Following Jesus By Focusing on the Kingdom

‌An Important Question

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

​Matthew 16:13–20 CSB

The question about Jesus’ identity, as seen by the disciples, was an important one. By this time, there were many opinions about who Jesus might be. Jesus had taught many times and performed many miracles by this time. His fame was growing greatly.

Verse 15 is the important verse in this section, though: “But you, who do you say that I am?” While there are many opinions about Jesus even today, the one that impacts our lives is who we see Jesus as.

Do you see Jesus as a good man… a wise teacher… a miracle worker… or do you see Him as He truly is: the one and only Son of God, the Savior of the world?

The answer to that question determines everything both in this life and the next. Seeing and trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord is the only thing that can bring forgiveness for our sins and a new life with God for all eternity.

In verse 17, Jesus shows that this truth comes to a person not because of great learning or education but by the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. When you see Jesus as He truly is, you can be sure the Holy Spirit has revealed that to you and is inviting you to come and place your faith in Him.

This is where following Jesus starts. As the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our hearts to the reality of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, He invites us to come and follow Him. It is a following that lasts for all eternity.

‌The Road Ahead

Some have called this life of following Christ a journey. I think that’s a good picture. It is a path that we walk with Him experiencing the new life He has for us. But the journey isn’t always easy.

In Matthew 16:21-23, Jesus begins to share plainly about what the road ahead looked like for Him.

²¹ From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!” ²³ Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

​Matthew 16:21–23 CSB

As Jesus began talking about His impending betrayal and death, it brought about a reaction from Peter that seemed bold. As Jesus tells about how He will be betrayed, killed, and resurrected, Peter pulls Jesus aside and rebukes Him.

This course did not fit into what Peter thought should be. He had been raised hearing about how the Messiah would come and bring deliverance to God’s people. He wasn’t supposed to die, much less be murdered.

How many times do we do this though? We have a way that we think things should go only to find out the Lord has something completely different in mind. We get frustrated in those moments. We even get bold enough to say that the Lord wouldn’t do that. How quickly we can forget that the Lord is a sovereign God who can do whatever He pleases, however He pleases.

Jesus warns Peter sharply. He says that Peter is not listening to the Lord but to Satan. Satan’s plans are not too hard to figure out. They always aim to keep the Lord’s plan from happening.

In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus also shares about the road ahead for anyone who would be His follower.

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. ²⁶ For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?

​Matthew 16:24–26 CSB

Being a follower of Jesus is simple, but it is not easy. It is simple because all a person has to do is deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. It’s not easy because denying one’s self means that you no longer call the shots. Taking up a cross means that you will experience suffering in this life for your decision to follow Christ. Following Him means that you don’t get to choose the route or destination any longer. These are things we do not like to give up so easily.

‌The Focal Point

Jesus understood that the journey of following Him was not for the faint-hearted. There would be trials and tribulations for every person who chooses to follow Jesus in this life because of the sin that has cursed this world. As I’ve said before, Jesus did not want to have any “fine print” in the agreement. He wanted each person to know exactly what they would sign up for, but He didn’t just share the hardships that would come. He also shared the focus that would help anyone see the journey is worth it.

²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

​Matthew 16:27–28 CSB

Jesus told those who were following Him about the coming Kingdom that He was setting up. What is interesting is that in Matthew 17, Jesus allows Peter, James, and John to see Him transfigured into a glorified state — what He would be like after the resurrection.

Jesus walked this earth as a man and knew the hardships that this life can throw at a person, but He also knew the end of the story. He knew that the Kingdom He was building would be worth any momentary trial a person might face here.

In His Kingdom, each person who follows Jesus experiences the reward of freedom from sin, freedom from shame, and an intimate relationship with the living God of the universe. What is better is that nothing can ever take that away.

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

​Romans 8:38–39 CSB

‌Final Thoughts

With the Summer Olympics coming up this summer, I’m always intrigued by the track and field events, especially the hurdles. These athletes run at lightning speed jumping over obstacles that are set before them. Any good trainer will tell you that to win in this event, you have to focus not on the obstacles or what’s around you but the finish line.

A life of following Jesus is much like the hurdles in track. You are on a path and there are many obstacles in the way. Some of those obstacles look too big to conquer in the moment. Some of us may have more obstacles than others. But one thing is the same: the finish line. Standing there at the finish line is the One who made the path and welcomes you into His glory.

When you focus on the Kingdom that He has called you to be part of, it is easier to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

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Follow Jesus By Valuing What's Most Important

What do you find yourself taking the most pride in? Form some, it may be their families. For others, it is their accomplishments (work/hobbies). I remember when I was in 4th grade or so, our school gathered a bunch of items that we thought were so important and put them into a time capsule. This time capsule was buried in front of the school, and the plan was to dig it up in 50 years to show a new generation what we thought was so important.

Some of us have boxes in the attic or basement of our houses that hold things from our past that we value greatly. If we were to take them out, the first glance at some of those things would bring back sweet memories from our pasts.

‌Precious Philippi

The New Testament letter we call Philippians is a letter written to the church at Philippi by the apostle Paul while he was in prison (most likely in Rome around A.D. 62).

The Philippian church was very special to the apostle Paul. It was the first Christian church Paul planted in Europe. Throughout this letter, Paul uses language that shows how dear this church was to his heart.

Paul wrote to this church to encourage them in the faith as they faced pressure from the culture around them. The Church at Philippi found itself in the midst of a thriving city that experienced many freedoms and luxuries. Sadly, many things in Philippi also sought to move people’s hearts from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

‌Paul’s Warning

¹ In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you. ² Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh.

​Philippians 3:1–2 CSB

A group of people known as Judaizers had come into Philippi with false teachings that were leading some away from the truth of the gospel. These Judaizers had impressive credentials among the Jewish people, and because of this, some were listening to what they were saying.

We can see this type of thing happen in our lives today. We see someone who has a bunch of titles or letters before or after their name, and we think, “They must know what they are talking about.” The truth is just because a person has a lot of degrees or titles doesn’t mean they are worth listening to. What is most important is the message that is being shared and if it is truth.

‌Paul’s Accolades

⁴ although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

​Philippians 3:4–6 CSB

Paul does not discount there are things of which we could be proud. In verses 4-6, Paul shares things in his own life that many had looked to him as being something worth taking great pride in.

• Circumcised on the 8th day — This was a quality of true Jewish males. Those who converted to Judaism would go through this as adults. This was a strict observance of what the Law of Moses commanded God’s people to do.

• Of the nation of Israel — This phrase was to show that Paul was not one converted from another religion, but that he was Jewish from birth. He was a true descendant of Jacob who would have his name changed to Israel by God.

• Of the tribe of Benjamin — This was to show that Paul was from the prestigious tribe of Israel. It was this tribe that gave Israel its first king. Benjamin was the only son of Israel that was born in the Promised Land.

• A Hebrew born of Hebrews — This was to show that both of Paul’s parents were Hebrew people. This is also a reference to those who held on to speaking the Hebrew language even when they were scattered among other nations and languages.

• Regarding the Law, a Pharisee — one who devoted their whole life to the study of God’s Law and keeping it to the smallest detail.

• Regarding zeal, persecuting the church — Paul shares that in his old way of life, he had made eradicating the followers of Jesus his life mission.
  
• Regarding the righteousness in the Law, blameless — Paul pointed out that if anyone were to put him to the test outwardly, he would pass with flying colors. He had never been accused of breaking any law.

Paul had many accolades in his life up to this point. Many in the Jewish world thought at one time Paul was the epitome of being a good Jew. As he lists his “qualifications,” he doesn’t see them all as bad. He took great pride in being an Israelite. He was thankful for the study of God’s Law that he had the opportunity to do.

We may have certain things in our lives that people look at as blessings. It may be the family you were born into, the degrees you have earned from countless hours of studying, or recognition from a job well done at work, school, or in the community. These are not bad things. They are just not the most important thing.

‌A Changed Goal

What we see in verse 7 is Paul had at one time considered all these things “a gain” to him. There was a time when they were the main thing in his life, but something happened.

⁷ But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. ¹⁰ My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, ¹¹ assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.

​Philippians 3:7–11 CSB

While Paul had spent much of his adult life persecuting the Church, he met Jesus on the Damascus Road and was forever changed. At that moment, he realized that much of what he treasured (while it was not necessarily bad) was insufficient to bring about the peace, hope, and joy he so desperately desired.

How many of us find ourselves running from one accomplishment to the next looking for fulfillment? We think that maybe one more title… one more degree… one more promotion… one more of whatever will make us feel like we are valuable and worth something. That path is never-ending and can never be completely satisfied.

Like Paul, what we need is an encounter with the One who created us for His glory. We need an encounter with the One who gave His life to redeem us from our sin. When we come to the place where we meet Jesus, we realize that all of the accolades this world can offer can be considered rubbish in comparison to knowing Jesus and experiencing what He can do in a person’s life.

Are we looking to outward things to make us closer to God? Are we looking to our good works? Are we looking to who we are or what we can accomplish? If so, then we are going to be let down every time. It is only through Jesus Christ will we find what we are truly looking for.

‌Final Thoughts

Paul had found this great truth (only through Jesus Christ will we find what we are looking for), and he wanted to share it with all who would listen to him. In these verses, you can almost hear him pleading, “Don’t depend on what you can do… don’t worry so much with the accolades… don’t lean so much on your family name, reputation, or accomplishments. Know Jesus, and in Him, you will find what you’re looking for.”

Paul ended this section by stating the goal of his life had become to know Jesus — the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. He realized the truth of Psalm 34:8.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

‌Psalm 34:8 CSB

That may just be the message you need to hear today. You have been bouncing among so many things — relationship to relationship, job to job, achievement to achievement — and you still feel lacking. Could it be that you have been missing the single thing you need most — Jesus?

These other things may be gifts or tools the Lord has blessed you with but don’t settle for the blessing. Look to the One who gives you those blessings. He will show you how each of them are to play in your life. He will also show you that He is the One you need to value above all else.

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Four Significant Costs of Following Jesus

As we look around at various things in our lives, we can easily be reminded of the old saying, “Nothing in this life is free.” We look around and begin to realize that just about everything has a cost. With inflation at times, we see those costs go up more than we would like.

Many have talked about the gracious gift of salvation the Lord offers to all who come to Him by faith as being free, but I’m not sure that is entirely true. While we can never do enough or earn that gift, the gift of salvation cost Jesus greatly — He left heaven to come and dwell among us; He was mocked and ridiculed by many while on earth; He paid for our forgiveness not with money but with His own life.

Some have also said that following Jesus doesn’t cost anything. While it is true that there are no monetary fees to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, there are still some costs. Some would say that we shouldn’t say things like that because it would cause some to not want to follow Jesus. My thoughts on this topic are: Why don’t we just see what Jesus Himself had to say about it?

In Luke 14, Jesus explains plainly that in order to be a follower of His, there are four significant costs that need to be considered. Let’s look at those at this time.

‌The Cost of Priority

²⁵ Now great crowds were traveling with him. So he turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

​Luke 14:25–26 CSB

Luke records that “great crowds” were following Jesus as He would go from place to place. These were people who had seen Jesus do miracles or heard Him teach the truths of God’s Word. They were interested in what was going on, but not all of them were true followers at this time. There is a difference between being “in the crowd” and being part of what is going on.

Jesus takes this moment to explain the difference between a fan and a follower. A fan is one who will hop on the bandwagon and enjoy the ride while things are good. A true follower is one who receives what is being shared and allows it to direct them. Jack Nicholson could be called a follower of the Los Angeles Lakers. He has had court-side season tickets to all their home games since 1970.

Jesus didn’t mind the crowds of people containing those who were at different commitment levels, but He knew that if they did not fully receive and follow Him, they would miss out on what He wanted to give them.

Jesus shares with the crowd the cost of priority with His words in verse 26. This statement has caused some to get a little squeamish because it just doesn’t quite sound right. Are we really supposed to “hate” someone? This is an example of how we may come across something in the Bible that seems to contradict itself. If we look at the whole teaching of the Bible, we realize that those who are followers of Jesus are not called to hate in the sense that many of us think about hate.

The term Jesus uses here is a term of comparison. It is metaphorical in nature and relates to our priorities. Jesus is not saying that we should hate our families or even ourselves; He is saying that when a person compares our love for Jesus to anything else, it would seem like hatred.

Jesus says that in order to be a follower of His, a person must make Him their first priority. Jesus is not one to be put on the shelf of our hearts alongside others. He will not share His throne with anyone or anything. When we do give Jesus first place over everything and everyone else in our lives, we come to find out that He enables us to love them as we could not without Him having priority in our lives.

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

​Matthew 6:33 CSB

As we look at our lives, would others realize that we love Jesus above everything else?

‌The Cost of Suffering

²⁷ Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

​Luke 14:27 CSB

While the cross is a cherished symbol today by many, it was anything but cherished during the time Jesus spoke these words. Remember, when Jesus said this, He had not yet gone to the cross. Still, the people who heard Jesus say this knew exactly what He meant. The cross was used as an extremely brutal form of execution. The Romans would use crucifixion like billboards are used today. They would execute criminals against the Roman Empire along roads to show all travelers that you don’t mess with Rome.‌

When Jesus said that anyone who wanted to be His follower would have to “bear his own cross,” it was a sobering statement. To bear one’s cross would be burdensome and disgraceful at times. You would not be getting popularity points by bearing a cross. At times, it would be extremely painful. It would drain your strength from you.

Alongside that, it would be shameful. Many times, the Romans would make those sentenced to crucifixion carry their cross through town to the place where they would be executed. We see Jesus going through this in John 19.

Not every follower of Jesus will have to carry a literal cross, but there will be some type of cross they will have to carry. It will not be easy. It will be painful at times. It will cause others to look at you with disgust at times because they don’t understand.

Jesus didn’t want anyone to be taken by surprise here. He wanted them to know about this cost.

‌The Cost of Consideration

²⁸ “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ ³¹ “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

​Luke 14:28–32 CSB

Jesus uses two examples to share this cost of consideration. First, He shares about a person building a tower but not taking the time to make sure they had what was needed to finish it. A tower was a tool of defense. It would be built high up along a border to see trouble coming and act. Towers are good things, but a tower that is half-built is no good to anyone.

The second example Jesus shares is about a king going to war making sure the troops he has is sufficient. Think about what would happen if you showed up in battle only to be outnumbered 3-to-1. The morale of your troops would plummet. You would probably end up losing many people if not your own life. All of it could be avoided if you simply took the time to consider what you were doing.

Jesus calls each person who desires to be His follower to consider the cost. He doesn’t want there to be any fine print where things are often hidden and then brought up against you later. He lays the entire deal on the table for full consideration. The Lord created each of us with a brain and desires us to use it. When people do not understand that following Jesus will not be popular at times, they tend to stray away when those times come. Jesus encourages everyone to take the time to consider what following Him really means.

‌The Cost of Ownership

³³ In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

​Luke 14:33 CSB

When Jesus says that His followers must renounce their possessions, He is not talking about giving away everything. Yes, Jesus will tell the rich young ruler that he needed to in Luke 18, but that young man’s possessions were his god that was keeping his heart from the Lord. What Jesus talks about here in Luke 14 is yielding ownership of every aspect of one’s life to Jesus. There is a recognition that everything we have comes from His hand and ultimately belongs to Him. We no longer see our possessions as “our property” to do whatever we wish. They are things and people the Lord has entrusted to us to handle as He desires. Do we hold on to these things as if we own them, or do we recognize they have been entrusted to us by the Lord?

‌Conclusion

For a person to follow Jesus, it is much more than saying a prayer one time. It may start with a prayer, but it also calls for us to do what Jesus said in Luke 9:23.

²³ Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

​Luke 9:23 CSB

While there is no way to earn or pay for a relationship with the Lord, there is a cost. This is no different from any other relationship in our lives. When a husband or wife commits to their spouse, the cost is forsaking all others to commit to their spouse. When parents are blessed with a child, the cost will be some free time and only looking out for your own interests.

While the cost to follow Jesus deals with priorities, suffering, consideration, and ownership, we come to realize that Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30 are true.

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

​Matthew 11:28–30 CSB

I would encourage you to listen to the words of Jesus today. Take time to count the cost of following Him. As you do, you will quickly realize the cost of following Jesus is minute compared to what He does for us.

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The Caring, Eternal King

During the Advent season, the church is called to remember some key gifts that God has given to us through the coming of the Messiah. They are hope, peace, joy, and love. Each Advent season, there is a focus on these wonderful gifts. These are some of the most basic necessities of our souls.

As we look around our world, we see the need for these gifts. It seems every direction we turn there is more and more fighting, division, and depression than the day before. The sin that plagues our world brings these things that make our hearts long for hope, peace, joy, and love.

Sadly, many people look to different things to bring these. Some look to substances and find a temporary relief that crashes into a worse situation. Others look to relationships, which are good things in our lives until we expect those people who are just as broken as we are to fulfill us and make us whole. We end up frustrated and pushing away when others do not meet all of our expectations.

What we come to find out is that our hearts are seeking someone or something to make us whole… to fulfill us… to give us meaning and purpose. The problem we run into too many times is that we don’t realize what that someone or something must be in order to do what we need. They need to have the ability to be present when needed. They need to have the power and authority to be able to do what we need to do. They need to have unconditional care for us and will seek our best at all times.

When you look at that list of qualifications for the One who can bring hope, peace, joy, and love to our lives, you begin to realize the qualified list is very small. In fact, there is only one name on that list: Jesus.

‌Pentecost

When we look at the Bible, we find accounts of people who lived many years ago, but their needs are not so different from our own. Take Acts 2 for example. In this chapter, we read about the beginnings of the New Testament church. The events of this chapter take place about 50 days after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Pentecost comes from the Greek word meaning ‘fiftieth’.) Pentecost was, first, a Jewish festival called the Festival of Weeks/Harvest. You can read about it in Numbers 28:26-31. This festival was to celebrate God’s providence by bringing gifts from the first harvest of the year to Him.

During the Pentecost festival recorded in Acts 2, God provides a new gift: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within each believer. This gift brings about what we know as the New Testament church. There were different opinions about what was going on that day. Some people were amazed at what God was doing through His people (2:7-11). Some people were confused (2:12). Others thought Jesus’ followers had just gotten drunk (2:13).

Because of the confusion that was taking place at Pentecost, Peter stepped up and delivered a sermon that changed history forever. In this sermon, Peter is quick to show there is no drunkenness happening, but God was doing a great work and fulfilling what was prophesied through Joel in the Old Testament.

In this sermon, Peter points to King David from the Old Testament to help explain what is going on. King David is the poster child of the Jewish religion. He was known as a man after God’s own heart. By mentioning King David, Peter was relating to the Jewish people who had gathered for this festival.

While David had been a great king, the fact that he was not ruling anymore was evident. The Jewish people, at the time of Acts 2, were living under the reign of the Roman Empire. They were desperately awaiting the Messiah to come and restore the kingdom as they thought it should be. As the old Christmas hymn talks about weary souls rejoicing, these people were weary souls indeed, but there was little rejoicing going on.

Peter takes a strange turn with King David in Acts 2:29-31…

“Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.

Acts 2:29–31 CSB

While King David may have been a great king who oversaw the glory days of the Jewish Empire, he was dead. Those days were gone. It is interesting how similar people are. Sometimes we can hold on to things of the past that we thought were so great. We can long for the glory days of old. When we do that, typically two things happen:‌

• We don’t give a clear picture of what the “glory days of old” were.
• We miss out on what is happening right before us.

‌Peter recalls a promise

In Peter’s mention of King David, he recalls a promise God made to King David in verse 30. God had promised David that He would establish the throne forever with one of David’s descendants ruling over God’s people. We can see this in 2 Samuel 7:11-16 and Psalm 132:11. While many people thought God was referring to a lineage that would always sit on a throne ruling, God had a different idea in mind. This promise was not about a lineage but a Person. This promise was a prophecy about how the Messiah would come through David’s line.

Peter explains how this all comes about in verses 32-36.

32 “God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

​Acts 2:32-36 CSB

Peter wastes no time in showing that Jesus, whom many of the people had seen crucified, had risen from the dead and sits as Ruler over all creation, especially those who place their faith in the one true God. It is Jesus who is the promised Messiah. It is through Jesus that the hope, peace, joy, and love we all so desperately need comes.

As you look at the remainder of Acts 2, you see God use Peter’s sermon to draw people a point of asking what they needed to do. When God speaks to us, it is an invitation to join Him in something. He may be calling us to a decision that changes the direction of our lives. He may be calling us to share with someone His good news. To hear God speak through someone is not something given to us to just share on social media. It is a call to repentance, faith, following, and knowing God more.

What does this mean for us?

As we look at what God did on that Pentecost in the first century and how He worked through Peter, what can we take away from this for our lives today?

‌1. God keeps His word

We’ve been seeing this message pop up all during this Advent series. God’s word is true. If God has promised or said something, you can count on it coming true at the perfect time. God has perfect integrity.

2. God is able

We may hear this phrase and be quick to shout, “Amen!”, but do we really understand what that means? When we say, “God is able,” we are saying that He has the full ability to work all things together in order to accomplish His purposes. There is nothing that He cannot do. Even when everything around us is going crazy and we don’t see how it can possibly get any better, He has everything under control.

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

​Romans 8:28 CSB

‌3. Jesus is the caring, Eternal King

This is the main point Peter shared in Acts 2 with his audience, but it is just as relevant to our lives today. Jesus is the Eternal King. This means that Jesus has all power and authority in the palm of His hands.

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

​Matthew 28:18 CSB

Jesus being the Eternal King also means that He is able to be present with us at all times. Do we understand that Jesus is not bound by time and space? He is omnipresent – in all places at all times. This means that while we worship here this morning, He is here. When we go to work or school tomorrow, He is there. When we go to our homes in the evenings, He is there. When we are hanging out with friends or doing our favorite hobby, He is there. When you are going through that difficult time, He is there. When it feels like no one around you sees you, He is there.

Jesus is present, but more than that, He cares about us. He not only sees us where we are, He loves us enough to come to us and help us get where we need to be. How do I know that? I know that is true because we are celebrating this season called Christmas right now. Jesus saw our need and came to us who were hopeless, miserable, and feeling abandoned to bring the gifts we talked about earlier: hope, peace, joy, and love.

‌Conclusion

At the beginning of our time, I said that far too many people look to things and/or people for the wonderful gifts of Advent. They look for hope, peace, joy, and love in places that cannot bring those. I mentioned that there was only One who could meet all the qualifications to bring these wonderful gifts into our lives. Hopefully, through Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, we can see that the Jesus, whose first coming we celebrate during this season, is the only One who can bring us hope, peace, joy, and love. These are gifts He longs to give to us if we will receive them. We do that by coming to Him in faith and following Him.

Where are you looking for hope, peace, joy, and love to come from today? I would encourage you to turn your heart towards Jesus. It is only through Him you will find these wonderful gifts.

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The Promise Keeper

As we celebrate this season, we must remember what this season is about. Christmas is about the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It is most definitely a time to celebrate. If Jesus had never come, we would truly have no hope, and there would be no peace available to anyone.

The Bible has four gospels at the beginning of the New Testament which tell about the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Two of those gospels actually share about the birth of Jesus: Matthew and Luke.

When you look at Matthew’s gospel — which is at the beginning of the New Testament — you find something interesting. Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus Christ through his earthly father, Joseph.

Why is this genealogy of Jesus important? That is one thing that I want to look at today. It is so much more than just a list of names. This genealogy is actually proof that God is one who always keeps His promises.

If you look at the genealogy in Matthew 1, you see that it goes from Jesus’ earthly father (Joseph) all the way back to Abraham. There are four important parts of this genealogy which are each separated by 14 generations:

• Joseph – Jesus’ earthly father
• The Babylonian Exile
• King David
• Abraham

It is almost like God had this all planned out from the beginning.

But why would this genealogy go back to Abraham? It is because Abraham would play an important role in God’s plan of redemption.

‌The Call of Abram

In Genesis 12:1-3, we see God calling a guy named Abram to leave everything he had ever known and follow this God who was calling him.

¹ The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Genesis 12:1–3 CSB

With this call, God promised that He would make Abram (who would later have his name changed to Abraham) great and would bless the entire world through him. That is a pretty big promise.

The Power of a Promise

Promises can be tricky things in our lives. I’m sure that we have all had someone make a promise to us. Some of those who have made promises to us have made good on them. Others have broken their promises, which leads to distrust and hurt that can last with us for some time.

In the movie, Hook, Robin Williams plays a grown-up Peter Pan who has forgotten who he was and becomes a workaholic. Peter had broken many promises to his son, Jack, in the movie. When Peter’s children are kidnapped by Captain Hook and taken to Neverland, Jack doesn’t have much of a problem at first with Captain Hook becoming his dad because his real dad had broken so many promises.

How do we know that God is One who will keep His promises when there are so many around us who fail to do so?

To answer that question, we must look back to the promise that God made to Abraham. In Genesis 12, God says that if Abraham will follow and trust God, then God will make his life a blessing to the entire world.

Through Abraham’s lifetime, God gave more information about how this promise would be fulfilled.

‌The Promised Son

In Genesis 18 and 21, God promises that Abraham and his wife, Sarah, will have a son. It would be this son, Isaac, that the promise would come through.

In this step of the process, we learn a little more about how the God of the Bible is the God of the impossible. In Genesis 21, Abraham is 100 years old, and Sarah is 90 years old. Talk about impossible!

‌The Promised Sacrifice

When we come to Genesis 22, we find a very strange passage. God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to the Lord on a mountain God would show him. I thought it was through Isaac that the promised deliverer would come. The Messiah cannot come if Isaac is no longer living.

What we see from Abraham is a true measure of faith.

⁹ When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

Genesis 22:9–10 CSB

This scene should make any person scratch their head. God is not one who is pleased with child sacrifice. Why would God be telling Abraham to do such a thing? Why in the world would Abraham go through with this?

We see a glimpse of Abraham’s faith in God in the New Testament letter of Hebrews.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son,¹⁸ the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. ¹⁹ He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.

Hebrews 11:17–19 CSB

Abraham knew enough about God that this was out of the norm. Abraham knew that he would be walking off that mountain with Isaac alive. He wasn’t sure how it was going to happen, but Abraham knew it would happen.

This brings us to a point we need to pause and think about. Are we willing to take God at His word, or do we need to know all the details before we are obedient? Faith is seen when we trust in the Lord without all the answers. Abraham trusted in the Lord and we see God answering in a mighty way.

¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.” ¹² Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” ¹³ Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”

Genesis 22:11–14 CSB

The Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and provided the needed sacrifice for the moment. It just so happened that in that exact moment and place, there was a ram caught in the thicket.

It is through this part of the story that God gives us an additional piece of the puzzle. God will provide the needed sacrifice at the right time.

This shows us that the promised Messiah would be one that would be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This moment on the mountaintop with Abraham was pointing ahead to Calvary where Jesus would lay down His life as a sacrifice for you and me.

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 CSB

Conclusion

The genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel is so much more than a list of names. It is a reminder that God keeps His word.

The promise made to Abraham to bless the entire world through him would come at the finished work of Jesus Christ. Abraham may not have seen it with his own eyes here on earth, but he trusted that the Lord would keep His word.

We celebrate this season because God kept His word then, and He continues to keep it today.

¹¹ For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, ¹² since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. ¹³ For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:11–13 CSB

Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? He has promised that any person who does so will not be put to shame but experience the salvation the Lord offers. That promise is the greatest gift that one could receive this season.

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God Promises A Savior

There is something special about this time of the year. There is a different feel in the air that is not just the colder temperatures. You can see the lights and decorations. One thing about this time of year is that it brings out a playlist of songs that are just special.

The classic Christmas carol, O Holy Night, has the memorable line: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.” While those eight words seem so simple, they are so profound.

We live in a weary world. It seems everywhere we turn there are things going on that causes our hearts to ache and even make our souls yearn for hope.

During this season, we want to look at a series of messages we are calling The Thrill of Hope. As we move towards the celebration of Jesus’ first coming, we want to see through these messages how in Christ, all of the promises of God have come true.

In the New Testament, the word translated as “hope” is a Greek word that means “an expectation of hope,” and it appears about 87 times in the New Testament.

‌The Gospel is a message of hope

The message of the Gospel is one of expected hope, which comes through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We find the Gospel all throughout the New Testament, but the fullness of the Gospel starts back in the Garden of Eden.

The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” In order to see how the gospel is good news, we must first hear some bad news.

‌The Beginning

As the Bible opens up in Genesis 1 and 2, we see the story of Creation. In these two chapters, we see God creating everything in a matter of six days. Genesis 1 gives an overview of the Creation story, and Genesis 2 shares a little more detail about what the first humans did in their beginning days. It is a beautiful picture of all being right.

‌The Fall into Sin

In Genesis 3, we see a turn in the story of humanity.‌

¹ Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” ⁴ “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:1–7 CSB

Satan comes to Adam and Eve in the form of a serpent and tempts them to disobey God’s commands. Satan is very cunning. He sells this false truth that Adam and Eve could be like God and that God was actually holding out on them.

Satan still uses the same tactics today. He whispers to our minds untruths intended to get us to doubt God. He will try to twist God’s words and cause us to take a different path than what God intends for us. This is why it is important to study God’s Word for yourself and have an intimate and personal relationship with God.

Adam and Eve decide to listen to Satan rather than God and find out that what God had said is completely true. While they did not physically drop dead at that moment, a death did take place — spiritual death which would lead to physical death as well.

‌God brings judgment

In Genesis 3:8-24, we see the consequences of Adam and Eve’s decision. Some have viewed God’s actions and words here as harsh and even unkind, but the truth is that God had to do this. If God did not punish sin, then He would not be loving.

¹⁵ Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

James 1:15 CSB

The only thing sin can bring about in a person’s life is death. Some sins may feel good in the moment, but each sin sets a person on the path to destruction and separation from God.

We see this played out in Genesis 3 as God comes to fellowship with Adam and Eve, they are hiding. The once cherished time of walking and communicating with God is now replaced with shame, guilt, and fear.

While we may read this and shake our heads, we need to realize that this sin that Adam and Eve are plagued with has been passed down to every human being since.

²³ For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Romans 3:23 CSB

We are not so different from Adam and Eve. There are points in each of our lives where we have disobeyed God’s commands and gone our own way. Just as God pronounced judgment on Adam and Eve, so God pronounces judgment on all who sin.

We sometimes wonder how our world has gotten into the shape that it is in. The reason is that sin has entered into our world through us. It plagues everything it touches.

‌The First Glimpse of Hope

‌What is interesting to me is that in the midst of God pronouncing judgment on Adam and Eve’s sin, He doesn’t stop there. In the midst of judgment, God offers a glimpse of hope.

As God lays out judgment upon the serpent (Satan), He shares these words…

¹⁵ I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

​Genesis 3:15 CSB

In the midst of judgment, God offers hope to the hopeless. Adam and Eve (just like us) were helpless to do anything about their own situation. They had sinned against God and could not restore what was lost, but God is One who can do the impossible.

In Genesis 3:15, God promises a deliverer that would fix the problem that sin has brought about. This deliverer would come through the life of a person who came to be known as the Messiah. This Messiah would come from a woman (be born and live) and would pay the price for sins. Any person who would place their faith in this Messiah and follow Him would be forgiven of their sins and gain a restored relationship with God for all eternity — like Adam and Eve had before they fell to sin.

‌The Anticipation of the Messiah

‌Since the day God spoke the words of Genesis 3:15, the world has been looking for that Messiah. You can see throughout the rest of the Old Testament how the Jewish people longed for this Messiah to come and bring deliverance.

We are not so different from those in the Old Testament. Think about this: how many books/movies have been made that basically have the plot of a Chosen One coming and bringing deliverance?

• Star Wars

• Harry Potter

• Kung Fu Panda

• Lord of the Rings

There is something within all human beings that craves a deliverer to come and rescue us from the mess we find ourselves in. While there have been many who have written books and made movies about it, each one fails to live up to the reality of what God has put in place.

God promised that He would send a Messiah, and that is why we are celebrating this season today. If you fast-forward from the Garden of Eden to the New Testament, we find that our wait for the Messiah has come to an end.

We read in the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel, that a young virgin girl who was about to get married was miraculously pregnant with the promised Messiah. God did not want this to be misunderstood, so He sent this message to Joseph:

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 CSB

When Jesus came into this world, the promised Messiah that God said would come in Genesis 3 had arrived. He was not the creation of some producer or storyteller. He was “God with us.”

‌Conclusion‌

The God of the Bible is a faithful and true God. When He says something will happen, you can count on it. It may not happen in the exact time frame that you want, but it will come about just as He said it would.

Even when God had to pronounce judgment on sin, He provided hope that no one else could or even would. God didn’t have to provide the wonderful gift of forgiveness and restoration to us. We walked away from Him. I am so thankful that He chose out of His gracious love to reach out to those of us who were hopeless and give us hope.

This hope is a precious gift that comes to us through Jesus Christ. It is graciously offered to all, but it only truly belongs to those who receive it. We do that by confessing and turning from our sin and trusting in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf. I would encourage you to receive that gift if you never have. It is the greatest gift ever given — the only gift that truly brings the thrill of hope to our lives.

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Stand Firm

We are back in our series through the New Testament letter of Galatians. This is a letter that the apostle Paul wrote to a group of churches in an area known as Galatia, which is in modern-day Turkey. These were churches that were started during Paul’s first missionary journey.

These churches had started off well until a group of false teachers came through teaching that the Galatians needed something more than just trusting in Jesus Christ to be right with God.

Today, I want to look at a passage of Scripture that is found in Galatians 5:1-15.

‌Diversity

‌Diversity seems to be a hot topic in our culture today. People like to talk about diversity in a number of situations where it is good. One of the most popular areas where diversity is talked about today pertains to the issue of race. It doesn’t take long to see that the human race carries a great deal of diversity. This is part of God’s plan. God displays His artistic ability through the diversity of ethnicities in our world. No one is greater than any other. We can even see that God welcomes the diversity of ethnicities into His presence in Revelation 7:9-10

⁹ After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Revelation 7:9–10 (CSB)

‌

Another area of our lives where diversity is celebrated concerns investments. People are told that the best plan of action with investments is to have a diverse portfolio. This means that you spread out your investments across different areas to reduce risk and bring about a higher return.

Sadly, one area in which too many try to practice diversity is the area of faith. We are told that we should use the same practices with our faith that we do with our finances, and we should spread it out among different things to help ensure we don’t miss out. While that may work well for finances, it does not work well for our faith. In fact, Jesus told us this is an impossible task.

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

‌​Matthew 6:24 (CSB)

The false teachers that had come into Galatia had tried to get the Galatians to diversify their faith portfolio. Paul writes to show them this action will only lead to failure and spiritual bankruptcy.

¹ For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery. ² Take note! I, Paul, am telling you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. ³ Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to do the entire law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For we eagerly await through the Spirit, by faith, the hope of righteousness. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love. ⁷ You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth? ⁸ This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰ I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. ¹¹ Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹² I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated! ¹³ For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. ¹⁴ For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

Galatians 5:1–15 (CSB)

‌Christ has set us free‌

At the beginning of verse 1 here, Paul shows that Jesus Christ has come to set us free. His finished work upon the cross has released any person who puts their faith in Him from sin’s grip and the destruction it brings.

Paul states that Jesus has set us free to experience the freedom God intended when He first created us. God doesn’t want us to live in the bonds of slavery to our sin. He wants us to be free to live for His glory and enjoy Him forever.

Stand firm and don’t go back

‌In the second part of verse 1, Paul issues a command to his readers:

¹ For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1 (CSB)

The phrase “stand firm” carries the meaning of standing one’s ground continuously. It isn’t just for a moment or when certain people are watching. It talks about a new way of life.

When Paul says “don’t submit,” he uses this term which means “to be under the control of something else.” Submission is seen as a weak or evil thing in our world today. What determines whether or not the submission is wrong is what we are submitting to.

Sadly, there are many who have tasted the freedom that only Jesus can bring to their lives and chose to return to a life of bondage to the very sin Jesus delivered them from. This is why Paul commands the Galatians not to return to the old ways that did nothing for them, but instead, live in the freedom that only Jesus brought to them.

In verses 2-3, Paul writes about circumcision. This was the main sign of the old covenant found in the Old Testament. It started with Abraham and carried through for generations. This was a sign that one was going to follow the laws of God given through Moses. For a person to be circumcised stated that they were seeking justification with God by another means than through the finished work of Jesus. This is why Paul states in verse 2 that if a person was circumcised (trying to keep the commands to earn God’s favor), then Jesus Christ is of no benefit whatsoever to them.

‌Fallen from grace

‌In verse 4, Paul uses a phrase that has caused some confusion through the ages. He states that if a person chooses to try and earn God’s favor by what they can do, then they have fallen from grace.

Some have wrongly taken this to mean that a person can lose their salvation. Paul is not saying that. In many other places like John 10:28-29, Ephesians 1:13-14, and Hebrews 6:13-20 to name a few the Bible states that a person who is truly saved can never lose their salvation.

What is Paul talking about in verse 4 then? He is stating that a person who chooses to live according to a doctrine that they have to do enough to earn God’s favor is not living by the doctrine of faith which the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that a Christian is one who sees their inability to pay for their sins and trusts in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for their salvation.

⁸ For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— ⁹ not from works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (CSB)

‌Distractions along the way

‌In verses 7-9, Paul warns about a reality that each of us faces in different ways at different times. Paul warns about distractions that come along and tries to get us off-track.

The distraction for the first-century Galatians was mainly these false teachers and what they were selling. While what they said seemed to be a help to them, it was truly a distraction to move them away from the truth of the gospel.

We must be alert to the distractions that seek to get us off-track in our walk with Jesus.

¹ Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, ² keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

​Hebrews 12:1–2 (CSB)

It doesn’t take much to get us distracted. Too often, many of us are like the dog in the Disney movie, “Up!” We go along seeming to be fine, and all of a sudden… “Squirrel!” Before we know it, we are chasing something that we have no business chasing.

⁹ A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough.

Galatians 5:9 (CSB)

Paul shares that it doesn’t take much to get us off-track of where we should be. If you have done any cooking with leaven, you know that it doesn’t take much to affect the whole batch.

There are times when we may be tempted to think, “I’ve got this… this is no big deal…” When, in fact, the distractions or sin that so easily ensnares us is a big deal. One of Satan’s greatest weapons against Christians today is the idea that our “distractions” are not a big deal.

Our liberty is not a license

‌One final word that Paul points out in this passage is for believers not to use the freedom they have in Jesus Christ as a license to sin.

We love liberty. Our country just celebrated the liberties that we enjoy so much this past week. Liberty is a beautiful thing as long as it is kept in its proper place.

In verses 13-15, Paul warns the Galatians (and us) not to abuse the liberty we have in Jesus, but to fully understand it.

While we do not have to earn a right standing before God on our own, we are not free to live as we please.

¹ What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? ² Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:1–2 (CSB)

¹⁵ What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, ¹⁸ and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.

​Romans 6:15–18 (CSB)

As much as we love freedom and independence, the truth is that we are dependent creatures. God created us to be dependent upon Him. There is a part of us that seeks a master to guide us. There is only One who is worthy of fulfilling that role, and His name is Jesus Christ. He alone has our best interest at heart. He alone knows what we need and can provide it for us.

When we choose to submit and follow anything other than Jesus in any area of our lives, it will always lead to destruction. Paul warned the Galatians in verse 15 that the biting and devouring of one another would lead to their being consumed by their sin.

When we allow anything other than Jesus to lead our lives, it leads us to trust in ourselves which leads to us seeing everyone and everything as an enemy. The church of Jesus Christ cannot afford to see one another as the enemy. We have one enemy — Satan. The people that we come in contact with are not our enemies. Where in-fighting is present, you can be sure that defeat is not far behind. Paul warns the church about this truth.

Conclusion

‌In our day when diversity is sought by so many, we should understand where it is really needed. In our financial investments? Sure. In our neighborhoods and communities? Yes. In the church? Of course — we see it around God’s throne, why shouldn’t we see it in our churches?

But when it comes to the place of faith, there is no room for diversity. There is only room for one on the throne of our hearts. Who we allow to take that place will determine the entire direction of our lives — both here and for eternity.

Jesus Christ has come to give us freedom. No one else can do that. Will you allow Him to have the sole place of our faith, or will you try to diversify it and miss out on everything?

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Living With Passion

Paul wrote Galatians to a group of churches in the area of Galatia to help them understand the freedom they have in Christ. There were false teachers who were coming into these churches telling them they needed something more than Jesus to be right with God. Paul shows clearly through this letter that all we need has been provided to us by the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

As you are finding Galatians 4, I want to talk a little about passion.

‌What is passion?

‌Passion is one of those words that we know when we see it, but it may be a little harder to give a clear definition for it. Back in the old days, when you wanted to know what a word meant, you would go to the dictionary. When you look to the dictionary to find the clear meaning of passion, you find they have a hard time summing it up as well. One of the best definitions that I came across was “an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction.”

Passion is the word that has often been used to define the sufferings that Jesus went through from the Last Supper with His disciples to His death on the cross. I can’t think of a better word to describe those events. It was Jesus’ passion for God’s plan of salvation that carried Him through everything He endured. He knew that as difficult as it was, the end result (the only path back to God) was completely worth it.

Passion is not a bad thing necessarily. Passion is a drive the Lord has placed within each human being which draws them to something.

In our world, we see people all around us living out of a passion for something or someone. It doesn’t take long to find out what a person is passionate about. It will come up in almost every conversation you have with them. If you were to see a copy of their bank statements, you would be able to see what they are passionate about. If you were to examine a person’s free time, you would quickly find out what they are passionate about.

Jesus said in the middle of His famous Sermon on the Mount:​ “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21 CSB).

What are you passionate about?

‌If someone were writing your biography, what would they write about is your passion in life? It could be a number of things:

• ‌Your family
• A hobby
• Your job
• Your reputation

As I ask that question, you may be thinking, “I really am not sure as to what I am passionate about.” You may enjoy a lot of things, but you have trouble nailing down one particular thing that you would say you are passionate about.

I would share with you something that I’ve learned over my short years: If you don’t choose a passion for yourself, someone will choose one for you.

The culture that we live in today is filled with people and things that want to grab your passion. Billions of dollars are spent every year trying to grab someone’s devotion to them or their products. We are the ones who ultimately determine what our passions will be. We will either actively choose something to be passionate about, or we will hand that power to someone else.

In Galatians 4, Paul writes to the churches in Galatia about this very thing. He writes about how these false teachers were coming in and trying to move the churches’ passion away from where it should be.

¹⁷ They court you eagerly, but not for good. They want to exclude you from me, so that you would pursue them. ¹⁸ But it is always good to be pursued in a good manner—and not just when I am with you. ¹⁹ My children, I am again suffering labor pains for you until Christ is formed in you. ²⁰ I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.

Galatians 4:17–20 (CSB)

As Paul writes these words, he speaks about passion. In verses 17-18, he uses the word “pursue.” This word carries the same meaning as passion. In the first century, this word meant “to have a deep concern for or devotion to someone or something.” Do you see how it is tied to the idea of passion?

Paul writes about these false teachers who were coming into their churches and trying to move the people’s passion away from Jesus to other things. These false teachers would not leave Jesus out. They just wanted the people to put other things on the same level as Jesus — primarily the Law of Moses. That doesn’t go over well. Jesus is called the Holy One because there is no one or nothing like Him. He stands apart and above all other things.

As Paul writes to these Galatian churches that he cares about so much, I see two clear things that Paul points out for these Christians (and us, too) to be passionate about.

‌Be passionate about conforming to the image of Christ

‌In verse 19, Paul writes about suffering labor pains for them until Christ is formed in them. Paul is talking about a process that is called sanctification. A person experiences three stages in salvation.

• ‌Justification = When a person trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord, they are made fully right with God. Their sins are forgiven, and they are brought into the family of God.

• Sanctification = The work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life to conform them to the image of Christ. This process is the changing of desires to align with what God wants and not our sinful flesh. This process takes the rest of our time here on earth.

• Glorification = When Christians take their last breath, they are ushered into the presence of Jesus in heaven. At that point, there is no more struggle with sin, sickness, or anything else that was an effect of the Fall in the Garden of Eden.

When Paul talks about being conformed to the image of Christ, he speaks about the process the Holy Spirit is working in the life of every Christian to make them more like Jesus. Paul writes about this topic on many occasions.

²⁸ We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 8:28–30 (CSB)

² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:2 (CSB)

What is the message that God is trying to get to us through His word? Here’s one key point about the Bible: if something is repeated, you should pay special attention to it.

What Paul is saying to the Galatian Christians (and us) is we need to be passionate about seeing more of Christ in us than ourselves.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

With each passing day, we should look less and less like we used to before we trusted Christ and more like Jesus. A Christian is a disciple of Jesus. A disciple’s primary passion should be to look as much like their master as possible.

⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Luke 6:40 (CSB)

How to be passionate about conforming to the image of Christ

While it would be awesome to have a little checklist that we could mark off and be assured that we would be conformed to the image of Christ, the only checklist that we have been given is not so easy nor does it look exactly the same for all people.

²³ Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luke 9:23 (CSB)

Being conformed to the image of Christ is about denying what our sinful selves want to do and doing what the Lord wants us to do. Any person who is doing this will tell you that it is not easy work. It takes complete dependence on the Holy Spirit who lives within us now for this to happen.

We learn what the Lord wants us to do by studying His Word, through prayer, and through obeying what He says.

Through the study of the Bible (both privately in devotions and together in the gathering with others), the Lord reveals His heart and plans to us. Nothing the Lord wants to do will ever contradict His Word.

Through the communication of prayer, we speak to God and hear from Him. Prayer is not a time for us to bring our wishlist to God and dump it on Him. It is the sweet time of fellowship where we get to spend time with the living God of the universe.

Through obedience, the Lord teaches and molds us into the image of Christ. There will be times when the full answer of what God wants to do in and through your life will come on the other side of obedience — just ask Abraham.

Paul desired for the Galatian Christians to be passionate about conforming to the image of Christ. I would ask this question of you and myself: is conforming to the image of Christ a passion in our lives, or is it just a side project? Can it be said of us that we long above all other things to be more like Christ, or do others see it as nothing more than a hobby in our lives that has no real impact?

If we do have a passion to be more Christlike, it will awaken within us another passion as well, and Paul shares this also in verse 19.

‌Be passionate about others knowing Christ

In verse 19, Paul talks about suffering for the Galatians to know Christ. He used the imagery of a woman going through labor pains. I’ve been told that may be the greatest pain a person can go through in this life. While I’ve never done it, I have seen it firsthand, and I don’t desire to experience that.

If we are becoming more like Christ, we will see a growing passion arise in our lives for others to come to know Him as well. Many people have used the saying before, “Evangelism is one beggar showing another beggar where the bread is.” This is true. The more our passion grows to be like our Savior, the more a passion for others to experience Him grows in our hearts.

One way that you can know that you are conforming to the image of Christ is by the passion you have to see others come to know Jesus. Does people’s state before a holy God bother you? You may feel bad or troubled by it, but that is not passion.

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

Charles Spurgeon

Can that be said of us? Is there a burning passion within our hearts to see others come to know Jesus as He truly is? When was the last time that you prayed for someone to come to faith in Christ? When was the last time you took the time to share with someone the good news of Jesus? We may be tempted to offer excuses such as “I didn’t have time…” or “I didn’t want to come across as pushy.” What our silence communicates oftentimes is that we do not think it is that important.

‌Conclusion

Human beings are God’s greatest creations. There is no other creation that God has loved so much. It was for us that He gave His one and only Son as the atoning sacrifice so that we could be brought back to Him. Within each of us, God has placed a passion. We get to choose what that passion will be directed to. As I said before, if we do not do it, someone else will do it for us.

Today, my prayer is that each one of us would crave a passion to be more like Jesus. That starts by placing our faith and trust in Him. If you haven’t done that, I would encourage you to do that today. There is no other way for your sins to be forgiven and receive the abundant life He has for you. After that is done, we spend time with Him through Bible study, prayer, and obeying what He tells us to do. As we do that, we will begin to see a passion for His will in our lives above all else. Part of God’s will for every Christian is to share with others how they can experience this wonderful gift that you have.

May God give us one pure and holy passion for Him.

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Trusting in God's Word

I invite you to find Galatians 4 in your Bibles this morning as we continue looking at this letter Paul wrote to a group of churches in the first century. As you are finding your place in God’s word today, I want to talk about simplicity a little bit.

We like for things to be simple in our lives. The least amount of steps that something requires, the more we seem to like it. While we like things to be simple, we often do not trust when things are simple.

I think about the movie, Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington. He plays the character of Herman Boone, a coach who comes into a new high school as the new head football coach. As they are leaving for camp with the team, he shares the offensive playbook with the other coaches. Coach Boone says about his offensive playbook, “I run six plays… split-veer. It’s like novocaine. Give it time… it always works.”

While we like simplicity, we are often critical of simplicity because far too many things in life are not as simple as we’d like.

In Matthew 22, we are told about an expert in Jewish law who wanted some simplicity. He asked a question of Jesus about the law of God. We know this question was meant to trap Jesus, but Jesus still gave an answer to it.

³⁶ “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Matthew 22:36–40 (CSB)

The Old Testament law had 613 commands in it. This guy wanted some simplicity. Jesus showed how to fulfill the entire law of God with two statements: love God with everything you are and love your neighbor as yourself.

Could it really be that simple? Simple – yes; Easy – no. While this person was trying to trap Jesus in what he thought was an impossible situation, Jesus used to teach an important lesson. Jesus shows with His statement that these two commands are the heart of the entire Law. You cannot have one without the other. A person cannot love God with all they are and not care for those around them. In the same way, a person cannot fully love their neighbor as themselves without loving God above all things and being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

‌Could this simplicity really work?

‌Paul shows in Galatians 4 that yes, this simple answer Jesus gave can and does work in life.

¹² I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have not wronged me; ¹³ you know that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh. ¹⁴ You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?

Galatians 4:12–16 (CSB)

‌Trusting in God’s Word

‌In these verses, Paul shows that Jesus’ simple answer does work by trusting in God’s Word. Trusting someone’s word is not always easy. There are so many times in our lives when people’s word doesn’t mean much. We experience people lying to us or going back on their word. The difference between God’s Word and some person’s word is that God does not have the ability to lie. While that should comfort us, it is still hard at times to trust God’s Word.

In these verses that we are looking at today, Paul shares two important points about trusting God’s word.

Trusting God’s Word is Work

Because we are surrounded by so many people who do not keep their word, trusting God and His Word can be a work in our lives.

In verse 12, Paul says that he became like the Galatians. The people in the churches of Galatia were primarily Gentile (non-Jewish) people. When Paul talks about becoming like them, he is talking about putting aside the ways in which he was raised — as a Jewish man — in order to reach the people of Galatia with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Racism is an ugly sin in our world today, but it is not a new sin. It has been around in many forms for a long time. Even in the first century, Jewish people were taught not to associate with Gentiles outside of a business mindset. You were not to eat with them, go to their houses, or have them in your house.

When Paul experienced life change through a relationship with Jesus, he laid aside the ways he was raised that didn’t line up with what God’s Word taught. He began to understand that he was to love his neighbor as himself — even if that neighbor wasn’t Jewish.

As we walk with the Lord, we begin to realize that the work that He is doing within us will call for us to work it out in our daily lives. It will not just happen for us all of the time. There will be times when we have to make adjustments in order to be obedient to what God’s Word tells us.

Like Paul, we do this by keeping before us that the message is more important than our comfort. Because Paul did that, he was given the opportunity to bring the gospel to a people that would not hear it. Paul was able to share the gospel and welcome these people into the family of God.

‌Trusting God’s Word isn’t always easy

If you have not experienced this yet, you will. There will be times when you come across something in God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will spur you towards obedience in it, and it will be difficult. It will call for you to draw some lines in the sand that are not popular. It may cost you some relationships, popularity, or even opportunities.

I don’t know where this false gospel that is going around started, but it says that if you will come to faith in Jesus then everything will be perfect in your life — no sickness, no hardships, no worries.

³¹ Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? ³² Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. ³³ I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

John 16:31–33 (CSB)

Trusting God and His Word is not always easy. Paul experienced this on two levels.

‌Paul faced persecution

‌When Paul became a Christian, the Jewish people turned on him. They treated him like a traitor. They saw him as one who left his heritage to follow some crazy guy who claimed to be the Son of God.

Paul was in line for big things in Jewish life. Some believe that he could have been one of the great Jewish leaders — even high priest at some point.

But the persecution Paul faced wasn’t just from outside the church. Sadly, persecution even came from within the church. Many Jewish Christians did not like the fact that Paul was focusing on sharing with so many Gentiles, but that is what God had called him to do.

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

Acts 9:15 (CSB)

It may be hard to believe, but sometimes the most pushback you will receive in following God’s Word will come from those who seem religious. Those who claim to be following God sometimes do not want to listen to what He says.

Paul faced persecution from many angles in the religious community because what God was calling him to do went against what they thought should happen. As Christians, we are to follow the Lord’s clear leading that He gives to us through His Word.

‌Paul faced personal hardships

‌In verse 14, Paul talks about his “physical condition” and how the Galatian Christians did not reject him because of it. We are not told specifically what this physical condition was. Some have said Paul may have had malaria. Others believe it was something that affected his eyesight because he talks about them being willing to give them their eyes in verse 15. Whatever the condition was, it was a struggle for Paul and others.

This points to the fact the Lord may not remove some of the issues that we deal with in our bodies. Just because we may have a medical condition that some see as a hindrance, God may want to display His glory through it.

This is one of the reasons I do not give any weight to what is known today as the “prosperity gospel.” This false teaching will tell you that if you have enough faith, you will not have any issues in this life. We have already seen how Jesus spoke against this.

Trusting in God’s Word shows that though there may be physical, emotional, or other issues present in our lives, He is greater and can still use us in great ways.

‌How do we trust in God’s Word?

‌Paul shows that the simple answer Jesus gave in Matthew 22 does in fact work. It is about trusting God and His Word. How do we do that?

‌Experience God’s Word

A person cannot trust in something they have never experienced. I use the term “experienced” specifically because it is so much more than a simple read of words on a page. In order to experience God’s Word, one must read and study it. They have to wrestle with what it says at times.

I cannot count the times I’ve had people say to me, “Doesn’t the Bible that …?” I like to reply by saying, “Show me where.” Too many times, we depend on someone else’s interpretation of the Bible to stand as complete in our lives. Just because someone stands on a stage, has a microphone, or a podcast does not mean that you should take what they say as gospel. Be like the Christians in Berea (Acts 17:11). They took what was taught by anyone and studied the Scriptures for themselves to see if it lined up or not.

‌Understand the Source

We come to learn that we can trust God’s word because it didn’t come from any human mind. The words of the Bible came from the heart of the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, ²¹ because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20–21 (CSB)

When you begin to understand the source of the Scriptures, it is easier to trust it. God is perfect and so is His Word. His Word is His instruction to guide us in a life pleasing to Him.

‌Submit to God’s Word

While we can acknowledge that the Bible is God’s Word and experience it for ourselves, there is another important step if we are going to fully trust it. In fact, no one can honestly say they trust God’s Word without this step. We must submit to it.

We may not necessarily like what God’s Word says on a particular subject, but we don’t get to change the fact it is perfect and right. Our responsibility is, as we encounter God’s Word, we are to come under its authority. We do this knowing that it is right.

This is the most difficult aspect of trusting God’s Word. In fact, we cannot do it without the Holy Spirit’s help. That is one of the reasons the Holy Spirit lives within each Christian: to open their eyes to the truth of God’s Word and enable them to submit to it. It is in this submission that one finds true freedom.

‌Conclusion

‌Paul found His purpose and strength by trusting in God’s Word. We can find our purpose by doing the same thing. Is it easy? Not always. Is it popular? Not in the world we are living in. Is this what God wants in our lives? Absolutely!

⁶ “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, ⁸ because I have given them the words you gave me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

John 17:6–8 (CSB)

This is what Jesus prayed for His disciples. He is the living Word who calls us to trust in His Word. It is as faithful as the One whose heart it comes from. Will you trust His Word today?

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