Gospel Like Jesus
Hey, man. What this morning? I want to talk about gospel Lean Like Jesus and I know that may sound strange to your ears cuz we're used to thinking of the word gospel as a noun. The gospel is the good news, but in the Greek at it's also over the gospel. The good news people announces like the gospel is good news to gospel is to bring the good news to declare the Proclaim to demonstrate the good news. We've been in this series called gospel fluency. I want personally to grow in my fluency in the gospel. I want us as a spiritual family to grow in not just our understanding of the Gospel. What if we don't we're not just trying to memorize some facts or some objective truths, but for us to grow in the function the functional use of the Gospel the gospel is not something that you believe wants and then move on to something else. The gospel is everything we start with the gospel. We stay in the gospel. We will finish in the gospel and that we we need to become fluent in the gospel because we need to become people that preach the gospel to ourselves. We need to be people that preach the gospel to each other and we need to be people that are called to bring the gospel to those who have not her. So we we have been given a mandate by Jesus. To bring the gospel to all people with we know this very well in Matthew 28 19 and 20. We know this is the Great Commission. Jesus said go therefore As You Go Make Disciples that that's what gospel in does when we gospel. We create disciples. He says that I want you to go there for with the announcement that what Jesus has done has given him all authority in heaven and on Earth. I want you to go and I want you to announce the word gospel doesn't appear in this verse but that's what this verse is all about. I want you to go and as you gospel people as you would now, so the good news of Jesus Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I Am With You Always to the very end of the age. This is what Jesus has asked us to do. and we need to own that just because most of us are very very familiar with this text actually makes it dangerous for us because the more familiar we are with it the danger of becoming overly familiar and assuming that we know it slips in I want you to let it sink in Jesus really wants you to be a part of this. Jesus really expects not only from you, but for you the joy of being a part of this but the Beauty and the Delight in The Wonder of being a part of God's word obscene disciples made of same people set free of watching people being released. From the power of sin in the fear of that. Is that something that God just wants the pastor's to do or a select few. This is what God expects for and from his church. That's you.
We're all called to be a part of this now. You see why we need to be gospel fluent then. Not just carrying a track around with us and leaving it as a tip at a restaurant. Please don't do that as a former waiter. You're going to do that. You better leave one heck of a good tip. All right? it's about we are so enraptured with God. We are so consumed with who he is and what he has done. It's such a natural and organic part of our lives that it just flows out of an in all of our conversation.
Jesus has made it clear that that he expects us to be a part of this great gospel work. I love John's version of this in the Gospel of John Jesus appears to his disciples. He scares them actually cuz he just appears in the room. After he calls them doubt. He says this dude said then peace be with you. as the father has sent me even so I am sending you. What I like about John's version here is that Jesus gives us another layer another level of what it means to be on mission to be sent by God Jesus. Jesus says the way that I did it. It's the way that you need to do it. This is this is such an important truth. We need this morning. I was I was going to preach a different sermon I was going to start going into how to preach the gospel to ourselves and then how to preach the gospel to each other and then we're going to get the how to bring the gospel to those that haven't heard. But before we could go there I had to do this. Because there's there's such a a reality in the human heart. We're such. proud sinful people that we can take almost anything and turn it into idolatry. So we can take something like the gospel and try to control it. We can take something like gospel fluency and say yeah, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get fluent in the gospel. I'm going on mission for Jesus. I'm going to do it like Jesus did I'm going to I'm going to be with people I'm a server money. I love them all of this stuff fluent. In the moment, we adopt that kind of mentality is is the moment we're in trouble because pride comes before a fall and God opposes the proud but gives Grace. to the humble What Jesus says here is absolutely vital for us to understand? Jesus says I want you to I'm sending you in the same way that the father sent me and then the next verse becomes absolutely vital and when he had said this he breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit.
If we are going to be men and women who are fluent in the gospel, we are going to be men and women that are sent by Jesus in the same way that Jesus was sent by the father. We need to be people that are filled with and led by the spirit of God. This is not something we pull off on our own Jesus didn't pull it off on his own about this many times. I'm going to keep talking about it because I think it's one of the greatest misunderstandings in the church today about Jesus. We read the gospels. We see his Miracle we see him doing crazy amazing things were like
Yes, he was God, but he emptied himself of his Divine perogative himself with his divine.
We're going to see this morning and in Luke chapter 4 that what Jesus did he did as a man as one of us empowered by the spirit?
Here's the challenge in our culture. Most of us come from one of two places on a spectrum we come from either the side that almost ignores the spirit that we're almost embarrassed by the spirit right to the father son and Casper the Holy Spirit then make a lot. Then there's the other side of the church that the charismatic movement that's taken the spirit as something to play with as this this The Giver of manifestations and experiences and angel dust and all sorts of crazy stuff.
It's all either ignore the spirit or we we abused the spirit. But Jesus wants us to be filled with the spirit. So that we might be used by the spirit and to be filled with the spirit is not the speaking tongues or or do something like that. They're manifestations of that but they all come under the mission of God, which is to gospel the world. To be filled with the spirit is to be empowered for the work of the Gospel that Jesus says in the same way that the father sent me. I'm sending you that he breathed on them receive the Holy Spirit. They can't do what Jesus did they won't be what Jesus was they won't be sent like Jesus was sent without the spirit of God.
We need the spirit of God. We need to think about the reality that the spirit of God not pass for the friendly Divine ghost. Not some power like the force in Star Wars not in personal personal. relational loving intelligent creative the person of the Holy Spirit dwells within you the lead you the guide you to strengthen you to call you. Spirit is what enables us to be who God made us to be and do what he's asking us to do. Let's look at how Jesus did it and Luke chapter 4 Luke chapter 4
I'm actually gone anywhere in the gospels. But I like this it Luke chapter 4 this happens take place right after Jesus was baptized. The Jesus goes to John the Baptist out in the wilderness there. He is baptized the heavens split open God speaks. The spirit descends and Jesus is Anointed for the work of the Gospel. And the first thing that happens chapter 4 verse 1 it says Jesus full of the Holy Spirit. Return from the Jordan and was led by the spirit. Let that sink in Jesus as a man has humbled himself to obedience came to show us what it looks like to be a man or woman of God submitted to the father. Jesus didn't tell the spirit what to do Jesus didn't try to use the spirit. He was being used by the spirit. Jesus wasn't in control. He humbled himself and committed himself to let it sink in. Jesus was led by the spirit. That let that sinkin if Jesus was led by the spirit you really think you don't need to be led by the spirit.
Where he was led as fascinating, right? He's led by the spirit not to Jerusalem not to the temple not to Rome not to the head of an army. He's led by the spirit is the first thing that happens. led by the spirit Into the Wilderness
and it wasn't like a party. for 40 days to be tempted by the devil.
The spirit leads Jesus into a place of desolation and nothingness to be tempted by the devil.
There's so many false gospels running around the church today. And I hear from people off and you know, if you know Jesus if you got the spirit, you're never going to be tempted if you if you know Jesus you got the spirit demons can't be in your presence because you're so holy and righteous. Have you even read your Bible?
Beaver ridiculous. I did Jesus sinless full of the spirit taken out into the Wilderness to be tempted by Satan.
Knowing. Being full of spirits is not a guarantee that you won't be attacked by the devil. It's actually a guarantee you will be attacked.
Nothing during those days a verse that hurts me to the Core.
And when they were ended he was hungry. I'm hungry. Just reading it.
You know how the story goes right the devil then comes and he gives them these three Temptations and Jesus respond and overcomes each one and at the end of it you rebuke the devil the devil leave him the Angels come and minister to him and Jesus overcomes. I'm not going to spend time reading that pretty well known if you've never read it before Rita. There's this really fascinating but what I want to think about this morning is, how did Jesus overcome those Temptations? How did Jesus deal? With the offer of the devil to turn away from God to something else.
The answer that is most commonly given and there's a huge element of truth to it. Is that he did it by the word of God if we just know the word of God? Then we're going to be able to overcome all temptation. We just know the word of God, then we're going to be able to resist the devil. If we just know the word of God. There's an element of Truth in that but there's a huge problem in it. In the problem is Jesus wasn't the only one using the word of God in the temptation.
It's almost cliche to say this, but the enemy knows the word of God better than you and I are ever going to and he's not afraid to use it if that Chris has been as his Mo from the beginning.
You don't really say what are you doing? Keep quoting God's word. Say the quote God's word to take it out of context to twist it a little bit and use it to manipulate and control and deceive and move us away from God to something else.
the word of God Alone Is not how Jesus overcame? How did Jesus overcome Temptation he did it by the power of the spirit used the word of God, but it was not just the word of God. Was the power of spirit the whole thing is frame in this chapter by Jesus being full of the spirit being led by the spirit in order to be tempted. And when that Temptation comes hungry, this is not about his strength. This is not about his which is not he's been stripped now 40 days. No food. No water probably Supernatural fast. He is absolutely empty.
And full of the spirit. The point of this story is not to look at Jesus and go I better memorize a whole bunch of scripture so I can argue with the Devil. You try to argue with the devil. You're going to lose every time. Jesus was not using his intelligence and creativity his knowledge. Jesus was full of the spirit led by the spirit and this is what allowed him to overcome. If you want to overcome. And I hope there's some people that want to be Overcomers in the room. You want to be separate if you want to stop doing what you've always done if you want to start doing what you've never done. If you want to grow in Grace, if you want to look more and more like Jesus is not going to happen cuz you showed up at church to listen to the sermon that going to happen cuz you listen to a bunch of podcasts not going to happen cuz you go to a seminar for read a book or pay somebody for it. The only way it happens. Is when the same power that raised Jesus from the dead takes up residence in you and gives your mortal life strain. We need the spirit of God. In the spirit of God quite frankly has been far too neglected by most of us and buy most of our churches.
And then we wonder why we're stuck in our said we wonder why we're not growing because no one grows without the spirit. No one.
Jesus didn't why would we think we would I mean really think Jesus had to rely upon the spirit, but we're going to pull it off because we got 21st century technology what? I don't know what it is that we think. Are we thinking? Jesus overcame Temptation by the spear that wasn't just over coming to everything that Jesus did. What's the lad in controlled and driven and empowered by the spirit at the at the end of his temptation? Let's let's jump back into the text Luke chapter 4 starting and verse or team. It says this and Jesus returned in the power of the spirit the cow that you see the book answer verse 1 Jesus full of spirit led by the spirit goes into the Wilderness comes out first 14U returns in the power of the spirit.
Luke wants us to understand that what Jesus had just started doing. Is because something has changed.
He now has been empowered and anointed by the Holy Spirit. The returns and report about him went out through all the surrounding country and he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all. Now, it's Jesus now that he's been empowered by the spirit when he goes somewhere and talk people are amazed.
They're mates. Not because he's the son of God the second part of the Trinity, but because he is a man empowered by the spirit. They're Austra because the power of the spirit. Is flowing through him. It says that he came to Nazareth. Well, if you know anything about Jesus name, that means he's coming home. This is his hometown. You know, it's my 30th year Heights High School reunions this year. That hurts me to think about.
And I I think I'm going to go back for my reunions, but there's a part of me that really wants to and there's a part of me that doesn't want to write there's a part of me. That just doesn't want to going home. get going home to
What you used to be? Who what other people knew you asked I'm not who I was then but man sometimes just stepping back into the environment. Jesus is now going home is going back to Nazareth where he grew up.
This is as was his custom. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
You still up to me? Scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, Isaiah 61. the spirit of the Lord is upon me. Don't don't miss that. Look at what Luke is trying to tell us.
The spirit of the Lord is upon me. And he's annointed me to Proclaim good news to gospel. Where the Spirit come upon Jesus to do? the gospel Proclaim the good news. Jesus said as the father has sent me so I send you. Spirit anointed Jesus if we're going to be sent by Jesus we better do it in the power of the spirit. The gospels annoy me to Proclaim good news to the poor. He sent me to Proclaim Liberty to Chapters the recovery of sight to the blind to set at Liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. It's good news. Jesus was anointed by the spirit to proclaim the good news of God to the world that deserve nothing but bad news.
They rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendance and he sat down. Call Shirley this is interesting cuz in our culture when somebody's going to teach they stand up and everybody else sits down, right? That wasn't how the the Jewish culture did. It. Just come out. There are no chairs in that silly guy. Probably everybody else is standing up the teacher sits down. I kind of wish we could switch that around.
Would help gas stay awake.
He's going to know he's not going to. Tell them about what he's just said he sits down in the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to them today. The scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
You just heard I just done it. This just happened. The spirit has come upon me and I've now proclaimed it. It's just happen.
Reply to this is this is a really important verse one that we often. Just run over it says and all spoke well of him. And Marvel at his gracious words that we're coming from his mouth and they said it was Joseph.
Why is this an important verse? Because Jesus has lived in Nazareth. By my account at least 20 years. He's he's 30 years old at this time. They watched him grow up. He's lived in that tongue. Probably working with his dad as a carpenter. Every day they've seen him they've encountered him. They watched him rough and and Jesus was Jesus, but without the spirit.
You was just another person in the town. Just a carpenter. Just Joseph son. So when the spirit Came Upon him there was such a radical difference that everybody was amazed there like you feel back. I talked to experience the authority and the power and the grace when he spoke in that little Joseph.
I love I love that Jesus lived for 30 years as a man and nothing spectacular happen.
Cuz I've been living a little bit more than 30 years. I'm by myself. Nothing spectacular going to happen.
When Jesus gets filled with the spirit and he shows up back home. He Gospels. They are amazed Joseph what happened to him? And that's what's supposed to happen. People aren't supposed to look at us to go. Wow. You are awesome. Wow you They're supposed to go what happened to you. Something's different about you. No, you keep reading the story gets interesting cuz Jesus then goes to pick a fight with them and they try to kill him and he just walks out of town. That happens to us to recognize this morning. Is that when the spirit Came Upon Jesus it made such a radical difference that those who knew him best. We're amazed and in shock and awe because of the difference the presence of the spirit May. Now if that was true for Jesus the sinless Spotless Lamb of God, don't you think you and I need the spirit to make a difference in our lives?
You might my sense it. Here's my goal this morning. I want to convince you that you absolutely need the spirit of God hears my assumption many if not, most of you walked in here this morning and you weren't thinking that I need the spirit of God today. Just wondering if it wasn't at the top of your list. It wasn't on your radar many of that. Most of you have you been followers of Jesus? You prayed the prayer. You've you've got that you've been in this church if you've been in Bible studies you been you need faith and you need Jesus and yeah, you've got that you're not going to hell you're going to heaven you're going to try to be good. But keeping in step with the spirit following a reading of the spirit listening to the spirit being empowered by the spirit being used by the spirit doesn't show up on our radar. And that's why the power of the Gospel not showing up in our lives are in our community is not about our power and if we're not killed Vlad and dynamic control and use by the spirit, nothing good will happen in our lives. nothing the spirit want you to walk out of here this morning going man. I I need to be filled with I need to be led by the spirit not I need an experienced writing manifestations of the spirit. I want to know the state. I want to know me I want to be died and I want to be I want to be filled. I want to be used. I want to live like Jesus.
Jesus lived as a man filled and empowered by the spirit.
this is
Not a surprise, then when we get to the book of Acts in the church is born. Jesus tells when you going to go do what I've asked to do in the power of the spirits going to come upon you going to be my Witnesses and so go and wait in Jerusalem. And they waited in Acts chapter 2 it says this. on the day of Pentecost
arrived They were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from Heaven of sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and it divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
When you read the gospels and you see Jesus's anointing and baptism of the spirit what happened the heavens parted God spoke. The spirit anointing descends Upon Jesus when the church is born when the followers of Jesus are gathered together and what place what happened? The heavens are ripped apart the tongues of fire speak the spirit descend not just on Peter not just on the 11 now all of them.
And they began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance out. Let me be clear. This is not a prayer language. It's not some mystical experience. This is not them having a private conversation with god and some other language. They are speaking actual other languages.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews about men from under every nation under the heavens. It was a celebration season and Festival. There are people from all over the world. And at the sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
Aside from the the wow factor of a bunch of Jewish people speaking in other languages. That's not what is important about this text how they were speaking that's demigods doing that. It's what they are speaking. Everybody's amazed cuz they're hearing them speak in their own language and they were amazed and astonished saying are these not galileans? How are they speaking in our language? And how is it that we hear each of us in our own native language parthians and medes and the lamb is Andres events of Mesopotamia, Judea Cappadocia Pontius and Asia. Phrygia, and philia Egypt the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene and visitors from Rome. That edifying to just read an ancient Atlas like that. What's the point of people there so many languages so many voices and they're tearing it in their own language. And then if you've ever spent time in a foreign country where all you hear is another language when you hear somebody speak your language is speaks right to your heart is like it's like water in the desert. It's like light in the Darkness. Speaking my language that you are these people there from all over the world there in Jerusalem at the temple. Or sacrifices and their hearing their heart language and what are they hearing about using flashlight Springs and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongue the mighty works of God. What are the hearing there sharing the gospel?
sharing the gospel When the spirit Came Upon the church on Pentecost this next week is next week is Pentecost Sunday? When the spirit Came Upon the church at Pentecost he empowered them to gospel the world. That's what the spirit does. That's what the spirit is for if you and I Want to be people that gospel like Jesus the only way we have a hope of that happening is to like Jesus be filled with joy and be led by the spirit that empowers us the gospel. Don't you dare try to do this on your own? Don't you think for a second that you're smart enough or strong enough that if you read enough books or memorize enough Bible passages are give enough ties or do that. It's somehow you're going to make yourself fluent in the gospel. You're going to go do something for God because nobody does anything for god without the spirit. It is not by might. It is not by power. But it is by my spirit. Set the Lord God on my search. We've been given the most amazing gift in the holy spirit of God, lets stop ignoring him. And let's stop trying to use him. Let's be filled with him. Let's submit to him. Let's follow him and oh by God's grace. May you and I be used by him like Jesus. Amen Church. Let's pray.