Back Creek Church | Charlotte, NC

For Jesus to have been persecuted unto death must have looked and felt to everyone involved - both his followers and his enemies - that he had lost and his enemies had won. But persecution means the opposite of how it looks and feels! The darkest hour in human history - this trial of weakness, mocking, humiliation, crucifixion, condemnation, and death - meant the decisive victory of God over sin, Satan, and death and full atonement for God's people!Jesus may have been too weak to carry his cross, but he was strong enough to carry all our sin. Jesus may have been mocked as the "king of the Jews," but the response of nature to his death shows he is the King of creation.Jesus may have mocked as one who claimed he could rebuild the temple in three days, but he was referring to his body (which is the fulfillment of the temple - Immanuel, God with us!), and that's just what he did.Jesus may have been mocked as the "son of God" who couldn't deliver himself, but by receiving this punishment for sinners, he delivered his people. Jesus may have been crucified like a common criminal, but the instrument of his execution would become the worldwide symbol of his victory. Jesus may have cried out in forsakenness, but he is quoting Psalm 22, revealing his identity as the Davidic Messiah who would endure persecution yet would enjoy the presence and pleasure of God in his sacrifice.Jesus may have died, but in doing so he gave eternal life to his people. And Sunday's coming...

Those who persecuted Christ and those who persecute His Church do so because they are deceived by the evil one - we see this in the crowds who shouted "crucify him!"Because they were deceived, the crowds rejected Jesus.Because they were deceived, the crowds released Barabbas.Because they were deceived the crowds received judgment.Recognizing the reality of deception should help us in the way we see ourselves (as vulnerable to deception), the way we see our enemies (deceived by the devil, needing our compassion), and the way we see persecution itself, which often looks and feels like the devil is winning, when in reality it is an instrument Christ is using to build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!

Jesus not only prepares us to endure persecution for His sake, He endured persecution for our sake. In Matthew 26:47-27:31, we see Jesus face persecution from cowards who had the opportunity to honor Him, but chose instead to participate through:Betrayal (Judas)Abandonment (Disciples)Denial (Peter)Abstaining (Pilate)Mocking (Soldiers)Yet, ultimately we must realize that we are as responsible as these cowards for the persecution and death of Jesus - through which God has brought salvation to all who receive and rest in the risen Christ!

Jesus taught that those who were persecuted for his sake would be blessed. And Jesus himself endured persecution from the most revered and respected men in his community - the council of the Sanhedrin, with all their civil, social, and religious power, would seek to kill him from false motives, by false witness, with false judgment. A disciple is not above his master, so we can expect to face this kind of persecution as well, and seek to endure it in emulation of our Savior.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake - Jesus expects us to face persecution as we seek to live as citizens of His kingdom in the hostile kingdom of this world. And how does he teach us to respond to persecution arising from irreconcilable value systems? Not with retaliation for, retreat from, or reveling in our persecution - but rejoicing! Why? Because the reward is the reaffirmation of our faith (we suffer on Christ's account) and our future (your reward is great in heaven).

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Our God is a peace-making God and He makes us agents and ambassadors of peace in the world. We pursue peacemaking through faith, fellowship, forgiveness, focus, and following Jesus's example and command.

Blessed are the pure in heart - those who seek God are blessed to see God, to ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place, not because we have clean hands and a pure heart, but because Christ does and he came to seek and to save the lost, that we might see God. No one has ever seen God, but Jesus has made Him known.

Blessed are the merciful, who have received mercy from Christ and now look with the eyes of Christ at those in need of mercy, responding with compassion (heart) and action (hands) to the poor, the hurting, and the lost.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness - those who look to Jesus for the righteousness we do not have and find that He has provided for us by satisfying the requirements of God's law in His life, satisfying the justice of God against sin in His death and resurrection, and satisfying out hunger and thirst for a practical righteousness to match our positional righteousness by sending God the Holy Spirit to indwell us and help us die more and more to sin and live more and more to Christ.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”Toward God, meekness bows the knee, bends the will, and believes the Word.Toward others, meekness bears mistreatment, bridles the tongue, and binds anger.Meekness imitates Jesus, overcoming evil with good.The meek inherit the earth as they never presume on or demand from God, but recognizing that all is grace, they gladly receive what he provides - fertile soil or barren.Ultimately, the meek (co-heirs w/ Christ!) will inherit the earth (and infinitely more) at the resurrection.Meekness frees us from an enslaved life, attempting to earn for ourselves an inheritance we could never achieve or deserve, holding on with white knuckles and straining faces to its faint shadows in the accumulation of what we can scrape up for ourselves on the earth.Meekness also allows us to “inherit the earth” in the sense of our mission. We take our rightful place as beggars who have received bread seeking to show other beggars where to find bread. Our confidence in sharing the good news is not in ourselves but in the God we can trust. He has made promises concerning the nations and his purposes will not fail. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Meekness frees us from fear (I’m far worse than whatever you might say or think of me, yet the Gospel says I'm infinitely loved) and meekness frees us from the pressure of having to convince and persuade or perfectly align our behavior with our message (though we strive for holiness by grace) - the word of Christ is the power of God for salvation, not my words or my ways."Lord give us grace that we, like them - the meek and lowly - on high may dwell with thee!"

Note: there are audio issues with the first two minutes of this recording.

As we navigate difficult circumstances in life, Psalm 117 expresses God's invitation to be refreshed as we praise Him.

Those who Jesus says are truly blessed are those who see things as they really are - and as a result, they mourn. And to those who mourn things as they really are, Jesus alone gives comfort: He is making all things new. Those who mourn see the HOLINESS of God. Those who mourn see the HORROR of sin. Those who mourn see the HOPELESSNESS of the world. But those who mourn see JESUS as he really is: the only true and lasting source of comfort in the universe! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Being "poor in spirit" means being emptied (in some specific ways) of self, that we might be filled with Christ.The poor in spirit renounce self-reliance and embrace Christ-reliance.The poor in spirit renounce self-righteousness and receive Christ's righteousness.The poor in spirit renounce self-rule and surrender to Christ's rule (receive the kingdom of heaven).

The world's idea of #blessed usually comes down to power, possessions, popularity, pleasant experiences, and/or prosperity. But what does God say it means to be blessed? Being blessed is about the disposition of God toward us. Being blessed is about the orientation of our lives around God and not the world.Being blessed is about the anticipation of eternity. The problem is that none of us qualify to be "blessed." We do not faithfully orient our lives around God and His Word, so we cannot earn his pleased disposition or anticipate eternal life with him... unless we run to Jesus! It is in Christ that we are truly blessed.

The best way for God's family to honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year is to keep the Lord's Day, every week, all week long. Like the shepherds, we gather. Like the angels, we celebrate. Like the wise men, we give. As God's children, we receive His greatest present, Jesus. And like the shepherds, we go. Like the shepherds, when we go, our worship and our message go with us.

Jesus is God's greatest present. Have you received Him?

The best way for God's family to honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all the year is to keep the Lord's Day, every week, all year long. Like the shepherds, we gather. Like the angels, we celebrate. And like the wise men, we give. Like the wise men, we give our worship, our joy, and our gifts.

Every week, Christ's Church gathers to celebrate His incarnation. How do we celebrate? Like the angels, we celebrate by announcing the good news, ascribing glory to God, and advancing peace on earth.

Like the shepherds on the night of Christ's birth, we gather in response to good news. Like the shepherds, we gather because God invites us and meets us. But unlike the shepherds, it's not a one time event for us. We gather at God's invitation and in expectation of God's presence weekly(!) on a day more significant than December 25 - the Lord's Day.

"To all who did receive [Christ], to those who believed on His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." We who believe are family, not because of natural descent or natural desire, but because of supernatural delivery.

Yahweh gave His people three offices to help lead them in the way of righteousness: prophet, priest, and king. The problem is that the leaders were as unrighteous as the people. So, God gave His promise: He would send a Shepherd who would be the true Prophet, Priest, and King. He would be Yahweh Tsidkenu: The Lord Is Our Righteousness.

Yahweh Shalom provides peace to His people through His presence, His power, His promises, and ultimately, His Person.

"Yahweh Yireh" means The Lord Will Provide.Yahweh Yireh provides the test(s) we need, the faith we need, and ultimately, the Substitute we need.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.The name El Shaddai means "God Almighty" and reveals that God is able to reach us where we are, able to rewrite our stories, and able to redeem us forever.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.The name Adonai reveals that God is the Lord who rules everything that is, owns everything we have, provides everything we need, and demands everything we are.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.In Moses's encounter with God in Exodus 3, the Lord reveals His covenant name, Yahweh, the self-existent, unchanging, and faithful God.

God's names represent His being, reveal His nature and character, and rescue His people.Genesis 1 reveals God as Elohim, the transcendent, personal Creator of the universe.

God's name represents His being, reveals His nature and character, and rescues His people.

The younger son runs from his father in rebellion, and the father runs toward him. The older son runs from his father in self-righteousness and his father runs toward him.

Sinners are drawn to Jesus. Jesus is drawn to sinners.

Belonging to Christ means peace with God, peace with each other, and peace in all circumstances.

A world where belonging is counterfeit needs a church where belonging is real - where we who belong to Jesus extend that belonging to one another by embracing our new identity and embracing one another.

Behavior does not merit belonging. But knowing that we already and unconditionally belong through Christ, that changes us - including our behavior.

When we belong to Christ and are united to Him by faith, it changes everything about our lives. Christ becomes our life, and we receive a new focus in life, a new foundation for life, and a new future of life.

We all have a longing to belong because we were created by God for belonging. We broke our belonging and threw away our relationship with God through sin. Yet, Christ loves us so much that He came to live and die and rise again so that we could be restored and reconciled, and finally know true belonging.

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me... Fear the Lord and find in Him a strong fortress.

Submission is part of our mission because it is a practical demonstration that our real hope is in God. His wisdom is better than our freedom. We submit to our shepherds (elders and ministers).We submit to our siblings (fellow believers in Christ). We submit to our Savior (everything - our selves, our situations, our safety, and our sufferings)

Our mission is not easy, and along the way we forget our identity. Christ, the Chief Shepherd, has given us the good gift of shepherds (ministers and elders) in His church, to help us. Shepherds are to minister to us by:Overseeing Willingly.Serving Eagerly. Modeling Humbly.

How do we sustain with hope when we face opposition and suffering? We trust God because God is good. And we do good because we trust God.

We have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others. How do we bless others? By stewarding well what God has entrusted to us. We steward our selves.We steward our stuff.We steward our service. All for the blessing of others, as an expression of our mission of hope.

Suffering in this world is inevitable. How can we suffer with hope?We bless one another in our suffering.We bless our enemies in our suffering.We bless with the Gospel, which gives us hope in our suffering.

Christian households are to be outposts of the kingdom of God in the world, shining hope to the world, with marriage as an essential building block. In marriage, husbands and wives are equal in status, different in role, and have the same goal: imitating Jesus through humility toward one another.

Our identity of hope is that we are exiles and sojourners in this world, having been born again to a living hope. But we are also invaders, waging war against the kingdom of darkness on the internal front against the passions of our flesh (by grace resisting them) and the external front against those who oppose us (by grace submitting to authority, silencing fools by doing good to them, serving others, suffering well, and in all things seeking Christ).

Our identity of hope: we are chosen by God, children of God, and the church for God. This passage teaches us that God means to dwell with His people and the Church is the spiritual house He is building. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession.