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This is The Way – Week 1 – The WayMessage Big Idea: Finding YOUR WAY back to God means giving allegiance to Jesus as THE WAY back to God.Scripture: John 14:6, Romans 1:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5_______________________Introduction: A Monarchy (Series Graphic) We are just a little over a week away from the election, and let me ask: How many of you can’t wait until it’s over? This political season has been exhausting, hasn’t it? Just watching the news can leave you feeling tired, cynical, and confused.On one side, you have the Democrats and Biden promising, “This is the way!”On the other side, you have the Republicans and Trump promising, “This is the way!”Everyone thinks their way is the right way!Well, today I want to suggest a different way. Here’s my suggestion: Let’s switch to a monarchy!Maybe you think I’m crazy, but I recently came across an article from a British publication arguing that a monarchy is the best form of government. As a read through their rationale, I have to say, they make some good points. For example:Having a monarch unites people. A figurehead represents all the people, a politician represents only their own party. We could be coming together to celebrate jubilees and coronations if we had a monarch!A monarchy is also cheaper than a republic. Think of all the money we could save on campaigning and elections!And, maybe the most important reason of all, monarchs tend to have better morals than politicians. After all, their job is for life. They don’t have to fight for power, and they don’t need the money.Of course, there is one big, glaring problem when it comes to a monarchy. You have to have the right person. How do you find someone who has the unreproachable character, the benevolent heart, and the trustworthy wisdom to be king? Well, I have good news for us today, and I want to spend the time we have together convincing you of this news: I believe we do have the right person.Series IntroductionToday we are starting a 6-week series that is so timely for us, a community of Christ-followers living in this present moment. Our nation is divided, so many communities across our country are being torn apart, but we have an opportunity to model a different way.Did you know that very first community of Christ-followers lived their lives in such an upside-down, countercultural way that everyone around them began to take notice? In a world chasing power, these first Christ-followers were known for their selfless love.In a world filled with greed, these first Christ-followers were known for their generosity.In a world where only the strong survived, these first Christ-followers were known for compassionately caring for the sick and suffering.Onlookers needed some way to refer to this unusual community of men and women (Acts 9:2, Acts 22:4, 24:14a with “the Way” highlighted) so they began referring to them as followers of “The Way.” “The Way” was a new way of being in the world, and over these next six weeks we’re going to explore this way of living. (Series graphic) That’s why our series is called, “This is The Way.” However, “the Way” isn’t just a way of life, “the Way” is also a person, and that’s where I want to focus our attention today.Jesus is The WayWhen Jesus walked among us on this earth, he declared:“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6Imagine turning on the news and seeing the headline: “Jesus says, ‘I am the way…’” It is a bold statement, an astounding claim. Many people see it as offensive and turn the channel. After all, in our modern society suggesting that there is a way is often rejected. But to those who are willing to lean in, it is the good news we’ve been waiting for.Yet, my guess is that even as I say that, some of you are thinking, “Yeah, OK, but I already knew that. I’ve known that news for a long time. After all, I’ve been a Christ-follower for ____ years. It’s old news.”But not so fast! The headline may be familiar, but do you really understand the good news?The Abbreviated GospelIn the Bible, the phrase “good news” is known by another term. It’s called “the gospel.” The word gospel simply means “good news.” But what exactly is the gospel? Can you explain it? Most of us, even long-term Christ-followers, have a hard time explaining what the gospel is.Think about it this way… Have you ever tried to explain what a color looks like to a person who is color blind? If you’re not colorblind, you know what the color blue looks like, but try to explain it to another person. What would you say? It’s hard to come up with words to explain the color blue. And for many of us, that’s how it is with the gospel. We feel like we know it, but if put on the spot, we stumble to find the words.If we are able to string some thoughts together, many of us would explain the gospel this way: (only symbols on screen added one at at time)(heart) God loves me and wants to be in a relationship with me.(broken heart) But my sin fractured my relationship with God.(cross over broken heart) However, Jesus died for my sins.(heart) So if I put my faith in Jesus and repent of my sins, I can find my way back to God.Anyone think this is the gospel? I’ve thought of this as the gospel. In fact, I’m confident I’ve taught this as the gospel. And don’t get me wrong, every statement in this gospel is true. It would be wrong to say this is not connected to the gospel because it is certainly part of the good news. The good news includes these things. The problem is that it’s not the complete gospel. It is what theologians such as Matthew Bates, Scot McKnight, and others refer to as (heading over the symbols) “The Abbreviated Gospel.”And there is a problem with the abbreviated gospel. It focuses too much on me. Bates explains: (over-emphasize the “I”s and “my”s as you read this)“The plot in the abbreviated gospel is self-centered: I have a problem (sin) and I am currently on the road to perdition, but Jesus died for my sins, so now I have the opportunity to change roads–to go to heaven.” -Matthew W. Bates, Salvation by Allegiance AloneThe abbreviated gospel puts me in the center of the story, and there is a real danger in that. When the gospel is centered around me, I tend to focus the gospel on the “benefits” I receive from saying yes to that gospel. Benefits such as a restored relationship with God, peace, purpose, belonging in a community, etc. Again, all of these are true, but what happens when it feels like they’re not? What happens when I don’t feel close to God? When I don’t feel a sense of purpose? When my small group falls apart?What happens when God doesn’t protect my family from the virus?When I lose my job?Or when my guy loses the election?Here Dave briefly tells the story of Christopher, the man he had a podcast conversation with who had a friend murdered, another police officer friend killed, a brother-in-law die in a tragic accident, and faced the California wildfires all in a short period of time. Let’s face it, life is full of hard things. And if the gospel is focused on me, and things don’t pan out the way I want them to, I can begin to question whether the gospel really is good news. Too often, when people have been taught the abbreviated gospel, they turn away from Jesus (or at least become complacent in their spiritual journey) when the “benefit package” doesn’t live up to their expectations. Have you known someone who has done that?Have you been someone who has done that?Are you someone who might be in that place right now?If so, would you be willing to consider the possibility that what you really need today is in fact good news…the complete gospel?The GospelTwo of the most straightforward explanations of what the gospel meant to the earliest Christ-followers are found in the writings of Paul. I want you to focus and just take these words in as I read both passages to you. First, from Romans:“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle?and set apart?for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand?through his prophets?in the Holy Scriptures?regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life?was a descendant of David,?and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power?by his resurrection from the dead:?Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 1:1-4And then, from 1 Corinthians:“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand…For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.” -1 Corinthians 15:1-5Here’s what I want us to recognize in Paul’s summaries of the gospel: The gospel, at its core, is not a story about me and my pursuit of benefits, The gospel is a grand, cosmic story about Jesus being THE WAY. Before the gospel ever becomes a story that includes me, it is first and foremost a story about Jesus.If I were to try to put together a summary of the good news drawing from the New Testament, here is how I would present the gospel:Jesus preexisted with the Father (John 1:1-2). The apostle John tells us that in the beginning, Jesus was with the Father. He has always been. Then…Jesus took on human flesh (John 1:14). This is known as the incarnation, and one writer describes it this way: Jesus took on flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. While he lived among us…Jesus lived a life of service (Matthew 4:23). He went around teaching, preaching, and healing people of their diseases. Then…Jesus died for our sins and was buried (1 Corinthians 15:3-4a). He willingly gave up his life to make a way for you and me to find our way back to God. But he didn’t stay buried!Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many witnesses (1 Corinthians 15:4b-5). This wasn’t some giant illusion. Jesus really was dead. And he really came back to life. Paul points us to over 500 people who witnessed this, none of whom ever recanted what they saw.But the gospel doesn’t stop there! It continues…Jesus ascended to heaven and has been enthroned as King. (Hebrews 1:3) This is a critical part of the gospel, one that many times is left out. Right now, at this very moment, Jesus reigns as King.And finally…Jesus will come again (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). A day is coming when the King will return to earth and his kingdom will last forever!This is the gospel, the complete gospel. As theologian Scot McKnight says: (Crown symbol on screen with quote)“The gospel is the power-releasing story of how Jesus became king…” -Scot McKnightThe gospel is not focused on the benefits I receive by saying yes to Jesus, although there are benefits. The gospel is centered on the truth that Jesus is King.And once we recognize that Jesus is King, every one of us has to decide how we will respond to that news. What kind of response does a King of this kind deserve? (pause) I’d say… Allegiance. Finding YOUR WAY back to God means giving allegiance to Jesus as THE WAY back to God.Allegiance to the KingIn fact, allegiance may be the best word to describe what it means to declare your faith in Jesus.Often, when we use the word faith, we’re talking about intellectual assent. In that way, we’re defining faith as believing certain assertions to be true. We might say: “I have faith that God exists” or “I have faith that Jesus died and rose again.” The New Testament contains lots of examples like this, where faith means believing that something is true or real.However, the original Greek word word for faith in the New Testament, pistis, has a much broader range of meaning than intellectual assent. While it can mean believing something to be true, it can also mean (add) “confidence, fidelity, faithfulness, commitment, and pledged loyalty.” The question becomes, which meaning best captures what it means to declare our faith in Jesus?While faith in Jesus certainly includes intellectual assent that he is the way back to God, I want to argue that putting your faith in Jesus goes beyond merely believing that truth. After all, James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us that even demons “believe” truths about God. (James 2:19)When it comes to responding to the gospel that Jesus is King, it is critical that we recognize the full range of what pistis means. Faith in Jesus includes…Fidelity to JesusCommitment to JesusPledged loyalty to JesusAnd all of this is best captured with the word Allegiance. Saying ‘yes’ to Jesus means giving allegiance to him as King. We follow Jesus because he is the King who is worthy of our allegiance. The fact that we receive benefits from following him is secondary. Even if there weren’t any benefits, he’d still be worthy of our allegiance because he is King.Good News for TodayAnd that is good news for us right here, right now in this present moment we find ourselves in. And why? Because no matter what happens in the election next week, as Christ-followers, we live in a monarchy and we have the right King.If Joe Biden gets his way… Our King is still on the throne and he reigns.If Donald Trump gets his way… Our King is still on the throne and he reigns.Jesus was King before them, Jesus will be King after them.As Americans, we should participate in our democratic republic and cast our vote for the leader that we think is best, but he is not our king. Our King…Preexisted with the FatherTook on human fleshServed usDied for our sins and was buriedRose from the dead and appeared to many witnessesHe…Ascended into heaven where he reigns as KingAnd one day he will come again to reign forever.This is the good news of the gospel. COMMUNITY, our mission is to help people find their way back to God, and for those who respond to the gospel by giving their allegiance to Jesus, we are committed to learning, encouraging, and challenging one another to follow our King in the ways of his kingdom. We call it being an apprentice to Jesus, and over the next five weeks of this series, we’re going to learn from Jesus about how life in his kingdom is meant to be lived by digging into his most famous teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. I hope that you will go on this journey with us through this series.And not only will we be learning together on Sundays, we will also have a Monday through Friday (graphic) Turn the Page Bible Experience through the Sermon on the Mount that starts tomorrow. You do not want to miss out on that! Go to where you can find either the email or podcast version of the Bible Experience. Again, it starts tomorrow so go check it out right away!ConclusionFor now, let me wrap this up by asking you today: How will you respond to the gospel? My prayer is that every one of us will give our allegiance to Jesus as King.Maybe that is a decision you have never made. Maybe this good news really is new news to you, or at least news you haven’t yet responded to. Let me ask you… Will you give your allegiance to Jesus today?In the book of Acts in the Bible, we read about a very intentional step people would take when they decided to declare their allegiance to Jesus…it’s called baptism. Baptism is a public declaration that you are choosing to follow Jesus. If you’ve not been baptized, I want to challenge you to take that step. (graphic) We have an online baptism class coming up where you can learn more about it, and we can schedule your baptism in one of our facilities. We’ve even baptized people in other parts of the country using Zoom. So if that’s a step you need to take, let me direct you to where you can find more information about baptism.(How will you respond to the gospel?) And for all of us, maybe today you realize that you’ve been chasing the “benefit package” more than the King. You’ve seen Jesus as a sources of amenities instead of the object of allegiance. If you recognize yourself in that, I want to challenge you today too. Will you, too, declare your allegiance to Jesus? Will you join us on this journey over the next five weeks as we learn to follow our King in the ways of his Kingdom?Finding YOUR WAY back to God is about recognizing Jesus as THE WAY. Jesus is King. He is forever on his throne. And every person has to decide whether they will give their allegiance to him ................
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