Our Hope: How God Works in History, Part 2

When Jesus decided to pierce the darkness and change, not just world history, but I mean, change everything. He chose twelve very ordinary people. And He chose them from backgrounds that they would never get along on their own. And as you go through Church history, I mean, whether it was a Martin Luther, or whether it was a Deborah in the Old Testament, or an Esther. When things get really, really bad, He finds a man or a woman or a student whose heart is fully His who just can’t stand the status quo, that are sick and tired of whining and complaining and blaming other people and just says, “God, if there is something I could do, I will do whatever You want me to do.”

And He says, “Okay, I will use you.” And He seems to have this weird deal where He likes to take the most unlikely people that aren’t necessarily the smartest, not always the best educated, don’t always come from the best stock so that when it happens, everyone knows it couldn’t have been that person. And He gets the glory. And here’s the final part of this reality, is that Jesus’ life, what He actually did launched His kingdom of light movement by starting small, dreaming big, and going deep.

If you study Jesus’ life, it’s somewhere between three, three and a half years of ministry. The first six months He kind of built some relationships, did enough miracles to get the people to hate Him in Jerusalem so He went to the Galilee area.

So, the religious leaders then said, “We don’t want You,” He’s rejected as the king. And so, He goes to His family and they reject Him. In fact, He ends up in a synagogue that we’ll look at in just a minute and He reads the Old Testament, talking about Messiah and says, “Today in your hearing it has happened. I am Him.” And they take Him out to a cliff and try to kill Him. And He walks past them because it’s not His time.

But it’s so interesting. Eighteen to twenty months of His whole time was with twelve men and a handful of women. And He went deep with them. It was very, very small. He said, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed,” it was a like a mustard seed conspiracy. You have this itinerant teacher that, you know, either you love Him or you hate Him. He claims to be God, He raises a few people from the dead, He’s an amazing teacher, you’ve got, you know, a pretty good meal once, you know, with five thousand other people. And so, I mean, He’s a rockstar on the one hand and despised on the other.

And then when He’s going to change the whole world, instead of, “Hey, we’ve got to get as many, we’ve got to leverage this, we’ve got to scale this. We’ve got to go big or go home,” right? No, no, He says, “We’re going to go small,” because at the end of the day, it was true of those disciples and it’s true of you, you need to listen very carefully, who you are and who you become is one hundred x more important than anything you ever accomplish.

When He chose these twelve, it says, “He chose them that they might be with Him.” They ate with Him, they walked with Him, they had private conversations with Him, they shared their struggles with Him, they watched His miracles, they were invited into and participated with Him. They saw how He responded to Samaritans and Jews and terrorists, how He reacted when He was attacked, and little by little by little, they became like Him. He knew the last eighteen months, they need to have their hearts sold out to the Father.

They need to understand that it’s going to be very challenging. They need to face, like I did - the Scripture in Isaiah says Jesus looked at the cross and set His face like a flint and knew this would be the price tag - and every one of the disciples did as well. All were martyred but one, and he was preserved to write the book called Revelation for us, in exile.

He started very small, but He dreamed big. But imagine if you’re one of the, you know, one of the eleven. Let’s just take Judas out of it right now. And, you know, there’s, there are other people. Maybe a hundred and twenty or so that are really committed. And He tells you, “I’m going up to heaven, “I want you to take this message to the world.” No technology. I mean, that we would think of. No satellites, no printing press, an oral world.

Can you imagine, like, one day, in an honest moment, “Hey, John?” “Yeah, Pete.” “This is nuts. I mean, there are eleven of us. The whole world? I’ve got to admit, man, He’s a great teacher and we have seen a few people get raised from the dead, but…“ They did. It wasn’t because they were great [preachers], they were ordinary. They didn’t have the best theological education, they didn’t come from the best places, they didn’t have power. So, what was it?

When they were being punished, observing the boldness of Peter and John, the religious leaders would say, “And now we identify those as having been with Jesus.” They recognized that they had been with Him, because they thought like Him and they lived like Him and they had His convictions. And so, they reproduced and they multiplied.

Can I say this as nicely as I possibly can? What happened, somehow over time, we got the idea that reading the Bible, coming to church one point six to two times a month, and then maybe if you’re really committed you get in a little group and discuss what the Bible says, “Yeah, I believe this about Jesus. What did you get on question six?” “The answer is Jesus.” “Oh, that’s very good.”

And so, what has happened is, we have a quality control problem. Christians don’t even go to church anymore. Forty percent of evangelicals don’t attend church at all. We don’t live like Christ, our lives are not holy, we are not raising our kids to follow Christ, and we have all these emerging problems and what we have done primarily is find someone else to blame.

God is looking for some ordinary people. Guess what – you’re the solution. You’re the light of the world. That’s the reality. And the fact that America is in the state that it’s in tells us that we have not been the kind of followers that transform the culture. It starts small, dreams big, it goes deep, and now I’d like to be, in kindness, show you practically. Okay, then, what does it mean to do the things that Jesus did? What did He actually do?

He modeled being surrendered to the Father. In the garden, He would surrender His will, “Not My will but Yours be done.” Jesus would model for the disciples: to follow Me, you must let go of everything and everyone and be willing to do the will of the Father with no holds barred. There’s power, “Unless a grain of wheat fall unto the earth and die it remains by itself alone,” Jesus said, “but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.” Whoo. You wonder why not a lot of people followed Him.

The second thing He modeled was being separate from the world. The next thing after His baptism, He went into the wilderness, right? And He’s temped by the evil one. “If You are the Son of God, turn this stone to bread. If You are the Son of God, if You are the Son of God,” lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. The same three things that the garden – Adam and Eve were tempted with, Jesus is tempted with, and He declares, “It is written, it is written, it is written,” and He defeats the enemy and He demonstrates being separate from the world’s values.

Third thing that happens is He has a sober self-assessment. Jesus heard, “You are My dearly loved Son. I’m pleased with You.” His identity wasn’t for God’s favor. He lived His life from God’s favor. And the New Testament teaches the same for all of us. As a believer, our identity comes from the Father’s view of us and what the Word says.

When He opened that scroll in Isaiah 61, He read, “This is what the Messiah will be and do.” Good news, preach to the poor, the lame will walk, the blind will see, the dead will be raised, the prisoners will be set free.” In your hearing, Word of God, this is what it says, the Messiah, this is who I am. His view of Himself isn’t what other people think, it’s not what He owns, it’s not how many likes He has, it’s not where He lives, it’s not how much money He has. It comes from God. This is who I am, a Son of the living God.

Fourth, He serves in love. “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom of many.” The last night He would pour the water and He would wash the disciples feet and He would say to them, “I being your Lord and teacher observe, blessed are you if you, in like manner, serve, lay down your lives for one another.”

And then finally, He would supernaturally respond to evil with good. He would hang upon the cross and say, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” So when He said to them, “Take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Me,” He wasn’t saying, “Hey, I think I’ll start going to church. And I’m going to get really committed; I’m actually going to get a group and talk about what Jesus said.”

By the way, those are important steps. That’s how you learn these things. But what He was saying is: Leave your fishing business and make Me your priority. For others, it would be, “Stay in your business and make Me your priority. We are going to start small. We’re going to start a little Bible study in your neighborhood. You’re going to start a little Bible study, invite your friends. We are going to start small, we are going to dream big, but we are going to go deep.

And He would say to the disciples: You’re going to surrender like I surrendered, you’re going to be separate from the world, and it’s a process and you’ll fail. And you’ll have a clear, sober self-assessment from Scripture of this is who you are. The world will not identify. You’re not a somebody because [of] anything out there. And then He would say: We are going to love each other with such radical, sacrificial, others-centered love that costs us. That means if a friend is in the hospital and you need to pay their bill, it doesn’t matter whether you get a tax deduction.

And the Christian life isn’t about all these good people in my life so I become a better person. You will become a better person, but the eyes are outward. It’s caring for other people to the point of time and energy and money, whatever it takes. And being as committed or more committed to them than you would a blood relative. That’s the call. That’s what a disciple is.

That’s what He modeled and then notice, what did He command? He commanded surrender all. Take up your cross, follow Me. Luke 9:23 and following He says, “You can’t be My disciple unless you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.” He said to be separate from the world. Paul would say it in Romans 12:2, but he says it’s not what goes into the mouth that makes you unholy, it’s what comes out of your heart. That righteousness is an internal issue. You have heard it said, but I say to you.

Third he would say, call them to have a sober self-assessment. To get accurate. Peter, “I can do it. I’ll – everyone else will let you down, not me.” Peter, let me give you some clarity about your own bravado. Before the cock crows, you’ll deny Me three times. That’s the negative, and then the positive, Peter, you can’t believe this about yourself yet, but because your declaration and your convictions, the kind of man you’re going to become, rock on which I’m going to build My Church. And everyone else who is willing to declare that in the midst of a world that is going this way and you’re going to go this way. That’s who you are, Peter. It's not what your dad said, your mom said, your fishing business said. It’s what I say.

And then fourth, He calls them to serve in love. Wash each other’s feet. That’s how the world will know. Yeah, we need good books, we need apologists, but here’s the greatest apologetic: they way you guys treat each other. It’s like a magnet, it’s like honey that draws the bees. When people have need and hurts and struggles, like in a pandemic.

It’s not what you argue about. It’s being willing to say Jesus is, and the mission is what is really important. We can agree, disagree, masks, vaccines, politics, have lots of opinions. Wonderful, great. We are individuals, it’s America, have your opinion. But in the Church, we are missional. Jesus takes precedence over all of that and we can agree to disagree and I will speak and post grace and kindness. I will have my words be wholesome, upbuilding.

And finally, supernaturally responding to evil. Jesus told His disciples, think how radical. Love your enemies. Pray for those who use you and persecute you. Do good to them. See, here’s the deal, you know what changed the world? It wasn’t some rapid movement. What changed the world in the first century was discipleship. Discipleship is following Jesus. It’s actually doing what He did and then teaching what He taught to help others learn how to do what He did. And then you model it first and foremost, very imperfectly, like all the rest of us.

The greatest need after evaluating the entire Church all around the world is the lack of discipleship. People living out their faith. The way we might say it is: Christians living like Christians. Here’s the application, and it’s sobering. And this isn’t just for you, it’s me too. I’m with you. We must be what we want others to become. You want people to be kind and gentle, forgiving, generous, you want your kids to be that way? Putting them in a Christian school and bringing them to church, great. Those are good steps. Your kids are going to be like you. A disciple, when he is fully trained, according to Jesus, will be just like his teacher.

And so, I would ask you these questions to ponder as we close. And then trust that the Holy Spirit will guide and lead you. I believe God is up to something in this church and in other churches. And it won’t be by how many people we can get in a room or how many people get online and do this and do that. It’ll be how many people that actually do what Jesus did and speak like Jesus spoke and love like Jesus loved. That’s what is going to change things.

So, lest you have that some ethereal thought of what that might look like, here are some questions to ponder. Ask yourself: Am I all in? Have I fully surrendered my life, my future, my career, my money, my dreams, my possessions to a good and loving Father who has my best in mind? Have you?

Am I living separate from the world’s value? Has pleasure, power, position, popularity, or pleasing people, or pride become subtle barriers or idols in my life? Is there anyone I need to forgive that has hurt me or betrayed me? Boy, that’s a dead ringer for stopping your growth. And finally, do you know where you fit in God’s body to make a difference? Are you engaged deeply with fellow believers to bring light in darkness? And here’s the deal. This isn’t like, “Hey, everyone, get up, rah, rah, rah.”

Start small. You start really small. Take a baby step of obedience, whatever it is. But dream big. God could use you to do amazing things.