June 18/21 God is With Us

June 18/21) John Burke, God is With Us
This is a video message. We watched and I took the following notes.

From Austin ‘the live music capital of the world’ at least they think so. People might think that this is where people come who are far away from the Lord. Interview about people being comfortable about going into bars but not really coming into Church. He asked the question ‘Do you think God is for you or against you?” Lots of hesitation in the answers. A lot of uncertainty. John speculated that this might be the most likely place for God to come to minister to the lost. Do they get the message from the church that God is FOR YOU?

God is a God of mercy and he wants people to know that he is for us not against us. But it means we need to be willing to let things get a little messy. The folks that are seeking are generally coming from very difficult pasts (abortions, abuse, divorce, pornography) everyone is struggling with something. Paul wrote to a very messy church in the city of Corinth. They were struggling with many messy things. (1Cor 3:6-9a). God causes the growth. That is not our responsibility. Only God can cause th growth. We do have a responsibility as his co-workers. We tend the soil (the culture, the context). There is good soil and bad soil. Jesus had many interactions with the religious leaders of his day. He saved his strongest words for these leaders. They were creating ‘bad soil’. They called Jesus ‘the friend of sinners’ and these sinners were drawn to him . The leaders were repelled by him. He did not tolerate their inauthentic actions. WE want to create the culture, the environment where ALL people can grow. The whole world longs to be free. We need to lose the religious pretense and get a heart of mercy/ The leaders of the day were very uncomfortable with how messy the ministry of Jesus was because he was surrounded by the people who needed him. It was the ‘sick who need a physician’. The leaders were playing a religious game. They were preserving the illusion of religion. What Jesus wanted was no pretense, just honesty. People who would recognizes their brokenness and come honestly to God in their need. If we are going to be his church, his body here on earth, then we need to be here for the ‘messy’ broken people that Jesus loves and came to save. God does not want us to offer external sacrifice – he wants hearts filled with love and freedom and authenticity. He told a story about a woman who came to their church and felt welcomed even though she and her husband were ‘tattooed’. Another story of a messy situation with odd choices. He felt like he should listen and seek to understand. The story he heard broke his heart and showed him the path of pain that lead to this ‘messy’ lifestyle. Hearing this woman say that ‘Jesus people are mean’ and John had the chance to tell her who Jesus really is and what he came to do. Only God causes growth – we need to tend the soil. God is not interested in our conformity to outward standards. He wants to transform us into real people to live real life. Lose the religios pretense for it is not the soil in which people grow. Learn to trust and depend on him. DO you feel like you need to play a game? The religious game? That is not God’s way. He wants you to live, warts and all, and learn to become more like him. To trust him more. If we are going to see this, growth, then those of us already in the church are going to have to lose the us/them attitude and language. People who visit hear it, they know what we really think – especially if we are judging. (Luke 18:11-14a) There aren’t 2 categories of people – good and bad. There are just PEOPLE. All of us broken and desperately in need of his salvation. God is for us all even before we change. ALL of us. We need to lose the us vs them attitude. What if we focused on what God sees in them (in us all) that was worth dying for. (Eph 2:8-10) If Jesus gave his life so everyone came become the masterpiece he made us to be. We need to help people see themselves like the masterpiece waiting to be revealed. If you saw a masterpiece covered in mud – would you treat it like mud? NO – you would treat it like the masterpiece it is. And you would clean it carefully so as not to damage it. God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. He restores us. Lets call out the masterpiece in each other. We need to lose this need to be perfect. Create a ‘confessing culture’ (Matt 23:25-26) The way to please God is not to show pharisaical outward ‘perfection’. Jesus didn’t condone wrong behavior – he was showing people the real and fulfilling way to live. Those who were not pretending they were perfect we able to reach for the freedom he offered. (Matt 21:31) The Pharisees hated Jesus for not respecting their outward perfection. But God knew the truth. You can only grow if you realize you are not perfect. None of us are sin free or struggle free. None of us can do it on our ouwn. We cannot become what we were made to be until we depend on him. There needs to be a place where we are free to be who we really are without judgment or condemnation. There needs to be an environment that is safe – filled with Grace. A place where we know that God is for us and not against us. That is where God heals us and grows us – in a supportive environment of mercy and grace. The whole world longs for this. They returned to the 6th street bars in a video. Their worship leader formerly lead ‘drunken sing alongs’ in the bar. He had had bad experiences with Christians and it pushed him into sex/drus/rock and roll. And he came to a place with God where he was really honest and God heard him. Dealing with anger and emptiness. There was a big hole in him. He came to the Lord in the midst of a messy life. And the messiness continued but he started growing. He came into a church environment that welcomed him. God grew him up to lead in worship through learning and honesty. God met him and healed him. And cleansed him of unrighteousness. Jesus really is on 6th street. (Back to the sermon). End in prayer. Thank you God for demonstrating mercy and grace to all of us. Help us to become more of what you made us to be. Help us show the world that you are for them and not against them.

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We had discussion about where we are as a church. How has it become true that the church in general has not remained a place like Jesus – where people who need Jesus were drawn to him not repelled. Is there something in us as a church that does not communicate that this is a place to be accepted and to grow in the Lord? How do we create a ‘confessing culture’? We are in a small community (Berthoud/Loveland) and people can tend towards judgment. Small towns tend to ‘know everything’ about each other.

Eph 2:10 “We are God’s masterpiece.”Rom 8 “God is for us” (Possible powerful reading in the service? Worship leaders – consider using this either yourself or have someone read…)