Bob Young Resources

In this final sermon in the series, we look at what God has accomplished in Jesus, using three New Testament descriptions of Jesus. Jesus is–
• Pioneer or trailblazer, he enters the holy place with his sacrifice, he blows it open so we can also enter
• Example, we follow in his steps
• First fruits, he is the promise that God’s plan works

Why this idea is important–
• The opposite idea would be that God is behind us, the idea that we just need to stop all progress and go back to the way things used to be, the idea that we somehow get closer to God in reverse than in forward gear. Many in my tribe have tried to find a way forward by focusing on the past.
• For me, the Jesus narrative is a story that pulls me forward rather than pulling me backward. God has in mind a future that is unimaginable. Jesus has already walked the road that he now calls me to walk as his follower.
• We are not committed to going back and making things like they used to be.
• We are committed to an inspiring vision of what can be, what the future holds, what is beyond our imaginations, more than we can ask or think.
• I am describing two options–forward or backward. Which is the right view of God? The “old paths” passages are Old Testament. God sent Jesus to walk a new path. Now he calls us to follow where he has already gone. He gives us principles to guide us. What contributes mightily to the backwardness of religion in our world today is the idea that we need to go back, when God is calling us forward. This is the God who is “before us.”

Expanding these three concepts–
• Pioneer and trailblazer that makes possible our salvation (Heb. 2).
• Pioneer and example in life. Jesus demonstrated compassion, humility, service, sacrifice. He calls us to follow. This is God before us, calling us forward (1 Peter 2).
• Pioneer and first fruits He is promise of resurrection, he is promise that the process works (1 Cor. 15). We follow him—-in service, sacrifice, suffering, death, life, relationship with God.

How will we discover what God is up to without a careful rereading of the Bible, about the God who wants us to move forward at warp speed. He has a vision for humanity–joyous, fulfilling, possible. How can we simply plod along? The dominant view in the majority of churches holds us back from the kind of growth God intends. We are too self-centered (it is not about us, about our group). We are too self-confident (we cannot solve the problems). We are too self-contained.

Let us go forward–because God has come to be “with us,” has accomplished a saving work “for us” in Jesus, now lives “in us,” promises to be “beside us” always, and is constantly “before us” leading us forward.

Life is often a lonesome journey. Moving forward is challenging, difficult. At times we face seemingly impossible odds. We experience problems, setbacks, failures. We want a companion, someone who understands our needs and the nature of the journey. The last two sermons in this series show how God meets that need in Jesus, in the promise of Jesus to give us a Comforter to be at our side, and in Jesus’ presence with the Father.
Time for a quick review–

Why is it important to know that God is “beside us”? That God is beside us leads to two important Bible teachings.

God is “at our side” in every part of life. You cannot think of any time in your life when God is not at your side. It does not matter how far you have wandered or strayed, God through Jesus and the Spirit can be at your side. It does not matter how difficult the stretch of life you are going through, God is beside you. Problems–God beside you. Failure–God beside you. Overwhelmed–God beside you. Confused, doubtful, struggling–God beside you.

Three takeaways–
• God stays put. God never gives up on us no matter what we have done or are doing.
• God empowers us. He encourages us and enables us to experience the power and presence of God
• God supercharges us. We come to understand that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

We struggle to understand God. The challenge is even more apparent as add another dynamic: God in us.
A brief review. Everything begins with God. In the beginning, God. In the beginning, the Word. Eternal existence, no beginning, no end. Above and beyond human concepts of space and time. Above matter, speaking matter into existence. Creative power, creative genius, sustaining the universe. This is God; this is Jesus pre-incarnate.
Then, the Incarnation. At the Christmas season, many think about Jesus and the beginning of his physical life on this planet. This is God with us. The baby in the manger is popular, non-threatening, lovable. But the story of Jesus’ life among us is not complete unless the story of his birth leads to the story of his death. Easter, as a religious event, even more popular than Christmas. Who doesn’t want to be saved? Who cannot sympathize with a suffering Savior? Who is not touched by the passion of Christ? God demonstrates love, he clearly shows how much he is for us.

I wish I understood more fully the significance of eternal existence–the One who is the very image of God, for whom all things were created, the One who now sustains and has always sustained this physical creation (Col. 1; Heb. 1). I wish I understood better the “God with us” dimension of Jesus’ coming. I wish I understood better how powerful is Jesus’ presence right now before the throne of God, the clear declaration that God is for us. I think clearer understanding of “with” and “for” would be helpful in the third dimension of this series.
I also want to understand what it means that he is “in us” or “within” us. Wow! God in us!

Seven well-known texts show us different dimensions of “God in us.” Here are the passages: John 14:23; Romans 8:9, 11; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:22; Ephesians 3:17; Col 1:27; 2 Timothy 1:14. What should we see? What conclusions should we draw?

Since God is “in” us, “within” us, how shall we then live? Four truths can be distilled from these seven passages. We live….

God for us. A rich Bible concept not easy to grasp. Summarizing: God is on our side; God wants us to win; God wants us to succeed. From the reverse side: God is not against us.
God is for us (Rom. 8:32-39). This alters our understanding of God. God is not a celestial policeman waiting to measure us with a long list of prohibitions. God is cheering us on; God protects, guides, helps, sustains, rescues, saves.
God is for us (Rom. 8:32-39). This alters our understanding of life. When God is for us, nothing and no one can successfully oppose us.

Why understanding this idea is important
Because we spend so much time grasping for grace. We do not understand grace. How can we wrap our minds around grace? God is on our side, even when we mess up, even when we have messed up. The gospel message is not, “God will love you if you…” Or, “God will love you if you quit….” Or, “God will love you if you don’t do….” The fundamental message of Christianity is that God—-in all of his holiness, justice, and love—-is for us, creating us to be like him, re-creating us to be like him, helping us be like him.

Because the gospel is positive, not negative. The gospel is what we are “for,” not what we are “against.” Or better said, the gospel is God for us, not God against us. It is amazing how often Christian faith is defined and understood by what it is against. The central message of Christian faith is about what we are for, because that is the central message of the gospel. God is for us; he is on our side. The gospel message that “God is for us” alters spiritual reality in our lives; it is not about guarantees of health, wealth, and success in this world.

Because it is beyond incredible that God is “for us”! Philippians 2:5-11 is helpful. To understand the depth of the “God is for us” declaration, we have to understand Jesus. Here is the center of the gospel. Here is the supreme evidence of grace. We cannot really talk about God unless we mention Jesus. We cannot tell about Jesus without mentioning God.

Why the message that “God is for us” is Good News

The message of Scripture can be summed up in five affirmations about God. In Jesus Christ, God declares that He is with us, for us, within us, beside us, and before us. Five affirmations–five sermons!
Jesus’ coming to earth in the incarnation continues and makes certain in new ways an Old Testament promise: “I will be with you.”

Tracing this idea through Scripture
“God with us” is an Old Testament concept: check out Abraham, Joseph, Moses… “I will be with you.”
In the New Testament: read Matthew 28:20, read about Paul in Corinth in Acts 18. Check your concordance.
What does “God with us” mean? This is not God beside us; this is not God within us. This is God with us. This is Hebrews 1-2: son of God, son of man, combined in Jesus.

Struggling with this idea
We struggle with this idea. We hear people say, “And then God showed up.” Where was he before he showed up? We talk about coming into God’s presence—are we not always in his presence? Where can we flee from his presence? Read Psalm 139 again. Often we pray, “God be with them.” Is He not always present? We struggle with God’s “where” because we do not understand his “who.” We sing songs that ask God to come near. What does that mean? Is it figurative language? What does it mean that something is a “God thing”? Perhaps we mean that God was active providentially. Let us never think that God suddenly shows up.
We struggle with this idea—God with us—because of the times it seems he is not with us. How do we explain? Why does God act in one instance and not in another? Why does it seem that God is “here” sometimes and not at other times? The idea that God is sometimes here and sometimes not leads to faith problems—the absent God, the dead God, the optional God.

Clarifying this idea
God Present in the World. We can’t really see life clearly unless we understand God’s role in the world. God is with us—even when bad things happen. “I will never leave you.” For us Christians, the presence of problems does not mean the absence of God. That was true one time—Jesus on the cross, and the Bible says that even then, his prayer was heard.
God Transcendent above the World. The transcendent God balances the present God. We do not understand—how is it possible that he is both at the same time? Rob Bell is helpful when he explains that one way the Hebrews described God’s action and presence was in the Hebrew word ruach. If you know Hebrew, you may immediately think spirit, breath, wind. But you do yourself a disservice. Ruach is energy, creative, surprising, surging in and through everything, holding stuff together, like a cosmic electricity, power, divine energy. This is God ever-present and ever-sustaining. Ruach is breath, it is wind, and it is spirit (although our English word spirit has a lot packed into it that the Hebrews did not have). It certainly doesn’t mean less real, or something unpredictable—jumping in and out of existence, jumping from here to there.
God in the World through the Church. God with us: Jesus inhabiting hearts by faith, the coming of the Holy Spirit. The church is the fullness of God’s presence through Jesus.

Applying this idea practically
God is present in his church, present in every moment. What are we supposed to learn? “God with us” helps us answer four questions.