What Does Jesus Command?

What Does Jesus Command?

Dave Riddle • 05/15/2022

Key Passage: John 15:12-17

John 15:12 (CSB): This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.

  • Love = agapaō - agape, immeasurable and unconditional love.

John 15:13 (CSB): No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

  • He calls us friends when, in reality, we were His enemies.

    • Romans 5:8

John 15:14 (CSB): You are my friends if you do what I command you.

  • Abraham: James 2:23

  • Us! John 15:15 - no longer blindly obedient servants, but friends.

John 15:16 (CSB): You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 

  • Referring back to John 15:1-8

  • He chose us!

“These things” I command you, that you love one another. John 15:17

  • Possibly: All of His commands boil down to “love one another”.

  • Or: the result of all of His commands is that we will love one another.

John 15:17 (CSB): “This is what I command you: Love one another.”

  • Not optional.

    • Command, enjoin, an imperative

    • entolē = an order, command, charge, precept, injunction

Everything we do should be deepening our love for one another.

The Trinity in Jesus’ Own Words

Message begins around 33:15

The Trinity in Jesus’ Own Words

Dave Riddle • 05/01/2022
Key Passage: John 14:16-31

The Father will give you a helper/counselor

  • John 14:16

Jesus and the Holy Spirit

  • John 14:17-18

    • You already know Him

    • I am coming to you

  • Compare this to what Jesus said in the passage from last week.

Jesus and the Father

  • (Last week) John 14:8-10

    • “You have seen the Father”

    • Jesus and the Father are one

  • John 14:20-21

    • I am in my father and my father is in me.

Jesus’ call for us

  • John 14:21 (John 14:15)

    • If you love Me, you will keep My commands.

      • Love = agapaō all four times in this passage.

    • (Matthew 28) obey… and teach others to do the same

      • If we don’t know his commands we can’t keep them, and we definitely can’t make and teach new disciples.

  • John 14:23-24

    • …we will come to them and make Our home with them.

      • We are part of the kingdom of God right now!

        • Already, not yet.

    • Sent = pempō: dispatched or sent on an errand.

The Holy Spirit and Jesus

  • John 14:26

    • But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

      • How do we love Jesus? Keep his commands.

        • The Holy Spirit enables this by teaching and reminding us of the commands of Jesus.

  • John 14:27

    • Peace = eirene: a state of tranquility, harmony, and safety. In a Christian context: the tranquil state of a soul, assured of its salvation, fearing nothing from God, content with their lot, whatever it might be.

Jesus and the Father

  • John 14:30-31

Believe. How? Love. How? Live in obedience to his commands. How? Through the power of the Spirit.

Don’t Let Your Heart Be Troubled

Message begins around 32:30

Don’t Let Your Heart Be Troubled

Dave Riddle • 04/24/2022

Key Passage: John 14:1-15

Don’t let your heart be troubled

  • John 14:1

    • Troubled = tarassō (Greek) - stirred up, agitated, inward commotion, to take away one’s calmness of mind.

  • John 12:27 - “now my heart is troubled”

    • Jesus faced this too!

      • Not a sin issue.

The answer for a troubled heart

  • John 14:1 - “believe in God, believe also in me “

    • Believe = pistueo (Greek): to think to be true. To be persuaded of; to place confidence in. To have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing). To believe.

I’ve got a spot for you 

  • John 14:2-4

    • A place for you

    • “You will be with me!”

    • you know the way to where I am going.

Wait… where are you going?

  • John 14:5 (HCSB): “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”

    • Thomas sets it up on tee for Jesus

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

  • John 14:6

    • No one comes to the Father except through Jesus

Know and See

  • John 14:7

    • Know = ginōskō: to know experiential, in contrast to oida, which means to know intuitively or perceive.

    • See = horaō - to stare at. to see, i.e. become acquainted with by experience, to experience.

They Miss the Point

  • John 14:8

    • They still don’t get it.

  • John 14:9

    • Philip… you still don’t know me?

    • The one who has seen (horaō) me has seen the Father.

  • John 14:10-11

    • There is such a close relationship between Jesus and the father that you can’t separate them.

A Surprising Promise

  • John 14:12 - Don’t miss this!

    • The one who believes in me will do even greater works than me.

      • Not exclusively referring to miracles, but instead referring to the entirety of His life.

      • Why? The Holy Spirit is coming.

        • The impact of the ministry of the church goes worldwide as a result of the power of the Spirit.

I Will Do It

  • John 14:13-14

    • Ask in my name, and I will do it.

      • Jesus is not a divine vending machine or our personal Genie.

      • When we are aligned with Jesus’ mission and motives and allow God to use us He will do incredible things.

Keep My Commands

  • John 14:15 - if you love me, you will keep my commands.

    • Keep = tēreō - to attend to carefully, take care of.

How often do we stress over things that have little eternal significance?

  • Everything we do is rooted in our faith and trust in Jesus as leader of our life.

Purpose / Surrender

Message Begins around 22:30

Purpose / Surrender

Dave Riddle • 04/10/2022

Key Passage: Matthew 26:38-39

“Not my will, but yours be done”

  • Matthew 26:38-39

  • His life was all about living out the Father’s will.

  • Philippians 2:5-6

    • He didn’t use his equality with God as an excuse.

  • Philippians 2:7-8

    • Exalted in his humiliation due to his willingness to surrender to his father’s will.

What about us?

  • Ephesians 6:6

    • Completely surrendered to the will of God.

  • Hebrews 13:20-22

    • Equipped with everything good to do the will of God.

  • 1 John 2:17

    • Whoever does the will of God abides with him forever.

  • Psalm 143:19

    • “Teach me to do your will”…

    • May your Spirit lead me on level ground

Our Upside Down Mission

Message begins around 35 minutes

Our Upside Down Mission

Dave Riddle • 04/03/2022

Key Passage: Matthew 4:19

Our God is both Sent and Sender

  • John 3:16-17

  • John 17:1-4, 18

  • John 20:21

Jesus followers are “sent ones”

  • Matthew 4:19

    • A challenge and a new identity

  • Mark 3:14

    • Why? To send them out.

    • Not to continue living their lives the same way they were before.

      • We say we believe… but we live like universalists.

  • Do we see ourselves as “sent ones”?

    • To whom are you sent?

What does this calling look like?

  • Matthew 28:18-20

    • Salt and light

  • Acts 1:18

    • You will receive power…

    • You will be my witnesses…

  • Matthew 28:19

    • Therefore go and make disciples…

  • 2 Corinthians 5:20

    • We are Christ’s Ambassadors

Our Content and Our Conduct

  • both must be in line with God’s calling for our life.

  • We can stand for everything that’s true, but does our conduct repel people before they can hear our words?

  • Philippians 2:14-16

    • Blameless, pure, faultless…

      • A high calling!

    • Hold firm to the word of life and hold it out to the world.

Hearts for Redemption and Restoration

  • We are citizens of God right now… But it’s not yet fully realized

    • An “Already… not yet” reality.

    • Citizen of the Kingdom of God should be our primary identity here on earth.

  • Revelation 21:5

Upside Down Relationships

Upside Down Relationships

03/27/2021 - Phil Woodman

Key Passages: Matthew 22:35-39, Philemon

Matthew 22:35-39

Jesus invited us to live with God 

  • Galatians 4:7 - no longer slaves

  • John 15:15 - friends of God

  • Do you find yourself trying to earn God’s love?

  • Genesis 1:27- we are created in God’s image

  • 1 Timothy 2:3 - God wants to have a relationship with all of us.

Love Your Enemies

  • Matthew 5:43 - have you heard the law that says ‘loves your neighbor’ but hate your enemy?

    • Leviticus 19:18 - what’s missing?

  • Matthew 5:43-47

    • Called to something new and different.

    • We shouldn’t have enemies.

Rethinking the way we see others

  • Philemon 8-10

    • What would you do if you were Philemon?

  • Philemon 15-18

    • What’s our attitude towards the people who have wronged us?

What do you need to do?

  • Do you need a heart check?

  • Do something

    • How have you made the opportunity to point people to Jesus?

Upside Down View of Generosity

Kids Choir Starts at 9:30 // Baptisms at 14:30 // Message at 30:00

Upside Down View of Generosity

03/20/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Key Passage: Mark 12:41-44

Oikonomics: The economy of God’s household. The way our family on mission invests it’s available resources in and for the family of God.

Five Capitals:

  • Spiritual Capital is about the depth of our relationship with God as a follower of Jesus, producing a spiritual equity that we invest in others.

  • Relational Capital refers to the quantity and quality of our relationships which produces a relational equity we have to invest.

  • Physical Capital is all about our ability to devote time and energy to both people and tasks. It includes the time we make available and the capacity we have to use that time.

  • Intellectual Capital refers to our capacity to think and reason, to use our minds as something to invest as part of God’s family on mission. Ideas and knowledge.

  • Financial Capital is perhaps the capital that we are most familiar with. Money. Treasure.

Generous: showing a readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or even expected.

The Widow’s Gift

  • Mark 12:41-44

    • Not a parable but an event Jesus is witnessing.

Priority, Regularity, Individuality, Proportionality

  • 1 Corinthians 16:2

  • They responded zealously!

    • 2 Corinthians 9:1-2

No one can serve two masters

  • Matthew 6:24

Give Thanks

  • Hebrews 12:28

Love Generously

  • John 13:34

An Assertion of our Trust

  • Mark 12:44

Give Cheerfully

  • 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

    • God loves it!

  • “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who cannot repay you” - John Bunyan

Upside Down View of Ourselves

Message begins around 33 minutes

Upside Down View of Ourselves

03/13/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Key Passage: Psalm 37:5

Ralph Waldo Emerson - “trust thyself”

  • Proverbs 3:5 - don’t do that…

    • Self-reliance limits our spiritual growth

    • Psalm 37:5 - “Depend on the Lord. Trust in him, and he will help you.”

    • Jeremiah 9:23 - Don’t boast about yourself

    • Philippians 4:11-13 - it’s not about our strength or ability.

Spiritual growth is not about personal willpower, it’s about surrender.

What do we trust in?

His Forgiveness

  • Luke 18:9-14

    • …everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

  • Romans 3:11-12

    • Our own goodness will never be enough.

  • Philippians 3:9

    • Our righteousness comes from him!

  • It all goes back to what God has done for us.

His Empowerment

  • 1 Chronicles 16:11

    • Seek God

  • Acts 1:8a

    • Empowered by the Holy Spirit.

    • dynamos (δύναμαι)= able. to be able, have power whether by virtue of one's own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law

  • The same power that raised Christ from the dead empowers you today!

His Wisdom

  • 1 Corinthians 3:19

    • The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

  • James 3:17

    • The wisdom from above is pure, peace loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy, unwavering, without pretense…

His Provision

  • Psalm 34:19 - “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues from them all.”

  • 1 Peter 5:7 - cast all your anxieties on God..

  • 2 Corinthians 1:8-9

    • We even despaired off life itself!

    • …so that we would not trust ourselves.

  • His provision is better than our attempts at self preservation

His Kingship

  • Psalm 18:2

  • Psalm 113:4-6

  • John 6:68 - where else would we go? Only you have the words of eternal life.

Upside Down Worship

Upside Down Worship
03/06/2021 - Dave Riddle 
Key Passages: Psalm 95, Psalm 63

Worship begins with an invitation from God

Our Worship Must Be SINGULAR

  • Psalm 95:1

  • Psalm 63:1a

  • Exodus 20:1-11

Our Worship Must Be PERSONAL and COLLECTIVE

  • Psalm 63:1a - “I seek you”

  • Psalm 95:1 - “Let Us”

Our Worship Must Be A VOCAL & LIVELY CELEBRATION

  • Psalm 95:1-2 - shout, sing

    • rānan - to cry out, shout for joy, give a ringing cry.

    • rûaʿ - to shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast.

      • Joshua 6:20

      • 1 Samuel 4:5

      • 2 Samuel 6

    • Why? Because we have a lot to celebrate!

Our Worship Must Be Centered on TRUTH

  • Psalm 95:3-5

Our Worship Must Be Filled With REVERENCE

  • Filled with Joy & Bowed in Reverence

  • Joy & Awe

  • Wow & Woe

  • Revelation 7:9-12 - Celebration & Awe.

Our Worship Must Have a Deep Level of INTIMACY & PASSION

  • Psalm 63:3-5 - “Your love means more than life to me…”

    • Not ambivalent or neutral.

Our Worship Should Lead to OBEDIENCE

  • Psalm 95:7b-9

  • Exodus 17:7

  • Romans 12:1

Upside Down Greatness

Message starts around the 29-minute mark

Upside Down Greatness

02/27/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Key Passage: Matthew 18:1

Who is the greatest?

  • Matthew 18:1

Jesus turns the tables

  • strephō: to twist, turn around, reverse (literally or figuratively). To change one’s mind.

    • Matthew 18:3

Childlike trust, reliance, and dependence 

  • Matthew 18:2-3

Humility

  • Matthew 18:4

  • Humble = tapeinoō: literally to depress, figuratively, to humiliate (in condition or heart). Abase, bring low, humble oneself.

    • The opposite of pride

  • Romans 12:3

    • If humility isn’t there then most likely obedience and service aren’t there either.

  • Matthew 23:11-12

    • ...All who exalt themselves will be humbled…

    • Greatness is found in servanthood

Jesus is the example

  • Philippians 2:3-8

What Are You Seeking?

Message begins around 31:00

What Are You Seeking?
02/20/2021 - Dave Riddle 
Key Passage: Colossians 3:1-2

Keep Seeking Christ

  • Colossians 3:1

    • zēteō (ζητέω): to seek by thinking, meditating, or reasoning. As a Hebraism: to worship God.

  • Colossians 3:2

    • Stay focused, set your attention.

Don’t Seek After The Things of Earth

  • Colossians 3:2

    • phroneō (φρονέω) To direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for

  • What has your truest, deepest, most foundational affection?

  • Philippians 3:17-19

    • Enemies of the cross focus on earthly things.

  • Matthew 16 - Peter rebukes Jesus.

    • 16:23 “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.”

Pick up your cross and follow Jesus

  • Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

  • Galatians 5:24 - Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh.

  • Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.

    • Bonhoeffer- “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die”

Jesus flips the tables of our lives

  • Matthew 21, John 2, Mark 11, Luke 19

    • Symbolic of what he does in our lives.

Do Not Love the World

Message begins around 32:00

Do Not Love the World

02/13/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Key Passage: 1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world

  • 1 John 2:15a Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world.

  • James says it, Paul says it, John says it…

  • “Love” agapaō (ἀγαπάω) - unconditional love.

  • 1 John 2:15b If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.

    • You can’t serve two masters.

    • There’s gotta be one Lord, Master, priority, affection of your life.

What are the aspects of the world that are most tempting to give my undivided attention to?

  • James 4:4 Adulterers! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy.

  • We need to be very sensitive to the Holy Spirit to recognize when things of the world begin to displace our focus on God.

    • Revelation 2:4 - …you have abandoned your first love…

Everything that belongs to the world

1 John 2:16 For everything that belongs to  the world—the lust of the flesh,  the lust of the eyes,  and the pride  in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 

  • Not an exhaustive list

  • Flesh - Our base physical passions (Hedonism)

    • 1 Peter 2:11

      • We are foreigners and strangers here on Earth. Temporary residents.

      • Our life is not solely about what happens between birth and death.

  • Eyes - The tendency to be captivated by the outward appearance of things. An inordinate desire for the finer things in life. (Materialism)

    • Proverbs 27:20 - Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and people’s eyes are never satisfied. (CSB)

    • Human desires are like the world of the dead - there’s always room for more. (GNT)

  • Pride - the trust that we have in our own power, resources, abilities, insight. (Self-sufficiency)

    • Luke 14:11 - Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Why don’t we care about those things?

  • 1 John 2:17 the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.

    • Paul says the same thing in Romans 7:31

    • Jesus reframes our thinking in Mark 3:35

We need to do a heart check

  • What has your heart?

    • If it’s something other than God… it’s the wrong answer.

  • Mathew 6:21 - Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

Jesus in HD

Message starts around the 19 minute mark

Jesus in HD

02/06/2021 - Paul Trulock 

Key Passage: Revelation 5:1-14

Revelation = an uncovering or unveiling. A revealing. apokalypsis (ἀποκάλυψις) laying bare. A disclosure of truth, instruction concerning things before unknown.

Why is John so upset?

  • Revelation 5:4

  • The scroll (5:1) is the deed to all creation. It contains God’s plan to make everything right and new.

    • Who can open it?

The Messiah

  • Revelation 5:5 - He has triumphed

    • The Lion of Judah

    • The Root of David

    • Jesus!

The Lamb

  • Revelation 5:6

    • Instead of a Lion, John sees a Lamb.

    • Not a clean happy lamb, but one that was slaughtered.

      • Think back to Thomas’s experience with the resurrected Jesus.

He is worthy!

  • Revelation 5:9-10

    • Not only our savior, but also our king and high priest.

    • Redeemer,

    • Jesus in HD

The Response 

  • Revelation 5:11 - 14

    • Every creature gives all blessing and glory to Jesus.

How do WE see Jesus?

  • Do we see our sin as simple mistakes or as the punishment that Jesus suffered to redeem us?

  • Do we see our worship as just another song or as a privileged encounter with the savior?

  • Do we see our calling as an obligation or as a beautiful opportunity to invite others into a relationship with the King?



United So The World Will Know Jesus

Message starts around the 30:00 mark

United So The World Will Know Jesus

01/30/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Key Passage: John 17:21 - 23

Mission:  That The World May Know

  • John 17:21 - 22

  • Our works are NOT the gospel, but they can hinder or facilitate the gospel.

    • Our unity accelerates the impact of the gospel.

    • Our disunity is a hindrance to the gospel.

      • It tarnishes God’s reputation.

Message: The love of God

  • A message that needs to be spoken.

  • A message that manifests in our relationships with one another.

    • John 17:23

    • John 3:17

    • Where have you been sent? What is your context?

    • John 13:34-35 - love one another… by this all people will know you are my disciples.

      • 1 John 3:11 - We MUST love each other.

United in Heart & Mind

Message begins around the 24-minute mark

United in Heart & Mind
01/23/2021 - Dave Riddle 
Key Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:10-11

You are all one in Christ Jesus

  • A theological scriptural fact

    • Acts 4:32

    • Galatians 3:23

    • 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

  • This is what Jesus prayed for.

Unity is our Calling

  • 1 Corinthians 13:11

  • Romans 12:16-18

  • Romans 14:19

  • Philippians 2:2

  • Ephesians 4:3

  • 1 Peter 3:8

  • Hebrews 12:14

  • 1 Corinthians 1:10

Undivided

  • 1 Corinthians 1:10

    • There should be no schism, split, gap, divide…

  • 1 Corinthians 1:11

    • There are quarrels among you

  • 1 Corinthians 1:10 - Made complete, perfectly joined together.

Is Unity in this church possible?

  • The redeemed live as one… are we?

    • Galatians 3:23

  • What is God’s calling for me? Not for my brother or sister, but for me.

  • Repentance seems to be rare, almost non-existent.

    • How is God calling us to respond?

    • Can we be agents of unity rather than division?

Peace With God

Message begins around the 41 minute mark

Peace With God

01/16/2021 - Dave Riddle 

Key Passage: Romans 5:1-9

Undivided in our relationship with God 

Declared Righteous

  • Romans 5:1

  • Our sin separates us from God

    • But we have been declared righteous!

  • Romans 5:9

    • Not by our own action, but by His blood.

Peace With God!

  • Romans 5:1 - Peace

    • …we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    • Peace = eirēnē (Greek: εἰρήνη) - a state of tranquility, harmony, and safety. In a Christian context: the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation.

  • Colossians 1:19 - 20

    • Peace through His sacrifice on the cross.

  • Peace with each other is impossible if we don’t first have peace with God.

By God’s Grace

  • Romans 5:2

  • Ephesians 3:12

Rejoice 

  • Romans 5:2b-4

    • Rejoice in the hope

    • Rejoice in our afflictions

Even when it’s hard

  • Romans 5:2b-4

    • Affliction produces endurance

    • Endurance produces proven character

    • Proven character produces hope

Undivided in our commitment to Him

  • You can’t serve two masters

  • To the Rich Young Ruler: “you lack one thing” …it was the only thing.

    • Take up your cross and follow Jesus.

  • John 14:15 - if you love me, you will keep my commands

Overflowing

  • Romans 5:5 - God’s love has been poured out…

    • Overflows, gushes!

      • Do we respond in kind?

What are the things in our lives that are keeping us from living undivided for God?

  • “There’s nothing I hold onto”