Learning to Listen with Pastor Clayton Tyner

Welcome to the Medicurch podcast.

My name's Clayton.

I'm the pastor here at Medicurch.

And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you.

I hope that you enjoy today's message.

Alright, I want to welcome you again to day 22 of our learning to listen journey.

How you guys doing?

Yeah.

Uh if you are new with us, my name's Clayton.

I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch.

I'm so glad that you guys decided to join us, whether you're here in person or streaming with us online.

I know a lot of people are on spring break already.

Hope you guys are streaming in with us and enjoying time with the family.

Uh, if you're new with us over the last 22 days, the last 21 days ending Saturday, we went on a journey together as a congregation.

We set out to do a few things every day.

We were gonna read a chapter of John's gospel in the New Testament every day.

There's 21 chapters in that gospel.

And so yesterday, for everyone who participated, which was hundreds of us, yesterday we completed that journey.

Man, I know it was a huge blessing in your life.

Every day for 21 days, we were spending time intentionally in prayer, praying about all kinds of things, but also doing guided prayer together.

And then every week across those three weeks, we picked something to fast from in our life, which means we're like right now as a congregation getting off of a social media fast.

I hope that was meaningful for you guys.

I don't know if any of you got kind of itchy thumbs over the last week or so.

All of a sudden you just opened Instagram and didn't know what you were doing and threw your phone across the room.

I I hope that this was a good experience for you, creating some space, making room in your life.

And what I really want to focus on in a pretty short message uh today is that this isn't the end.

Uh, this isn't an event that we did for 21 days, and then we put it behind us, and we just get back in our old rhythms, and maybe we'll read scripture again if we do this again in 2024, and maybe we'll pray consistently again if someone leads us and creates a blog for us every day that can walk us through it.

Instead, I hope that in these 21 days, you've established a new pattern in your life, a new rhythm, some new habits that you can move forward from this day for the rest of your life, seeking to continue digging into the written word of God, digging into conversation with God through prayer and listening, practicing spiritual disciplines because the world does not need another church that just simply meets together from Sunday to Sunday to Sunday.

The world is desperate for a movement of people who, yes, we still meet together, but we meet together to move together.

We're not just reading scripture and praying and spending time so we can check more religious boxes.

We are aware that we are called to be the light of the world and that the world seems to be getting darker and darker by the day.

And so we're learning over these 21 days, we've learned how to spiritually feed ourselves and spiritually clothe ourselves and begin pursuing God where we don't show up every Sunday in this massive spiritual deprivation because the last six days we've had no spiritual activity in our life.

Instead, we are seeking to abide.

He is the vine and we are the branches we saw last Sunday, and the branches who will live a fruitful life, a powerful life, a purposeful life, a life that leaves an impact on the world, are the branches that abide in him, that remain attached to that vine, that keep after these spiritual disciplines in your life.

For those who read along over the last week, we read about the moments that changed our world forever and changed our lives eternally.

In John chapter 19, verse 28, it says, After this, when Jesus knew, when he knew that everything was now finished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, I'm thirsty.

John 19:28

And a jar full of sour wine was sitting there, so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth.

And when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished.

And then, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

It is finished.

And it can be uncomfortable, as many of us did last week, to read the details of the crucifixion of Jesus, the details of his beating, the details of his agony, to know that the only actual innocent human, the only perfect person to ever walk the earth, was ultimately brutally murdered, not for anything that he had done, not for his sin, not for his shortcomings, not for his transgressions, not for his mistakes, not for his lust, not for his pride, not for his ego, not for his anger, but for mine and for yours.

That he took it upon himself, and we're getting pretty close to Easter.

And around Easter, you normally hear the it is finished sermon.

And maybe you've heard it before, and you know that that Greek word is the word tetelesti, which is a very unique word because literally translated what it means is the debt has been paid.

The debt has been paid.

And one of the ways that scripture talks about our sin and the problem that it is for our life is that our sin creates a debt, and it is a debt that can only be paid with a perfect life.

It is a debt, in other words, that we have no chance of paying on our own.

And back in the day before Jesus came, what the people who were connected to God did in order to stay in right standing with God is year after year after year, they would sacrifice animals and they would spill the blood of lambs, and that would be a temporary covering, only temporary though, to put them back in right standing in fellowship with God.

And the book of Hebrews in the New Testament says that Jesus, who what what is he called in John chapter 1?

John 1 · chapter mention

The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, that Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, the perfect high priest, when he went to the cross, he did once and for all what the lambs in the Old Testament had to do again and again and again, year after year after year.

Jesus paid the price.

It is finished.

The debt has fully been paid.

I wonder if you've ever had a debt that you just chipped away at for a long time.

Maybe you bought a car that was a little bit out of your price range, you had to finance some of it.

Uh, maybe you went into some student debt to try to get a degree, and man, it just felt like you were paying and paying and paying.

I remember the last payment that I made on my student loans.

I remember the last payment that I made on our minivan.

Yes, we used to drive a minivan.

I remember like it is finished.

The debt has been relinquished, the weight is off my shoulders, and this is so critical because we've seen all throughout John's gospel that the only thing we are called to to receive eternal life is to believe.

Believe, believe, believe, believe.

Everyone who believes in Jesus will not die, but will have eternal life.

And so many Christians have put their faith in Jesus, and yet they are still living burdened as if they are carrying some of that debt.

And if you are living your life trying to still earn the eternal life that Jesus fully paid for when he drew his last breath to call out, to telesty, it is finished, the debt has been finally and fully paid.

And too many Christians are living as if Jesus said, All right, I made the down payment.

Good luck making payments.

Don't let that interest stack up on you.

You better get busy earning this salvation.

No, he said, It is finished.

That's why we call it the gospel, which means good news.

The good news is Jesus did all of the work on your behalf.

He did everything necessary to take all of us who are stranded and separated from our heavenly Father because of our sin and covered the cost of that sin.

And all you must do is believe.

Amen.

John chapter 20, it says, But Mary stood outside the tomb crying.

John 20 · chapter mention

And as she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus' body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.

And they said to her, Woman, why are you crying?

Because they've taken away my Lord, she told them, and I don't know where they've put him.

Now, I want to emphasize this because we've read John's gospel and we've seen the passion of the Christ.

And we grew up in the West where we have at least some understanding of the death, resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The people who were living in this story did not know Jesus was coming back to life.

Mary, one of his most devout followers, assumes his body has been stolen, and of course she assumes it, because dead people stay dead.

That's just what they do.

I don't know where they've put him.

And having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus.

Woman, Jesus said to her, Why are you crying?

Who is it that you're seeking?

And supposing he was the gardener, she replied, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've put him, and I will take him.

And Mary gets a little bit of flack right here, because she like walked and talked with Jesus for three years and doesn't recognize him.

But let me re-emphasize, she doesn't recognize him because she doesn't expect a dead guy to be alive again.

And this is such a beautiful moment in scripture.

Jesus said to her, Mary.

And as soon as he said her name, she knew exactly who he was.

And turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, Rabbini.

Which means teacher.

Everything changed in this moment.

All of history, literally, the way we know history today, was split in two at this moment.

There's everything that happened before Christ that's counting down to this moment.

And then there's everything that's happened moving forward in anticipation of him returning just as he promised.

And MetaCurch is a place for all people, all different walks of life, from people who are firm in their faith to people who are very skeptical and not really even sure what they believe in.

And you can belong here at MetaCurch even before you believe all of the things that we believe about the Christian faith.

But you need to know wherever you're at in your journey that this is the moment that our faith hangs on.

The Apostle Paul will say later uh later in one of his letters that if Christ has not been raised, our entire faith is in vain.

And what that means is you can't do what a lot of modern people are trying to do, which is pick and choose the parts of Jesus that you're comfortable with and that you like, and then see Jesus as this great man, great teacher, important historical figure, but not as the God of the universe come down in human flesh.

Because the fact that he was the God of the universe, come down in human flesh to live an actual perfect life, pay the price of all the sins of all people, past, present, and future, and rise again defeating death itself, that was his central claim.

And so if he's not actually Lord, then at best he's a liar, and at worst, he's a lunatic.

And if he didn't actually call his own shot and actually walk out of the tomb, then our faith is in vain.

And all of him should be discredited.

And we believe there's ample evidence for why we can put our entire faith on this one moment actually being true.

And even if you are settled into your agnosticism or settled into your atheism, and maybe you just come here or stream here to pacify a boyfriend or girlfriend, a husband or a wife, a mom or a dad, but you are settled in your idea that there is no God, and all of this about Jesus' faith, you need to at least understand that you are living in the outcomes and the privileges and the dignity, worth, and value that started at an empty tomb that Jesus' disciples in real time actually believed happen.

The reason that over the last 2,000 years we have clung to the idea and sought to audaciously live out that all people are of equal worth, equal value, and equal dignity.

It doesn't matter your gender, it doesn't matter your race, your ethnicity, it doesn't matter your class.

You need to know for all of human history, humanity was divided along all of those lines.

And the one reason that started to shift that is everywhere the gospel goes, you must acknowledge that every single person, every single person is ultimately worthy and equal to God because God came to earth and died equally for all people.

This changed our world in ways that you cannot imagine, and yet we are living in the effect of.

We serve a God who came down to us into the midst of our brokenness.

And when Jesus left, we read all throughout John's gospel again and again.

He said, I'm leaving, but I'm sending behind a helper.

I'm sending behind the Spirit, the Spirit from the Father, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit who will guide you, the Holy Spirit that has promised to be in the life of every believer in Jesus.

The Holy Spirit being in your life, if you've believed in Jesus, it changes everything.

It makes you a new creation, it gives you new power, it points you in the direction of your purpose.

And if this will not just be some 21-day event that you put in the rearview mirror, but learning to listen will become a habit for you, a lifestyle for you, a new rhythm where you are seeking Jesus day in and day out, then learning to listen will not just be about information, learning the truths of God, reading more scripture, because a lot of you grew up in churches like me where there were people who sat in the pews every Sunday who could recite every verse in the Bible and were the meanest, most judgmental, closed-minded, angriest people you've ever met in your life.

And it's because they're learning to read, but they might not be learning to listen.

Because if you're actually listening to what the Spirit of God inside of you is telling you through the written word in front of you, it will compel you to movement in your life.

We learn to listen so we can learn to move.

We learn to listen so we can be molded into the purpose and image of God because what the world needs is the word to become flesh.

They don't need to know there's another Sunday service happening.

They need to meet you, exactly who you are, with all of your flaws and past, all the broken pieces, and see Jesus inside of you.

The word becoming flesh.

They need to see that something is different about your life, that you have hope for your eternity, that there is life after death, that you can have peace in the midst of trials, that you seek bringing people together over division, that you actually live a fruitful life connected to the vine that is Jesus Christ, day in and day out.

If you will learn to listen, you will learn to move.

Here's how we're gonna close.

Every week we've taken some time to pray.

We're gonna do the same thing today, but I want to really create an environment that is just for you.

I'm gonna ask production to bring our lights down pretty low.

I'm gonna ask the band to put a little pad behind us, just to create some space for you, and I want you to pray about two things specifically.

First, I want you to pray for the commitment and the courage to continue on learning how to listen.

I don't care what book you decide to read in scripture.

If you're looking for a recommendation, I would say read the book of Acts.

It tells the entire story of the start of the church, how God pushed it forward, how he protected it, the coming of the Holy Spirit, how it changed things, how this Jewish movement started going out to the non-Jewish nations and doing whatever it took to get people to Jesus, how they decided to tear down any and every wall that is in the way of the gospel in Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

I don't care where you read, I care that you read, that you're spending time in the word, that you're spending time in prayer.

Pray for courage and commitment.

And second, I want you to pray that the word would become flesh in your life.

You are the flesh and bone that now pushes this movement forward.

You are the hands and feet of Jesus and the loving embrace of Jesus, and the kind, challenging words of Jesus.

You are ambassadors of God, Paul says in Corinthians, crying out to a world in darkness, be reconciled to your Father.

The world does not need another church who has good Sunday services, they need a movement of people who are going into your actual sphere of influence in your life and seeking to live out your faith.

Let me pray for you, and then I'm gonna turn this time over to you.

Jesus, we're seeking you commitment and courage, living it out.

We want to see what you prayed for, Jesus.

Your kingdom come, your will be done here on the earth, through our lives, here on the earth, as it is in heaven.

This is your time to pray.

Thanks so much for listening to the message today.

If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast, you can rate and review or share it with your friends.

If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv.

There you can learn how to take next steps, you can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit, and you can also give financially to help push this movement forward.

Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.