A Church For Our City 9.20.20 SERIES: Wisdom From Proverbs VISION SUNDAY

SERIES: Wisdom From Proverbs (Vision Sunday)
TEXT: Proverbs 11:10-11
MESSAGE: “A Church For Our City”
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But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” 
— Matthew 6:33
 
Why does our church exist?
Our vision is to be a church for our city that seeks new life in Jesus.”
What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” C.S. LewisMere Christianity
 
…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18
“…a Church which exists only for itself…is a witness against the gospel…it is impossible to give faithful witness to the gospel while being indifferent to the situation of the hungry, the sick, the victims of human inhumanity.” ― Lesslie Newbigin
 
TEXT: Proverbs 11:10-11
 
Q: What does it look like?
Let’s ask three questions:  1. Who are the righteous? 2. How do they live? 3. What are the results?
1. Who are the righteous? (v. 10)
“When it goes well with the righteous…”
“The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.” – Psalm 37:39
 
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
2. How do the “righteous” live? (v. 10 & 11)
“(v. 10) When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices…(v. 11) but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.”
“The tsaddiqim, the righteous, are defined as those who are so in love with God and His Kingdom that they steward everything they have been given—their assets, their social position, their vocational skills, their power, their gifts, their prosperity—not for self-enrichment, not for the purpose of self-aggrandizement, but for the common good…And when the people at the top of the city…act like this, then of course the whole city rejoices. The people at the bottom rejoice because they benefit. By the way the tsaddiqim steward their gifts, they make life better for everyone.” 
— Amy Sherman
“You see, cynicism. “I have nothing bigger to live for than my pocketbook and my stomach and my career.” Those people can never bless the city. They have no hope for it. They have no confidence for it.” 
Timothy Keller
3. What’s the result? (v. 10-11)
“When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices…By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted…”
“Now, the word “rejoice” (v.10) in this little verse is also very important. It’s a unique term, used only one other time in the Old Testament. It has almost military connotations in that it denotes the ecstatic rejoicing and celebrating that a small people do when they achieve an unlikely victory against their enemies. It describes the exultation that people express when they have been delivered from the hand of their oppressors. So “rejoice” here is a big, robust word. This is deep, passionate rejoicing—not the rejoicing of “happy birthday party” but VE-Day rejoicing; dancing in the streets of Paris rejoicing; the “war is over and we won” rejoicing.” — Amy Sherman
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” — Luke 4:18-19
“I don’t think that means they’re sort of standing over the city on a mountaintop saying, “I bless you, dear city,” or sprinkling holy water on it or pronouncing some kind of formula. It means all they do blesses the city, and in the context of speech all through here, it is the blessing of the upright in their counsel, in their advice, in their integrity, in their pursuit of justice, in righteousness.” – D.A. Carson
TAKEAWAYS: How will we live FOR the city? Through…
  • Remembering it’s all about Jesus
  • A Heathy Church Culture
  • Intentionally Discipling You For Ministry
  • A Sending Culture
“The Church is a movement launched into the public life of the world. It has no life except in this sending. The church’s being is in that sending.” Lesslie Newbigin 

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