Embracing Our Identity and Sacrificing for Christ

Me at foreign, foreign, thank you foreign.

And I'm Wang, and here's a new at New North. It's summertime, and as our midweek activities come so close, there are so many ways to stay connected in community in June and July.

So here's what's coming up next: join our local outreach partner, City Impact, in the Tenderloin of San Francisco for a one-day conference filled with worship, fellowship, and service to the residents of the Tenderloin. There are a number of outreaches that will combine your talents with your God-given gifts to make a large impact in a community of need this summer.

We are praying for all of our middle school and high school students going to camp, praying for our children who will all be coming to Vacation Bible camp in July, and praying for a Honduras team who is going to be serving there in June. May God be glorified this summer.

Thanks! Be on the lookout for more information on all church picnics and student hangouts around the peninsula this summer. As always, you can see all the details on any of these events on our website. Make sure you're following us on social media and subscribe to our weekly email newsletter for reminders and for following our guide for encountering Christ. We can't wait to see you this summer.

On July 4th, 1776, our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. We know this day as the very first Independence Day. It is now an American holiday associated with food, fun, family, and fireworks—lots of fireworks. It's a day when we celebrate what's important. It's a day when we celebrate this nation's freedom.

It is also a chance for us to focus on another freedom that we have, a freedom given to us not by our founding fathers but by our heavenly Father. So as we take time to celebrate our nation's independence and freedom, let's also pause and thank God for our spiritual freedom from sin, shame, and fear—freedom that has been made possible by Jesus.

As soon as we enter into your gaze, the heart of gratitude into your courts with praise. As we raise our hands, as we lift our voice singing, will you be enthroned on the praises of your people's house today, Lord? Will there be breakthrough hearts and lives? For amen, let praise be away with their silence. Praise me, inside of me. This is what freedom feels like; this is what heaven sounds like.

We pray, yeah, come on, feel free, sing it out. We see you break down, can't hold back. Come! Your love.

Clap your hands if you want to let it crazy, come on this foreign, cause I know there is peace in your presence, so I speak Jesus. Very dark addiction starts to break, declaring there is hope and there is freedom. I speak Jesus; your name is break every stronghold, shine through the shadows.

I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Be strong, yes, your name is shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Just for my family, I only name Jesus. Jesus in the darkness over me. Some people, I just wanna speak the name of Jesus, say it, say it over every heart and every mind, cause I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus.

Take a moment right now and speak Jesus over your family, over your friends, over your work, over your boss. Jesus on the mountains, Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Just for my family, I only name Jesus. Jesus, Jesus Christ. Jesus in the darkness over every night. It's over. Jesus, Jesus, so much power in your name.

I challenge you to declare Jesus over your children right now. It doesn't matter if they're adults already, if they're older, they're teenagers, or they're still young children, infants, or not even in this world yet. But I learned at a very young age that you pray over your children because the enemy plays games with their minds, with our minds; he does it with us. But these children are innocent, and God, and your children are innocent. Your adult children, they know what's right and wrong, but I urge you to pray over them.

Speak Jesus, speak life, speak a relationship hand in hand, walking with Jesus daily. Even at a young age, may their relationship grow with Jesus that they may be able to speak Jesus. May you take the authority and the power that God has given you, God has given us to speak life into our children, to speak life into your brothers and your sisters. They might be lost in this world that they may know Jesus and hold on to him so tightly that we see a change, a drastic change that only God can do in our lives; only he can make that change.

I just urge you to pray for them; I urge you to pray over them and speak Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the trees, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus, can you sing that today with conviction and believing it? Shout Jesus, Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the darkness over we, Jesus for us.

One more time, a little strong, come on now. James, come on, San Francisco needs Jesus, the Bay Area needs Jesus, California, we need to throughout his power. Lord Jesus, because you first loved us, lay down your life. I try to see me so long to believe me, your victory. You can you give what we don't, we don't deserve you; you are my champion. I am who you say I am; you crown me with your love.

Good morning, church! If we haven't met yet, my name is Zohari, and I am on staff here at New North, and I am part of the Community Life Team. Before you have a seat, would you just say hello to somebody next to you, wish them a happy Fourth of July, and just tell them God loves you?

We have a special guest this morning. We have all just been so wowed by what God has done in and through our worship leader, Tim, and he is here this morning. Let's praise God for him because God really is a God of miracles. If you see Tim, would you just love on him and don't overwhelm him, but just tell him that you love him and that you're happy that he's here and that the Lord is continuing to help him in his recovery. We're just really blessed that you're here this morning with us, Tim.

Now, if you are new, we want to get to know you. We want to be friends. We don't want you to just come to church on Sunday and just sit on a seat and then leave. So we would love it if you would fill out a connection card. If you're here in person, fill it out. You could also scan the QR code. But if you fill out a card, you can bring it after service to our Hub, and some friendly person is gonna be best friends with you and be super excited to meet you.

I just want to make a special prayer for our high schoolers who are away at camp this morning. God, would you meet them there this week? Lord, would you just impress their hearts with your spirit? God, would they just come home changed and transformed that they would experience your goodness, your love, your beauty, and your glory? God, would you just meet them where they're at and just love on them this week?

God, I just thank you for the opportunity to gather together today. Lord, we are celebrating our freedom this weekend, but God, that is nothing compared to the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ, and so we are just so grateful to be able to praise you and worship you as a community, as a church family today. God, we just lift up our praises and ask all of this in your name, Jesus. Amen.

Wife, and I'm like, man, I don't know if I could do that, and so I've been thinking about that, and I've been thinking about the courage that it takes to actually stand up for your faith. And so I'm just really excited to be here with you all and to be able to share God's word with you all this morning.

Good morning, everybody! Happy Fourth of July weekend! It's great to see that some people stayed in the city. My name is Pastor Scott, and I'm one of the pastors here. When I think about Fourth of July, I think about the different freedoms that we have here in our nation, especially those pertaining to our Christian faith.

We are so blessed that we don't experience the intense persecutions that so many other nations and Christians have to deal with. I've been meditating and thinking about what I would do if I was forced to choose between renouncing my faith in Jesus or being killed for my faith. I don't know if I could do that. I've been thinking about the courage it takes to stand up for your faith, and I'm excited to be here with you all and to be able to share God's word with you all this morning.

Behind me, you're also going to see some of our upcoming events. You can see more information about all of these fun things that are going to be happening this summer on our website. One fun thing that I'm really excited about is that we are doing marriage nights on August 18th. We're going to have a yummy dinner, our Pastor Rob and Missy will tell us how to be better spouses, and we're going to have our marriage mentors available. There will be childcare, so it's going to be a great date night. Space is limited, so if you do want to come, go to our website soon and register.

Now, I'm going to transition to our time of giving. We believe that giving is just another form of worship and that everything we have comes from the Lord. You'll find different ways that you can give behind me. This is just for our church family, so if you are visiting, there is no pressure to give.

Two people were confronted with a difficult situation: own their identity and faith, or deny who they are and save their own skin. In Mark chapter 14, Jesus was taken to the high priest and the Sanhedrin. They were looking for evidence against Jesus so they could put him to death, but many testified falsely against him. The high priest asked Jesus if he was the Messiah, and Jesus answered yes. The high priest tore his clothes and all condemned Jesus as worthy of death. Some began to spit on him, blindfold him, and strike him with their fists.

Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard, and a servant girl recognized him. He denied it twice, but after a little while, those standing near Peter said he was one of them. Peter began to call down curses and swore he didn't know Jesus. Then the rooster crowed twice, and Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken to him before. He broke down and wept.

In these two stories, we see two men with different reactions to being questioned about their identity as a Christian. In the first scene, Jesus is in the house of the high priest, the most powerful religious leader in Judea. The high priest holds a trial in his own house in the middle of the night, inviting people to give testimony that would support the condemnation of Jesus. The religious leaders did not have the authority to execute Jesus, so they needed evidence to take to the Romans.

After many people testified against Jesus, their testimonies were so inconsistent that they had nothing to take to the Romans. So, they decided to ask Jesus directly if he was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One. They thought Jesus wouldn't be stupid enough to say yes, as that would be suicidal.

Meanwhile, outside the high priest's house, Peter had arrived and was warming himself by the fire. He was hoping to hear news of Jesus, as he had fled when Jesus was arrested. A servant girl then said to Peter that he was with the Nazarene. Peter was overcome with fear, as he knew that if the servant girl didn't keep her mouth shut, one of the armed men that had taken Jesus captive might come and put him in chains too.

Peter was not as ready to be tested as he thought he was. At dinner, he had told Jesus that he would never disown him, even if it meant dying with him. However, when a servant girl accused him of being part of Jesus' entourage, Peter burst out in fearful, anxious denial, to the point where he called down curses on himself, swearing to God that he did not know Jesus.

We can be like Peter in our day-to-day lives. We can come to church on Sunday, lift our hands up and praise God, listen to worship music in the car, and go to small groups to tell everyone how much we love Jesus. But when we get to our job offices, we turn off the ignition and keep our head down, doing our job and taking our paycheck, trying to avoid any uncomfortable conversations about Jesus.

We can be challenged by people who live their lives trying to create opportunities to tell other people about Jesus. We can wear a cross necklace, a sweater with a scripture, or have a tattoo about how much Jesus means to us. We can pray before we eat lunch with our co-workers, so that everyone knows we are believers.

Are we living as if we are ready to be questioned about our faith? Are we prepared to enter into conversations with grace, humility, and patience, even if people assume a lot of things about us that are not true? Or do we avoid spiritual conversations and defend ourselves? Are we seeking opportunities to tell other people about Jesus?

When Jesus and his disciples finished eating the Last Supper, they went up to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus told his closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, to keep watch and to pray while he went and spent time praying to the Father. Jesus asked his Father to take the cup of the Wrath of God away from him, but the Father told him that he still wanted Jesus to suffer on the cross for the salvation of all who believe. Jesus humbly submitted and said, “Yet not as I will, Father, but as you will.” After this time of honest prayer, Jesus was ready to go and suffer.

Meanwhile, Peter, James, and John fell asleep three times that night. Right after they woke up from their third nap, Judas and his gang came to take Jesus captive. Peter woke up, took out his sword, and tried to slash whatever was in front of him. He ended up cutting a guy’s ear off. Jesus responded to the situation by simply saying, “I am he,” and allowed himself to be taken captive.

I wonder if Peter had spent three hours in prayer that night if things would have turned out differently for him. Maybe Peter would have come to the conclusion that going to the cross with Jesus would be worth it so that he could be with his best friend in his darkest hour. But because Peter chose to fall asleep rather than pray, he wasn’t prepared spiritually or emotionally to deal with an accusation that could result in his imprisonment.

It is so important for us to spend time meditating on why Jesus is worth it to us and why it is worth it for us to suffer for Jesus. If we haven't thought deeply about this question, our answer to it will simply not be ready to confidently enter into suffering for the name of Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus declares that his followers will suffer for his name. In Matthew chapter 10, verses 24 and 25, Jesus says, “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his own household!” Jesus wants us to understand that we should expect persecution and to be called offensive things.

But it is up to us to be prepared to handle these situations with patience, grace, and love. People who do not know Jesus will think we are crazy because we have a different way of thinking about the world. When they say things that they don't understand, we need to be patient, show them love and grace, and give them the benefit of the doubt. We do this by meditating on how good Jesus is.

In Mark chapter 14, verses 61-65, Jesus knew that telling the truth about his identity as the Messiah would get him killed. But he had already made up his mind to suffer for the name of Jesus. The high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? You’ve heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” And they all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him, blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” The guards took him and beat him.

I want to challenge each of us this week to take out a journal and write down what is your why for living for Jesus and what is your why for being willing to suffer for Jesus. Even if we are living in America and probably won't have to choose between proclaiming Jesus and being killed for our faith, there are still little ways in which we as Christians have to suffer for the name of Jesus. We need to be prepared for that by knowing why we are willing to suffer and what Jesus has done makes him worth it to us.

Peter had mixed emotions every time he saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. On one hand, he was excited that his best friend had risen from the dead, but on the other, he was filled with shame. Jesus wanted to make sure that Peter knew that He still loved him, so He appeared to the disciples in Galilee, where most of them were from. After they had a meal together, Jesus took Peter aside and asked him three times if he loved Him. Peter was hurt, but Jesus wanted him to know that even though he had fallen short, He still knew that Peter loved Him, and that's what mattered.

Jesus was not going to ignore the elephant in the room and wanted Peter to understand that honoring the Father was worth it and that living for Jesus was worth it for us. We must consistently make time to meditate on why living for Jesus is worth it, or else we will not be ready no matter how hard we try. Of course, there are going to be moments where we fail, just like Peter, and the fear of the moment can drown out the faith that we have. In those moments, we can take heart because we know that Jesus is full of compassion.

We need to remember that Jesus is full of grace, even when we fail. In verses 18 and 19 of this passage, Jesus is telling Peter that when he was younger he could do what he wanted, but when he was older, someone else would lead him where he didn't want to go. This was to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Jesus then said to Peter, "Follow me." Christian tradition tells us that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. This is a huge change from a man who was afraid to be found out by a mere servant girl.

This brings us to the big idea for this message: own your identity in Christ no matter what the cost, because he is worth it. Be ready to tell people that you are a Christian and consider ways to create opportunities to tell people about Jesus. Be prepared to tell people about how wonderful he is, rather than feeling like every question about your faith is an accusation. Write down your story this week and read it over and over again, so that you are filled with love for Jesus. When you go outside, you can't help but tell people about him.

Be ready to own your identity as a follower of Jesus by following Jesus. How do you know what it means to follow Jesus? Read the Bible and pray for guidance.

If you feel like you don't know Jesus as well as you'd like, start by reading the gospels. I would recommend starting with Matthew 5 through 7, the Sermon on the Mount. Spend time this week meditating on how much Jesus is worth it and what he has done for you. When the Holy Spirit is telling you to give more, pray more, fast more, or share your faith, be ready to follow him. Even if he asks you to move across the world to share the gospel, be ready to follow him. Jesus is worth it.

Let us pray together and remember how much Jesus is worth it. As we behold the bread and the cup, let us personalize what Jesus has done for us and remember how much he is worth it.

Let's pause and rekindle the fire to follow Jesus no matter where He leads us. This week, let's worship together and sing the song of Lucas. His name is the highest; His name is greatest above them all, thrones and minions. Oh holy, holy, our creation cries holy to the King of all Kings. We will always be singing His name, Jesus Christ.

As we hold the elements, we will receive communion together. We remember our Lord's sacrifice for us as we take the bread and drink the cup. We are part of generations of Christians before us who have also participated in the Lord's Supper. After hearing a powerful message from our Pastor Scott, we invite our prayer team to come up and pray with us if anything stirred inside us. We also have special treats available outside to celebrate the holiday.

Let us close our time together with this benediction. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father, to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

All right, have a wonderful holiday weekend. Enjoy the sunshine while we have it, and we will see you on Sunday. Thank you.

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