Join us as we begin training for NYC! Sunday morning at 9:30am in C-112.
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Describe the relationship between the father and the son. What did their interactions with the other characters in the movie reveal about themselves and the other individuals? The English translation of the Czech word “most” is “bridge.” How was the bridge symbolism woven into the plot? What other themes and symbolism did you see interwoven into the movie? Did you relate to any of the passengers on the train? If yes, who and why? If no, why not? What feelings did the father’s predicament with the train and his son evoke in you? What made his choice heroic? How was the troubled young woman’s life transformed when she saw the pain reflected on the father’s face as a result of his son’s death? In what areas of your life do you desire transformation? How would you value your life differently if you found out that someone gave their life so you could live? The father realizes at the end of the film that “new dreams and new hope” have come from the tragedy of losing his son. What do you think of when you hear the words new dreams and new hope? Do you think there is some form of hope offered after death? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Scriptures speak to us on a personal level, but also the big picture.
Our place in history
Deuteronomy 2
We have promises from God about how our lives are supposed to play out, but we don’t believe God.
Instead of living a life of conquest, we live a live of compromise.
We don’t trust him.
And we live a life of medoiocrity and apathy.
Deuteronomy 2:36
Are there things that God is wanting to accomplish through us so big, that we’re actually settling for something far, far less than what God intends.
Are we like Israel? Are we choosing to live a life of compromise, or one of conquest, heroism & victory
There is no city too hard for God
Deut 3:2
I wonder if God wants us to win cities, but we’re so reluctant to believe that this can be done, that we always choose less.
The words of Jesus..
Acts 1:8 Jesus talking to his disciples, only a few left, lost Judas, went from 12-11 The movement isn’t booming, the numbers are down. Jesus died, then he’s alive, and that would have to have spooked you out.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
You will be witnesses, proof of God
Wouldn’t you rather be like moses, with a magic rod. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Ends of the earth: that’s huge! It’s our responsibility to be witnesses for God, to be proof of God to every
Can you image being one of the 11
I better free up some time.
The whole planet is your responsibility! And here’s the approach: Start with Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
Anyone here a details person?
Lord, since you’re available, and
Could you give us a little bit of detail? And Jesus says “And I will be with you always” Later!
Do you hear it? The smallest unit by which Jesus measured effectiveness was a city!
If I were doing it, I’d say… Start with Mike
Then you work your way up to Pastor Greg
That’s almost an attainable job.
But Jesus is
You are going to be proof of God, proof of resurrection, proof of life. And I know that seems huge, so I just want you to start with Jerusalem.
Just start here. Just take on a city.
And these guys took Jesus seriously.
If you are going to write a letter, if you were the apostle
My letter to Aaron
Not my letter to Ephesus. To the city of Ephesus I write. To Galatia, To Corinth
Paul’s whole life was about going to Rome. Because Rome was the most influencial city on the planet.
What
They were going to turn entire cities upside down.
Rome was the epicenter of hedonism, godlessness, self-worship…everything anti-Jesus.
Most of us think of Rome as the epicenter of Catholicism
But actually, Rome was the epicenter of The world that did not know God.
Human history began in a garden, but it ends in a city.
The first mention of a city is in Genesis 4
This is a city where Cain rules, and not God.
The ‘old school’ word to describe someone who doesn’t know God is ‘pagan’
Worship or idolity? No. Country dweller. Someone who lives on the farm.
When the kingdom of God first expanded. Went from city to city. Cities were the most affected by the message of Jesus Christ.
If you wanted a person to connect with God, you’d get them to move to the city
And the last people to hear the news were the people who lived farthest from the city, the pagans, the country dwellers.
2,000 years ago, you hear talk of you don’t want to move to the city. Your kids will get corrupted there. They’ll become pagans.
Which is impossible.
To go to the city to become a pagan means to go to the city to become a country dweller, which
What would begin to happen if we believed that the smallest unit of transformation was a city?
Unfortunately too many Christians look for a church based on what it can do for them, rather than what they could do together for the city.
Nehemiah 2
…First he prayed.
Some individuals in history where it’s not enough just to talk about the problem
They want to be a part of solving the problem.
Isaiah: those who restore
I wonder how many of us tonight have embraced the burden that God has for our city.
Coffee mug
How many of us have adopted our city, to give our lives for here.
Ecclesiastes 9
What can God do with someone like me?
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. 17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. It doesn’t matter how much money, how much power.
If you devote your life to wisdom and to your city that needs rescuing, God can do that
Luke 19 12He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 18"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' 20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' 22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' 24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' 26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. The king entrusts us with resources. Not human resources at first, but physical resources.
How they treated that, when they’ve earned the right to be entrusted with influence, then they were given cities to rule.
How many of us have limited how much God wants to invest and entrust with our lives because we’re not faithful with the small things. Each one he gave just a small amount of resources.
And how they treated what they had determined how much more He gave them.
I see this playing out every day.
It’s not the person with the most intelligence, most talents, most money, the head start or leg up.
When you walk about sheer human influence, making a difference in the lives of others.
God trusts those who are faithful in the small things in life.
The context for a miracle is always sacrifice.
If you want God to do great and miraculous things in your life but you’re not willing to sacrifice, don’t expect God to do anything amazing in your life.
In certain places in scripture we get a picture of what God wants to do in the cities. Ezekiel
Revelation 21:22 22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
How many of live in Oak Creek? Stand up.
You are the material from which God wants to show who He is to our city.
God places us in the places where he wants the world to change.
Jeremiah 29
Love your city.
People who have moved
You are either called to be here, to be proof of God, or you need to move.
If you’re not living in the place where you’re meant to be proof of God, then you need to move. We’re meant to walk this ground, and be proof of God, until the cities are known as the place where God is.
The city needs proof that God is here, because we are different.
Scriptures speak to us on a personal level, but also the big picture.
Our place in history
Deuteronomy 2
Imagine if you were the leader of an Army, and God gave you a sure promise of victory against your enemy. Would you be a little cocky? Perhaps 24 "Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you." 26 From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying, 27 "Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot- 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us." 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done. 31 The LORD said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land." 32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, 33 the LORD our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed [c] them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
It’s not written the way it should have happened. It’s written the way it did happen.
We have promises from God about how our lives are supposed to play out, but we don’t believe God.
Instead of living a life of conquest, we live a live of compromise.
Because We don’t trust him.
And we live a life of medoiocrity and apathy.
Deuteronomy 2:36 not one town was too strong for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
Are there things that God is wanting to accomplish through us so big, that we’re actually settling for something far, far less than what God intends.
There’s just no way that this could happen.
Moses compared himself against Sihon, and determined
Because God is our leader, and because we can’t see him, sometimes it makes us nervous.
Are we like Israel? Are we choosing to live a life of compromise, or one of conquest, heroism & victory
There is no city too hard for God
I wonder if God wants us to win cities, but we’re so reluctant to believe that this can be done, that we always choose less.
The words of Jesus..
Acts 1:8 Jesus talking to his disciples, only a few left, lost Judas, went from 12-11 The movement isn’t booming, the numbers are down. The disciples are waiting in the upper room. Jesus died, then he’s alive, and that would have to have spooked you out.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
You’re not going to have me flesh and blood, talking to you from the outside. God will speak to you from the inside. You will be witnesses, proof of God
Wouldn’t you rather be like moses, with a magic staff. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The last part of that sentence. Ends of the earth: that’s huge! Whole planet. Can you imagine being one of those 11.
If I said to you tonight… It’s our responsibility to be witnesses for God, to be proof of God to every single person across the entire planet and it’s all on us.
I better free up some time. That’s going to take some vitamins.
The whole planet is your responsibility! And here’s the approach:
Start with Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
Anyone here a details person?
Lord, since you’re available, and before you go up to wherever you’re going?
Could you give us a little bit of detail? Could you fill in between jerusalm and judea, and judea and samaria, and samaria and the ends of the earth. And Jesus says “And I will be with you always” Later!
The ends of the earth. That’s a really big goal. And sometimes we can avoid giving ourselves a grade on how we’re doing, because that’s at the end, and we’re not there yet.
But perhaps what should scare us is the starting point. That we are to start with Jerusalem, to start with our city.
Do you hear it? The smallest unit by which Jesus measured effectiveness was a city!
If I were doing it, I’d say… Start with Mike
Then you work your way up to Pastor Greg
That’s almost an attainable job.
But Jesus is
You are going to be proof of God, proof of resurrection, proof of life. And I know that seems huge, so I just want you to start with Jerusalem.
Just start here. Just take on a city.
And these guys took Jesus seriously.
If you are going to write a letter, if you were the apostle
My letter to Aaron
Not my letter to Ephesus. To the city of Ephesus I write. To Galatia, To Corinth
Paul’s whole life was about going to Rome. Why? Because Rome was the biggest, most influencial city on the planet.
What a bunch of under achievers.
Somehow Jesus implanted in his disciples that they were going to turn entire cities upside down.
Rome was the epicenter of hedonism, godlessness, self-worship…everything anti-Jesus.
Most of us think of Rome as the epicenter of Catholicism
But actually, Rome was the epicenter of The world that did not know God. And Paul wanted to go there.
1950, only 7 cities had 5 million people. And now in 2007 there are over 100 cities that have over 5 million.
Human history began in a garden, but it ends in a city.
The first mention of a city is in Genesis 4 Cain killed his brother able.
This is a city where Cain rules, and not God.
The ‘old school’ word to describe someone who doesn’t know God is ‘pagan’
You’d think the word pagan would originate from Worship or idolity? No. Country dweller. Someone who lives on the farm.
When the kingdom of God first expanded. Went from city to city, all the way to Rome. Cities were the most affected by the message of Jesus Christ.
If you wanted a person to connect with God, you’d get them to move to the city
And the last people to hear the news of what Jesus Christ had done were the people who lived farthest from the city, the pagans, the country dwellers.
2,000 years ago, you hear talk of you don’t want to move to the city. Your kids will get corrupted there. You want to move to the suburbs, to the country, those are the safe places. You don’t want to send your kids to the big cities because they’ll become corrupted. They’ll become pagans.
Which is impossible.
To go to the city to become a pagan means to go to the city to become a country dweller, which
What would begin to happen if we believed that the smallest unit of transformation was a city?
That we would begin to believe cities can be transformed, and known as a place where God is. Where God is at work.
Unfortunately too many Christians look for a church based on what it can do for them, rather than what they could do together for the city.
Nehemiah 2 1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" 4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
Some individuals in history where it’s not enough just to talk about the problem
They want to be a part of solving the problem.
There’s a problem in the city, it’s falling a part, and I’m grived, and I want to be a part of fixing it.
Isaiah: those who restore the broken walls, rebuilding the city.
I wonder how many of us tonight have embraced the burden that God has for our city.
How many of us have adopted our city, to rebuild it, to give our lives for here.
Ecclesiastes 9
What can God do with someone like me? Perhaps you’re a teacher, doctor, lawyer, stay at home mom.
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. 17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
It doesn’t matter how much money, how much position, how much prestige, much power.
If you devote your life to wisdom and to your city that needs rescuing, God can use you beyond your wildest imagination.
Luke 19 12He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 18"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' 20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' 22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' 24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' 26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
Jesus tells us that The king entrusts us with resources. Not human resources at first, but physical resources. Money.
How they treated that, when they’ve earned the right to be entrusted with influence, then they were given cities to rule.
How many of us have limited how much God wants to invest and entrust with our lives because we’re not faithful with the small things. And he cannot entrust us with more.
Each one he gave just a small amount of resources.
And how they treated what they had determined how much more He gave them.
I see this playing out every day.
It’s not the person with the most intelligence that makes the biggest difference. , most talents, most money, the head start or leg up.
When you walk about sheer human influence, making a difference in the lives of others. Making a positive impact for God
God trusts those who are faithful in the small things in life.
The context for a miracle is always sacrifice.
If you want God to do great and miraculous things in your life but you’re not willing to sacrifice, serve, and give yourself to it, don’t expect God to do anything amazing in your life.
The master came back to see what his servants had done with what they’ve been given, and that’s what determined how much influence he would give them, the right to rule over cities.
In certain places in scripture we get a picture of what God wants to do in the cities.
What would happen tonight if Milwaukee began to be known as the city of God because we have given our lives to be witnesses, to be proof of God to our city.
In genesis human history began in a garden, but in Revelation, it ends in a city.
Revelation 21:22 22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
How many of live in Oak Creek? Stand up.
You are the material from which God wants to show proof of who He is to our city.
One of the beautiful things God does is he puts us in the places where he wants the world to change.
Jeremiah 29
Love the city that you’re in.
People who have moved
You are either called to be here, to be proof of God, or you need to move.
If you’re not living in the place where you’re meant to be proof of God, then you need to move. We’re meant to walk this ground, and be proof of God, until the cities are known as the place where God is.
The city needs proof that God is here, because we are different.
3 comments:
Describe the relationship between the father and the son. What did their
interactions with the other characters in the movie reveal about themselves
and the other individuals?
The English translation of the Czech word “most” is “bridge.” How was the
bridge symbolism woven into the plot? What other themes and symbolism
did you see interwoven into the movie?
Did you relate to any of the passengers on the train? If yes, who and why?
If no, why not?
What feelings did the father’s predicament with the train and his son evoke
in you? What made his choice heroic?
How was the troubled young woman’s life transformed when she saw the
pain reflected on the father’s face as a result of his son’s death? In what
areas of your life do you desire transformation?
How would you value your life differently if you found out that someone
gave their life so you could live?
The father realizes at the end of the film that “new dreams and new hope”
have come from the tragedy of losing his son. What do you think of when
you hear the words new dreams and new hope?
Do you think there is some form of hope offered after death? 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Acts 1:8
Scriptures speak to us on a personal level, but also the big picture.
Our place in history
Deuteronomy 2
We have promises from God about how our lives are supposed to play out, but we don’t believe God.
Instead of living a life of conquest, we live a live of compromise.
We don’t trust him.
And we live a life of medoiocrity and apathy.
Deuteronomy 2:36
Are there things that God is wanting to accomplish through us so big, that we’re actually settling for something far, far less than what God intends.
Are we like Israel?
Are we choosing to live a life of compromise, or one of conquest, heroism & victory
There is no city too hard for God
Deut 3:2
I wonder if God wants us to win cities, but we’re so reluctant to believe that this can be done, that we always choose less.
The words of Jesus..
Acts 1:8
Jesus talking to his disciples, only a few left, lost Judas, went from 12-11
The movement isn’t booming, the numbers are down. Jesus died, then he’s alive, and that would have to have spooked you out.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
You will be witnesses, proof of God
Wouldn’t you rather be like moses, with a magic rod.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Ends of the earth: that’s huge!
It’s our responsibility to be witnesses for God, to be proof of God to every
Can you image being one of the 11
I better free up some time.
The whole planet is your responsibility! And here’s the approach:
Start with Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
Anyone here a details person?
Lord, since you’re available, and
Could you give us a little bit of detail?
And Jesus says “And I will be with you always” Later!
Do you hear it?
The smallest unit by which Jesus measured effectiveness was a city!
If I were doing it, I’d say…
Start with Mike
Then you work your way up to Pastor Greg
That’s almost an attainable job.
But Jesus is
You are going to be proof of God, proof of resurrection, proof of life. And I know that seems huge, so I just want you to start with Jerusalem.
Just start here. Just take on a city.
And these guys took Jesus seriously.
If you are going to write a letter, if you were the apostle
My letter to Aaron
Not my letter to Ephesus. To the city of Ephesus I write. To Galatia, To Corinth
Paul’s whole life was about going to Rome. Because Rome was the most influencial city on the planet.
What
They were going to turn entire cities upside down.
Rome was the epicenter of hedonism, godlessness, self-worship…everything anti-Jesus.
Most of us think of Rome as the epicenter of Catholicism
But actually, Rome was the epicenter of The world that did not know God.
Human history began in a garden, but it ends in a city.
The first mention of a city is in Genesis 4
This is a city where Cain rules, and not God.
The ‘old school’ word to describe someone who doesn’t know God is ‘pagan’
Worship or idolity? No. Country dweller. Someone who lives on the farm.
When the kingdom of God first expanded. Went from city to city. Cities were the most affected by the message of Jesus Christ.
If you wanted a person to connect with God, you’d get them to move to the city
And the last people to hear the news were the people who lived farthest from the city, the pagans, the country dwellers.
2,000 years ago, you hear talk of you don’t want to move to the city. Your kids will get corrupted there. They’ll become pagans.
Which is impossible.
To go to the city to become a pagan means to go to the city to become a country dweller, which
What would begin to happen if we believed that the smallest unit of transformation was a city?
Unfortunately too many Christians look for a church based on what it can do for them, rather than what they could do together for the city.
Nehemiah 2
…First he prayed.
Some individuals in history where it’s not enough just to talk about the problem
They want to be a part of solving the problem.
Isaiah: those who restore
I wonder how many of us tonight have embraced the burden that God has for our city.
Coffee mug
How many of us have adopted our city, to give our lives for here.
Ecclesiastes 9
What can God do with someone like me?
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
It doesn’t matter how much money, how much power.
If you devote your life to wisdom and to your city that needs rescuing, God can do that
Luke 19
12He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'
15"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
The king entrusts us with resources. Not human resources at first, but physical resources.
How they treated that, when they’ve earned the right to be entrusted with influence, then they were given cities to rule.
How many of us have limited how much God wants to invest and entrust with our lives because we’re not faithful with the small things.
Each one he gave just a small amount of resources.
And how they treated what they had determined how much more He gave them.
I see this playing out every day.
It’s not the person with the most intelligence, most talents, most money, the head start or leg up.
When you walk about sheer human influence, making a difference in the lives of others.
God trusts those who are faithful in the small things in life.
The context for a miracle is always sacrifice.
If you want God to do great and miraculous things in your life but you’re not willing to sacrifice, don’t expect God to do anything amazing in your life.
In certain places in scripture we get a picture of what God wants to do in the cities.
Ezekiel
Revelation 21:22
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
How many of live in Oak Creek? Stand up.
You are the material from which God wants to show who He is to our city.
God places us in the places where he wants the world to change.
Jeremiah 29
Love your city.
People who have moved
You are either called to be here, to be proof of God, or you need to move.
If you’re not living in the place where you’re meant to be proof of God, then you need to move.
We’re meant to walk this ground, and be proof of God, until the cities are known as the place where God is.
The city needs proof that God is here, because we are different.
Acts 1:8
Scriptures speak to us on a personal level, but also the big picture.
Our place in history
Deuteronomy 2
Imagine if you were the leader of an Army, and God gave you a sure promise of victory against your enemy. Would you be a little cocky? Perhaps
24 "Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you."
26 From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying, 27 "Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. 28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot- 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us." 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.
31 The LORD said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land."
32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, 33 the LORD our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed [c] them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
It’s not written the way it should have happened. It’s written the way it did happen.
We have promises from God about how our lives are supposed to play out, but we don’t believe God.
Instead of living a life of conquest, we live a live of compromise.
Because We don’t trust him.
And we live a life of medoiocrity and apathy.
Deuteronomy 2:36 not one town was too strong for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
Are there things that God is wanting to accomplish through us so big, that we’re actually settling for something far, far less than what God intends.
There’s just no way that this could happen.
Moses compared himself against Sihon, and determined
Because God is our leader, and because we can’t see him, sometimes it makes us nervous.
Are we like Israel?
Are we choosing to live a life of compromise, or one of conquest, heroism & victory
There is no city too hard for God
I wonder if God wants us to win cities, but we’re so reluctant to believe that this can be done, that we always choose less.
The words of Jesus..
Acts 1:8
Jesus talking to his disciples, only a few left, lost Judas, went from 12-11
The movement isn’t booming, the numbers are down. The disciples are waiting in the upper room. Jesus died, then he’s alive, and that would have to have spooked you out.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
You’re not going to have me flesh and blood, talking to you from the outside. God will speak to you from the inside.
You will be witnesses, proof of God
Wouldn’t you rather be like moses, with a magic staff.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The last part of that sentence.
Ends of the earth: that’s huge! Whole planet. Can you imagine being one of those 11.
If I said to you tonight…
It’s our responsibility to be witnesses for God, to be proof of God to every single person across the entire planet and it’s all on us.
I better free up some time. That’s going to take some vitamins.
The whole planet is your responsibility! And here’s the approach:
Start with Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
Anyone here a details person?
Lord, since you’re available, and before you go up to wherever you’re going?
Could you give us a little bit of detail? Could you fill in between jerusalm and judea, and judea and samaria, and samaria and the ends of the earth.
And Jesus says “And I will be with you always” Later!
The ends of the earth. That’s a really big goal. And sometimes we can avoid giving ourselves a grade on how we’re doing, because that’s at the end, and we’re not there yet.
But perhaps what should scare us is the starting point. That we are to start with Jerusalem, to start with our city.
Do you hear it?
The smallest unit by which Jesus measured effectiveness was a city!
If I were doing it, I’d say…
Start with Mike
Then you work your way up to Pastor Greg
That’s almost an attainable job.
But Jesus is
You are going to be proof of God, proof of resurrection, proof of life. And I know that seems huge, so I just want you to start with Jerusalem.
Just start here. Just take on a city.
And these guys took Jesus seriously.
If you are going to write a letter, if you were the apostle
My letter to Aaron
Not my letter to Ephesus. To the city of Ephesus I write. To Galatia, To Corinth
Paul’s whole life was about going to Rome. Why? Because Rome was the biggest, most influencial city on the planet.
What a bunch of under achievers.
Somehow Jesus implanted in his disciples that they were going to turn entire cities upside down.
Rome was the epicenter of hedonism, godlessness, self-worship…everything anti-Jesus.
Most of us think of Rome as the epicenter of Catholicism
But actually, Rome was the epicenter of The world that did not know God. And Paul wanted to go there.
1950, only 7 cities had 5 million people. And now in 2007 there are over 100 cities that have over 5 million.
Human history began in a garden, but it ends in a city.
The first mention of a city is in Genesis 4 Cain killed his brother able.
This is a city where Cain rules, and not God.
The ‘old school’ word to describe someone who doesn’t know God is ‘pagan’
You’d think the word pagan would originate from Worship or idolity? No. Country dweller. Someone who lives on the farm.
When the kingdom of God first expanded. Went from city to city, all the way to Rome. Cities were the most affected by the message of Jesus Christ.
If you wanted a person to connect with God, you’d get them to move to the city
And the last people to hear the news of what Jesus Christ had done were the people who lived farthest from the city, the pagans, the country dwellers.
2,000 years ago, you hear talk of you don’t want to move to the city. Your kids will get corrupted there. You want to move to the suburbs, to the country, those are the safe places. You don’t want to send your kids to the big cities because they’ll become corrupted. They’ll become pagans.
Which is impossible.
To go to the city to become a pagan means to go to the city to become a country dweller, which
What would begin to happen if we believed that the smallest unit of transformation was a city?
That we would begin to believe cities can be transformed, and known as a place where God is. Where God is at work.
Unfortunately too many Christians look for a church based on what it can do for them, rather than what they could do together for the city.
Nehemiah 2
1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; 2 so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
Some individuals in history where it’s not enough just to talk about the problem
They want to be a part of solving the problem.
There’s a problem in the city, it’s falling a part, and I’m grived, and I want to be a part of fixing it.
Isaiah: those who restore the broken walls, rebuilding the city.
I wonder how many of us tonight have embraced the burden that God has for our city.
How many of us have adopted our city, to rebuild it, to give our lives for here.
Ecclesiastes 9
What can God do with someone like me? Perhaps you’re a teacher, doctor, lawyer, stay at home mom.
13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
It doesn’t matter how much money, how much position, how much prestige, much power.
If you devote your life to wisdom and to your city that needs rescuing, God can use you beyond your wildest imagination.
Luke 19
12He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.[a]'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
14"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'
15"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
17" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
18"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
19"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'
20"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
Jesus tells us that
The king entrusts us with resources. Not human resources at first, but physical resources. Money.
How they treated that, when they’ve earned the right to be entrusted with influence, then they were given cities to rule.
How many of us have limited how much God wants to invest and entrust with our lives because we’re not faithful with the small things. And he cannot entrust us with more.
Each one he gave just a small amount of resources.
And how they treated what they had determined how much more He gave them.
I see this playing out every day.
It’s not the person with the most intelligence that makes the biggest difference. , most talents, most money, the head start or leg up.
When you walk about sheer human influence, making a difference in the lives of others. Making a positive impact for God
God trusts those who are faithful in the small things in life.
The context for a miracle is always sacrifice.
If you want God to do great and miraculous things in your life but you’re not willing to sacrifice, serve, and give yourself to it, don’t expect God to do anything amazing in your life.
The master came back to see what his servants had done with what they’ve been given, and that’s what determined how much influence he would give them, the right to rule over cities.
In certain places in scripture we get a picture of what God wants to do in the cities.
What would happen tonight if Milwaukee began to be known as the city of God because we have given our lives to be witnesses, to be proof of God to our city.
In genesis human history began in a garden, but in Revelation, it ends in a city.
Revelation 21:22
22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
How many of live in Oak Creek? Stand up.
You are the material from which God wants to show proof of who He is to our city.
One of the beautiful things God does is he puts us in the places where he wants the world to change.
Jeremiah 29
Love the city that you’re in.
People who have moved
You are either called to be here, to be proof of God, or you need to move.
If you’re not living in the place where you’re meant to be proof of God, then you need to move.
We’re meant to walk this ground, and be proof of God, until the cities are known as the place where God is.
The city needs proof that God is here, because we are different.
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