MCC Podcasts
Theology Matters -- Big Words, Big Difference
Hey, man, how is he doing that? Where is he? Does anybody know I? Didn't I really I honestly I got up here and I was trying to be all spiritual and I thought where's Michael? I don't Hey bless you happy new year And we turned on the lights because we're gonna have you in your texts this morning in the Bibles as we come to God's word You know, this is just an hour worship gathering. We're gonna make good use of it celebrate the new year and Get into God's word a little bit we have all of our Our new power point for my sermon for our new sermon series is all emailed and it's in the ether Somewhere between here and our down church internet So we do not have any sermon notes up there and we don't have the cool new graphics for our new sermon series But we're gonna introduce it anyway because as I scan the room Most of you look smart enough to get it without pictures, you know, like the books that you're supposed to be reading They don't have pictures anymore. I think you can get that so we're gonna place you and do that Let's pray one more time. Let's put our hands out as in a spirit of receiving from the Lord and we'll come to God's word Father, thanks for your word. Thanks for speaking to us with it and For some of us with the whirlwind of the week. This may be the first time we've been in your word in a while And so we open it up God with anticipation And our hands are outstretched as a symbol that we want to hear from you this morning That all our hopes and longings All of them God come to this moment this place where we say God Will you show up for me? I? Want to worship you? I want to hear you in your word. I want to hear your voice to me And so we just trust that God pour out into our open palms whatever you have an Encouragement a challenge a rebuke a correction An instruction a truth that I need to know That I would not leave here the same as I came That's our prayer and faith God. That's why our hands are outstretched. That's why we show up here today We want to meet with you the living God who loves us so come and speak for your servants are listening Come and speak God For your servants are listening If that's your prayer say amen Amen So this is a cruel joke for me right here I'm telling you right now if you can see up front that there's all these candles right around me It's making me stand still the next thing you'll do is tie my hands behind my back and I won't be able to speak at all Hey, you know, I forgot we want to do a little family business before we Get to God's word - we two things next week a regular worship times Begin again nine and ten forty-five. How many of you are here at nine today raise your hand go ahead tall and real tall Okay, the ashes. Yeah, you two John We're well done nine o'clock and and did you then sweep the patio? What'd you do for the hour? I want to what did you do over there? Did you would you say you guys were here early - no, okay, you just look guilty all right nine and ten forty-five next week and don't forget that in the back you can register for MCCU and that's in your bulletin It's been on the Friday email news blast to you MCCU stands for MCC University or MCC Unity or MCC you should be there and it is a way that we're gonna spend the dark days of January together on Tuesday nights Every Tuesday night the three middle Tuesdays in January so the 10th 17th 24th. We're gonna come here for dinner some elective classes some fun some prayer together just everybody together in fellowship and hanging out and then learning together and You can see the electives that are there that are offered and kids there's programs for kids of all ages Everybody together on Tuesday nights. I think that sounds like a fabulous idea So that starts on the 10th, okay, so a week from this coming Tuesday So register because if you register a we know where to put you for the classes that you select and be we know how to plan for food And see you get a break for your dinner costs It's only like ten bucks per person for all three dinners if you register in advance It's our little good thing like come on you got to register so we know how to plan for you Okay, and then it's 40 bucks max for family So if you got more than four people in your family 40 bucks dinner all three weeks you can sign up and it'll be $100 a plate if you don't do it in advance, so that's up there. I Don't know what it's gonna be but it'll be a little more so sign up in the back for MCCU It's not the great idea to spend Tuesday nights in January Oh, and if you've been used to being in a small group or a fellowship group or a home group or something like that Most of those are gonna be suspended for the those three weeks for the month of January So that we're all together that we don't have to go out two nights and we'll be together on that night Okay, I think there's other business But I probably forget what it is look at your messenger get on the Friday email blast if you're not on it by getting on it On our website, okay, I have to move this no. No, I'm good. I'm totally good Hey, happy new year, you know what this is not a sermon on New Year's resolutions But it ought to be don't you love New Year's resolutions, or are you personally who hate them? Do you do you love them? Dude New Year's resolutions. I think are awesome. I'm all about them GK testerton had a quote where he said that That how can we be about? The cynicism of everybody who says oh nobody's New Year's resolutions last passed halfway through January Have you seen all the research, you know if anywhere you come up on the internet right now You'll find some sort of a poll or some sort of research about what the top New Year's resolutions are and then what when people Break them on average and it's like the 12th of January is kind of it And I think seriously do we need more cynicism in our world and to start pointing out that people make these big goals And then everybody's over and by the 12th of January and then we spend the rest of the 153 days of our year being the losers that we were on December 31st And we're just going to be that way for the rest of our lives friends We have all people need to be people who go no that can't possibly be a whole truth There's got to be something new about it and GK testerton was one who said we can't be that cynical about it because we're people who believe in new Starts come on now give me an amen church We're people who believe in new birth that you must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God You must have New Year's to be able to see the kingdom of God. You need these rebutings these Did you say repagination art in your pageant what? Okay, that's a good word dude We need those things in our world if we're gonna be living out this faith that That we're called to live out. So I'm all about New Year's. I think it's a great thing Here's what I think it does to us. I think it forces us to ask the question What is it that I really think life ought to be about? Who do I really want to be and what do I really believe you with me? Is that's what those things say they say women? What do I believe? Because what I believe will dictate how I live and I want to know what it is I believe to be true what it is I believe to be real what it is I believe to have the most importance And that's what we do when we stop and think about New Year's resolutions resolutions. We go what's True because then I want to aim for that I want to put that in my sights and I want to figure out how to get there There's nothing wrong with that friends. I think that is an awesome thing to do even though we fail I made two two New Year's resolutions last year one of them was but I was gonna run a thousand miles in 2011 and I know and I got hurt and I ran 850 something 860 something miles, so I missed it. I know thank you lose You Know who just screamed loser that'd be even funnier so so Greco he ran he he ran a thousand miles, but between the couch and refrigerator does not count that is not Over the whole year. It's like, you know, it's like racers who go, you know, it's not the time that matters the distance arts like yeah I did it the 365 days. I did three so so I missed that goal the other goal I had last year in 2011 was to lose 20 pounds and I did it twice Have you done this to and then I gained it back So that's a new goal again for this year is that I'll lose what I gained back So that's the awesome thing about New Year's resolutions just keep starting So I think what we but but what we do is we look and we go What is it that I think is important that I'm gonna put that in my silence because I believe that to be true So all of the things that we can think about the stuff about our health we go, you know, that's important I want to be there for my daughters To get married and have babies and for my son to be the man that God had right you have these Powerful things that are true and right and I want to be alive to see that so I'm gonna take care of myself Did you know somebody told me did you know that if you floss? Because of what the bacteria that's in your body if you get rid of it, what's do you know the statistic? How does it affect your lifespan? No, five years Somebody said six months. I wouldn't floss if it was only six months Where's Dr. Larson senior Greg? No, so Five years on average your life will extend because you don't get these other diseases And you don't get this other stuff because of the bacteria in you For flossing It's still not worth it. I I've chosen to believe that that's gonna that that's true. That's what I want to do Everything that we look at and we go wait. What's true? What do I believe is right? What do I believe is most important that it's gonna dictate how I live? But what New Year's does is it focuses us on that if I know that it's right to invest in my marriage Then I will get the credit card that gives me miles and I'll put all my gas on it and all my groceries on it And everything I ever do on that credit card so that I can get some miles so that when we save up enough miles We cash them in and go somewhere together and our kids go Who are you people? Where are you going? Are you planning another trip and we're like free trip? Baby, we're going because I love your mom and you're not invited. It's important. It's totally important to us to do that What is it that I want to be? Who is it that I want to be? What do I think is true? That's what New Year's resolutions are about and we put those things in our sites and we go after them It matters what we believe to be true Friends this is where we're headed in this next sermon series That we're calling theology matters. Isn't that a cool word theology? Theology matters and the subtitle is big words that make a big difference and if we had our graphic you'd be really impressed right now Theology matters what we believe matters Because what we believe leads us to how we live you with me on this what we know to be true What we know to be the most important things what we believe will affect how we live? So theology matters and this is going to be the theme that we're going to be talking about over the next Several weeks theology matters big words because someone will be big words like justification and atonement and a cleaseness Physiology and eschatology and soteriology. You hear those words y'all anybody not need to come you got it all figured out Big words that will make a big difference in our lives and here's going to be our promise And I'm going to introduce it just a little bit this morning But this is going to be our promise We're going to have a bulletin handout for you that will say big word and you'll learn about one of those big words And you'll take some notes and then underneath it It'll say big difference and it'll talk to you about how then we should live if these things are true and important you with me So the big words that make a big difference Theology matters it helps us know what we believe to be true and what we value and we set our sights on it And we live it out just like all these new year's resolutions that we're talking about now we named it this way Let me get into it introduce a little bit want to look at a fun text together and and and be Done out of here 11 o'clock this morning We named it this way for two reasons number one we named it this because there's two words in it We named it this we named theology matters because number one we're going to talk about theology and here's your definition of theology Theology is the truth about God Now the dictionary says something more beautiful and more long It says the systematic study of the existence and the nature of the divine and its relationship to and influence upon other beings the systematic study of the existence the nature of God and The divine and its relationship and influence upon other beings all that saying is This is the truth about the story of God who he is what he's done. This is what theology is what's true about God and What's true about what God has done in our world and what's true about what God does with us right now? And what's true about what God will do as we go toward the future into the kingdom of heaven coming fully and into eternity? You with me on this this is what theology is. It's the truth about this whole thing It's the truth theology matters because it's about the truth We're gonna talk about truth over the next several months weeks the truth because the truth matters it matters what's true and Every one of us in this room is one of two people We either need to know what we believe because we don't know and some of you were a little terrified when I started mentioning all those big theological terms Because you thought to yourself. I've been in the church a long time that word sounds vaguely familiar I hope there's not a test at the end, but I should probably know what that means So so many of us fall in this one camp which is to say I Don't know exactly what I believe and if there was a test I might fail it and then that would really probably just please God and certainly my pastors So I don't I live in sort of this insecurity, but I don't know what I believe And I really know that when I read an atheist or I see somebody on TV or I And you think I'm not sure how I would answer that anybody resonate with that at all So we've fallen to one of two categories one is we're just not sure all that we believe and we need some truth We need to be like what's the Bible teach? How does that fit? Is that real? What do I believe tell me help me understand what to believe second category is you got most of that figured out and not all of us Have all of it figured out, but you got most of that figured out But you especially if you think you got that figured out you need a reminder of what the truth is Because when we're reminded of what is true and this is true for all of us Even if you have some of the more basic things figured out you need a reminder about the basic things so that you say oh, that's right I Believe that and I forgot last year that this is what I believe and so we're gonna be School in one another and we're gonna be reminded one another about the things that we know to be true about God and Who he is and what he has done and what he is doing? That's what we're gonna be about Okay, because truth matters theology matters because it's how we live I Want us to look at the text. That's why the lights are on you got your Bibles I want you to just look again with me at John chapter 4 and Because this one verse it reminds us of It's the verse about worshiping in spirit and in what anybody know truth. Yeah And then I start reading the passage and I'm like, you know What we got to spend a couple minutes in this passage anyway because you may get something out of it That isn't even what I had intended, but it's such a good passage John chapter 4 is about Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman and In the end we're one of the we're not in the end necessarily But we're one of the punchlines where this thing is going is is that Jesus ends up saying these words and we'll get there in just a sec he says the father is looking for these kinds of worshipers those who worship in spirit and truth he's saying that both are going to be important and But I want to look a little bit more at that again with you look at John chapter 4 And let me read through the story with you Everybody having electronic Bible or a Bible on your on your lap The Pharisees heard that Jesus was was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John Although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized but his disciples and when the Lord learned of this He left you day because he was not yet ready to be famous basically and went back once more to Galilee Now we had to go through Samaria So we came to the town of Samaria in Samaria called Saikar near the plot of of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph Jacob's well was there and Jesus tired as he was from the journey sat down by the well and it was about the six hours It was about noon and Jesus has gone through Samaria And if you know anything about this story anything about the the history of the time One of the things that you know is that Samaria was the land where it was the northern part of Israel And it was where the Israel lights a lot of old history But where the Israelites had intermarried because it had been resettled by people from another land And so these kind of were like not pure-blooded Jewish people and Their religion had not been pure-blooded anymore had it been Synchronized with all the religions of all the people who had come into that area from the other lands And so these were people who were impure by blood and impure by religion And so there was some racism going on it's pretty strong racism and the fact that the scriptures say that he had to go Through Samaria is funny because that means Jesus had to break the norms and go where other people wouldn't go So he goes through Samaria. He's thirsty. He sits by well at noon Verse 7 when a Samaritan woman came to draw water Jesus said to her Will you give me the drink for his disciples had gone to town to buy food and he asked her for a drink because there Well, there was there and she brought the buckets or whatever to lower down on the ropes and to get the the water for him And he asked her now You know what's going on here if you again if you've read this story or heard it preached before That he shouldn't have been out there speaking to this woman because she was a woman her husband wasn't present That was improper in their culture and he shouldn't have been speaking to her because she was a Samaritan Because he was a Jew and that was improper and so here's Jesus breaking all the rules and he gets face-to-face with this woman He says hey, can you give me something to drink? And the Samaritan woman says to him you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman How can you ask me for a drink for Jews do not associate with Samaritans and Jesus answered her verse 10 if you knew the gift of God and Who it is that asked you for a drink? You would have asked him and he would have given you living water Notice that and we'll come back to that verse if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asked you for a drink You would have asked him and he would have given you living water Sir the woman said you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where will you get this living water? She didn't get it. She was understanding the truth on a very basic literal level, right? Where's this water? That sounds like good water get some of that water for me Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself and did also his sons and flocks and herds? Are you gonna give us water that's beyond the water that Jacob this well that Jacob built where you got something else going on here? And Jesus answered everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life She was being so practical and he is being very spiritual now and blowing her mind She still doesn't totally get a verse 15 the woman said to him sir Give me some of this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming out here to draw water And he told her go call your husband and come back now the story takes a big turn Okay, she's starting to get there's something going on here with water. She's still talking about water She gets it special water, but she still doesn't get that it's not spiritual water the way Jesus is talking and so She goes will tell me how to get it and he goes go get your husband and Right away if you know the end of the story She has to then be exposed and she says I have no husband Jesus said you write verse 18 the fact is you've had five husbands and the man you have you now have is not your husband what you have just said is quite Tripp he exposes her and her brokenness and in her past and her shame and In this story of live it for her to live with a man at that time and for her to have been married five times She this is why she's going to get water at noon because she couldn't go when all the other women went the cool of the day because They would have totally dismissed her and Jesus says hey basically Jesus they start talking about water and Jesus goes I I know who you are Sir she said verse 19 I can see that you're a prophet Our father's worshiped on this mountain, but you do claim that that is the place That that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem now another weird twist now keep in mind We're talking about truth here. He knows the truth all he says listen I want I got some truth for you about what what's really happening with God and she's then she's like I don't really get all that you're talking about and he goes okay Well, here's the truth about you and she goes okay. I can see that you know something you're a prophet You know some truth and she goes I see that you're a prophet verse 20 our father's worshiped on this mountain But you say we worship in Jerusalem. What does that mean? What that means is is that the Samaritans believed in their messed up view of a whole Judaism That that the place to worship was on their mountain in Samaria But the Jews of course through the revelation of the Old Testament knew that the place to worship was in Jerusalem And she looks at Jesus being confronted with his power with his prophecy with him being something more than just a normal guy That she saw out at the at the well being confronted with that. She asked him a question about what what's the topic? Worship She's saying what is going on? What do I believe? So how am I gonna? Worship how am I gonna live my life? How am I gonna live out what it is that I believe to be true? Isn't that interesting dynamic? She asks about worship some commentators will just tell you Well, she was trying to divert the attention because it got it got uncomfortable, etc I don't think so friends. Why would she ask a question about worship? When she realized that he was somebody divine or prophetic Jesus declared Believe me woman a time is coming when you will worship the father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem for use some Americans now watch think about truth for use some Americans worship what you do not know What does that mean? Why because they had gotten all confused and what the truth was They had all kinds of other religions and traditions teaching them things. Hello. Does this sound a little bit like our culture? They did not know what it was that that was true anymore. He said you worship what you do not know We worship what we do know for salvation's from the juice. He wasn't being arrogant He's saying we've preserved the word from the prophets We know what what the the Bible the Old Testament what the law was teaching We've had the consistent word. We know that you don't know as much as we know But we know more and he goes and so he's he's talking about truth yet a time is coming and has not come as now Sorry now come verse 23 where true worshipers will worship the father in spirit And in truth for they're the kind of worshipers the father seeks God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth both the woman said In her confusion. Look what she says. I know the messiah the savior called christ is coming and when he comes I guess he'll explain all this stuff to me It's confusing and Jesus said I who speak to you am he the answers Are coming And they're here in me. Is this not a cool passage. Is there just so much in this passage Jesus went to this woman and said You are going to worship god not just in spirit But in truth and she said I don't know what truth is and he said the answers will come And they're coming in me Friends I got this passage because I wanted to remind us That true worship is about spirit and truth And Jesus has the truth and if we know the truth then our worship Are giving our lives to god? Is complete Many of us are one or the other spirit or truth people do you get that do you think that that's probably true Most of us kind of relate to one or the other of those two things I'm a I'm a spirit worshiper kind of person people feel like it's a spiritual thing. It's a feeling It's not necessarily connected to truth. I had somebody say to me and talking about this text somebody say to me I got I got all I need just loving Jesus But man some of those other words and all that kind of stuff is hard for me to get that I don't really need to think that stuff through I don't like thinking that through, but you know what Jesus said There's a time it's coming and now it's here when you will worship in spirit And in truth and there are others of you who are all about the truth. You know who you are You're probably not smiling right now You're all about the truth and you know it all And you're all into the details and the facts But you when we stand and we sing for 20 minutes think man, how come my heart isn't full It's all up here with me It's not one of the other it's spirit and it's truth and we're going to spend some time saying and truth matters We're going to spend some time on truth because you know what this church does spirit pretty darn well. You know that Don't you know that it's awesome. We come in here, man. We're like this is rich. It's not rich And it's true and it's worship. That's worship, but we're going to talk about the truth stuff Well, I brought you to that text Because I wanted you to see that Jesus said when she goes, I don't know I don't know maybe the someday the Messiah is going to come and clarify all this stuff because all this God and worship stuff so unclear Maybe someday the Messiah will come and he'll clarify You resonate with that and Jesus says Time is now It's here. We're going to get to the truth because what's true matters And you're going to worship in truth We're going to be worshipers in truth and in spirit as we go through these next few weeks We named this thing theology matters because number one theology is the truth about God and truth matters worshipers in truth It matters That we know what's true The second thing we named it was matters truth matter. I mean, sorry theology matters It matters. It makes a big difference what you know and believe you believe me that one that you hear that It makes a big difference Everything that you do is rooted in some truth or some belief that you have Every dysfunction in your life is believing some lie or some skewed truth. You know that too Everything we do everything we believe every value we hold every way we spend our time somewhere down below is rooted some kind of a truth It matters what you believe And we're saying we better get at this stuff that matters So that we believe the right stuff so that we know the right truth so that we're not confused And then we can live the way that God has for us to live Everything you are and do is rooted in some belief Something you believe is true in fact one of my More common things in pastoral counseling with people is helping people get to this place where they recognize That at the core they've maybe made an agreement with a lie And it runs their lives They would never quit their job or never ask for a raise because they believe the lie that they could not do anymore Or or a young single man who would never ask a woman out on a date because somewhere along the line he's believed the lie That no woman could love him On and on and on we've believed lies some of us live Thinking Untruths about God and day in and day out church in and church out weekend and week out Seasoning and season out we come and we cannot connect with the god of our souls who we look and says loves us But somewhere we believe some lies about him Like he's so tired of me not living up to his expectations that he canna I know it doesn't say that in the scriptures and it doesn't mean this to other people It's probably not true for other people but for me. He's kind of pissed at me finally Some of us have believed that forever And we live with a spiritual inferiority complex truth matters Theology Matters what we believe matters it makes a big difference and that's the little subtitle in the text and michael come on up We're going to do a song here at the end The little subtitle is big words that make a big difference Friends It matters what you believe it matters what you know to be true In this text john chapter john for verse 10 go back and look at verse 10 as michael comes up The minstrel that is awesome Jesus said in verse 10 If you knew Still have it open look at it If you knew the gift of god hear the words If you knew the gift And you knew the one who gives it meaning If you knew about this salvation and if you knew god and if you knew me he says to this woman You would be saying give me all that you have for me Give me all of this living water. Do you see that? You would have asked him you would have begged him you would have pleaded with him and he would have given you living water Jesus said if you knew the truth about salvation and if you knew the truth about my father in heaven You would be all in It matters What we know to be true? It matters what we believe because then We're free to be all in because the one thing we know about truth is that it sets us Free That's where we're headed friends May god grant you a joyful experience in being people over the next weeks who worship in spirit And in truth that will set us free To be all in So we cry out to our god in heaven. You come you bring living water Give us all that you have god for we're all in Let's stand and worship him as we finish our morning [MUSIC PLAYING]