As you likely know, Sarah and I love movies. We really love great storytelling, great characters, great dialogue, and a movie that really stirs you. When Braveheart came out, the epic cinematic fictionalized historical drama that portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the war of Scottish independence against England, the powerful line shouted by William Wallace that got repeated over and over again,
“They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!”
Then just a year later, a very similar movie, Independence Day, the epic cinematic fictionalized drama that portrays an eclectic group of people who assemble in Nevada in the war of independence against extraterrestrials, the oddly similar line shouted by the president Thomas Whitmore,
“We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
A movie about aliens doesn’t hit quite the same way…but no matter, those lines are meant to pump people up, to get them excited, to lead the audience and the characters in the movie to fight with power.
If you were with us yesterday, we are talking through some popular scriptures that often get taken out of context. We really value and prioritize Biblical literacy, wrestling with scripture faithfully, understanding the historical context, who is writing it and to whom. When we do this slow journey, these scriptures that are often used to pump people up, to get them excited, may actually be saying something different…and the beauty is, it’s actually usually way more powerful.
Yesterday we looked at the scripture in Philippians 4:13. The popular way people say it is,
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
Great verse. I feel like if I was in some sort of epic scene, this is what I would shout like William Wallace and President Whitmore before I took on the final battle, Narnia or Lord of the Rinds style…but that isn’t what’s happening. I won’t retell my sermon…in fact you can listen to it on the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you stream. The Chapel at Seaside: Context. Content.
Here is the bottom line, when we reduce scripture to motivational sayings before we do hard things…we miss the power in the text, we miss the reality of what they were going through then, and what it really means to us now.
When Paul pens those popular words about being able to do all things, the more accurate word for word in the greek is a more awkward,
For all things I have strength in the One strengthening me.
Meaning, no matter what I face, my strength comes from Jesus.
Good or bad.
Blessings or struggles.
Feast or famine.
Freedom or prison.
Life or death.
I am content in Jesus, so what comes my way will not shake me.
My hope is built on nothing less.
There are a lot of things in our world that we should care about, we should participate in, we should work to make better…but our hope is not in those things working in our direction, it’s supposed to be in Jesus.
In Rich Villodas’ new book, The Narrow Path, he unpacks the teachings of Jesus from The Sermon On The Mount and concludes his book with this.
“Jesus makes a bold statement: Those who practice his teachings live on a strong foundation. On the other hand, those who hear his words but do not practice them are overtaken by the storms of life. When Jesus makes this promise, he’s not saying that people who practice his teachings will not experience problems. In plenty of other places in the Bible, he reminds us that following him endangers our comfort-and sometimes even our lives. Nonetheless, he promises a level of interior and community stability that makes our lives indestructible.
So Jesus ends his masterful manifesto with a great promise: If you choose the narrow road, your life is secure. When we think of security, we likely imagine ease and the lack of disturbance. But security goes far deeper than that. To orient your life around Jesus and his teachings positions you to live with greater attentiveness to God’s care and love. What makes us secure is not our circumstances but God’s ever-faithful presence in our lives.”
If you were with us a week ago, we talked about how Jeremiah the prophet shared a message from God to pray for, be involved in, and work to change Babylon while they are in Exile…they weren’t supposed to put their feet up and wait it out. The same is true for Paul in Rome.
He is actively working to change Rome and the soldiers who are guarding him in prison. He did not just put his feet up and wait it out. The same is true for us.
We are called to actively transform the world, to live in such a way that we make a difference by living out the Kingdom of God as described in the Sermon on the Mount. We are not supposed to put our feet up and wait.
But, when things inevitably don’t go well, when we face challenges and obstacles, we find contentment in Jesus, not the ways of the world.
Paul knows this, which is why he is able to find contentment even in prison.
The other disciples knew this, which is why they were willing to live faithful lives to Jesus even though it led to their death.
Jesus knew this, which is why he regularly spent time away, alone, in prayer and scripture study. He was God, but he was also human finding contentment in God the Father all the way to the cross.
And let me tell you, when we faithfully use our scriptures and the ways of Jesus as our jumping off point to see and navigate life, to work for the good of the world around us, to love and serve the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, and the outsiders, we will see the world differently. We will prioritize things differently. We will value things differently. And we will live differently…it will look a whole lot more like Jesus.
Follow Jesus and be formed by him. Abide in him, be changed by him, and embody his ways for the glory of God and the good of others.
Whatever is your rally cry, whatever it is you turn to in difficult times and seasons, I hope and pray that it reminds you that it is not about your party or your team or your politician or your college or whatever that wins.
It is about Jesus.
It isn’t nearly as powerful to shout in some epic moment,
“I am content! I don’t love the outcome of things, and I feel a responsibility to work in a way to make a difference in the world, but my reminder in this moment is that I have hope and strength in Jesus, not the outcome! Give me strength to be content!”
I doubt people will shout that or repeat that…but that would probably be more helpful. Or maybe we go back to that awkward greek translation.
For all things I have strength in the One strengthening me.
I know that One.
That One has already won.
That One is God.
That One is on the throne.
That One is the King.
So let’s live for that One and the Kingdom of Heaven here and now.
I hope you continue to journey with us as we follow after that One. Lots of great stuff coming up. Check out details below.
- We have a noon prayer hour every Tuesday at noon. We partner with our friends at 30A Prays for a guided prayer time. Come and go as you need.
- Bible studies are in full swing. Our Men’s Study on Wednesday meets from 8am-9am. We’ll be in Exodus 7 this week. The Women’s Study on Wednesday meets 9:30am-10:30/11am.
- Our young adult/20’s and 30’s group meets on Thursday mornings 8am-9:15am. They are also studying Exodus. This week, we’ll be in Exodus 18.
- We are excited to share we have a new addition to our sermon podcast called “Chapel Study Notes”. If you haven’t check it out yet, it is a Bible Study recap led by me and Sarah team teaching what we covered in the previous week’s Wednesday Bible Study. The newest episode is accessible on Spotify here, Apple Podcast here, or wherever you stream.
- We have secured parking on Sunday morning with Seaside. If you haven’t gotten that information yet, will you please let us know and we’ll send you the passes. Email us at [email protected] or [email protected].
- If you are out of town, under the weather, or just need to worship from home, you can watch our live-stream on our website, thechapelatseaside.com, on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/TheChapelAtSeaside and our Vimeo page, Vimeo.com/thechapelatseaside.
Other upcoming things.
- Sunday, October 6th – Communion at 9am at The Chapel, followed by coffee and pastries. Worship like normal at 10am.
- Sunday, October 6th – Beach Bonfire in Seaside 5-7:15pm at Seaside Beach. Click here for the information and to register.
- Sunday, October 20th – Chapel Lunch following worship.
- Sunday, November 3rd – Communion at 9am at The Chapel, followed by coffee and pastries. Worship like normal at 10am.
- Sunday, November 17th – Night of Worship led by Daniel Pratt and friends.
Let us know if you have any questions and we look forward to seeing you this week as we find our contentment in the One strengthening me, our God and King, Jesus.
Blessings.
Andrew