The Olive Branch Markham • Audio Podcast

Scripture: Luke 7:30-50, 1 Corinthians 13, Philippians 2:1-11 At some point, most of us have been the divisive person. And we actually felt quite okay about it — because, after all, we were biblical, we were being truthful, we had convictions, we were simply RIGHT. Of course we were! But, maybe we were a little disruptive, difficult, stubborn, proud and rude. But it is okay to act like that when you're right...right?

Ephesians 4:1-7; John 17 Jesus prayed that the people who believe in Him or claim to belong to Him - would be ONE. Thousands of denominations make it crystal clear that His prayer wasn't answered. Couldn't Jesus just mash us all together into a lump of pieces-parts? Like, often we can't even be friends! But, why not?

Do you remember hearing a Bible story about a prophet and a gigantic fish? Yup, you got it - the story of Jonah and the Whale! It's a story of hide and seek... but this wasn't a game. Jonah was running - trying to hide from God, forever. You may think you know how it all ended, but God is not done with the story of Jonah. There's a message in it for us right now. The choices we make and our willingness to listen to God ultimately determines where we land.

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-34 We sometimes do this funny thing when it comes to making promises: it may feel or look like we're making promises to God and others, but in actuality, we are the hidden beneficiary of those commitments; looking for an angle or how a promise will benefit ourselves in some way. Without a doubt, we know that God's promises are absolutely pure and they never fail. He gave Himself and His very life for us — unconditionally. Maybe it's time for us to peel back the layers of our own promises and look at them truthfully.

There's a reason why Jesus took such a tough stand on marriage vows. Keeping them, even when life is hard - pays huge dividends. Breaking them or ignoring them, carries an ongoing price tag you may never pay off. Marriage vows are very serious. Really know who you're making your promises to. Know yourself and decide if you can pay for it - and then make plans to do that. This is never based on how you feel when you're 'in love' - cuz trust me, you're on love drugs! Keeping all the promises you make will take thoughtfulness, the power of God, and the best you can give… but the returns are amazing! It will be the best gift you give to yourself, your spouse, and the legacy you leave behind.

Here's the question we all have to ask ourselves: Based on your track record, would YOU trust you? If your promise was a plane, would you fly in it? We trust that the airline industry will do all the things necessary to get us safely where we need to go. But there are times, as Jesus made clear, when we make promises and then spend our lives looking for loopholes when it gets inconvenient. Now, if you want to live with character and integrity – if you want people to believe what you say; if you want to have good, trustworthy friends; if you want to finish well and leave goodness and love behind you; if you want to look forward in eternity to the reward for faithfulness, truthfulness, and self-control, then the trustworthiness of your word is your credit check.

If there is no God, if we all just climbed off a pond and out-lived the other germs, if there is no center line down the highway and morality is "enlightened self-interest", then promises and vows don't really matter, right? After all, we're just making it up as we go, aren't we? But... if there is a PromiseKeeper behind it all and if we are made in His image, then everything changes - and our promises and vows really do matter.

I think we would all acknowledge that the last couple of years have been a unique experience for most of us. COVID has up-ended the world and an unknown future is creating all kinds of fears, suspicions and disagreements. It's hard for anyone not to be swayed by the all the negative rhetoric we've been exposed to. It's more contagious than COVID. As we face a new year in this uncertain time, it's critical to stand firm and remind ourselves of the truths we know to be unshakable.

Most of us, on the day after Christmas, have a MESS to clean up. (Some of us just ignore it and go shopping—Hey, it's BOXING DAY! And after Christmas, we all need more stuff, right?!) Truth is, the messes after Christmas vary in size and shape. For some it's just wrapping paper and leftovers; involves bills we need to pay for the presents we gave. For others—it's emotional; there's a build-up to Christmas—and then a let-down. In our greater story, the mess after Christmas involved Herod and the political powers out to kill off any threats to His power. It involved Mary and Joseph resolving the mess that, in Nazareth, still looked like pregnancy out of wedlock—a scandal. What we see, though, is this pattern – that brings hope! God cares about our messes, he knows the future! No weapon formed against you will prosper…He won't let it happen.

Merry Christmas! Hope came quietly on the night before Christmas. Well, quietly compared to the way rescues usually sound. No one close to Jesus' entry would've ever guessed that the ultimate Saviour and Hero—had come for good—would change everything for good--even though He started small. As in, about 6 pounds, wet, wrinkled, vulnerable and helpless. The Night before Christmas ended when Jesus showed up in the morning light! He delivered what He'd always promised: HOPE.

My wife, Lori, has an idea for a book—and has been gathering material and thinking about it—planning it—for a long time. It's about all the pieces—sometimes broken pieces—that make up our lives. And they just look like a shattered glass—or the junkpile from a pottery factory—until you connect the dots. Most of us never find all the dots—but we begin to see a pattern. And that pattern says that God has been creating a magnificent story—drawing a breathtaking picture—with all the dots that make up our lives. The Bible–pretty much all 1300 or so pages of it—covering thousands of years of history—contains most of those dots. From wanderers to crusty prophets to kings and advisors to Moms and kids—the beautiful story of creation, tragedy, hope, disappointment, failure and forgiveness—and redemption is told. We are not told everything; God still has His secrets. But we know it will all end in triumph! Better than it ever should.

It's surprising, in the Christmas story, that there are no flashy entrances. Only ordinary people living unspectacular lives—who choose greatness by choosing to serve. Some of the leading roles are played by people you'd never expect, and some of the most spectacular, bigger-than-life people play almost invisible roles. Only God could gather a cast like this! And that gives HOPE to unspectacular people like me and you!

In most great stories, hope has been totally extinguished—when something flickers in the corner...a tiny candle of hope appears. In the great story of God—of which we are a part, the problem was, quite literally NIGHT. Darkness. Life and light was being crushed out of existence by the weight of evil, sadness, pain, injustice—and the arrogance and over-confidence of the perpetrators. And then….a pregnancy…the entrance of HOPE into the darkest story ever!

Toward the end of His mission here—and right before His death, Jesus' disciples—they ones who had laid their lives on the line to follow Him—were still hoping for the kind of greatness held by Herod, Caesar Augustus—and all the other kings and conquerors who have ever lived. Jesus' shocking revelation was, “That's your plan—not mine”. Now, which path to greatness are we taking? Our path of our own grand plan, or Jesus'?

Jesus was very clear with those who followed Him that as intimidating and impossible as it seemed—He would leave and they would carry on His mission. But they weren't stranded; He told them that He would be with them to the end; that the Holy Spirit who had been with them—would now be in them—and He would give them awesome power. The disciples understood that Jesus' call, Jesus' promise, Jesus' command, and Jesus' power wasn't just for them. They took Him seriously, engaged under very difficult circumstances—and they prevailed! But, the unfortunate part of history for followers of Jesus is that for centuries at a time people simply saw themselves as recipients of truth and grace from God's servants—instead of servants of God and givers of grace and truth.

Jesus once made the shocking statement, “If you try to save your life—you'll lose it!” What He said is true; the drive for comfort is always downhill, down-stream. To make comfort the goal of your life is to sabotage it—sometimes in the most profound of ways. Our problem is that we are led astray by our dreams of wealth, comfort, success and popularity—and we trade our heritage and calling for stuff that doesn't last, wears out, gets outdated and fades into obscurity. And God needs to intervene—do a miracle in our hearts—to launch us from being self-serving consumers—to being servants!

Jeremiah Vijey, TOB's Pastor of Youth and Young Adults, will unpack the love of Jesus that was shown in the middle of one family's grief. What Jesus did for them was amazing, but guess what? The same God is still here and He's showing up in our lives every day! Without a doubt, Jesus is more than able to do miraculous things in our lives right now... but there's a few questions we need to honestly ask ourselves first.

The Church is not a building, an institution, a political movement, or an organization. It's people. The true Church is people who have the Spirit of God living in them and working through them—or at least trying to. We are flesh and blood people—who have just been through the first pandemic that has every affected every person on the planet—and shut down the world. Because we're humans—it has, in fact, affected us. The mission Jesus started when He rebooted history in 30 AD is still the most important thing going on in this world, because it won't be over until everything is made new—not just rebooted—but recreated. And most people still don't know that Jesus made that possible. It's the Spirit's transformation of our lives and priorities that makes sense of what Jesus make possible Are you in? Or are you same old, same old?

Some of you would describe your reboot—not in terms of a world-wide phenomena—but in terms of a very personal, very difficult—even shattering experience that you may still be healing from. And now you have to start-over. And you're ANXIOUS to start over! There are some start-over three really important start-over lessons that I'd like you to meet.

In March 2020, we were handed the mother of all excuses. Know what the excuse is? COVID! It's become our go-to excuse for everything from not showing up, not keeping promises - to being angry, being late, being resentful, being rude, being difficult to get along with and on and on... and on. If we're not careful, we could effectively blame COVID for the messes we've actually created... because we're real pros at the blame game, aren't we?

We all know that some websites we visit leave 'cookies' on our devices. In our real-world lives we allow cookies (little bits of info, attitudes and habits) to seep into our hearts - and they shape the people we become…like entitlement, like prejudice, like the culture of complaint mentality, like greed, like the need for attention. When we allow this stuff to rule in our hearts, it thoroughly contaminates our ability to be THANKFUL. There's no better time than Thanksgiving - to rethink, to reboot... to be set free!

There are some things in our lives that should not be shaping our future. Some events of our past we'd be better off without. Reputations... we'd be better off without and wish we could change. If only we could find a way to start over. Can you relate? The truth is, it's impossible to erase our past and the memories that go with it - but the really Good News is that God made a way so we can LIVE FRESH and NEW... a total rewrite!

If you read, or even skim, through the Bible, it is a quick history of the reboot—before that was even a word or a concept. The phrase we are familiar with is "starting over". The fascinating thing about God is that He seems to always engineer a reboot or a start-over for the persons who lead people through them. In one major season of the redemptive history, He did that with an entire nation. The lesson was a spectacular show of power. The test? Actually, it was a miserable failure! Most failures are based on three myths—and the assumption that God is as committed to our comfort zone and happiness as we are. Let's take a look at how we can properly learn the lesson –– and pass the test!

New series, “Reboot: Starting Over in a New Reality" Disorientation is the one thing we have in common with the 7.7 billion people coming out of this pandemic. We have new words to use, new common experiences to refer to like, “masked", "double-vaxxed", "social distancing”... As the guard-rails come down and restrictions are dropped life seems more… normal! Some think, the test is over – lesson learned! But what if COVID was the lesson—and how we act and what we do now is the test? For 18 months the pandemic changed how we travel, how we shop, how we bank, how we work, how we communicate—and especially—how we relate to people! Where to from here? What lessons have we learned? Good question! Let's figure out where we are—what's changed—and what hasn't!

In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us to not let the sun go down while we're still angry; that if we let the devil—or the person who hurt us—camp there, it will create huge problems. So, the question is legitimate and really important: “How long will you drag your past into your future and let your bitterness taint and contaminate your life?”

All through the Bible we see stories of ordinary people who were called by God to do extraordinary things. Amazing feats. Acts of courage that seem incomprehensible to us today! But how did they do it? The Bible, simply put, tells us that their obedience, perseverance, boldness and fearless conviction was not something they found in themselves - but that it came straight from God Himself! But what about us? Whatever you're facing in your life, remember what God has already done for you. Remember God's power, His goodness, His faithfulness and His promises... and no giant will ever be able to stop you!

This past year and a half has given us a lot to be afraid of, hasn't it? People often think that having courage means they have to find some kind of inner resolve to overcome fear or persevere through difficulty. But in GOD'S Kingdom - it's totally different! To have courage, to be bold, to have confidence is NOT about relying on ourselves - it's about remembering GOD'S truths, what HE has already done for you... and remembering HIS promises!

There is a saying that you never really get to know or fully and deeply experience love for someone unless they've hurt you! And because God is a person—as expressed in Jesus—there will be a time when He will likely hurt you. Not because He does something selfish or cruel; no, our hurt with God usually has to do with what He doesn't do, what He doesn't give us and when we don't know how close He is—or feel his love. We think, “He could've” …or “He should've,” or “If He really loved me, He would've!” And we blame God for our lot in life, our circumstances, our lack of…something! And if we hold a grudge or carry resentment—then we need to forgive! To just let it go!

Forgive yourself? Doesn't it seem a little arrogant? But, if we don't…? It's possible to carry a lot of guilt and shame around. It doesn't just hurt you—it hurts others, too! Forgiving yourself is actually about humbling yourself to receive forgiveness! Sometimes we fail where we want to succeed most—and to move on—we have to get up, get on our feet and leave the past in the rear view mirror. Paul said, if God is for us—WHO can be against us? The question is...who is WHO?

One of the huge questions that always comes up on the issue of forgiveness is…does forgiving someone mean that you should be good friends again? In our relationship with God, he offers us forgiveness, but there is no reconciliation without repentance. And sometimes we are never restored, in this lifetime, to what we once enjoyed. You could see it like this; forgiveness—always. It's not optional for followers of Jesus. Reconciliation, living in peace—hopefully. But it takes two to make it happen. Restoration—where everything is as it was before? It's the rarest of the three—and it depends. See, you can't earn forgiveness—but you must earn trust! And trust is hard to earn…but unbelievably easy to lose!

There are always some sticky questions around forgiveness. Most of us can agree on the generic, everyday kinds of forgiveness necessary. But, what about when an offense is so horrible you can't just forget? What about justice being done—is forgiveness just rolling over? And shouldn't people be held accountable? And, what if they never even come close to saying they're sorry or even acknowledging that they've hurt you. Is God expecting that we're just going to jump right back into the place of trusting them again? What if you try and try and try to forgive…but you just can't do it! Great questions! We're going to do our best to answer them!

It's interesting… God offers us forgiveness by paying for our debt with Jesus' death. Then, it's up to us. We can choose forgiveness–or not. But, once we choose forgiveness FROM Him, we also choose to BE forgivers, LIKE Him. And in some way, it seems that when we choose to forgive, we are pleasing God immensely – we choose health for ourselves, and we choose the path of growth.

Forgiveness. Most of us want it when we've screwed up, and most of us struggle to give it when someone has really hurt us. We find ourselves in this strange quandary. We crave relationships with people—and yet people sometimes hurt us deeply. What do we do with that? Well, that brings us back to forgiveness. If we want a heart that is healed of its pain, if we want a life cut free from our hurt, if we want fairness, we have to use God's gift to people who have been hurt who can't forget: the ability to forgive!

You may feel that you're sinking in fear. You may feel worried or that the weight of the world has been thrown at you, but after today's quick crash course, we pray that you will have the little faith to call upon God. God will rescue you and in celebration, you will be able to worship and praise Him.

I want you to think of someone you love—more than you've loved anyone in your entire life. They're not just beautiful and attractive—they're good, kind, loving—and they're powerful—so strong that everywhere they go things get better. Would you want them to be honored? Would you look forward to being with them? To love Jesus, to worship Jesus, to believe in Jesus—is to hope, believe, look forward to Him being honoured, respected and loved by everyone!

Jesus' clearest teaching about the end is for us to be alert, to watch, to not get lazy, complacent, and get tied to political movements that promise peace—when only God can bring that. You have to ask, 'Why do people want so badly to figure out WHEN it will all go down?' Is it maybe because we don't think it will result in what is good and best—and could ruin all of our fun? Of course, that all begs the question of how we see Jesus—and His character. Why would John say at the end of Revelation, 'Even so Lord Jesus come!' Was it just because he wanted an end to the pain of living at a time when Jesus and His ways were very unpopular?

The END isn't what you think it is—or what you've been perhaps frightened into. Maybe the most surprising thing about the End—that is, the end of time, the end of history, the end of things as we know them—is that Jesus said, “I don't know when that will happen and neither do the angels; only the Father!” Now, what's surprising about this is that Jesus walked on water, raised the dead, could read people's minds and hearts—and is the One coming back, but didn't know when it would happen. Why?

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Jochabed, Naomi and Mary. If we would have seen them in their cultural context, they probably didn't stand out... but God took their otherwise ordinary lives and wove their stories into the most important narrative ever written!

Technically, the Last Days began when Jesus, God the Son, was born. Since that time, Jesus has been on the march, bringing life and hope and light—saving us and saving everything else. According to Jesus and all of His prophets, there will be a final confrontation: a showdown between Satan's corrupt kingdom of deception and darkness, and Jesus' Kingdom of truth and light. Now, there are a lot of images in Jesus' words as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, and by John in Revelation—and how are we to understand them? From the understanding they are all intended to create hope... not fear or dread! When something creates fear, dread or confusion, it's from the enemy, and usually the interpretation of a false prophet – not from God. Our hope? Jesus has come to save us and everything else!

One of the toughest commandments Jesus gave to us was about how many times we are to forgive one another. The equation He gave us was CRAZY! He told Peter not just seven times, BUT SEVENTY SEVEN times! During Easter reflection, we are brought to the place where ultimate forgiveness was granted on a cross when we didn't deserve it at all. Now Jesus is telling us to extend that forgiveness to those around us over and over and over again. But, how do we actually live this out? Can we actually do this, AND not feel like a doormat that is being walked all over all of the time?

The death of Jesus on the cross, and subsequent resurrection and ascension is one of the most significant events on the Christian calendar, and so polarizing that it even catches the attention of those who don't believe in Jesus at all. With such a monumental event, it's surprisingly easy to miss the significance of it in our day-to-day lives. In other words, the event on the calendar can simply become one other date on the calendar, and not an event that leads to the greatest and most transformative teaching you could ever know, so good that it almost seems too good to believe! Over these next couple of weeks we will be diving into a two-part-mini-series on a few foundational pieces, looking at how these teachings on the cross in the Bible can lead us to living more like Him in our world here and now, even in the middle of COVID-19.

Jesus wanted us against JUDGING OTHERS. According to Him, when we take it upon ourselves to do that, we have to be willing to be judged in the same way…by the same measuring stick. Jesus' warning is that when we judge, we actually place ourselves above those we are judging. And that's a dangerous place to be... There comes a point where, to find peace, we have to say, THE DEFENSE RESTS!

After all the demands for answers, “just one more sign,” “prove yourself,” —Jesus walked out of the grave in a blaze of glory and power. His resurrection either answered the questions people had—or inspired intentional unbelief. People usually fall on one side or another. Bottom line? THE DEFENSE RESTS! And now you—and every other person must decide on Jesus—and what their lives, their future, their destiny, and their eternity will be.

Even before Jesus' trial and execution—after an avalanche of signs, the demand of the people and the religious leaders was, Come on, Jesus—just one more sign! Judas apparently wanted one more sign. Herod Antipas—wanted one more sign. When Jesus stood before the religious professionals, they demanded answers; he gave them silence. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, he was silent. Even when Jesus had been beaten nearly to death—and was hanging on the cross, the high priests, Roman executioners and criminals all demanded just one more sign…if you're the Son of God, get yourself off the cross! Jesus only answer to their accusations and mockery was, Father! Forgive them—because they have NO IDEA what they're doing! Down through history, that's been the demand: One more sign, and I'll believe; then I'll put my whole trust in You. Is this me? Is this you?

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now call, Palm Sunday, there was a crowd traveling with Him shouting, Save Us Son of David! Those are clearly Messianic words—proclaiming Him to be the One who had been promised ever since God made the promises to Abraham that He was going to bless the nations through him. So, how is it that Jesus was captured, judged, sentenced and hanging on a cross within 6 days? It most certainly wasn't for the lack of signs and miracles. Jesus left a trail of goodness and power, fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sins, held the answer all questions – and lived a perfect life! So what happened? Jesus' life was so huge and SO world changing that everyone in our world is FORCED to judge him. As a member of the jury, you have to decide: is He God? Is He the promised Messiah? The Saviour? Or, not?

Self-promotion has become quite the art. There is a whole new generation that has been raised with a new song for kindergarten sung to the tune of Frère Jacques: ‘I am special, I am special, look at me, look at me…”. Strange isn't it, that on one side a group that just wants to be normal – and the other, people for whom being average is a curse. And with all this is little ‘g' god of ME. I am the final decider of what is true, and what is right, and what is moral. But, life has a way of judging the little ‘g' god of ME!

3500 years ago, the Israelites proved that people will be willing to hammer their silver and gold into some kind of a little ‘g' god who promises a good time. Fast forward to today, all the people who deliver a good time through sports, music, movies, and humour are paid very well. Pleasure and entertainment are high value in our world, regardless of where we are in history, and are worthy of our pursuit. After all, God did give us our five senses for enjoyment! But it's important to understand that that's where it ends. If our willingness to sacrifice and pursue ends with what gives us pleasure—what's fun—then we're going to be left empty!

It's safe to say that everyone longs to be loved—but a lot of people settle for LUV. ‘LUV' is a powerful craving. To be wanted, desired, cherished, it causes us to do things and make decisions we very much later regret. Now, LOVE—the real deal—is what we give. It's unconditional—beautiful, sacrificial—and the recipient of it is usually changed forever. LUV—drives people crazy—and causes them to do crazy, reckless things. Sadly, LUV is the little ‘g' god that people sell their souls to and settle for, while looking for real, authentic love!

One of the biggest signs that things had really changed in Markham in March of 2020 was the empty parking lot at the GO Station. Someone quoted the lines of an old Gospel song, “The marketplace is empty, no more traffic in the streets…” COVID-19 had a huge effect on one of the most worshipped gods in the GTA—work and success! People climb ladders, step on others, shove their kids up the ladders, making serious sacrifices to the little ‘g' god of work, and the god that drives it–success. When it comes to the promises that are made by the god of success, we have to ask, IS IT TELLING THE TRUTH?

So, why not start with the #1 little ‘g' god at the top of the org chart in North America, and most of the world? After all, isn't PROSPERITY the obvious sign that God is pleased with you? Well, not so fast—because Jesus, God with skin on, the God who humbled himself to become man and save us from worshipping and giving our lives to false gods—said, “You gotta decide between Mammon—the god of prosperity—and the God of all the earth!” While this might seem obvious, let's do some close inspection about all the ways in how we slide into serving Mammon regularly.

We aren't the first people to find ourselves in a world of upheaval, where in less than a year everything we know, and have become accustomed to, gets flipped on its back. The same thing happened 3,500 years ago when God showed up and surprised a group of slaves and slavedrivers—judged everything that seemed normal—and offered freedom to both the slaves and the slavedrivers, and He did it by making life uncomfortable; the future uncertain for them both. And when He did, the little ‘g' gods were never the same. The tragedy is that both groups—in different senses—ultimately went back to serving them. God's message to all people, everywhere—is, “You will serve someone or something! Choose carefully, because your choice will radically shape both your life and your eternity!"