Beyond Sunday: Fullness of Jesus
Catch up: this week’s Sunday morning message.
When we construct borders that keep us from God we miss the joy of the Lord and the awe and wonder of His presence. Walking with Jesus should move us closer to the King, not keep us further away.
Catch up: this week’s Sunday morning message.
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[Music] Hey guys, welcome back to the Beyond Sunday podcast where we are taking the conversation beyond Sunday. This week, uh, we get to have a guest with us, McKenna. How are you doing this morning? Doing well. How about you? Good. Thanks for being here with us. Uh, McKenna and Devon got to team preach this week. Devon, how are you today? Fantastic. Fantastic. Oh, it's so good. Uh, all right. So, we're going to I hear tone. I hear tone. Don't hear tone. You tell me not to hear tone,
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which is a helpful tool for communication. But anyways, we're going to jump into the conversation in just a moment. Before we do, check out this video. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] All [Music] right, guys. Welcome back. Uh, as we dive into this conversation, uh, what's uh, what's the big idea and the scriptures that we were that we were in this week? So, uh, Sharia, what was the big idea for this week, this Sunday? Yeah, we were talking about the fullness of Jesus in this in this idea. And for
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me, actually, that felt a little bit like, um, almost like bookends in this series of enlarging the circle because we started the series, um, talking about being empowered by the spirit and being filled by the spirit. And then we've spent the weeks in between talking about um, just kind of what it looks like to enlarge the circle as you walk with Jesus with community and hospitality and those kinds of things. And now, um, as we're wrapping up this series, this idea again of what it looks like to
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experience the fullness of Jesus. Um, so it it it felt a little bit like a bookend of a message this week for me. Yeah. And McKenna, what were the scriptures? We were in a couple scriptures. You and I were. Yeah. Um, Devon and I were in Isaiah uh 58 starting in verse 9 going through verse 14 and then Luke 13:10-17. And then Shade, I imagine you had a few other scriptures. I was in those places and I also was in Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. Yeah. To wrap it up. Um so from Sunday um uh what's still
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highlighted? What what is is God still speaking? Uh we'll get to Chyros later on in this uh podcast, but um what are the things that have in the preparation for this message uh and also in the days afterwards? Uh what are what are the things that are still sticking with you? Yeah, I think mainly the entire entire message and the process it just felt like an invitation to kind of one re-evaluate like what we're focusing on in like these practices that we um either were not doing or that we are
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doing and what is one what's keeping us from doing them. Um, and then are there ones that we are doing that aren't that aren't bringing us into the presence anymore? Yeah. So, on Sunday you're mentioning like reading reading you personally reading your Bible and like there's times where you felt like I just really feel it because in the text in Luke um you know Jesus is healing on the Sabbath and the the synagogue leaders are like look there are six other days to do this. Why just not today not Sabbath.
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Sabbath is for our time of worshiping God uh glorifying him. And so uh uh Jesus's response to the synagogue leader is like you you've missed it. You like this woman has been um uh bound and suffering for 18 long years. Shouldn't she be set free? And so it's this idea of the things that we put around ourselves for for the text and in Luke was Sabbath. uh what you're bringing up is this scripture like am I um uh uh if I put things in the way of me just encountering Jesus as I read the word.
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Yeah, that's good. Uh I think so so the idea of fullness for me um the the thing that came to mind was like what have we settled for? Where have we settled for so much less? So, even the like um you know, I love a good illustration, but even the illustration of like if you were to to get a sample of like the best thing that you've ever tasted, whatever that is for you. Um but you get like a bite or a sample of that. Um and then you're like, "Yes, this is the best thing I've ever had and that's all I'm
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going to get. Like that's all I'm going to have. I'm not going to I'm not going to buy the whole thing or I'm not going to whatever." Um and and that image of where are there places where like I've tasted Jesus. I've experienced what it is to be with him or in his presence or or be filled by the spirit or whatever. Um but I've put things in place or I've not said yes to things. Um that have made it where I'm only ever getting just that taste and I'm not experiencing all um
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that's just like right there like you can have this. Um and so that was the image that I kind of went into this with. Um and then similar yeah to what you're saying McKenna this idea of like um where I guess the the phrase that that uh we used was like the avenues that were created to help us experience God and experience the the presence of God have become barriers. Where have those become barriers um that are keeping us from those things? And so, um, that's where Hebrews 12 came in for
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me because it calls back to the Israelites in the desert who and essentially God's like, uh, don't come don't come into my presence until I tell you. And then when he says it's it's ready, it's time, they're like, no, no, no. We don't want you to speak directly to us. That's that's too much. That's scary. So, they um they've settled for like, we'll hear from God through someone else, but we're not going to experience this for ourselves. And so,
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um, that misunderstanding of what God's invited, um, things like Sabbath and reading scripture and all of that, um, there's this misunderstanding that Jesus even calls out like this is not, uh, the the thing that was designed to bring you into the presence. You've actually put a boundary or a barrier around it that's keeping you from the presence. Yeah. So, uh, in that illustration, in light of that, have you ever been, um, out, uh, or, uh, and eating some other restaurant or somebody's home and, um, maybe it's a
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restaurant. So, you you order this thing and it's really good. Really really good. Whether it's an appetizer part of the meal, and you're like, "It's so good. I'm going to order one more." Yes. Yeah. Yeah. What was it? Um, so for me, think about for me it was we were Lori and I were out uh and it was this appetizer that was uh uh like a pico de gallo, but it also had tuna and mango and then the diced up tomatoes, onions, cilantro. Um it's all mixed in this and then
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you're dipping the chip in there and um I'd never had something like that before. I've had pico and um that's great. I do like it, but I'm not ordering another one. This one with the the tuna, the ai tuna, the mango slices uh with all the other stuff in there. I was like, "This is delicious." And I And it's not filling, right? Think of eating just be going some chips. It's not filling. So, as an appetizer, so I was like, I I'm just going to order another
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one. It's so good. I'm going to I'm going to do it. I'm going to order it because it's it's so good. Yeah. Uh for me that's bruschetta. Oh. Uh yeah. Toasted bread with mozzarella and tomatoes and foretting what else is in it. Um balsamic vinegar. There it is. Oh, it's just so good. And yeah, like this is so good. I'm gonna order another one. Yes, I've done that cuz they come it's typically Yeah. appetizing and they're they're small and you get like four or five of them.
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Yeah. And when you split that with somebody it's not about being whole, but it's like this is just such good flavor and the combination like I'm going to have another one. Mhm. So what comes to mind is when we go to Lett's um the so that's that's a Turkish restaurant up uh kind of by us McKenna, but we have um a pastor's gathering there with some regularity and it's a they have Turkish coffee and so it's just like a small cup of um just really good coffee and to the point where it's
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like just like keep that coming. And so I guess getting back to that illustration even that's a good a good illustration like one is not enough. And so like actually like probably shouldn't drink five or six of these. Like my heart maybe uh shouldn't have this many but it's so good. Um just just keep that coming. And that's the like I wonder just in in what areas in my own life or for us that we've like this is really good but that's enough God. Like this is close enough. Um, and I think I think
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the thing for me, Isaiah 58, the uh verse 11 calls out um, the Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you're dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an everflowing spring. And that image of like, well gosh, who doesn't want to be like well watered? Like even on Sunday morning, I was like, does anybody else like feel dry sometimes or like you're thirsty for something? and this this image of like just this wellwatered, overflowing, like always
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always hydrated. Um but then as I was as I was talking that through or thinking that through, it's like um this is what God's offering. But also in that is the recognition that if we let him as the gardener in like there's going to be some pruning and some uprooting of things that have taken place that I that I've put into place that have no business being there. Um, and sometimes I think we're like, "Actually, you stay over there because that's going to be painful. So, I'll get this close or I'll
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let you in this far." Um, and I I just I guess that contrast for me of like um I desire the well-watered garden that God's offering, but I also recognize that like the Israelites were like, "No, this is close enough." Um, I recognize that with that is this invitation like God, you get to come in and you have you get to have all of this. And it might be painful actually sometimes as you're as you're pruning me of things that have no business being here. Um well and that's what the that pruning
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piece like uh these scriptures caused me to ask the question of myself where have I prioritized um you know the the the rules or the tradition or the way things ought to look or operate. And I've missed the eternal. I' I've missed the the the wellwatered garden, the springs of water that flow up. I I've I've missed the the fullness of Jesus, the goodness of God, because I've been focused more on here's uh how this looks, how it's supposed to look uh and how I'm supposed to um you
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know, enter in in in that way. And I'm actually missing the uh the payoff. I'm missing the the uh entering into God's presence. So this the rules or the tradition or the what I have in my head is keeping me from experiencing and being with Jesus like the the rulers of the synagogue. I mean that they're like look Sabbath this is what it's for worshiping God. Mhm. And a a miraculous healing can't even remove can't keep it can can't get them out of this mindset of no this isn't
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what's supposed to happen. Uh there's six other days do it then. like it the idea that they couldn't see through see that as something that's the eternal the goodness of God the presence of Jesus and so it's causes me to ask the question myself where and what do I have in my life that I um I'm struggling to enter in because even in the midst of a miraculous I I can't see through it. I can't or I can't see that is the the presence of God. Yeah. Yeah. No, as I was reading that, I got a
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similar image, but I was more connecting to Jesus as the living water. We talked about that on our last meeting before preaching was just like that idea of Yeah. God offering living water and to the woman at the well and just either being able to say no to that like the Israelites are saying, "Yeah, no." They're like, they're like, "No, thank you. we're we're or we're not going to do this. Um we're not going to we're not going to accept this because we got
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other stuff going on in our lives that they can't see it for what it is. Yeah. Um and just to to be like that woman at the wall who's like, "Yes, I want Yes, I want I want living water." Yeah. And to see and that story to see the transformation like I mean it's like and going back to her her village to her town and like and he's told me everything I've ever done and and um you must you got to come see him and bringing people uh to Jesus actually her testimony. Yeah.
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Um and the transformation their life in that moment that brings people to Jesus and their whole town come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. The one who's come [Music] Yeah. Um, and I think, you know, you're talking about the religious leaders and I I even was um kind of calling out like they sometimes they get a bad rap whi which it's understandable. Jesus is is constantly calling them out and but also like they were really good at following the rules. Like that part they they nailed. So it's not like they were out
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there. Um I don't know. I just sometimes we uh I don't know if we pause long enough to think like these are people who religiously were really good rule followers. Like they were doing the the the letter of the law, but they'd missed the spirit of it. And even like I had seen a thing, I didn't even get to this on Sunday, but I had seen a thing that said um being educated beyond your level of obedience is the fastest path to becoming a Pharisee. And this idea of like if I am like just tell me what to
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do, tell me what the rules and the laws are. Um and there's no uh the word obedience like beyond the relationship level. Um if if I am if all I'm concerned with is educating myself on the rules and I I'm without the relationship um that that breeds love and and obedience out of love, then that's where I find myself in this religious space of like checking off boxes. And even the idea like Devon you just called out about Sabbath. Um this idea of like yeah they missed that you know this miraculous healing and they're
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like well that's not what this day is for. Um but even the idea of Sabbath like yes it's about resting but it's about trusting and God's like will you trust that in this day the most important thing you can do is be with me and depend on me and trust that I'm going to provide for you. And that's I mean we see that from the moment Sabbath was uh uh enters into the rhythm of the world but also throughout like the the Israelites in the desert with the the mana and all in all throughout is God
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like will you will you trust that I want you to stop today and I'm the most important thing about this day. And so then I when I read Jesus's response to them, I just have this this picture of him like actually Sabbath is about being with my dad and my dad is doing this. Like the kingdom's breaking in here, this miracle that's taking place, that's where my dad is. So if Sabbath is about being with my dad, that's where I'm going to be. Like what? That's what I'm
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going to be doing. And I just wonder um and that's that's Sabbath, but it's true for prayer and fasting and scripture reading and whatever the things are like um I don't want to do these things. I want to see them as an invitation to to meet God. Um not because I'm supposed to be really good at fasting or keeping the Sabbath or whatever. Um and so like you just said, there is uh in this one, there's this this opportunity for me to pause and and recognize like where are the places that I may have fallen back
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into this like I do this because it's what I do or it's what a good Christian does or it's what I've learned. um without the the relationship of like, yeah, I do this because I I recognize I'm going to meet God in this space and this is where I get to know him more and get to know myself more and and I don't want to miss his character um as a God who's just arbitrarily like throwing out laws or rules, but I want to I want to recognize these as an invitation into uh the
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presence of a God who's like, "I love you and I want to be with you." Yeah. Because the I mean even the Jesus responds to this religious leader who is following the rules that have been written in the Torah of how the to observe uh and and keep the Sabbath holy that um Jesus' response in verse um 19 is you hypocrites. Well, how would um I do not want to stand in a place where my words and actions are um uh in such a way that a response would come from God. Yeah. You hypocrite,
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right? I this I'm about this work in the world and and if this um in this story, this woman um suffering for as long as she did to be um uh healed. Mhm. uh in in that moment in that instant on Sabbath and that's where he gets to it's like is this daughter of Abraham who Satan kept bound for 18 long years be set free on Sabbath day from what bound her like what a celebration and and one of the things that was offered at the end of our service was like this word unencumbered that that we see this physical healing
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of um uh of this of this woman in this story and and we asked for physical healings of ourselves elves and people around us in in areas and places that we recognize there's suffering that's existing. But like um this there's more than just the physical heal he healing here in as well. There's a spiritual um healing that Jesus is offering us. And so whether or not we're like have the the physical ailment bent over and and hurting physically or it's something we've been weighed down with a burden
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that we have a spiritual burden uh an attack upon us um that that Jesus is is like I desire to free you from that to offer fullness and healing. And so that word unencumbered like what are the things that God's so desiring for us to be lifted from us that we're no longer bent over burdened by that thing but we are set free unencumbered and walking with Jesus um in this kind of freedom that is with Christ and and that's been that that piece that I'm I'm carrying with me from Sunday of of yes yes the
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physical piece but also this and maybe more in significant ways because the physical ones you can usually See, it's the spiritual ones. You're like, "This is the weightiness that I've been carrying and Jesus is offering me to set free, to no longer be burdened and bound by those." Yeah. Um that and what you guys have been talking about just what I've been kind of wrestling with throughout since we kind of started this in the last month was just the idea that God just that Jesus just wants to be with us like
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and just in that presence. And as you guys were talking, it just brought to mind the story of like Jesus when he's 12 and he's going Mary and Joseph to follow him, do Passover and Mary and Joseph leave without him and they come back and he's just like, "Why are you worried? I'm in my father's house. I'm I'm doing what my father I'm with my father. I'm doing what he's about." And it's like for Jesus in that moment, it seemed like his earthly parents being
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his earthly parents or like going home is so less compared to just being with his father in his father's house and being what his father's about, which at that time is just talking with the Pharisees, talking with the other religious leaders. Yeah. About scripture, reading. Yeah. And that they were amazed at that. So just Yeah. the idea that he just wants to like that child Jesus, we should just want to be with God, with the father in that moment. Yeah. Um and that that that's all that
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matters. It's a good word. Well, if we could all take that away, like Jesus recognized and Jesus wants to be with me and do we want to be with him? Yeah. Yeah. So, as we uh wrap up this episode, um what is a chyros that God is uh speaking to you? What is what is God saying and how is he inviting you to respond? Uh okay, I'll go first. Um so mine uh this is still kind of this this is an echo of even last week's for me. Um last week what was kind of sitting for me was this um uh again about the character of God. And
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so, um, in last week or, yeah, in last week's the beginning of Hebrews 12, um, is this reminder to keep your eyes on Jesus. But out of that, what was sitting for me was this, um, in the in the moments and the seasons and the spaces where I've lost sight of what matters or I have been distracted or whatever. Uh, when I come back to God, when I when I do turn my eyes back to Jesus, what I find is a God who's who's waiting and loving with arms open. um not a god who's uh angered or or um I don't know
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punish me punishing um but it's like I've been waiting I've been waiting for you to just look back at me and just be back to me and um that's been a consistent echo for me throughout the week in different spaces um but even again in this one I think there's this like um there's this idea of uh the times when maybe I have created a barrier or a boundary or again if I think of the the garden image that Isaiah 58 of like I desire so desperately for this well-watered uh for for my soul to be well wa well well
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watered and in the places where I have drawn a boundary that says like God is the gardener you only get to come this far um when I when I do remove those and let him in further what I find is a God who's just eagerly waiting like yes I I've been waiting to come into this space for you um and to and to work out some of these things and to give you a refreshment. Um not not a God who is um angered or like finally you're letting me in. Um and so there's just something I I guess right now in this season that
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that uh he's teaching me about just a reminder about who he is. And I think in this one in particular um even Devon on Monday we were having this conversation with a couple other people. But this reminder of like if if I miss the character and the nature of God, that's going to drastically impact or affect the way I understand scripture and the way I understand the world and um the gospel truth and all of that. And so this this desire to really know like I want to know who you are, God. And the
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more I the better I understand uh your character uh then the better my actions and the things that I do are going to flow out of an understanding of who you are. Um yeah. So that's that's that's what's sitting for me. Yeah. I mean, McKenna, um I guess kind of it's in a way similar to yours, Shay, but just I think yeah, the idea um yeah, that Jesus is there and just kind of desires to be in our presence as much as we should desire to be in his. And it's um this season of my life right now um I'm both extremely
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busy and not at the same time. And there it's kind of I'm going into an area where it will be not as well not as busy. It's just my life from what it has been is has shifted in a lot of smaller ways that's impacted it. And so it's I think just um a time I'm entering a time where I can really one focus on my own health and my own my own well-being but also my relationship with God and just being able to have time and to seek that out. Um, so I think there's just an invitation there
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that Yeah. has been No, that that's not it's not that there hasn't been one before, but there just hasn't been a moment like this before. Yeah. Well, and a shifting of of the of the season of life. Yes. Right. So then it's uh with that comes uh an adjustments on adjustments on your ends and different ways of Okay. Well, now what does this look like? Yeah. Yeah. It's good. Um, mine is is a is a good one. We had some of this conversation on Monday, Shay. This the Cyros is a good
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one. I know why you're laughing. I'm laughing because you're like, well, mine is a good one. Yours both sucked, but I waited till the end so I can close this out with a good one. I was actually uh offering that in comparison to other kyros that have been like really hard and uh an echo and a reminder of like, come on now, figure this out. This one is this kyros of um that in this in this fasting practice that we read about in Isaiah that they're like where we've been fasting. Where's our
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blessing? And it's like actually still got some areas where you're you're not actually focused on me and you're um offering something that's opposed to my kingdom, right? And injustice and um the rest that's listed there in Isaiah. the uh months ago uh in this fasting practice, God invited me that um to to spray pray specifically while fasting um because part of that fasting practice was like in fasting and in prayer uh to amplifies sort of that u um moment in time that that practice um and so in the
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prayer while fasting it's been God has invited me for this year to pray for the finances of our church and So, I've been I've been doing that. Um, and God has in in in different ways has been revealing more of who he is, more of his character, and also more of what maybe specifically he's been inviting me to. Because in the beginning, I was like, okay, well, what is the is it a specific prayer? Is it a number? Is it um is it what is it in regards to the finances of our church, God, are you inviting me to pray for
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while I'm fasting? If I sense you're inviting me while I'm fasting in this in this time and and a weekly fast to pray for the finances of this church, what is it specifically? And I didn't really get an answer so much as I got just pray. I want you to offer those to me on uh you know, come to the throne room, lay those before me uh and trust me with it. And so I've been doing that and in different ways God has revealed like I said more of who he is and his character and even for me more of a like okay God
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I trust you in this. I've seen different ways where God has um shown up and showed off and is like see trust me and then I've seen areas where um has like and so even if it doesn't go the way you hoped or desired I'm still in control. see see know that I'm still I'm still on the throne. And so it's put me in a place uh that maybe at the beginning when God invited me to do this uh during this fasting practice that I sit in a different place uh even now continuing to do that and
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and desiring to do it in a consistent manner as I sense that for this year that's what God has invited me to. I think the the chyros here in this is that in in this Isaiah 58 is like, okay, I don't I don't desire to enter into a fasting practice and prayer limiting God to what he can do or in the ways that I think should be done, right? I don't want to limit God. In fact, I I would like, okay, Lord, let's blow the walls off of what I expected and and I'd love to see you. Of course, I always
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already had in my mind like already see you. Sure. By um you know, regards to the finances like sure, let's let's fill the storehouses to overflowing. That'd be great. God's like actually I wanted you to my desire beginning was more of a priority for me to trust him even if the storehouse isn't full yet. So that's been a good chyros uh that probably will be ongoing I imagine. But when we talk when it in Isaiah talks about fasting specifically and I was like I don't want to fast with my own
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intention in mind. I want to fast so that I could have more of God's intention more of God's kingdom more of my mind set on a kingdom mindset than than my own. So that's been a good good chairos. Good. That's good. All right, guys. Well, thanks for listening. Uh again, these the uh this is an opportunity for us to just wrestle through what God um is still teaching us, what he's still saying to us um and to take the conversation beyond what we hear on a Sunday morning. And so, as
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always, we hope that um in listening to this, not only are you getting to hear what God's telling us, but also that you have spaces where you're having these conversations as well. So until next time, uh, have a great week. Take care. [Music]
