek or try to justify, prove them wrong, or get even? Whoa to you when all men speak highly of you. Greg, love your enemies. I keep all these verses front and center on my phone and scroll through them on regular basis. I have to. This stuff is not easy is it? It’s not natural. It’s a different perspective.
We also see a different perspective in this. Instead of taking a throne and surrounding himself with the privileged he challenges the status quo and begins to shake the hierarchy. He is a king who is willing to suffer and sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom. That’s unheard of too. Suffering and sacrifice becomes a way of life in this new kingdom. This king’s perspective is also radically different in this everyone is invited to the party. Table fellowship, who you ate with was a big deal in that day and culture. Jesus was a friend to, loved, hung out with, served, cared for and ate with sinners, tax collectors, the poor, lepers, prostitutes, the outcasts, the marginalized and the down and outs. It was scandalous. All people were invited into this king’s kingdom. He flipped the religious way of thinking believe what we believe, become like us and then you can belong with us on its head.
Why is this place DCC a safe place where you belong regardless of what you believe or how your story past or present reads? We’re just following the lead of our king. So not only was Jesus not what they expected and carrying a totally different perspective, in some ways he seemed so different, so inconsistent with the God of Old Testament too. Now, I want to talk about this for a minute because it is often a challenge for us too. So how do we reconcile this stuff? I think this will help. Colossians 2...
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Did you catch that? Things in the Old Testament were a shadow of things to come in the new. The writer of Hebrews says something similar in Hebrews 10:1 the law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming. Do you ever struggle to wrap your mind around the “love your enemies” God of the New Testament and “kill them all” God of the Old? Do you ever feel like God is mean and Jesus is nice. That was me as a kid growing up in church. It’s a challenge. Jesus himself says that when we see Jesus we see the Father, that they are one and the same and that they are unchanging, the same yesterday today and forever. So, how do we reconcile this stuff? I think that is why what Paul writes here is so important. All of the story stuff up to this point is a shadow, the reality is found in Christ, in Jesus, in this King.
ILLUST> Okay, but what does that mean? Think about it this way. When you see my shadow you many be able to tell it’s me. You may not. Why? A shadow is distorted. I am 3 dimensional, my shadow is just 2. There is so much about me, who I really am, that a shadow can and will never capture. You can’t see my blue eyes, my personality, my muscles, my 6 pack abs. I’m sure they’re in there somewhere. Okay, now I’m stretching things a bit but you get the point. My shadow never captures the fullness of who I really am. It tells me something but really not much.
In John chapter 9 Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain with him to pray. As Jesus prays his appearance changes and Elijah and Moses show up and talk with Jesus. As Elijah and Moses are leaving the disciples want to build shelters for each of the three of them. Think about their perspective, think about the culture, Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets. Both were essential parts of the larger story up until this point in time. So we need to keep all 3 with us. God speaks from a cloud and says “This is my son, whom I have chosen, listen to him”. In other words, the law and prophets serve a purpose, but the reality is that they are a shadow of the good things to come. He, my son, is all that you need - listen to him. It’s all about Jesus.
Which means that when we read the story rather than trying to mash it all together and understand a seemingly schizophrenic God who can’t decide who he is and what he really wants, we need to view it all through the lens of Jesus and the cross. God has always been and will always be a God of self-sacrificing agape, other oriented love. He is a God of influence not coercion who meets people where they are. A God who gives people free will. We said last week that even when we don’t choose him he never stops choosing us. That’s true, but so is this. Every day he chooses us while giving us the opportunity to choose him or to take a pass. It has been that way since the story began. He is a God who revealed as much of himself as he could, his love, patience, provision, and protection, who related to people in the shadow of the cross until he could bring humanity to a point where he could finally reveal who he really is and has always been once and for all on that cross. The cross is not just something that God does. It is who he is, who he has always been...all about unconditional self-sacrificial love. Jesus brings a different perspective on many things. It is not a different perspective on God the Father. With Jesus we get a clearer image of who God the Father has really always been throughout the story. He really is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let’s finish this, last takeaway for today….
THIS KING MADE THIS STORY MY RESCUE STORY. Jesus makes this story our story when he takes that beating and goes to that cross for us fulfilling a prophecy that had been given almost 1,000 years before he was born. Listen to this Isaiah 53...
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Jesus wounds from all that he suffered never become scars if he stays in that grave. But the grave couldn’t hold him. He is a resurrected king who carries scars. Because of the scars of Jesus we can have confidence that we can find healing, that our wounds can become scars too. Our scars are an indication of God’s heart for us. Time and time again he has seen us through. Our own scars remind of us who God really is. Everything in this story points to God’s unconditional love for us. Why do we keep looking to other things instead of God or in addition to God to find life? Answer, Jesus made this story our rescue story but a lot of us have never really experienced that. I didn’t for the first 40 years of my life. God sent his son to die for us, forgive us, heal us, redeem us, and restore us, to heal our broken hearts and set our captive hearts free, to help us experience all of the life that he came to bring us. That’s rescue. We will continue to look elsewhere until we understand and experience the rescue of Jesus in our lives. Is this rescue story my rescue story?
I think we all need to take a minute to soak in that question before we get out of here today. So here is what we are going to do. I’m gonna pray for us and then some trays are going to be passed up and down the aisles with a little cup of juice and piece of bread. We do this every week here as a reminder of the body and blood of Christ and the sacrifice he made for all of us on that cross. As it is being passed Joseph is going to sing a verse and chorus of a song. Feel free to sing along, or just soak in the words whatever you choose to do. If this feels weird, you feel pressured or not ready, or your heart is not in good space today just pass that tray on to the person next to you. If you are going to take it don’t feel rushed. You will have a few minutes of time after Joseph sings to take it when you are ready. As you sit here today with all the secrets, painful memories, fears, hurts and pain, guilt and shame, all the wounds and all your scars. God wants you to see, feel, and experience his love for you right now today just as you are in the middle of all of that. He will meet you wherever you are and as you experience his love you will begin to see the story differently and look up and find yourself on the road to the life that you have been looking for your whole life too. Our story is a story of rescue, but have you truly experienced God’s heart for you? Let me pray for us and then let’s take communion together.
