SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
JOIN US LIVE AT 10 AM TODAY!
We Empower
Transcription:
Series defines the core values and anchors of our congregation personality. Timely because it helps us re-establish a sense of “who we are” after a season of multiple transitions and scattering through COVID.
● Our first Core Value was, our name, Common Ground and we established that there are some
churches that have embraced strict traditional, liturgical, theological, and denominational structures or definitions (which have some benefit) but we have chosen to be a church that seeks common ground amongst the accepted community of historically Orthodox Christian
traditions which we believe opens us up to a broader sense of UNITY within the believers and a wider scope of missional capacity.
● The next one is this identifying value: WE EMPOWER
My Mom was teaching me to drive a car.
Now, there are a few dynamics that were at play. Mom had the power...and rightfully so!
● She had a license,
● She had the driving experience,
● and she owned the car… BUT...she also had some things to gain (which I reminded her of often!!):
● I could drive myself to football practice and work
● I could run errands
Practicing in an empty parking lot
● getting to know the car, how to shift, turn on lights, blinker, etc.
● moving up and down the rows of parking spots
...we spent about 10 mins and mom said, “alright, get out and switch seats...you’re not ready for this, I’M not ready for this, WE’RE NOT READY FOR THIS!”
● I don’t think I was that bad but I guess it was for her to call it that quick and say “I’m just going to do the driving in this house, give me the keys.”
● I was so mad because I wanted the power to drive and it took like 6-9 months to get my mom to try again!
BUT I also think about her side and how hard it is to be an expert in something and watch a novice car driver make mistakes that could potentially wreck the only vehicle you have...
Have you been on the other side of teaching and handing something off? It’s not easy!!
Have you ever tried to teach a toddler to brush their teeth?
● Get the front teeth now the back
● They Maybe even forgot the toothpaste altogether
● They are moving slow and you’re like: “that’s not brushing, you’re just chewing on the toothbrush..”
● JUST LET ME DO IT!!! I’m tired and this has to end!!
○ Time and energy are at stake and we simply...run out of patience don’t we?
○ EVENTUALLY THOUGH, YOU HAVE TO LET IT GO!!
Then there are other times we are gatekeeping. It’s time to hand off but you realize
● you’re not ready and have trust issues
● and you know you can do it better, faster, or more efficiently
● or the perfectionist in you is struggling b/c it’s not the specific way you would do it
● ...and we might find ourselves holding on to something that doesn’t belong to us!
IF we want to train and equip
IF we want to do what the great commission says and “make disciples and teach them to follow Jesus”
● eventually we have to let go of power on our end!
● you’re going to have to trust them with what you are teaching at some point to see if it’s working!!
● ...and It’s not enough to simply DELEGATE, there is a call to EMPOWER others!!
AND it’s even harder when it could cost us something, right? If there is a platform, resources, prestige, or power that needs to be SHARED or INVESTED in others in order for you to accomplish it, right?
● We HOLD on to these things,
● We PROTECT them and
● TRY to keep what we have!
AND God sees this in us BUT
● He calls us to do the difficult thing
● AND He isn’t asking us to do something HE isn’t willing to do Himself.
WE SEE IN LUKE 10
● Familiar verse but a different emphasis this morning.
Luke 10
10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others (some of your translations say 72 or make a note about the number and that’s because half the manuscripts say 70 and the other half say 72...we will talk about it soon) the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two
ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers
into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
OK, that’s not the best pep-talk Jesus but it was a challenge. He isn’t trying to sugar-coat the assignment in front
● but it’s time to take on some responsibility,
● get your hands dirty with Kingdom work,
● take what they’ve been learning and put it to the test!
AND, on the other side, we realized there was an exchange for the risk, for the things they are giving up, Jesus EMPOWERED them as well...jump down to VERSE 17:
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (See this as a statement of power/authority). 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the
spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
Jesus is MODELING something for us, He is our example of EMPOWERING others to do what HE did! Think about it, this is...
● A job Jesus (who is GOD) COULD have done better, quicker, and with more efficiency if He wanted to do it that way!!
● Instead Jesus moves relationally and invites others into the Kingdom Movement he is enacting on the earth
Then, takes a part of HIMSELF and places it in each of them,
● In a sense, He divests himself of authority, and power, and comes up underneath others with less power, less authority, and less ability to LIFT THEM UP!!
● Philippians says poured Himself out and in Verses 2:6-8 says “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
● He then picks an ordinary 70 who are willing to follow (this isn’t even the top 12 of his crew)
○ and makes sure they are stripped of their typical earthly power sending them out “like lambs among wolves...(with no) purse or bag or sandals”
● WHY?...because their weakness revealed the divine, supernatural power that was given to them, transferred over, for them to accomplish the work that God put in front of them! INCREDIBLE, RIGHT?
BUT IT GOES A LITTLE DEEPER… TURN all the way back to a story of Moses in Numbers 11, the people are in the wilderness and complaining about their situation. Moses is tired of it and
takes it to God starting on verse 16...
16 The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me SEVENTY (that should sound familiar) of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and (listen to this) I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.
Then we see it fulfilled in verse 24
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud
and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.
This NT/OT CONNECTION isn’t just in our imaginations. The JNTC points out that the seventy sent by Jesus in Luke “correspond to the seventy elders Moshe appointed in the wilderness, who received of the Spirit and prophesied.
We see another impartation of, not just responsibility, but EMPOWERMENT which helps us see that EMPOWERING OTHERS isn’t just a one time thing! IN FACT, IT’S
● something that God DOES.
● In fact, I think it’s baked into the very NATURE of God - THE CHARACTER of God is -
● and, once again, chooses a relational route by inviting humanity into a share of His RULE and REIGN
● THEN fills them with the power to accomplish it.
He EVEN puts a theological EXCLAMATION POINT on it by echoing it prophetically in History giving us every opportunity to see it!
WELL, what else does one with all authority in heaven and earth do with their power?
1. The Lord’s Supper in John 13
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist...to wash their feet.True authority uses their Power to serve others and, in doing so, Jesus
● Levels the hierarchies between them
● Leverages His power to upend the\ oppressive power structures of that day.
2. The Great Commission in Matt. 28
“18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.19 Therefore go (here’s the assignment) and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey
all that I have commanded you. And] surely I am with you always, even to the] end of the age.” Then He sends the HOLY SPIRIT in a wind and tongues of fire and says I am pouring out my Spirit on all people to EMPOWER them to do MORE than accomplish it, to EXCEED IT,
remember John 14:12? It says...”whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even GREATER things than these...”
3. AND, We even see Jesus handed off the keys!
Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...”
Jesus called people to them (INVITATION), sent them out to do it (CHALLENGE) and EMPOWERED them to accomplish it by putting the literal keys of the Kingdom in their hands!!
OKAY...I’ve made my point, our God is a God who EMPOWERS others and we want to be a Community that EMPOWERS others. So what does that look like??
I want you to see a couple things about Common Ground:
1. We organize around the concept of “the priesthood of all believers” here\ which EMPOWERS all people
● not just clergy,
● Not just pastors,
● not just elders
● to be a priesthood!
Meaning: It flattens the clergy/laity hierarchy that so often holds people back from engaging in Kingdom work...there are no specially privileged Christians. ALL OF YOU have:
● direct access to God,
● The filling of the Spirit, and
● The GIFTING,
● to take responsibility for the work of ministry on the earth.
Ephesians 4 says: “7...to EACH ONE OF US grace has been given as Christ apportioned it...11 (He) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his
people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
So what is my job here? To EQUIP and EMPOWER you for the works of service and to guide us into maturation of the fullness of Christ Jesus.
● This is why we consider HOUSE CHURCHES as our front line when it comes to
○ pastoral care
○ And mission
● We want to strategically release you to use your gifts and shepherd one another and be pastors to your neighbors
● We want to strategically empower you to be missionaries to your neighborhood in our post Christian culture.
○ It’s a “go and tell” rather than “come and see” mentality
● This is why you may find yourself leading the charge when you have a ministry idea.
AND THIS is why ministries like...
● CAREPORTAL are so amazing because, instead of bottlenecking the flow of resource in-and-out of our benevolence, you can address needs directly.
● All of the supplies given to Winding Ridge were through an amazon wishlist and the impact has been incredible
● And we host regular blood drives here at CGNE now...why? Because one of our members had a Community Service idea and we simply opened the doors and used our resources empower it
● There are some things we do collectively too but...allowing our congregation to come alive with Missional Imagination and ideas is where we see the priesthood of all believers come to life!
2. Second, EMPOWERMENT informs how we engage in issues of Justice and Reconciliation for those whom society pushed to the margins!
There is a way in which helping others could be for the benefit of yourself:
● It’s in the way we may bolster your public philanthropy standing.
● It’s a way of easing the guilt you may hold when you see a need from someone less fortunate than you.
● It’s in the way we may use the difficulty of someone else’s lived experience to dip our toe in as an opportunity.
● It’s in the way we might develop an unhealthy relationship as the holders of the resources and people have to rely on us for wellbeing.
● It’s in the way we position ourselves as GATEKEEPERS...as a community!
White evangelicalism and Western expressions of Church and theology (the background of many in this room) have held on to a position of authority that doesn’t belong to us and then we used our platform to
● CRITIQUE others against our cultural norms or to
● VET the expressions of black and brown expressions of the church ...We are holding on to keys that didn’t belong to us in the first place.
If we truly believe in the priesthood of all believers, we need to lower ourselves in the hierarchies, trust, and LEARN from what the Spirit of God is doing in expressions of His Church in the Christian community and witness of those who are different from us. And, when necessary, divest ourselves of the power we have to lift others up
Over and over again, Jesus saw those who were oppressed, was moved to compassion, leveraged HIS POWER for the purpose of getting underneath those who were at the bottom of society and lifted them up.
We look at the Gospels and see that:
● Jesus used His MALE authority to EMPOWER women in a dangerously Patriarchal Culture.
○ NOT JUST freeing them from a status of property but establishing women in all sectors of Christian leadership: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers.
● Jesus used His FREED Status to EMPOWER the Servants/slaves! He called them brothers and sisters, lifting them up
○ Out of the cultural hierarchies &
○ into the status of Family in the Households.
● Jesus used His RABBINICAL PRESENCE to EMPOWER the Gentiles,
○ outsiders and those considered unclean and
○ established them as heirs of the heavenly Kingdom amidst the
Zionist tendencies of His people.
● Jesus used His VOICE to EMPOWER children around Him and said, “the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”
● Jesus didn’t just heal the leper, he touched them and brought humanity to their ravaged bodies.
If you find yourself thinking
● I’m NOT SURE
● OR Yes yes YES!!
Remember that the Kingdom is:
● GOOD NEWS to pour, powerless, the captive and the oppressed
● But it is a stumbling block for the lofty, the powerful, and those oppressing others.
SO, where are you holding on to power instead of handing it off to others personally, publicly, or corporately?
The key things you need to know about EMPOWERING others is that is takes sacrifice:
● It takes time but Jesus remains patience with you
● It takes energy but Jesus sustains
● It takes resources but our God provides
● It takes sharing and using what you have to lift up others
● It takes your voice and presence because just throwing money at an issue devoid of the relationship is charity fueled by pity...it is not EMPOWERMENT and it’s not what Jesus did.
WE are motivated because JESUS stretched out His hands to be nailed on the cross to bring us, SINNERS who were enemies of GOD, and
EMPOWERED US to be called SONS and daughters of God.
● You see, in the midst of all this empowering of OTHERS, may we never, EVER forget that we were once alienated from the love of Christ, separated from the Kingdom of Heaven...
● ...and we empower people better when we love better and we love better when we understand how much we’ve been loved.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
“Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.