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The mission of God is not to fill seats in a church on Sunday. The mission of God is far bigger, more powerful and more beautiful than that. We are more than dispensers of truth. Disciples of Jesus are called to seek, to save, to heal, to deliver, to store what has been stolen. The Gospel of God IS the mission of God.
Paul's closing remarks in Romans 16 reveal so much about the nature of the church at the time and the power of the gospel of Christ to bring together people from all walks and stations of life and reconcile followers of Jesus both to each other and to the Father. Then Paul ends with reminding us of the beautiful mystery of how we are established through Jesus to whom belongs all glory!
Guest preacher Emanuel Williams encourages us from Romans 15 about the nature and reality of God's grace coming to each of us in abundance but in different and unique manifestations. He also exhorts those in the church to become what he refers to as "advanced believers" - those who believe God in His promises, have faith in God's ways, and are marked by the quality of always being aware of God's grace at work.
This week, VCHS elder Brant Cannon explores Romans 14 as a spiritual guide for navigating our faith not amongst non-believers or against the world or culture, but as a map for working out our faith amidst other believing Jesus followers. In Romans 14 we see all the differences in belief and practice between Jews and Gentiles and become aware of how those differences are mirrored by the differences in today's denominations, theologies, or anywhere else we make our camp. What we learn is that pursuing God's presence together requires unity and a resolving of and putting away of disputable matters.
In this chapter, Paul tells us that government is ordained by God, but how do we reconcile that with governments and leaders that we see that are clearly corrupt or evil? And as followers of Jesus, how should we respond in light of these circumstances. Pastor Josh unpacks these scriptures with biblical examples from both the Old and New Testaments to show how God's sovereignty is central.
Romans 12 is all about maturing in our faith and walking it out in the day to day. Paul leads us to a richer, deeper understanding of worship. Before Romans 12, sacrifice was only understood in terms of death, but now God is calling his people to be living sacrifices. Being living sacrifices that are steeped in worship and that serve through humility make us both useful and beautiful and render our hearts supple and pliable, able to be shaped and formed by Him.
The big message here is the salvation of Israel. Remember Paul is writing to address divisions. God hasn't rejected Israel. If God has turned his back on Israel, what confidence could that give Gentiles? Is God faithful, or is his interest fleeting? But the end of this chapter shows us that God goes deep. What it shows is God's faithfulness from generation to generation - his faithfulness from Jew to Gentile. It shows us his grace!
In these chapters, we clearly see where the title of this series comes in: "The Gospel for a divided world." Chapter 9 shows us the scriptural theme of God's choice by how He has chosen us for adoption and grafted us into the family of God. God wipes away that which divided us and brings us together.
Chapter 10 can be read and understood as a lament about the "unteachable". Paul speaks to us from his own experience about the effects of zeal without knowledge and righteousness without submission. He brings us back to the driving message that Christ is the culmination of the Law, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
The Gospel shines its brightest when it helps us navigate the darkness. God loves us, calls us and purposes us. We aren't God's trophies - we're created to be participants. So what does it mean to be 'more than conquerors'? It's easy to see what defeat is and it's easy to see what victory is. But being 'more than conquerors' doesn't mean just making it through and surviving. Reacting to a situation is the lowest form of engagement. A step above that would be responding. But more than conquering means being led somewhere that we would not have gone by default. Just conquering would mean bending something to our will, but being more than conquerors means bending a situation to a will and a purpose that is beyond ourselves.
What controls you? What motivates you? What affects your mood? Why do you decide to do the things you do? It matters whether or not we are living according to the Spirit or according to the flesh. God desires for us to be free and not be slaves to sin but instead have freedom by His Spirit where we have joy and desires that are pleasing to God. So many of us have taken on identities because of our roles, our problems, our diagnoses, etc. that are not part of our God-given identities. But God has new names for us so that we will know we are not defined by our successes or failures but by our Father.
The resurrection of Jesus fundamentally shifted things for us as Christians. We are meant to be witnesses of the resurrection and do the work of Easter every single day. Continuing in the series in Romans, chapter 7, Pastor Josh explores the necessity of dying to sin in order to live a resurrection life. Like Edward being claimed by the White Witch of Narnia, our sin has given something else claim to us. How do we get free from sin? Death. We must die to the sinful nature. Followed, of course, by resurrection to new life in Christ.
Worship paved the way for Holy Week and all that came with it. When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he rode in to shouts of worship and praise. But it was a form of worship not based on the reality of the revealed Son of God, because by the end of the week, the same crowd was crying for his crucifixion. The Holy Spirit leads us into worship that is true worship. Worship that is based in both spirit and truth, that isn't easy but is simple and sincere.
Continuing in the Romans series, chapter 6: Through Jesus' sacrifice, we have been given the gift of freedom. We've been saved by grace and died to sin. We are responsible for whether or not we are obedient to God. It is a choice. We can take or deny this gift. Our hand is not forced. What will we choose to do with this freedom? Will we continue to choose sin or will we act in accordance with our new identity and live according to God's ways? We can't be content trying only to mend what is broken. What God wants for us is not a near death experience with resuscitation, but to die completely to sin and be reborn.
Creation is broken. There is evidence of that all around us. But Grace is a flow of God's Kingdom against which sin and all of it's trappings cannot stand. One of the greatest struggles we have is understanding how bad things are before they reveal themselves. How do we rightly see our sin? By the Law. The Law was given so that we can see and understand trespass. It's the insight - the diagnosis. It actually magnifies our sin so that we can see it for what it is, spiritual sickness, and actually be able to do something about it. Where sin increased, grace increased all the more!
Pastor Josh continues the series from the book of Romans moving into chapter 5. What do we see when we see suffering? The Spirit leads us to suffering, like with Jesus, to produce things that could never be produced another way. With a Godly perspective, we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character leads to hope. We want hope, but it doesn't come out of thin air - it isn't "built in". But when we get this hope, it isn't the worldly variety. This Hope can't be disappointed and it won't put us to shame.
Faith is the vehicle through which grace and justification come. By actually receiving grace and justification together, we see the Law fulfilled. Grace is counter to the world's affinity for karma, that we get what we deserve. In the Kingdom of God, if you've done wrong, you get God's grace. If you think you've done right, the same grace is still applied to you. We no longer trust in our obedience to save us, but in the relationship we have with God. Faith begins with an end of self trust.
Everyone is both a victim and perpetrator of sin. Sin can be religious or irreligious. The Law shows us that our sin has removed us too far from God and no amount of morality can get us back. We are all God-wrestlers like Jacob: our sinful self doesn't want to go down without a fight. Those who recognize their own sinfulness will find what they need in the gospel. We are all alike under sin and need the message of Jesus. The things that distinguish us are not as important as the thing that makes us alike: we are all sinners in need of grace.
Hypocrisy is not the disparity between what we are and what we long to be. It is not the gap between what we want to do and what we actually do. Hypocrisy is, instead, the gap between the public persona and private character. Hypocrisy is theatrical religion: religion as a means of personal enrichment or enhanced reputation. Hypocrisy is evil. God hates it, and we must remove every stench of it from ourselves.
Yes, God hates hypocrisy, but why? Because He is forming real community - where you know my junk and I know yours, and we don't think it's okay - but we give grace as work this out, and never make excuse for sin.
Brant Cannon continues in the book of Romans, chapter 10, discussing the substance and meaning of faith. Faith both begins and ends with Jesus, as the author and perfecter of our faith. When we understand that faith isn't something to be drummed up, but is actually a gift that we get neither credit nor blame for, we can walk in the freedom given us to live as faithful followers of Jesus.
**You will notice several references to getting the news of an upsetting event this week. This refers to the tragic death of Josh and Leah Pavel's niece. Thank you to Brant for stepping in to preach during this difficult time.
This week was the 2nd anniversary of The Vineyard Church of Holly Springs! Lee Brookins, former Vineyard pastor and church planter, joins us for the celebration and shares part of his story as a Vineyard church planter to encourage our "toddler" church to continue following the Lord in the calling He's given us. Lee's stories of the early days of the Vineyard are a great glimpse of who we are as a tribe and the inheritance and legacy that belongs to VCHS.
SERVICE TIME & LOCATION:
10:30am Sunday @
190 Rosewood Centre Drive
Suite 101
Holly Springs, NC 27540
E: office@hollyspringsvineyard.org
P: 919-391-8247
