Illuminate Community Church

8/9/2020 - Who Is Leading You? - Psalm 23

Psalm 23 is one of the most recognizable chapters in the entire Bible. You've probably heard it at least a dozen times if you attended Sunday school. It's a go-to for funeral programs and Hobby Lobby has made money selling its' lines on faded pieces of wood. Even those who do not attend church have likely heard this psalm before.

When verses and chapters become familiar, we tend to not pay close attention to them. When we see it in our Bibles, it can be tempting to think, Oh, I know what this says already. Why read it again? My challenge to you is to read it and then ask yourself these questions...

Who or what is leading me?

Am I setting up my tent in the valley?

Have I lost sight of God's overwhelming provisions for me?

Like sheep, we are all being driven by something or someone - even if that someone is us. The psalmist King David vividly puts things in perspective when he describes God's ability to lead us to the place we really want to be. It's not that our lives are free from enemies, it's that God's power protects us from those enemies. It's not like we will ever be free from dark valleys, it's that God's wisdom guides us through the darkness. Truly he is the good shepherd. Why would we follow another?

8/2/2020 - You Can Be Happy! - Psalms 1

Over the past four months, the entire world has experienced a happiness drain. One headline after another steals our joy. Many wonder if it's even possible to find lasting happiness anymore. And what does the Bible have to say about this? It says a lot. Jesus gives an entire sermon about being happy. It's called the "Sermon on the Mount." You know the one that says,"Blessed are the..." over and over. Did you know the word for blessed literally means happy? So often we focus on Christian holiness and we forget that when we live lives of obedience and service and when we live out the uniqueness of who God has made us to be…there is joy. There is happiness.

 

We see this again in the very first word of the very first Psalm. It too begins with the word "blessed" and in the Hebrew language, this word also means happy. Although the Psalmist uses the word happy, the things he tells us will make us happy are not traditionally thought of as happy things. In fact, there is a contradiction. Many of the things we think bring us happiness actually rob us of holiness. This is important to recognize because when we are holy we will be truly happy. Isn't that the way of the cross…and the way of Jesus…yes, and I think that is the key to understanding happiness as a Christian.

07/26/20 - Philemon - Reconciliation and Forgiveness

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Our current time reminds me of this opening line to Dicken's classic work. Admittedly, it feels more like the worst of times as we look into the future. But we must not forget that the God of history, the present and the future sits on the throne. The question has been asked - What will the future of the church look like? Church online is a blessing for many during this season and yet I wonder if it isn't adding to what many have already viewed as a convenience rather than a necessity. What will be the trajectory of relationships if the body does not habitually come together? The results are predictable because the fact is, we were not created to do life this way. (Remember the first "not good" of creation was that man was alone.) We cannot lose our dependance on one another because this will lead to a loss of relationship. I have seen lifelong friendships come to an end over one social media post. The devil horns we see above each other's heads tend to grow when we lose face to face interaction.

Tucked away in the New Testament is a short and intensely personal letter. It's not packed with theology and you won't find it at the top of most preaching lists. It is however, one of my favorites - Philemon. It reminds us that life is about relationships. First and foremost there is your relationship with God. If you get this right then all other relationships can be made right. Made right doesn't mean made easy but when Jesus enters our lives everything about us is radically changed. Philemon's story tells us how to restore and maintain what we were created for - relationship.

07/19/2020 - Do The Math

07/12/2020 - Go Home!

7/5/2020 - How To Be Generous - Philippians 4:10-20

My friend told me he wanted to know everything Jesus taught. I said it might surprise you to know that one-fourth of the time he spoke about money. He said, "Really? What else did he talk about?" One of the effects of the gospel going deeper into our souls is that it frees our fingers to loosen their grasp on our stuff. Generosity is one of the great evidences of truly being a disciple of Jesus Christ. But for the Christian, the issue is not just that we give, but how...

“God loves a cheerful giver” 2 Corinthians 9:7.

Christian generosity happily finds its' motivation from Jesus himself — our Savior, Lord and greatest treasure — demonstrated the ultimate in generosity in coming to save us...

“Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” 2 Corinthians 8:9.

If Jesus is in us, then increasingly such an open-handed tendency will be in us as well. We don't own anything. Instead we steward what we've been given. This leads to freedom.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Since our treasures reveal our hearts and our hearts are idol making machines then money reveals our idols. So we need help. Paul gives it to us in two simple paragraphs as he concludes his letter to the Philippian church. Contentment, needs vs wants, and the sacrifice of Jesus compel all believers to be generous stewards. Remember, the theme of the book of Philippians is joy and joy comes when you share with others!

06/28/2020 - How To Be Stable In Unstable Times - Philippians 4:1-9

There have only been a few times in my life when I've been far away from any city lights. When this happens there is one thing that cannot be ignored. One thing that screams for my attention. So I stare into the night sky filled with stars. It's awesome. The vastness of just that little slice of God's universe is an overwhelming thought. From our position on earth, there is one star perfectly placed by God that holds special significance. We call it Polaris, the North Star. Before the compass or sexton sailors used that fixed point to determine direction. Now more than ever we need a North Star in life. Of course, God has given it to us in his son Jesus Christ. I love what C.S. Lewis said...

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

Our exhortation from the Apostle Paul this week is a great one. Every single one of life's challenges is to be seen from a cosmic perspective. In other words, look up to the sky and remember that from heaven we await a savior who will transform our bodies. We will be in a place that is unbroken and untouched by sin's weariness. So let's put our earthly circumstances into that eternal perspective and find the path to joy on earth.

06/21/2020 - Press On - Philippians 3:12-21

Last week, we read about Paul's desire in Philippians Chapter 3 to know Christ by stating that He counted all as a loss for the value of knowing Jesus. He stressed that his supreme goal was to have righteousness, which only comes through faith in Jesus. In other words, Paul exchanged his work for the work of Jesus on the cross. He also said he wanted to know the power of His resurrection and to share His sufferings, even in His death. This is Christian maturity.

Our past can be a weapon. It can make us think that our future is determined by our former failures. Paul’s attitude toward pressing on to a goal is humble in that he does not consider himself perfect. He said that it was wise for him to forget things that are behind and reach forward for the prize that lies ahead, which is a divine call of God through His son, Jesus Christ. Paul also stressed the need for those who were mature to have the same mind and follow his example.

Can you see the tears streaming down Paul's face as he sends a heartfelt warning to those who do not walk properly by setting their minds on earthly things and making greed their god? He reminded the church at Philippi that a Christian’s true citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. As a matter of fact, Paul said, Jesus Christ will transform our bodies to conform to His glorious body upon His second coming.

Christian, your past does not determine your future. Stop feeding the monster that believes this. Every Biblical hero except Jesus was formerly rebellious to God in some way. Every human heart is crooked but in God's hands the crooked heart is made to draw straight lines!

06/14/2020 - Knowing Jesus - Philippians 3:1-11

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.
Philippians 3:8-9

​Sometimes it's hard to believe God accepts us as we are. We put in the work of salvation in hopes that God will put a smile on his face. Or perhaps we work so that he can be in our debt. Many people will say, "If I'm basically a good person then God will be duty-bound to throw open the gates of heaven for me!" Sometimes we make the relationship with our creator feel more like an employee to an employer. The challenge is that success is a moving target. How do we know if we've really been good enough? How do we know for sure that we have put a smile on God's face? This is a recipe for an anxious life of uncertainty. In the end, what we've done is put our hope in ourselves only to be devastated and worn out. We take our deep habit to gain approval from others and we apply it to the God who created us. This proves to be a fickle faith.

So let's take a breath and remember Paul's words above. There is a righteousness that has already been secured on our behalf. Jesus did it on the cross. All of the work that Paul put in as a religious zealot counted as nothing when it comes to earning God's favor. No longer did Paul want a righteousness of his own. This could also be called self-righteous. Instead, God wanted a pure heart that is dependent upon faith in Jesus. The pressure is off. The love is on. We now find our motivation to please God because of Christ's sacrificial work on our behalf.

06/07/2020 - Work Out What God Is Working In - Philippians 2:5-30

Last week, we received Paul's exhortation to think of others as more important than ourselves. This could not come at a better time. The injustices we've seen in our country have shaken our silos. God's people must lead the way by searching our own hearts, bearing one another's burdens and bringing the Gospel message of repentance, reconciliation and restoration. Paul reminds us that humility is the key to unity. We need help in the form of an example and of course, we have it in Jesus. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone modeled His heart? There's a simple Greek word Paul uses to describe Jesus's selfless action and it packs a punch - kenosis.

We often think about what Jesus gave up to come to earth. He had all the rights and privileges of deity and he set them aside and was born in a stable. But Jesus didn't just leave things behind. He also added. Jesus added to His divine nature a human nature as He humbled Himself for us. Jesus went from being the glory of glories in heaven to being a human being who was put to death on the cross.

“Taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” In the ultimate act of humility, the God of the universe became a human being and died for His creation. Philippians 2:7-8

Jesus took on human nature with all of its limitations, except with no sin. In humility he died for us, so we can live for him. His obedience to God's plan inspires us. Let's be honest. Sometimes we Christians are whiners. We have forgotten the unfathomable good will shown to us through our savior's obedience to the Father. Our obedience causes us to shine for others says Paul. This implies that people need to be shown the way. People are watching you Christian. Perhaps now more than ever they are asking questions – Does Jesus make a difference? Is Jesus real? Does he change anybody? What does a faithful Jesus follower look like and how does he or she influence culture? Paul says that when it comes to following God, "Please shine like stars!" Show them how Jesus lights our path and can light theirs too.