Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor
Gregg DeMey 0:03
Friends, the journey of Lent is one that God invites us on. It's the way of the Lord. And there are going to be obstacles in the way in the next 40 days in this specific walk, and in the big picture, in your walk with Jesus, inevitably, hurdles, boulders, obstacles, pain, and suffering that's in the way, and we need somebody to prepare the way to clear the way. This is the prophet Isaiah's line in the Bible, "Prepare the way of the Lord" 2000 years ago, there was something in the air, that may be the one who was going to prepare the way of the Lord, the Messiah, the rescuer, the Redeemer, the Savior, maybe that one was right at hand. How to ideal such a person? How are we going to identify the person who is here to prepare the way the Lord? In our modern culture? There are some simple ways to provide positive ID if you're above the age of 16 and have an Illinois state driver's license. Like that's a good way. Right? I have in my front pocket an even better form. Do you recognize what this is? A United States passport. If you want to leave the United States and get into another country, you're going to need one of these to positively ID yourself. If you have ever seen a crime show or listen to a true crime podcast, there are things like fingerprints, DNA evidence, dental records, other ways to prove a positive ID that the person that was wondering who is this is this, the person we're looking for? Is in fact, the right person. 2000 years ago, when this attempt to positively ID the Messiah, the rescuer. There were questions, who isn't going to be one of the candidates in about 8030 was a guy by the name of John. In the Bible, sometimes we call him John the Baptizer or John the Baptist. And here's how the scene went down between John's Jewish contemporaries and John himself. Now, this was John's testimony, when the Jewish leaders sent priests and temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John. Now, who are you? They're wondering, they're hoping maybe this is the guy, John came right out and said, and if you would be the voice of John, I am not the Messiah. Seems pretty clear. Right? Well, then, well, then who are you? They asked, Are you, Elijah? And John replied, Well, are you the great Prophet, the one Moses promised that we are expecting again?" Well, then, who are you, John? We need to answer those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself? And John replied, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord's coming. There's a pretty great song that has exactly those words. Right. Who are you? This is the question for John. And what are you doing out here then baptizing everybody? Who are you? And what are you doing? These are questions of identity and purpose. They are perennial questions.
Gregg DeMey 3:54
We have a bunch of our high schoolers on winter retreat right now. That is a particular time of life when these questions of who am I? What am I going to be about? What am I here to do? Like, come upon us existentially full force? What most high schoolers don't realize is that those of us who grow up and get a little older never really shake these questions. Who am I? And what am I doing here? It can be a struggle when you're a teenager. It can be a struggle in midlife. It can be a struggle, even in old age to really embrace identity and purpose if you've been here during the last seven weeks or so. There's been a series of Alpha questions and videos. I confess I was a little nervous this morning, knowing that there have been quite a few videos to break up the message. So I'm going to kind of wean our church off by including a few elephant illustrations this morning. Okay. You're going to hear a little bit of biblical perspective, and a story from one of the Alpha hosts, a woman named Gemma; here's what she has to say.
Alpha 5:04
It's been said that the two greatest days of your life and the day you were born and the day you find out why. Some Paul writes, "For we are God's masterpiece, He created us a new in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." God created you. Your life does have a purpose. You're not an accident. Your life has significance. God has a specific unique destiny for you, and your life can make a difference.
Alpha 5:32
Sometimes this thought worries people that they might somehow mess things up and miss out on God's purpose. But that isn't the case. God's purpose for our lives is bigger than our mistakes. And in my own life, I've made lots of mistakes. There have been times when I've deliberately ignored God. times when I thought I'd just do my own thing because I thought that I knew best. And I thought that I was strong enough to handle everything by myself. Ultimately, that ended up with me getting really hurt. So I was in a long-term relationship, which ended in a really painful breakup. And looking back now, I absolutely know that that relationship wasn't right for me. But I chose to ignore God and felt so lost. But when I refocused on God, I knew that he loved me just as I was for who I am. And I felt lovable again. And I knew that I wasn't abandoned. Nelson Mandela said, don't judge me by my successes, judgment by how many times I've fallen down and got back up again.
Gregg DeMey 6:39
Have you ever had this sense that maybe you were ruining your own life, losing your identity, frustrating your God-given purpose through situations that you found yourself in choices that you're making, maybe outside circumstances that came upon you? uninvited, we all struggle and wrestle with purpose and identity, but God's gracious way isn't to let us flounder alone. But to empower us to keep moving toward him. There's a lot of pressure in our modern world that we individually are meant to be the architect of our own identity. Have you ever gotten this message that you are to be the author of your own purpose and vocation, and work? This is more pressure than we can bear as little human beings. If you're a 10-year-old kid, a 12-year-old kid, a 13-year-old kid, I apologize on behalf of our entire culture for the pressure that we collectively put on you that you need to figure lifelong things about your, the course of your days out by the time you're a 13-year-old. Like you have time. We love you. You have space with a love of the apparent Christian community, your church, the direction of the Holy Spirit; there is time and space and grace for you. And you don't need to make any declarations about the most important facets of who you are as a person quite yet. On Ash Wednesday, I spoke these words to several 100 people, sometimes through the window of cars with one of our new elders Jack McNamara at an Ash Wednesday worship service later in the day, from the prophet Joel, even now declares the Lord returned to me with all your heart. This is God's will. It's God's desire for us, God's desire for you. God wants us in His presence. God wants our little hearts right next door to his enormous, expansive, love-filled hearts. And if you feel yourself in the outside orbits of the solar system right now, God is inviting you to come back to the warmth of the sun of His love. God wants us back. It's when we are close to the heart of God. Only then are we able to confidently understand our identity and our real purpose. If we're out on the fringes of the solar system, it's cold and dark out there. When we are close to the warmth of God's love, there is purpose and identity. Can I read a little more from John chapter one? As John, the Baptist's purpose gets questioned as well as his identity. Then the Pharisees who had been sent asked him, Well, John, if you aren't the Messiah, and you're not Elijah, and you're not the great Prophet, what right do you have to baptize? is now the Pharisees are implying that John's activity, his purpose in baptizing people who are confessing and seeking God's forgiveness, does not fit with his identity unless he was the chosen one, the Messiah. They're basically saying, like, you can't do this unless you're the guy. I baptize, just with water, John says, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. And though his ministry follows mine, I'm not even worthy to be a servant or untie the straps of his sandals. Who could this be? This unnamed, unknown person. 2000 years ago, John had this remarkable ministry. God was moving people who were confessing their sins, and there was this sense that the times were changing and that there was about to be a breakthrough through the working of God's Spirit. And now John is saying, Yes, I'm here to baptize with water. But right here, right now, though, you do not recognize him. Yet. There is somebody here whose ministry and influence from God is going to blow you away. And the same is true. Today. Right here, right now the largely unrecognized by the spirit of North America. Jesus is here, standing in our midst. Are we not full of a church of folks who have the Holy Spirit, the mighty Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in them right now? If you don't have it yet, we'd love to pray for you. Right? But that makes me say right in our midst, Jesus is here. We discover our identity and purpose in reference to Jesus, who indeed is right here, right now, in your life. If our little life again is like the solar system, Jesus is the sun at the center of all things. There's that old bumper sticker; God is my co-pilot. Nothing could be further from the truth. I guess things could be further from the truth. That is not the whole truth. God is with us, but not in a side-by-side sort of way. God is the center. And his gravitational pull is so strong that all of our lives can revolve around the mighty love and power. That is the God who made us. So you might be wondering so how, how do I draw closer? How do I return to God with my whole heart? I'm making mistakes all the time. Yes, you are joining the club. There's a beautiful one-minute cartoon from Alpha that illustrates this. Invite you to turn your attention to the screen.
Alpha 13:07
In the mid-19th century, the British aristocratic Lord Radstock was staying in a hotel in Norway. One evening, he heard the sound of a piano being played horribly in the hallway downstairs. He looked and saw a little girl who was making the most terrible noise. He was normally a patient man. But slowly, the continuous racket began to drive him mad. As he watched, a man approached and sat down beside her. Rather than stopped the little girl's efforts, the man began to play, constructing chords alongside her. With each keystroke, his playing complimented her notes, and suddenly a breathtaking sound filled the whole hotel. He took her mistakes and discord and turned it into something utterly beautiful. As Lord Radstock later found out, the man playing alongside the girl was her father, the famous 19th-century Russian composer, Alexander Borodin
Gregg DeMey 14:12
I love this illustration so much. I think it's my favorite part of all of the Alpha videos, possibly because it's musical. But if you didn't quite get it, there's this proud English gentleman, there's a kid playing the piano plink, plonk, plonk that is meant to represent all of us living our lives. Okay. How often do we feel the pressure like we need to do things exactly right. I need to get it exactly right. Or I'm going to mess up my identity. I'm going to mess up my life's purpose if I like hit some of the wrong notes and wonder. This girl's father, who's a famous Russian composer sits down next to her and starts playing and is able to incorporate her childish, plink plonk plonk plonk into something that, under the umbrella of his music may mastery turns into something complimentary and beautiful. We are the little kids. Like we need to relax. You don't have to figure it all out. However, God has given us a lot of responsibility and freedom, no doubt. But God is there as the master composer to make sense of our nonsense, who understands things about music and music theory and Universe and Universe theory that we are never going to understand. So he can take our good notes, our sideways notes, and somehow miraculously bring these things into some kind of not just individual masterpiece between you and God, but all of us, and God, does that now sound beautiful and miraculous? Could God be that wise? Could God be that good at music that he could incorporate all of our nonsense and mistakes? In fact, I believe he is. Our identity and purpose are found, claimed, and clarified, not through our own brilliance. But by submitting our little contributions to the masterwork in the master plan of God. This happened in John the Baptist's life. After the verses that I read to you, here's what the Scriptures say, the next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "This everybody, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John was Jesus' cousin, he never mentions this. His purpose is not to get a side benefit by being the cousin of the Messiah. His purpose is to point to Jesus and say; This is the person that everybody is waiting for. You thought it was me for a hot sec, but it's not me. It's this guy, the Lamb of God, whose blood is going to wash away and redeem the sins of the world. How does John know this? Then John testified, I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and resting on him. I didn't know that he was the one. But when God sent me and commissioned me to baptize with water, God told me, the one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, no longer with water, just water next level baptism with the Holy Spirit. I saw this happen to Jesus. So I testify that he is the chosen one of God. When Jesus comes on the scene, John the Baptist finds his life's purpose, to point everybody else to him to turn the spotlight off himself, even though everybody was really curious about him, and to turn the spotlight on Jesus and say, This is who everybody is looking for. This is who everybody needs. In his presence, I find my identity and purpose. And maybe, just maybe, in his presence, you will find your identity and your purpose. Again, it is so easy for us to lose our way. Gemma, one of the Alpha hosts, spoke to a season in her life when she lost her way. John the Baptist, just a few years later, will be in prison and will be about to be executed. And he will feel like his identity and purpose are slipping away, and he will send out a messenger to his cousin Jesus asking the question like, Are you really the one? Like John the Baptist was there in prison suffering, wondering if what he previously testified to was really going to be the truth. Jesus did not leave him hanging. But verified the truth I invite you to check out a final testimony to an English man by the name of how Paul Kali about how our identity and purpose can change when we draw nearer to Jesus.
Alpha 19:16
Often as we look back, we can see that God can use our mistakes and goodness I've made so many of them. God didn't put me in prison. I did. God didn't make me get to the horses. I did. But he's helped me all the way through it. You know, dysfunctional parents, alcoholics. So now when I was 50, into an argument, my father moved into a squat with it; a gang got in trouble with the police and ended up with a prison sentence. Camera there join the army 21 Two marriages, two divorces, almost alcoholic from being bullied at school to joining the army boxing team and being a bully in a uniform. My mother died. I see my mom since I was a kid. She got ill. She had cancer, and my mom and dad were both heavy smokers and heavy drinkers. Long story short, again, she got put into hospital, I had about 10 days when she died; she had a massive sort of tumor. And I just fell asleep in my arm. And that was a catalyst for me really, to start thinking about stuff. And that set me on the journey. And then, shortly after that, he said, you've got lots of questions; you should probably try our full course. You know, 16 years in the Army. I've jumped out of airplanes, I've done rifle courses, I've done Millichap them courses on everything, I do a course on God. And I remember just sitting there listening to these talks, and I thought, You know what, I've never heard any of this stuff. It was all completely new to me. And, I prayed. And my prayer was if you're up there, and all this stuff is true. And you can make me a better man, and you can make me a better character. You know, you could make me hopefully a faithful husband, a good father, someone who people would like, then you know what, let's go for it. And then things started to change. Really weird stuff was going through my head. You know, I thought, I've lived with my girlfriend for eight years. Maybe we should get married. We talked about it. And we got married, prayed, and got my son back in my life, who left when he was three. He's now 36 and living with us. And I've got a 18-year-old daughter who's gorgeous. I mean, if you'd have told me, you know, a few years ago that I would be a vicar in the Church of England. And I said You're completely crazy. It was the furthest thing for me, and it wasn't even in my mind; I still have to pinch myself at times. So I'm working with people now. Who really had been around most of my life, a lot of people I can relate to I work with the homeless, those affected with mental health issues, those in prison, those coming out of prison through a charity called caring for ex-offenders. And I was presented with an MBE, for me, which I think is really exciting for working with ex-offenders. To be honest, that is extraordinary. And it's what God says, "I have a good and perfect plan for your life, plan to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope, and a future." And he says that he will never leave us nor forsake us. And that, for me is what keeps me going.
Gregg DeMey 22:46
Amazing, right. This man, Paul had every reason to have a negative ID was a criminal as a bully, in and out of the Army, and broken marriages left his kids. What happened when he drew near to Jesus? Things changed, and shifted. He got a new positive identification and a purpose in life: Husband, restored father, Anglican vicar, which is a pastor that does not need to be a part of a lot of people's positive identification, by the way. Personally, I think it's much more challenging to have a positive ID as a Christian plumber, a Christian engineer, or a Christian auditor like it's pretty straightforward to be a professional Christian. Okay. But if that's part of your professional ID, more power to your friends and by power, I mean Holy Spirit power. So it goes for us after we have met Jesus. He clarifies our core identity and gives us a mission, a purpose, a life work, and even if it's a little bit of plink, plonk plonk plonk along the way, it is God's umbrella of grace that can begin to make something beautiful and useful and sensible about this. On Ash Wednesday, just four days ago, we spoke these words and made the sign of the cross and ashes over many hundreds of people. Remember that you are dust, and to dust, you shall return. Could there be anything more sobering than that? Here's why we do this on Ash Wednesday. Because humanly speaking, without Jesus, everything turns to dust and ashes. But with Jesus there's so much more. Can you receive that is a humbling thought; without Jesus, everything in our own little power in our own little life will be dust and ashes. This world will remember us no more, even 100 years from now. But with Jesus, there is so much more. So this journey began on Ash Wednesday, when we turn our attention, our affection, our worship, our prayers, Lord willing, more directly than ever, with Jesus and toward Jesus. It is because there will be ashes along the way, there will be a cross along the way, there will be suffering along the way, and there will be sacrifice along the way. But good Friday will not be the end of the story. There will be so much more. Because Jesus and with him, not ashes with him. new life, new identity, New Hope, new purpose, so much more. We're going to be silent for just a minute or two in Jesus' presence. This is an invitation for you, as we begin the season, to hear from God returned to me with all your heart. If you desire to walk more closely with Jesus in the silence of this moment, just acknowledge that and give your heart as best as you can. Your stuff, your messiness. Give it to the Lord and ask him for the grace, the power, or the courage to keep walking with Jesus. Let's go to God in the quiet