Illuminate Community Church

10/30/22 - Preparing For Greatness - Genesis 40-41 - Pastor Jason Fritz

This week we pick up where we left off in Genesis. If you remember, we were looking at the life of a young man named Joseph. He was the second youngest of twelve brothers. His father favored him and gave him a special coat to let everyone know. As a result, this made his brothers jealous. Further, when Joseph was just a teenager, he had a couple of dreams in which his family bows down to him. Little do they know this will actually take place years later, but for now the brothers are tired of him and sell the young man into slavery. By God’s design, Joseph ends up in the house of an influential man named Potiphar. While there, Potiphar's wife tries to seduce young Joseph but he refuses. She gets mad and falsely accuses him of sexual assault. Joseph is put in prison. It’s a riches to rags story. Joseph has done the right thing and now he’s in a dungeon. You might think he would become bitter after this experience. Instead, there is a tenderness within his heart. How is this possible? Well, during this ordeal with Potiphar’s wife, four times it is mentioned that God is with him. 

When you are doing the right thing, you can have assurance that God is with you - even when you suffer for doing what is right.

I am reminded of the most famous of all Psalms. Psalm 23 reminds us of God’s leading in our lives. He leads us through the dark valleys. It doesn’t say God leads us around them. There’s a big difference between "through" and “around." Why not around? One reason is because people are watching. They are watching to see what kind of impact God has on the lives of those who fully trust in him. The truest test is when a person suffers for doing what is right. Or when suddenly your life takes a dramatic turn. You’ve been downsized from your job, the cancer has returned, you have a family member that started on the right path, but has since taken a detour. These are the moments of crisis that show the world what kind of relationship God and his people have. Joseph’s young life has taken many spiritual twists and turns. With this most recent circumstance, his spiritual strength is about to tower over the other patriarchs we have read so far. There are huge challenges ahead for him. But Joseph has a clear sense that God is with him and in fact, God is preparing him for future greatness. What a great reminder for us!

10/23/22 - Possess Nothing, Steward Everything - Matthew 25:14-30 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Matthew 25 holds a story about you, me, and our future together. It is a parable told by Jesus about making the most of every spiritual opportunity God has given us. Now, it’s obvious that the master is Jesus. The long journey is his time in heaven where he is now seated at the right hand of the father, but one day he will return. Christians are the servants and we are now in upper management. Each of us has been handed a bag of coins. It was John Calvin who began to popularize the idea that the talent included your skills, gifts, abilities, wealth, all that you are and all that you have. 

We are not all the same. 

Some have opportunities not available to others. We don’t all have the exact same intelligence and we don’t all have the exact same skills. Some have a very deep understanding of the Bible because of their training. Others have had no formal Biblical training, yet they know the simplicity of the gospel. All of this is by God’s design and control. It is perfectly acceptable to be a one talent servant. It’s ok to be two, it’s ok to be five. God designates it and this is a picture of spiritual capacities and opportunities.

So what has God placed in your hands? 

Every time you read the Word or sit under solid Biblical preaching, you’ve just received a coin. Many people attending Illuminate can give a Biblical sermon better than many pastors I’ve met. God has given us money, intelligence, skills and experiences. He has given us his Spirit and his Word. We have been given things that most in this world do not have. Why is that? The parable tells us why - so that we can take what we have been given by God, turn it around and give it right back to him. He has entrusted to you what you are capable of managing. God is not giving a one talent person five talents. He is not giving a five person talent one talent. He gives what you are capable of because he knows you.
  
What does Jesus want us to learn from this story? It’s pretty simple really: with responsibility comes accountability. Each of us will be held accountable for what we have been given. In the end, we want to hear from Jesus, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master!” This Sunday we’ll explore what it means to hear these words from our Savior.

10/16/22 - Our Future Together - Plant, Water, Feed - Pastor Jason Fritz

I have a few trees in my backyard that have been there for a long time. I know this because I planted them myself 21 years ago. For the first couple of years, they didn’t seem to make much progress. But the consistent water, fertilizer, and sunlight have made them my favorite places to relax for one simple reason - shade from the heat. I often think of Illuminate in this way. We are the generation that has the unique opportunity to establish shade in the Valley of the Sun for many years to come - a work that will provide spiritual shade to those in need. Paul used a similar illustration to describe his ministry...

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
-1 Corinthians 3:6-8

Notice there are resources needed for this work: tree, water, laborers. God takes these resources and gives the gospel its growth.

Resources don’t always come free. The New Testament contains a letter from Paul to the church in Philippi. Paul planted, watered, and fed this church by bringing the gospel and making disciples. No doubt he personally led many of its attendees to Jesus. He’s writing from prison and he owns next to nothing. The church members heard about Paul’s condition, took a generous offering and sent it by way of a man named Epaphroditus. Paul was grateful and writes back, sending his heartfelt appreciation. The reason we have this New Testament letter is because of the financial generosity of the Philippian church.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
-Philippians 4:10

Let’s focus on a key word here. Do you have a guess as to what it might be? Content 

Please don’t miss the point Paul is making – generosity comes through contentment. I’m convinced that we are very bad at being content and it’s not easy because we are bombarded by messages telling us that we don’t yet possess what it takes to be happy. Coveting is a serious and pervasive human tendency that God specifically addresses in the Ten Commandments. The real danger of coveting is that it misdirects money toward things that God never intended for you to have. Instead, we are instructed to be "rich in good deeds”  and to “lay up treasure in heaven that nothing can destroy.” This week we will be challenged to consider how we can continue to plant, water, and feed the work of God that is Illuminate Community Church.

10/9/22 - People Matter to God - Luke 15:1-7 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Last week I shared about Illuminate’s humble beginnings, “Only God” moments, and where He is leading us into the future. We use three words to describe this. 

Bigger, Smaller, Deeper

Bigger refers to what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  In John chapter 12, Jesus gives us the method for growing His church.

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” - John 12:32 

We lift up Jesus at Illuminate - therefore, we expect the church to grow and by God’s grace, He is doing just that.

As we grow larger in number, we want to grow smaller in community by connecting people to life-changing groups. This is the place where you can know others and be known. As things get bigger, it's easier to remain anonymous. We don’t want that for you, so we encourage everyone to take the leap of faith and join a smaller gathering. The ultimate goal was given to us by Jesus. We are to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, that is - a disciple. This is what it means to go "deeper."

Now, it should be clearly stated that the reason for all of this is because people matter to God. We know this because Jesus came to the earth and died for humanity. Jesus paid a high price, which means people have the utmost value. If anyone claims to have the heartbeat of Jesus, then he or she must understand Jesus' purpose for coming to the earth. He lays it out for everyone to make it crystal clear. 

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luke 19:10

The lost refers to those who don’t yet have a relationship with God. To be spiritually lost means not being a part of the family of God. A spiritually lost person has no personal relationship with God, no forgiveness of sins, and no grounding in spiritual truth. There is an innate spiritual longing in every human, but those who live apart from God are going to empty wells in order to meet this thirst. It’s like they are wandering the desert looking for water that will satisfy, but in the end, they are aimless. Jesus tells a series of parables about lost and found items to illustrate this point. This is the heart behind why we do what we do at Illuminate. People are important to God!

10/2/22 - Bigger, Smaller, Deeper 2.0 - The Vision - Pastor Jason Fritz

We often repeat a couple of phrases at Illuminate…”Only God!” and “Where God guides, He provides.” This has been the history of our church; from our small beginnings in my living room six years ago, to serving over 2000 people each week in person and online today. Yet I believe the best is yet to come because God wants to do more than we could ask or think. Let’s have our faith expanded by the way Paul ends his prayer for the church in Ephesus.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
-Ephesians 3:20-21

You can almost feel the spontaneous break out in praise. This is driven by Paul’s understanding of God’s soveriegnty. There is no limit to what God can do in response to our prayers because his capability goes far above and beyond anything we could ever ask, dream or comprehend. We have been blown away by what God has done in our midst and we are so thankful. 

I’ll be stepping out of our Genesis series for a few weeks and bringing a special update. Last year at this time we rolled out the future vision of the church with three simple words: Bigger, Smaller, Deeper. “Bigger" means we want to fulfill Jesus’ words as he said, "I will build my church”, therefore we expect the church to grow. At the same time we want to grow “smaller" through personal gatherings that promote spiritual depth. This is what it means to go “deeper." Becoming a disciple of Jesus is the ultimate goal. 

9/25/22 - God With Us - Genesis 39 - Pastor Hudson Garcia

I have been thinking a lot about family recently. I have family members in other states getting older that I want to spend more time with. I have cousins and siblings moving to incredible cities around the country that I’d love to visit and support. My wife has family on opposite sides of the country and in different cities than all of my family. We have college friends who have moved back to their hometowns or have moved to different countries, to pursue their goals and dreams. 

I realize that my relationships with these people, though I want them to flourish, will never be what I would like them to be, simply due to proximity. Sure, FaceTime is great, and sharing memes over social media is a band-aid for almost anything, but at the end of the day, the deepest bonds come from physical proximity.

The reality that proximity breeds relationships is the wonderful news of our text in Genesis this week. In Genesis chapter 39, we pick back up with the story of Joseph. Through chapters 37 and 39, Joseph goes from being daddy’s favorite, to being beaten up and thrown into a pit by his brothers, to being bought as a slave to living in a penthouse in charge of a wealthy man's estate, and finally, being lied about, falsely charged, and thrown in prison. Through this roller coaster of events, we learn something very important about God’s character. He is a God who keeps close proximity to His people.

This becomes even more evident through the person and work of Jesus.

Matthew 1:21-23 - “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Illuminate family, it is good news that whether we face trial, tragedy, or triumph, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is with us. That is our hope and confidence in this life!

9/18/22 - Grace Awaits - Genesis 38 - Pastor Jason Fritz

If you have been listening to the Genesis sermons and reading the Bible for the first time, you are probably shocked by what you experience in chapter 38. Will the family dysfunction ever come to an end? After being introduced to Joseph last week, chapter 38 turns to his older brother, Judah, and Judah’s daughter-in-law, Tamar. What a sordid relationship we have here. However, it leads to an unexpected conclusion.

Tamar is a childless widow who has become pregnant…and the baby daddy is Judah. Yes, her father-in-law. Judah is unaware of what he’s done to her, because when they were together, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute. Judah never cared much for Tamar and when he is told she is now unmarried and with child, he sees his opportunity to get rid of her. The penalty for adultery was death. As she is being led out to her punishment, the plot twist is uncovered - Judah himself is the father! He is forced to own up to it because she has all the evidence. Judah proclaims, “She is more righteous than me.” He mistreated her and he believes she was justified in what she did in return. He is humbled and Tamar is exalted. Judah publicly admits his failure. This marks a change in Judah's life. He is an example for us.

You and I will never achieve sinless perfection. However, it’s what we do and how we respond when faced with our sin that matters most. How quick is your repentance? Judah, to his credit, doesn’t play it off. He doesn’t act the victim. He owns it. This event matures him. In fact, he will become a sacrificial and humble spokesman for his brothers when they meet Joseph once again. By God’s grace, Judah will become the man and by God’s grace, Tamar will become the woman who takes the first female place in the genealogy of Jesus. 

Matthew 1:1-3 - "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar" 

It was rare for an ancient genealogy to contain the name of a woman, and it was extraordinarily rare to contain the name of a woman with a sordid story. And yet, there’s Tamar, listed as a direct ancestor of Jesus. In fact, there are five women named in this list and each has a nefarious marital union. Why is this? Well, in part it’s to set the stage for the birth of Jesus. Mary is pregnant with the Messiah and unwed. How can that be??? Have you read the stories of Jesus’ foremothers? You’ll see God working his sovereign will in the midst of whispers of scandal. So it should come as no surprise that Jesus is born to a virgin. But there’s more... 

Tamar is a Canaanite and the other women named in Jesus’ line are Gentiles. This sends a very strong message - Jesus is for everyone, not just the Hebrews, but for all people everywhere. When Jesus was a young boy he was taken to the temple and Simeon says, “This boy is going to be a light for all nations." Just as God promised in Genesis 3, there would be a savior born of a woman who would crush the destructive work of Satan and be a blessing to all people. That promise was given to Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob and fulfilled through the most unlikely person - Tamar. 

Our God is that big. His hidden hand is always working through history and always surprising us; doing the unexpected in the hearts of his people for their good. So with respect and reverence for God’s sovereignty, let’s submit ourselves to him believing that we will change and that an unending amount of grace lies ahead for us!

9/11/22 - God Is Up All In It - Genesis 37 - Pastor Jason Fritz

This Sunday we are introduced to another key figure in the Genesis narrative. He is a teenager named Joseph. His life is by far the longest and most masterful account in the entire book. The story is famous enough to launch Andrew Lloyd Weber’s big musical hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. But I can assure you that the real life story of Joseph is far more entertaining and has an underlying subtle theological depth that is unmatched. The grand theme of Joseph’s life as I see it is this: 

God is working his will through the everyday events of your life and very often in ways that are yet to be seen. 

There are no miracles here. God does not upend the physical laws he created in order to get things done. Rather, there is a hidden but sure hand of God moving and arranging everything without one highly visible, supernatural event. It is perhaps the second greatest story about how God takes the evil intentions of men and women and uses them for good. (The life of Jesus would be at the top of this list.)

Joseph is the favored child of his father and it shows. Naturally, this means he is despised by his siblings. He doesn’t do anything to improve family relations. In fact, he makes it worse by his lack of self-awareness. So they beat him up, sell him as a slave and destroy the very thing that represents how much of a spoiled little brat he has become: his famous coat. One could ask, “Where is God in all this?” 

We all carry wounds. Like Joseph, some of those wounds are self-inflicted and like Joseph some of those wounds are given to us by others. It doesn’t take much for those wounds to reopen. Today’s pop culture, with its encouragement toward victimhood, doesn't help. Joseph’s story teaches us that life is unfair, hard, full of inequities and injustice, and yet God works in the manure of every human life to form compost from which something beautiful can grow. But you have to surrender and give everything to him. This includes the bitterness, the anger, the resentment, the lifestyle, the attitudes - the things that are not congruent with what God wants for you. When this happens, you are set free. And one day you can say as Joseph did, “What others meant for evil, God meant for good.”

9/4/22 - Full Obedience - Genesis 35 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Finally! We get to the part where Jacob is in full surrender to God!

In Genesis chapter 35 God tells Jacob to go back to the very spot where he first spoke to him 30 years earlier. If you remember from Chapter 28, Bethel is the place where God began speaking to him through a vision of a stairway extending from earth to heaven. It symbolized God’s ongoing presence in his life. Like many of us, it took Jacob several years to live fully in God’s presence. God was always with Jacob, but Jacob wasn’t always with God. After Jacob receives the vision he proclaims this in chapter 28:20-22.

“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

He is returning to his father’s house. For the last ten years, he’s been doing whatever he wants. As a result, he has the drama of multiple wives, his daughter is sexually assaulted, his boys murder an entire tribe and no one seems to respect Jacob. The family is fragmented. Earlier, God told him to go to Bethel but instead, he went halfway and stopped. Partial obedience made his life a living hell. But God did not abandon Jacob. Good said again, “Go back to Bethel” and this time Jacob obeys fully. Now you need to know this is a religious pilgrimage. Bethel was in the heart of Canaanite country. The intent here is to drive a stake in the heartland of idolatrous Canaanite worship and to establish Yahweh as the one true and living God.

Jacob is proving to be the leader his family needs. His boys massacred the people of Shechem and took all their stuff including their idols. So Jacob says, “It’s time this family does what is right. Get rid of the idols!” He steps up as a father and leads well. His boys are grown men but it will always be a parent’s right to instruct their kids between what is good and evil. They may or may not listen, but it is mom and dad’s obligation. Jacob tells his household to put away the foreign gods and to cleanse themselves and put on new garments. This purification ritual symbolized the turning of a new page. It’s the transition from one state to another. This reminds me of Christian baptism. Burying the old life with the death of Christ and raised to a new life through his resurrection.

Along the journey to Bethel God protects Jacob from his enemies. Jacob is wealthy and owns a lot of livestock. He travels with a massive entourage and people can’t help but pay attention. He is a foreigner surrounded by hostiles. Easy for him to draw heavy fire. But God causes the Canaanites to fear him. This is supernatural terror that falls on those who might want to do him harm. I like to say, “The man or the woman of God doing the will of God is invincible until God calls him or her home.” Jacob is doing the will of God and God has his back. The same is true for you and me. This is why we want to be obedient in whatever God asks us to do and be. If God is for us, who can be against us?

8/28/22 - Avenge Our Little Sister! - Genesis 34 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Genesis chapter 34 contains one of the darkest events recorded in the Bible. The Scriptures do not hide the fact that evil is real. The story goes like this...One day Jacob's daughter Dinah has gone to the city to socialize with the women in the nearby town of Shechem. A man named Hamor (a prince with great influence and wealth) has a son, also called Shechem. He sees Dinah, grabs her and sexually assaults her. The language of the text makes it clear this was not seduction or something consensual. Afterward and perversely, Shechem says he loves Dinah and wants her for his wife. He demands that his father Hamor make that happen. This guy is a spoiled brat and a textbook abuser.

This ignites a firestorm of events involving cruel revenge and murder brought by two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi. In the end, an entire tribe was no more.

Perhaps the thing that fueled the brother's rage in the first place was dad’s indifference to the crime. They fervently plead with Jacob, “Should they treat our sister like a prostitute?” Jacob shows little concern in this moment. Could it be that Jacob has lost his moral voice in the lives of his kids simply because he was known for his own manipulation? His compromise weakened the influence he had on his children. “Try talking to God about your own sin before you talk to us about ours, dad!” This event would hang over the entire family for the rest of their lives. On Jacob’s deathbed, he would denounce Simeon and Levi as cruel and angry men. Jacob dies before they are reconciled. What precipitated this downfall? 

Partial obedience. 

Earlier God told Jacob to go to Bethel, another 20 miles to the south. Instead, he stayed near the prosperous city of Shechem and this would be catastrophic, leading to sexual assault and genocide. We never fully see the consequences of our half obedience. This is why in God’s eyes, nothing is more important than full obedience.

Why is full obedience so hard for us and why is partial obedience so easy?

We live in the Valley. A sun-soaked, leisure-oriented, laid-back, low commitment, do what you want, luxurious culture. Do you think that culture might affect our Christianity? We attend church as long as it’s convenient. We even give money, as long as it doesn’t pinch our lifestyle too much. We serve when we have extra time. Can we ask ourselves - are these the hidden definitions of partial obedience in our lives? If so, let’s see it for what it is, confess and live fully.