A Different Kind of Savior

Scripture I'll be reading is from Jeremiah. chapter 33 verses 14 through 16 if you like to follow in the true Bible is number 563

The babies are coming declares the Lord. And I will fulfill the gracious promise. I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch Sprout from David line. He will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved. And Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called. the Lord our righteousness

the word of the Lord

Good morning. Thank you for We're having us again. We're going to start sharing a little bit of an update of what's what's happening in our lives since the last time we were here. It was exactly a year ago the first Sunday of Advent on that we were here last time and then we were still living in Harrisonburg and we were training and praying and getting ready to to move to Richmond where God called us to plant garden City Church and at the beginning of August. We we moved to Richmond to the south side of the city to start this work that God called us to and so we've been there since August I guess. 4 months not sure how long I've been 4 months since August and since then we've been we've been learning about the city learning the culture of the unique neighborhood that were getting we have jobs in the city now, they actually the first day Kendra finished her teaching license at JMU in Harrisonburg in May and the day we moved to Richmond. She was offered a teaching position at a middle school about 20 minutes south of us which was a huge answer to prayer to have a full-time job have health insurance and all those those important things that can be a pain to get sometimes so that it's kind of been doing that. It's been it's been a good time. It's been challenging very challenging but it's been it's been wonderful to have that provision at the beginning of October. I was offered a job driving school bus for the City of Richmond right now. I'm still driving the van start my training for the For the big buses this week, but by the grace of God, I'm driving for elementary aged girls from our neighborhood to their school. That's a wonderful time. And this past Sunday. Actually. We were walking to it to visit a church in our neighborhood and we saw one of the girls that I drive to school walking their dog with her dad and it's just didn't really expect to have a job like this we do I do end we're just really thankful for for how God is has provided in that way. And like I said, we're learning about about our community one of the things that we're making part of our schedule it to do regular pair walks through the community asking God to show us people of Peace who would receive the Gospel message to Tim just learned about the community learn history of it and two to ask God to reveal to us places where where his light needs to be shown on. We we know that God is at work in the community. And so we are visiting other churches to to learn where God is already at work there too so that we can join in the work. They got is already doing in that community. And then we've also been trying to be intentional about the places that we are Recreation. There's a dance studio just a few blocks from our house that can just been going to pretty often with free Community classes. We're just there's a wonderful mix of people that that attend there and she's been making some good connections through that and I've been participating in the cycling seen the Richmond Tazewell Pike. And then so the two of us right now. We're we are worshipping every Saturday evening. We come together to just sing some songs together and pray for the neighborhood pray for you. Pray for for doors to be open for us to go to reach out to share share the gospel to find places of connection in the neighborhood and I'm singing Just praising God for what he's done for us and for it why he has provided for us since we since we moved and then we've also felt a more of a clarification regarding our mission and vision for Garden City Church. So I Garden City Church we want to to seek the wholeness of our community by focusing on multiplication of Jesus followers maturity and faith and reconciliation with God and others as we as we seek relief on Earth through Christ so that we can walk with God in the city of Richmond as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eating before before the fall before sin entered this world. And so that is that's the vision that we seek holness in our community to pray with us until that you're praying church because so many people were sharing request and then turn them together to pray for you all to pray with us for people with these people who had to accept us and the gospel message within our neighborhood. We would also like you to pray for we want some regular ways to serve our community we so we can do that on a regular basis and maybe that's something that we create maybe it's joining in something that already exists for the you would pray for those opportunities and that you would also pray for people who already know Jesus to join us in Ministry. We move to Richmond just the two of us and we would love a team to come together. From the neighborhood to to build Garden City Church in something that came to me as we were singing this morning and worshiping together in Comfort comfort of my people. The last line says God's word is never broken and through multiple different songs that Tyler and I have been singing regularly and scriptures that have come to ass have been reminding us that God's promises are never broken that he is faithful always and when you all were singing at the sleep sleep that song God is the one who's keeping his vigil over us and I would love for you all to pray for us that we would remember that this Venture is not about us driving. It's not about us building the church, but about Christ building the church and that he is the one who who works even while we're sleeping who works in through our weakness. And we want to remember that because we want this church in Richmond to be fully centered on Christ and his love for everyone. So thank you for allowing us to come and share with you this morning. We do we think you like I said, it's been a year since we were here last and since then we we know that you all have been praying for us encouraging us supporting us and at Paul rights. We thank God for you whenever we remember you in our prayers, so it really does mean a lot to to have the support of this church. So, thank you. So we're going to be looking at at Jeremiah 33 today. As you know, this is the first Sunday of Advent when when the church the Christian church together is waiting expectantly for the celebration of Christmas the celebration of God coming to Earth as a human the celebration of the word becoming flesh and in Christmas. We are we are celebrating when Jesus set up the kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven and do this began that Kingdom and this this Prophecy from Jeremiah is a prophecy about that King that was to come so I'm going to read read the scripture again. You can follow along long as I read. It's Jeremiah 33 Prophecy in the Lord. He writes the days are coming declares the Lord when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel into the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch Sprout from David's line. He will do what is just in the right in the land in those days. Judah will be saved in Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called the Lord our righteousness.

So I want you to think this morning about a time in your life when you felt a sense of relief maybe you narrowly avoided a car crash and I you find you get past in your thank you God that and I'm safe or maybe you've been saying for a test for a long time and you take the test and you're not quite sure if you if you passed it and then you finally get that the ra test results back and you passed you said let out that sigh of relief or maybe you've been saving up for a vacation and you finally get their you actually remembered all of your luggage. The traffic was safe you get there. The weather is nice and you can finally sit down and put your feet up and just free that sigh of relief. Hopefully, I'm sure you all can can think of a time when you felt relief like that and I'm going to share a story that I read back in September about somebody else that I saw it having having a time of release. Do you might have read it as well? There is a historian in the news about a man. I think it was in Pennsylvania who had been wrongfully accused of murder and it's been 20 years in prison after 20 years in prison years finally declared innocent and he was released from prison and I watch I watch the video as he as he comes out and down the steps and there is this crowd of news reporters and cameras and journalist video taping this event and it's in the middle of the crowd is his family and they are there crying they're hugging each other. They're they're shouting out. Thanks. And of course the video taping it all in their phones as well. But as I was watching it, I I felt a sense of relief for what this man was experiencing for this family. I felt a sense of relief for them and I can't even imagine what kind of relief they were feeling after 20 years of wrongful imprisonment. This man was released. And this is this is kind of the the sense of relief that Jeremiah is prophesying will come over the people of God when this Branch Sprouts from David's line because when when when we see what is just in right done in the land, we would expect to feel a sense of relief because we all sort of have innate within us this this desire to see Justice and righteousness done. It's an expression of our love that we have within each of us. We want to see what is Justin Wright done in the land and Jeremiah Wright's that God will fulfill the gracious promise he made when there's something that has been long unfulfilled is now fulfilled we would expect to feel a great sense of relief. We would expect a crowd of journalists and news reporters videotaping the moment when Justice and righteousness meets the Earth, But instead when the branch does spring up from David's line the people of God feel disappointment with confusion. Instead of that sigh of relief that they were getting ready to feel they feel disappointment. And if you think about it, why would why would there be relief this branch that that came up was it was Jesus? And when Jesus came onto the scene in his ministry when he was about 30 years old the Jewish people had been under Roman oppression for 60 years. That's six decades and Dad suffered years of abuse and a fence and oppression under the Roman government and their money has been taken their livestock. Their produce has been taken by the Roman government in in the form of taxes and they've been their lives and sort of been dictating way that they did not control or like by the Roman government. The Roman government would call on Jewish people themselves to to essentially betrayed their communities to extract these taxes for the Romans and people were getting fed up with this Roman government controlling their lives. Xanax 5 weird about to revolts that it just happened where where some Jewish people. I tried to take justice into their own hands and gone and revolted against the Roman the Roman government to try and throw off this oppressive yoke that have been on then they wanted Justice and Freedom the people wanted a savior or Messiah that would come to bring them Justice and freedom. But instead they get Jesus and Jesus comes and brings Justice and righteousness, which is a different kind of freedom. But just because Jesus was not necessary the Messiah that the people expected doesn't mean that Jeremiah was wrong with this prophecy doesn't mean that Jesus was not this Branch the sprouted up from David's line because yes, Jesus doesn't threaten the oppressive Roman government, but he is about Justice and righteousness throughout his life instead of turning his Gaze on the oppressive government. He turns his gaze and his focus on how the people of God themselves are living rightly in their land. If we look at Luke for Luke chapter 4 when Jesus begins his ministry, he he is in a synagogue near his hometown and he opens the Scrolls of Isaiah 2 to read the scripture and give the message and he opens his girl to Isaiah and he reads that the spirit of the Lord is upon him to go and Proclaim good news to the poor and set the prisoner free recovery of sight to the to the Blind and freedom for the oppressed. And then Jesus tells the people that are gathered around listening to him that today this scripture has been fulfilled and these are exciting things like recovery of sight to the blind. The prisoners are being set free and there's good news for the poor. Is there exciting things. I saw the people here that this scripture being fulfilled and I start to get all excited like this. Jesus really be the Messiah Jesus really be the branch that is sprouting from David's line and then the excitement in the in the space. tangible but then Jesus decides to keep talking and people start to get a little bit uncomfortable. He shares shares two stories with the Jewish people that they would have been very familiar with from there and their scriptures. The one is the story of of Elijah being sent to the Widow in Zarephath and their effect is a town that was in a neighboring country siding and siding was known as this at the time of this Bastion of evil where the evil queen Jezebel was from and Jesus points out that Elijah was sent to this riddle inside in two by the power of God allow her and her son to live. And Jesus, there's another story about Elijah Elijah successor who God sends to him name and the commander of an enemy Army. Hooah, just finished. The rating is real and taking Jewish captives and name and came to Elijah with Leprosy. And by the power of God Elijah healed Naaman for leprosy. And now the people that we're listening to Jesus and we're getting excited about that. Jesus could be the Messiah start to think why is Jesus bringing up these stories? Why is Jesus bringing up these stories about these people who know moral upstanding Jew would even be caught standing next to why is Jesus sharing these stories about how God provided for them? These aren't the stories. We tell our children.

But Jesus shares me stories to to show that as as Paul writes in Romans, 2:11. God shows no favoritism. That all people are worthy of justice and righteousness.

And all these people who were all excited about about Jesus in the scripture being fulfilled now now they're feeling the feeling angry or confused that sigh of relief that were just about getting ready to feel caught in their throat. In fact, they get so angry with Jesus just for him sharing these two stories that they try to kill him right there. What is here that we noticed something about Jesus life a theme that that flows throughout his ministry in the theme that gives us a lens with which we can look at our own lives that Jesus is about Justice and righteousness. They might not have been the justice and righteousness that the people of God expected their Messiah to bring but it is Justice and righteousness. He's going to point out for highlights from Jesus life. Jesus ministry where he is where he shows that his time on Earth is to do what is Justin right in the land. The first is that Jesus calls a tax collector to be one of his disciples one of his closest friends. And remember what I said about the how the Romans called Jewish people to be tax collectors and betray their communities these these tax collectors in Jesus times where people who nobody else would give a second chance, they would be traded their communities and they were pushed out to the boundaries and ended the Pharisees than even had a separate category for four people to work tax collectors. It was a whole separate category of being bad and immoral you had Sinners and you also had these tax collectors. Are pushed out to be outside but Jesus invites this tax collector to be one of his disciples one of his followers. It shows that he is about Justice and righteousness even to people who others think don't deserve it. Another example is Jesus heals a man who has leprosy and Jesus. Jesus doesn't just just stand at a distance from the man and Sago that the spirit of the Lord has made you clean you are healed but instead Jesus approaches the man enters into conversation with them and then does a very drastic thing where he reaches out his hand and he touches this man with Leprosy to heal him. Any other Jew at that time would have avoided anyone with Leprosy at all costs. They don't even want to touch something that that someone is leprosy. I just touched out of fear of being made unclean they made they made people with Leprosy go around with bells shouting that they were unclean so that Jews would know to leave and leave them alone. A Jesus box the system and walks up to this man and approaches him and enters in the conversation and touches him. Another example is is that Jesus invited women to be followers and Disciples of him as well women in that time work. We're second-class citizens where their testimony actually wasn't even valid in court because they were considered such second-class citizens in Jesus invites women to be his followers and disciples and Elevate them to a position of equality and points points out that they are with him and and give them a place at the table of fellowship and that time something that was completely untraditional and against the grain of the culture. In the last last example is Jesus and his disciples are walking through Samaria and they go through this town where the people in this town rejected Jesus and two of Jesus disciples James and John say and he's asleep people rejected. You should we call down fire from heaven and consume them. Jesus rebukes them says no, maybe that's what other religious leaders do at the time. Maybe that's what Kings and governments will do and people reject them as they will destroy the people that have rejected them. But no that is not what we will do.

Like I said these give us a lens for how we can can look at our own life. If we could think about the tax collector, who who do you know who is pushed out to the margins? Who do you know who no one else is giving a second chance, but but who deserves to to be brought in to the community, who do you know that you can offer my hand to to bring them back into community and give them that second chance they deserve Jesus he just touches and engages in conversation with a leper an outcast in society. Who do you know that that needs that kind of touch who needs that kind of relationship? Who do you know that you can extend the the joy of communion with another person instead of just charity? Jesus invites second-class citizens to be part of his Entourage. Who do you know that might be considered a second-class citizen? Who deserves a seat at the table of Fellowship? Do you know that instead of seeking Vengeance and violence against you can flip the script and offer. Peace.

I can't answer those questions for you. And hopefully you're answering them yourself the maybe to hear you're resisting the idea a little bit like some of these people really don't quite deserve justice and righteousness. But and if that's the case, that's okay. You can wrestle with these things. But I encourage you to look at the life of Jesus and how Jesus lived his life in his ministry and read read the rest of the New Testament where the writers are encouraging us to look back in Jesus and model of Our Lives after come and do what Jesus did because Jesus spent his time on Earth with the broken with the poor with the outcasts with me in moral with a sinful people the people who are longing for something more or longing for a full life. And Jesus Jesus focuses on the people that the Jewish system was making an outcast. He calls out the Roman depression where where he sees it. He doesn't ignore that. There are systems that are oppressing the people but his focus is on the outcast. Which sounds good to us when we read it too. We can be excited when we see Jesus with the poor in the sick and the lame and with a sinful and we can we can cheer him on like go Jesus be with me with the four people in front of the church leaders call out the system so precious when you see it heal the sick. we are excited about the justice and the righteousness that Jesus is bringing but then it can be easy for us to go back to our homes back to our family and our friends and our jobs and our communities and forget that we also need Justice and righteousness and forget that that our family and our friends need Justice and righteousness forget that are our co-workers and our communities need Justice and righteousness to

And Jesus has commissioned his church to carry this Justice and righteousness out into the land Haddon Jesus resurrection Ascension, which is after his resurrection in commissions. His disciples his followers to go and make disciples baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything. He's commanded us to do teach in them to to do what Jesus did and we take we take this commission to take justice and righteousness to the land that is the commission from Christ to his church and I am thankful to be part of a church tradition that is taking this call to Justice and righteousness. Seriously anabaptist Palmer Becker rights in his little pamphlet about what is an anabaptist Christian and I know that at least some of your familiar with this because I saw it on your website, but he names three things that Are essential to being an anabaptist Christian and one is that Jesus is the center of our faith which is why were anticipating celebrating Christmas. That's why we're talking about Jesus all morning too. Is that Community is the center of our Lives which is why we're gathered together. That's why it's why we have the local church. an answered that reconciliation is the center of our work reconciliation when when Justice and righteousness are reunited with

And this this work a Reconciliation is not finished Jesus when he was here. He did what is just and right in the land when he was here. He he began the kingdom of God. We celebrate celebrate Christmas. We're celebrating God coming to Earth in Jesus and we are celebrating the inauguration or the beginning of the kingdom of God a kingdom that we live in now as Disciples of Christ. And we still wait for for that the kingdom to come fully when when Jesus comes again and Justice and righteousness pour out over the face of the Earth that they may not be with us yet. But for now Jesus has commissioned us his church to carry out this work of justice and righteousness to proclaim the kingdom of God here on Earth to invite other people into relationship with Jesus. The prophecy that Jeremiah gave has come. Jesus did what is just in right in the land of the promise that God gave is being fulfilled. Jesus day was Justin right in the land of he is with us always giving us Power by his Spirit to go out and to do the same to do. What is Justin right to work for reconciliation to invite others into relationship with Jesus. I'm so as we go out as we live our our normal everyday lives, especially in the season of Advent. Let's not forget our call to reconciliation. Let's not forget our call to Justice and righteousness taking the kingdom of God and the gospel with us wherever it is that we work wherever we live wherever we play.