Illuminate Community Church

4/2/23 - I am The King - Palm Sunday - John 12:12-19; Luke 19:28-35 - Pastor Jason Fritz

For several hundred years the church has spent the Sunday before Easter observing the triumphal entry of Jesus. He arrives in Jerusalem during Passover week on the back of a donkey. This event is commonly referred to as Palm Sunday. Luke chooses not to record the actual waving of palm branches but Matthew does. This is the kind of praise fit for a monarch. When a victorious king rode into town on his warhorse the people used palm branches to signal their loyalty and respect. But when Jesus rides into town he’s making a statement that was lost on many. He’s saying, “I am the true king, and not the kind you expect.” You see, when we examine the details of this event, we find some things that are very unusual. It turns out that Jesus is a king unlike any other.

The religious zealots in the crowd are watching the arrival. They don’t like this donkey ride. Donkeys implied peace so they would much rather see him on a white stallion ready to lead the rebellion against Rome. They didn’t understand Jesus’ purpose. In fact, very few did. If Jesus came riding a white horse, wielding a sword and chopping up Romans - what good is that? Instead, he says, “No I’m not coming in human power, I’m coming in divine humility and my kingdom will have a greater impact than you can imagine. It will not be established by force. I’m a different kind of king. I am a King of love and power.” This was proven a short time earlier when he raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus is not like the kings of this world. He is the humble King who comes to serve and to die for the people.

The history of human kings isn’t a great one. The world has been led astray by those who have said, “Give me the power and I will make decisions for you!” This doesn’t end well. The only king that won’t oppress you is Jesus because he died for you and he will liberate you - from yourself.  How do we know this? Because Jesus comes riding not on a warhorse but a donkey. 

3/26/23 - I am the Way the Truth and the Life - John 14:1-7 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 

This Sunday we’re going to look at what might be the most controversial statement spoken by Jesus. It’s the very thing that had him killed. If you ask people living in the Valley what they think about Jesus, most will tell you they like him. From what they understand, Jesus seemed to be peaceful, loving and kind. This was his message to others so the world could use a little more Jesus - right? The Doobie Brothers speak for many - “Jesus is just alright with me.” (That dated me.)

If this is the case, then why did the people in Jesus’ day crucify him? There have been many famous leaders who preach the message of love and kindness but they didn’t end up nailed to a cross. Why Jesus? I submit to you that if Jesus was walking the earth today as he did 2000 years ago, many people would dismiss him fast. Why? Because of the claims he made about himself. 

Perhaps no statement is more confrontational than what he spoke in John 14:6. I use the word confrontational because that’s exactly what it is. Jesus did not leave any safe middle ground. In other words, his posture was, “You will either have to crown me or you will have to kill me, but you can’t simply say that I’m just a good person. This notion that I’m some kind of safe middle ground is not an option. You either accept me for who I say I am or you’ll have to say that I am the world’s greatest liar or I’m some kind of crazy person.”

Some say Jesus is being too exclusive. Let me give you a different perspective…

Christianity is the most inclusive thing in the world and here’s why…Many believe that only the good find God. As long as your good outweighs your bad, then you’re in the heaven club. This is the basis for all the world’s religions - earn your way to God by doing good things. Do you not see how incredibly exclusive this is? No one is consistently good. If we projected all of your secret and private thoughts on the big screen over the course of just the last 24 hours you would be horrified. You would die inside. Only the good find God; no, that’s way too exclusive for me. I prefer this: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. It’s not just the good people that can have eternal life, it’s “whoever believes.”

When we follow Him in “the way,” we can be assured of following Him all the way to heaven!

3/19/23 - Narrow is Wide and Wide is Narrow - Matthew 7:7-14 - Pastor Jason Fritz

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
-Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus is concluding this amazing sermon on the Galilean hillside. He speaks of two very different gates. What does it mean? Context is important. All throughout this sermon Jesus has been calling out the religious leaders for their hypocrisy.  If you imitate them thinking you will find life, you couldn't’ be more wrong. The religious leaders were actually going through the wide gate which signifies a dependence on ourselves. They attempted to obtain their own self-righteousness and salvation through trying to do things outwardly to impress others rather than total dependence upon God and faith in Jesus.

Many think the narrow gate means that one must follow the laws of God, attend church, tithe and pray. But this is what the religious leaders did and with the wrong motives. Therefore, they were far from God. They gave and prayed in public to be acknowledged by others. Outwardly they did all the right things but in the wrong way. So the narrow gate is not what most think.

Instead, the narrow gate represents the gospel of grace that is found in Jesus. This is far more radical than you know. The narrow gate has a person saying, “I can’t be good enough to get through any gate that leads to God!” Many hope the gate is wide enough for all of their human efforts to gain God’s approval. The truth is, your good efforts don’t even come close so you actually need something narrow. You need only one thing - the grace of Jesus. 

When we enter through his grace we then live in that grace and the world opens up to us. Jesus says, “Enter the gate first, and then you live your life.” You don’t have to try and live a good life and then at the end of the road hope the gate will be open to you. Herein lies the difference between Christianity and all other faiths. Christianity says that Jesus has unlocked the gate for you so come on in. Other faiths tell you that you must earn your own keys. Broad minded people say, “All good people get into heaven!" and what this means is you are saved by what you do. So in reality this is extremely narrow because you would have to be perfect and totally sinless. Narrow minded people say, “I don’t have a chance to get in on my own, only by the grace of God through Jesus do I get in.” Do you see the difference? Narrow is wide and wide is narrow.

For you personally, here’s what it means….It means not wasting any more time and energy trying to appear outwardly in a way to be accepted by the culture, but rather asking the Holy Spirit to live in you, to change your heart, and transform you into the person God made you to be. God sees the inward appearance of the heart.

3/12/23 - Judge Not (In the wrong way) - Matthew 7:1-6 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. -Matthew 7:1-6

One of the primary reasons why people reject Christianity is found in these verses. Gandhi commented, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Sometimes Christians condemn and judge motives and they do so without mercy. There are those who no longer attend church because of this. Their faith has been shipwrecked on the rocks of harsh and condemning attitudes. Perhaps you know of some. Even well meaning followers of Christ don’t always get it right. However, there is an alternative. When loving correction is given, lives are transformed.

So what exactly does Jesus mean, when he says, “Judge not.” The word judge has a rather large bandwidth of meanings. For example a sharpshooter misses his mark and says, "I didn’t judge the wind correctly." What’s he really saying? He made a mistake in is evaluation. The Bible says that God will one day judge the world. This judgment involves God’s wrath and will consume and destroy the planet.

What’s the difference between these two judgements? One judgment is characterized by evaluation; the other judgment is characterized by condemnation. Here’s the point -  Our responsibility is to evaluate, not to condemn. Only God has the ability to judge and condemn. It is our duty to judge and evaluate using discernment. A discerning spirit is constructive. A critical spirit is destructive. 

How do you become good at this? You must first evaluate your own life before you speak into the lives of others. Once again, Jesus is there to help.

3/5/23 - Do Not Be Anxious - Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:6-7 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Not long ago, over a thousand Americans were asked to identify their anxiety triggers and this is the list of common answers…

• family and relationship problems
• work stress or job change
• change in living arrangements 
• major emotional shock following a stressful or traumatic event 
• verbal, sexual, physical or emotional abuse or trauma
• death or loss of a loved one
• pregnancy

Perhaps you can relate to one or more of the above. The Bible tells us not to worry or be anxious. It seems impossible.  Jesus himself experienced a very intense moment in the Garden of Gethsemane when his sweat became like drops of blood. Whether you take that figuratively or literally, either way it was not a pleasant time. 

In the sermon on the mount Jesus gives a message about worry. The context has him talking about the anxiety you might feel over physical objects - what you eat and drink, having clothes. He says, "Seek God’s kingdom first and God will provide what you need.” There’s a difference between needs and wants. You need not be naked and you need to be fed. Seek God first and he will provide these things for you. But what about all the other things that cause anxiety? The apostle Paul offers his Spirit inspired words…

...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

Paul doesn’t simply say, “Don’t be anxious about anything.” He tells you how not to be anxious about anything. You see, the key to reducing your anxiety is this:  in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. We are called to pray and make our desires known to God and make all our requests with thanksgiving. What does this mean? It looks like this... You pray and ask God for something to change and at the same time you thank him for whatever response he gives. Whether he brings it into your life or he doesn’t bring it into your life, you thank him in advance because he knows what you don’t. He knows what he’s doing. If it's the wrong thing and you don’t get it, thank him for that. If he gives you the opposite of what you ask, thank him for that. You don’t have to pretend that you're not let down, but you can still be thankful. Listen to the result of thankful prayer…

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

The opposite of anxiety is peace. Peace comes from being confident in God’s sovereign control over everything, including your life. Once you go to God the Father in prayer to ask for his help to handle a serious problem or situation, then his peace will be able to start to flow into you. And once his peace starts to flow into you, then you will feel his peace starting to calm you down – even in the middle of the worst kind of storm cloud you could imagine yourself falling into.

As Max Lucado says, “Sometimes God calms the storm and sometimes he doesn’t. But he is always there to calm his children in the midst of the storm.”

2/26/23 - Love Your Enemies - Matthew 5:43-48 - Pastor Jason Fritz

For the last several weeks we’ve been looking at the words of Jesus in the most famous of all sermons - the sermon on the mount. It’s here that we see Jesus set the highest ethic of all time. You won’t find it anywhere else and I’ll prove it to you in one statement. Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” No one has lived up to this with any kind of consistency except for Jesus himself. In the world’s major religious systems you will commonly find the charge to love your brothers and sisters and people who share the same faith. You will be told to treat all people with respect and kindness but nowhere will you find so explicitly to love your enemy as told by Jesus. 

If love is the greatest thing, then loving your enemies is the greatest thing love can do.

To be one who lives according to the kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of this earth is in a word: supernatural. This is the one act that sums up what it means to be a Christian and sets us apart. In Matthew 5:47 Jesus says this, “What more are you doing than others?” He’s asking, “What makes you different Christian?” Unless you live according to a heavenly kingdom ethic, you will be just like everyone else. You love people who love you, okay, everyone does that because it’s natural. Jesus is calling you to supernaturally love. The highest human ethic falls short of what Jesus is telling us. So don’t take your cues from the people around you. Don’t get trapped and confined by that. There’s something greater and higher for us!

2/19/23 - Humble Giving - Matthew 6:1-4 - Pastor Jason Fritz

For the last several weeks we’ve been reading the words of Jesus as he gives an incredible sermon on the side of a hill north of the Sea of Galilee. He’s been talking about what it means to live a righteous life. The word righteous means to live right. It is to think, act, speak and do as God desires. Jesus’ topics include purity, loving others, reconciliation, and speaking the truth. When a person knows and applies these things there comes a new temptation. Arrogant hearts that say, “Look at all the wonderful things I’m doing. I'm such good person!" Or conversely, “Look at me and all the bad things I don’t do!” Either way, it’s a matter of pride. It's using good deeds to draw attention to yourself. So it makes perfect sense for Jesus to address this new temptation and once again he uses the religious leaders as an example. 

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4

When I was a younger pastor I struggled a lot with this. I cared too much about how people perceived me. Even when I prayed in front of others I would wonder what they were thinking. It’s a smaller issue for me today because I’ve experienced the highs and the lows of living for the approval of others. The approval of man does not last long. The temperature of any crowd can quickly turn against you. At the beginning of the Passion Week the multitudes shouted at Jesus, “Hosanna!” Which means “Save us!” Jesus had something else in mind. He did come to save them but not in the way they expected. They wanted a political and national savior, instead Jesus came to save them from themselves. For this the people turned on him and at the end of the week they shouted, “Crucify him!”

Jesus uses two specific words to describe the person who falls into the trap of human approval... 

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Matthew 6:1-2

The Greek word for seen is pronounced, "thay-ath-oh-nye" from which we get our english word theater. In verse two he uses the word hypocrites. The Greek pronunciation, "hoo-pah-kri-tayce" which means “one who wears the mask.” In other words, this person’s religion is nothing but an act. It’s a show. They are on the stage wearing a mask projecting someone they are not. Their good deeds are done for the applause of the people who watch. According to Jesus, our lives are to be lived for an audience of one who sees in secret and will reward us.

2/12/23 - Don’t Take Revenge - Matthew 5:38-42 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, "Revenge is a dish best served cold.” What I think this means is that if you wait to pay it back, the wound will be deeper.

The message this Sunday is for anyone who has ever held a grudge. It is for anyone who has wanted to get revenge on another person. It is for those who have been mistreated and wanted to settle the score. In other words, this message is for every one of us.

The message is also for anyone who has felt the pain of a broken and damaged relationship that is yet to be restored. You see, the thing that ultimately destroys every relationship is the inability to forgive. It actually isn’t the offense, it's the withholding of forgiveness that causes the long term damage in your life. 

Fact #1: In this life you will be wounded and wronged and you will do this to others. 

Fact #2: In the church we will not always get a long with each other. 

Jesus talked about these things…a lot. He said in this world you will have tribulation because the world is fallen and broken and filled with imperfect people. The US has more lawyers per capita than any other nation - over one million. Roughly one lawyer for every 300 people. That’s a lot of litigation from people who don’t trust each other.
In the Bible there are several examples of Christians having to be reconciled to one another. In fact there’s an entire letter, Philemon, that is meant to promote unity between two Christian brothers that are divided. Paul asks this question to Christians living in the city of Corinth 2000 years ago: "Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers?”

Forgiveness should be normal amongst God’s people.

Why is this important? Because it’s the way we deal with these offenses that determines the nature of our relationships. It’s true in your marriage, your friendships and in the church. When we withhold forgiveness, there grows a root of bitterness within us. Forgiveness has much to do with your own well-being. If you don’t forgive, then you will become angry and retaliate. This is human nature. Your heart will be filled with thoughts of revenge and this isn’t good for your soul. Jesus speaks directly to your hurt because he cares for you. He knows it well himself: forgiveness frees you to enjoy relationships and live with peace in your heart.

2/5/23 - Keep Your Word - Matthew 5:33-37 - Pastor Jason Fritz

This Sunday we arrive at a command from Jesus that applies to all of us because we all speak. We all make promises and commit ourselves to things, places, and times. As a result, people are counting on us to do what we say. In general, humanity is not very good at keeping its word. Isn’t this the reason we have legal contracts? Because we are prone to breaking our promises we must get the weight of law involved…or else!

Some people are very good at using language to get themselves out of a sticky situation. For example, I heard a Christian apologist talk about the instructions you’re given before the plane takes off the runway. If you recall, there are specific words used to describe what you cannot do to the smoke detector in the lavatory. 

“It is a federal offense to knowingly move, deface, damage, destroy, render inoperable or otherwise improperly tamper with any smoke detector.”  

Why can’t they simply say, “Don’t touch the smoke detector.” Here’s why - because some crafty person has said, “I didn’t touch it, but I did damage it with this screwdriver.” Or, "I didn’t damage it, but I did disable it and you never told me I couldn’t do that!” The idea is simple - don’t do anything that would cause the detector to stop working properly. I learned they had to incorporate the words "render inoperable" because some smokers were taking wet paper towels and covering the lavatory detectors. However, they did not destroy or damage it. To do this is a federal offense and so is first degree murder! People find ways to get out of their promises and why legal contracts can be very lengthy. We have to make sure every loophole is closed so that things cannot be manipulated. A verbal agreement does not matter, we must have ink on paper with witnesses for an agreement that can be legally enforceable. Why? Because we humans can be very good at intentionally deceiving each other. 

But there’s more. When God’s people say one thing and do another, it brings great harm to their Christian witness. This is why Jesus speaks directly to it. Let’s remember that the words of Jesus bring life. So we would expect our lives to improve when we do what he commands. Our words shape who we are. The promises we make and break directly affect our reputations and therefore influence the strength or weakness of our relationships. So join us for more wisdom as we hear from Jesus as he preaches on the side of a hill just above the Sea of Galilee. 

1/29/23 - Porn and Your Soul - Matthew 5:27-30 - Pastor Jason Fritz

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
-Matthew 5:27-28

We live in an age where you can see more naked bodies in five minutes than your ancestors could see in five lifetimes. Technology has promoted lust in ways that could never have been imagined. Today’s accessibility of seductive images is unparalleled in human history. You have porn in your pocket and you take it everywhere you go. As a result there is more temptation to lust than any previous generation. Everyone can recall an early time in his or her life when they were exposed to the seduction of the lens. This widespread saturation means that everyone has been affected - either from addiction after compulsively watching or the person who has been shaped by false body images and ideas of what sex should be. 

The simple fact is, there isn’t one longitudinal study that suggests watching porn makes your relationships better. There is an ever-growing body of research, and it can no longer be denied, that repeated porn exposure has a tangible effect on consumers and is connected to declining relationship satisfaction, not to mention all the various forms of exploitation. 

So if you’re going down the wrong path and you have become what you subject yourself to, then it’s going to take some drastic measures to get on the right path. This is why Jesus uses hyperbole to get the point across beginning in Matthew 5:29-30.

"If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away."

Jesus is not speaking literally because if you were to remove one eye, your other eye would be used to feed your brain damaging images. You can access the keyboard with just one hand. The point is this - We must be drastic with ourselves in how we remove and avoid the temptation. Most of us make very half-hearted efforts. The desire might be there, but the self-control and reliance on God’s Spirit is not present. There is something more fundamental lurking behind your lust.

You are not alone and there is freedom. We want to help you take thoughtful steps to remove what gives you guilt and takes your purity. Jesus gives words of life!