"Here And Now" Pastor Holden Tyner
Perspective Shift.. 2.0
Opening Questions:
What if heaven is not the goal?
What if Jesus didn’t die to only get you to heaven?
If Jesus died to only get you to heaven, then why are you still here?
Here it is, The reality is that Jesus died to put you in relationship with God and get you into His presence not just when you die and go to heaven but right now.
That infinite meaning, identity, purpose, and love from God is for here and now.
Sermon Title: Here and Now
This means that right now, the children of God no longer are limited when it comes to God’s presence. It means that our lives have just as much purpose now with the invisible presence of God as they will in the physical presence of God in heaven. This is because the presence of God is with us through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
An intimate relationship with God is not some distant thing when you die, it’s right now. It is for here and now
He is not just the man upstairs that we call on when we need something and is not involved in our lives. No he is our Heavenly Father, who deeply wants us to know Him and is more involved in your life than you’ll ever know!
This means that the pursuit of God and living a life that reflects that is for HERE and NOW
Here are the 3 main aspects of the Here and Now that I want to talk about tonight: Identity, Purpose, and Communion
I want to hit on communion last because it’s the foundation that identity and purpose are built on
Identity - The identity found in Christ is now who you are.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 1 Peter 2:9
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
Jesus is not to just be a badge you wear, a moral list you ascribe to, a status you update, or a group you belong to…. Jesus is not just a part of your life, he is the sum total of your life
Jesus said, if you want to follow me you must deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me
That means you die to your old self, your old ways, your sinful desires. They are to be crucified daily
📝 Many of you aren’t conforming to Christ because you aren’t crucifying your flesh
When you truly encounter Jesus, you cannot help but begin to change
📝 Your identity is now hidden in Christ
There is a weight that lifts off of you when you learn that your identity is sealed in Christ’s perfection 🏋️
Purpose - The mission of God is now what marks you.
Purpose - the reason for which something is created or for which something exists.
“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and 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 end of the age."”
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Jesus went to heaven and left the disciples on earth - why didn’t he take them?
He said this before he left
Go therefore and 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.
Great commission is the mission ❌
God has you here to accomplish his mission and he said what that was in the great commission
“Go therefore and 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.”
This looks different for everyone:
The pastor, the teacher, the school student, the waiter/waitress, the janitor, the mom/dad, the medical field worker, whatever your season of life…. The great commission is your purpose
If God is…. Talk about it
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Awesome truth: He created you on purpose for a purpose
After being saved, God is crafting your life to His purposes and pleasures for your life. He will give you the ability and the desire to do what He is calling you to do, the question is whether or not you will live them out?
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
“Should walk in them” - you determine what you walk in
God works in and through us. We are not always perfect but we strive for what He has for us
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
Philippians 3:12-16 ESV
Not perfect but I press on
The past is the past but I’m running fast to the goal
There is an upward call and I’m not about to let the phone keep ringing
I am here to answer the call
I don’t have to be distracted, I don’t have time to stop growing, I can’t give up, I can’t give in, the call on my life is too important, the impact that God wants to do in and through me is too great, I will press toward the goal
📝 You are not just a number to God, you are CHOSEN!
Full of identity
Full of purpose
Communion - intimate relationship with God is for here and now
Communion - the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.
Do you have that type of relationship with God?
We do communion as the Christian church with the bread and juice but true communion is meant to be a daily exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings with God
My goals have been off throughout my life at times, but it is when my goal is to pursue God I’m satisfied and fulfilled. My attitude is different. I treat people better. I share about Jesus more. I’m more joyful and happy.
Asaph writes
“28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.”
Psalm 73:28
“8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” John 4:8
📝 The only one who can satisfy us is the One who made us
“God has made us for himself, and our hearts can never know rest and perfect satisfaction until they find it in Him” -Hannah Hurnard
Until you learn to be SATISFIED in God, you will be thirsting for everything else
The social media won’t be enough
The games won’t be enough
The significant other won’t be enough
The drinking won’t be enough
The food won’t be enough
The video games won’t be enough
The job won’t be enough
The promotion won’t be enough
The money won’t be enough
When did God stop being enough?
- God’s presence and glory in our lives are for here and now, and that is enough!
“But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 3:18
📝 If beholding the Lord changes us into the same image from glory to glory then if you are not being changed, you’re not beholding
Do you behold the Lord? “To gaze upon
If you are not Beholding the Lord, you are beholding something
You are changed into what you behold
I see children who act just like their parents, they talk just like their parents, their mannerisms are like their parents. Parents say kids are like sponges and will repeat everything you say
“So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”
John 5:19 ESV
If you are not becoming like Jesus more and more each day, then you need to spend more time beholding Jesus
You are changed into what you behold
The Bible says You reap what you sow and if you sow the things of God, you cannot expect to reap the things of God.
📝 If you do not like who you are becoming, change what you’re beholding
The reality is that even as a believer, you will only be as strong in your identity and purpose as you are in you communion with God
Your Christian walk cannot be built on just hype or feelings with no true communion
True Communion leads to change… if you are not in communion with God in your daily life, the change with be temporary - simply temporary behavior modification
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want just behavior modification or a set of moral rules yet no relationship and depth with God Almighty.
And quite frankly, I’m tired of seeing people of the church who just want things from God yet neglect God himself.
People who put on the appearance of holiness but don’t chase the one who is holy
What we need as a church is:
Real over routine
Holiness over hypocrisy
Joy over Jealousy
Intimacy over idolatry
Real over routine:
There is enough routine religion towards God in the world, the world needs to see real relationship with God if we want to see revival
Holiness over hypocrisy:
We cannot be holy people without fully yielding to the Holy Spirit.
The reason the church has been labeled hypocrites is because it’s a people who want to appear holy but not be yielded to a Holy Spirit
You can be disciplined, but without a desire to commune with God daily, it will be nothing but dead devotion
Discipline without desire only leads to dead devotion
Joy over jealousy:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Philippians 2:1-2
When we are jealous, we are not carrying the joy of the Lord
If we are not joyful, then we are not walking in the fruit of the spirit
When we are jealous, we are showing we are not content with what God has given us
When we envy we are telling God that he hasn’t given us what we need
And where does Joy come from? The Bible says in God‘s presence is the fullness of joy.
Jesus talked in John 15 about abiding in God - he said this
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my fathers commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your Joy may be full
FULL … YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL
When you are jealous, you’re not satisfied. You’re not full
The reason why the people of the church become jealous, bitter, self righteous, hateful, judgmental, prideful is because we have gotten away from his presence
It’s time the church show the love and joy of the one we serve
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”
John 13:35
Intimacy over idolatry:
You cannot have intimacy with God if you have greater affections than God, that’s idolatry
If you do not have intimacy with God, it’s because you have intimacy with idols
Your identity will not feel secure in Christ if you idolize other things before God
Your purpose will not be his if your priority is not God
Your communion with God will be shallow if you are complacent in your faith
📝 Complacency creeps in when we are not intentional
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You see, I’m not just cruising all the way to heaven so my identity, purpose, and communion with God can start then
No.. that was never how it was meant to be
Jesus prayed that Gods will would be done on earth as it is in… heaven
I may not see his face now, but I still have His presence inside of me
My assignment may be apart from His face, but never away from His presence
Heaven is simply a continuation of my eternity with him that has already started
He has us here to proclaim the gospel, make disciples, and become like Him by pursuing Him
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Is your value and worth found in Jesus?
Is your life hidden in Christ?
Are you living His purposes and plans out Here and Now?
Are you pursuing Him here and now?
____
When we get to heaven, it’s not gonna be “Welcome home, let’s get started”
We want to hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant”
___
Will you be found being good?
Will you be found being faithful?
Does a servant of God describe your life?
I want to do everything he has called me to here and now!
There is identity, purpose, and communion with God, not just in heaven, but here and now!
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