The Subversive Gospel - Part 1

### 1. Identified Book Titles and Authors - **"Subversive Christianity" by Brian Walsh** - **"The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversion Spirituality of Jesus" by Paul R. House** - **"Holy Subversion" by Trevan Wax** ### 2. Amazon URLs with Affiliate Tracking ID "fitresources" - **"Subversive Christianity" by Brian Walsh** [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00280JOK4/?tag=fitresources](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00280JOK4/?tag=fitresources) - **"The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversion Spirituality of Jesus" by Paul R. House** [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX0UR7Z/?tag=fitresources](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX0UR7Z/?tag=fitresources) - **"Holy Subversion" by Trevan Wax** [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y4F2H84/?tag=fitresources](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y4F2H84/?tag=fitresources) ### 3. Rewritten Transcript with Book Titles Hyperlinked ```markdown [Music] e in Heaven and Earth do you guys know who I'm talking about Caesar I'm talking about a man named Caesar Augustus Caesar to be exact in the first century if you walked into the local restaurant in the Roman Empire and you asked who do these titles belong Bel to the response would most definitely say Caesar the Great and Mighty hail Caesar these were titles given to Augustus Caesar especially after his father was deified after his death and he became the Son of God can you guys turn the gain down just a little bit really hot Heralds were sent from town to town preaching allegiance to Caesar entering the town sharing the good news or the gospel of Caesar's Ascension to the throne you would hear the good news of Caesar as a good Roman citizen you would bow down and pay your taxes just like a good citizen it didn't matter if you approved of Caesar or not I mean you know if you didn't bow you were risking your life some of these titles came to be associated with Yeshua by his own followers why would followers of a Hebrew God that believed in a Hebrew Messiah give him titles that had been attributed to a pagan King it's a compelling question now the uneducated would not bother to study the context or the hermeneutics of the scriptures and and why this took place they would just disregard it as oh it's Pagan I think they had a very good reason for attributing these titles to Yeshua and we're going to discuss that today the Roman Empire was ruthless you guys know that right we've seen the movies and whatnot it was a whole different kind of world strong military strong Allegiance it was very ruthless when it came specifically to to the Caesar cult or the imperior cult the worship and de deification of the Caesars the Emperors Josephus recounts several instances where pilate initiated Slaughters of judeans who would not yield to the fact that the Roman Empire had deified their King and that they at least needed to accept that Slaughters Luke 13 actually gives us a very mysterious glimpse into an account that we we can't seem to find any other accounts that describe it but Yeshua is speaking here and and it's Luke 13 verse1 and and it states this there were some present at that very time who told him about the galileans whose blood pilate had mingled with their sacrifices and he answered to them do you think that these Gans were worse Sinners than all the other G because they suffered in this way no I tell you but unless you repent you will all likewise perish and so so Yeshua is speaking about an incident where pilate for some reason not only killed some rebellious galileans but mix their blood with the sacrifices that's nasty that's just like evil right this was the world that Yeshua entered into and so before we go any further guys if you want to study questions about this topic maybe you want to look into it a little bit for yourself um I have some great resources that uh most of them I recommend um [**Subversive Christianity**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00280JOK4/?tag=fitresources) by Brian Walsh it's a very compelling book if you like politics um it's just a nice short read [**The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversion Spirituality of Jesus**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX0UR7Z/?tag=fitresources) I don't necessarily recommend this book but I enjoyed reading it uh [**Holy Subversion**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y4F2H84/?tag=fitresources) by Trevan Wax I really enjoyed this book and about this topic about you know what it means when you become a Believer how you you're forced to make a decision to no longer conform to the standards of the world around you in fact it's the opposite Rebel in a specific way and then a lot of history we've already reviewed I think one or two years ago um when we did the Paul series and in [**The Message Paul: The Revolution**](#) which is available on the found and truth YouTube channel a lot of the history about Caesar and the relationship between Caesar and Yeshua as far as the titles uh and how the contrast was such a big deal when Yeshua came into the world and when the followers came into the world and when Paul was almost when he said Yeshua was the son of God and Yeshua is you know when he uses the word curios which was Lord which lordship which is I mean that that's that that only goes to one person in Rome that's caesar no Paul what a revolutionary I'm taking Lord curios it doesn't belong to Caesar guys it belongs to Yeshua and so check that message out there's a lot of was definitely a very enlightening study and a a fun study and so even the most zealous judeans fell to the pressures imposed by Rome in the first century um they even sacrificed I think twice a day on behalf of Caesar in God's temple in Jerusalem we have a I believe Josephus talks about this yeah um all of Rome were made to declare Caesar as God and sacrifices were made daily on behalf of Caesar in the temple now what's fascinating is Julius Caesar was the first emperor and he really came in and he did a lot for the kingdom he really set up uh a system of government where the government was the provider of goods he set up the basically the first food assistance program give bread to the people right he created a lot of jobs you know happens when you go to war I mean just a lot of good things that benefited the citizens and after he was killed uh Augustus Caesar came up and Julius began to be known and associated with the gods after his death and so what did that make Augustus it made him the son of thus he had a divine nature and so at this point forward the Emperors they were deified they were a God if you will and even the priest even the saned even the most loyal to God in the first century were forced to say all right twice a day we're going to take a sacrifice to The Altar and we're going to say on behalf of Caesar we offer this offering now it doesn't seem like that big of a deal I mean okay you know you you know on behalf of Noah you you not here take a sacrifice or whatnot but Noah you're not considered a God in the Pagan World Caesar was this was a big deal that's not talked about very much the religious system of the first century was not simply different sects of Judaism guys it was it was an infected religion unfortunately because of the world around it the pressure was too much in certain areas no wonder Yeshua had so many different things to say about different aspects of the religious culture so it was fascinating and so this is the culture of background in which Yeshua comes on the scene in this highly charged and oppressive atmosphere a group of men and women began to advance the message about a messiah an anointed one an anointed what an anointed king that was crucified and he rose again and this was the message of the Gospel that was meant to be heard in All Nations see you had these Apostles you know Apostle is means the sent ones right ones who was sent out you had these Apostles and they took to the streets of Rome boldly entering into the cities as Heralds and they would be sharing a gospel a good news about a Jewish messiah's lordship not just over Rome but over all of creation forget forget Caesars claimed the throne over Rome you know who cares about that Caesar was known as the the one who brought peace on Earth because he ended a civil war that he actually started he ended a big Civil War a Tri-State Civil War and he was victorious in that Civil War and so when he conquered the throne it was like oh he's brought peace back killing everybody yay now we have peace so what forget Caesar we have someone greater now let me tell you about the truth true Kos these Heralds had a new gospel a better gospel the real gospel the good news that was being shared something about it something about it in the first century it wasn't complicated it wasn't something that you had to sit down and convince people of it wasn't something that you had to sit down and say hey I know you've never read the Bible but let me show you the Hebrew in this Bible and I'm going to show you the prophets and I'm going to show it wasn't something where you had to spend days and weeks becoming a pseudo Seminary teacher to show someone the power and the reigning of Yeshua it was something that when it was heard it had an impact it was something powerful that took place and it spread like wildfire it's interesting because they begin preaching Yeshua Messiah as the Son of God and that title has long pre-existed Caesar I mean we see it in the Tanakh and we see it even in even in older ancient near Eastern cultures it means king if you're the Son of God it means that you're King empowered by God um but in the first century the title had been monopolized by Caesar that's why I say that it was a title of Caesar in the first century not anymore Yeshua was the true Son of God the Lord of Heaven and Earth do you know what the Creed of these Yeshua followers were you want to know what their Creed was it's very simple Yeshua is Lord and God raised him from the dead that's simple Yeshua is curios whoa that's Caesar's title Caesar who we even see some something that I see a lot of Believers struggle with we see that the boldness of Yeshua followers to even give titles and phrases that were given to God himself throughout the Old Testament right um Acts 4:12 we salvation is found in no one else for there are no other names under Heaven and Earth to which mankind must be saved speaking about Yeshua well Joel 2 says that's God so now they're saying that that that it's Yeshua Philippians 2:10 at the name name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth everything everyone's going to bow at the name of Yeshua Matthew 28:18 the boldness of this statement is so chilling I love it all power and authority of Heaven and Earth has been given to me this is Yeshua speaking that's a bold claim Revelation says Yeshua is the first in the Isaiah says that God is the first and the last see these titles and references were not just derived on the Judean mindset of the first century of course the teaching of the scriptures of God and God's nature they were also a fully confronting the Caesar worship that was rampant in the first century when you start attributing the power that Yeshua had to almighty God as if he was the actual vessel of almighty God on Earth Caesar Caesar worship The Cult of Caesar suddenly doesn't seem like such a big deal what a bold claim the disciples were making it very clear that the savior of the world guys was not the king of Rome Who provided peace for the nation and pacified the people with bread the true savior is a man by the name Yeshua the one who restores us to God and our neighbors the Savior who offered his body as the bread of eternal life controversial teaching that he had the disciples recognized that Yeshua was the true lord of the world and they were going around the most powerful Empire in the world proclaiming that Caesar was a phony he was a parody of the one true God the simple message that was spread via Word of Mouth spread what we call Christianity began to burst through the Judean borders and even the Judean culture that surrounded it into all the world to Assyria to Persia to all the world just as Yeshua had proclaimed to his disciples you go to All Nations and you teach what I have taught you you Proclaim what you have seen churches or eklesia if you will begin to rise up and not in just Valentine and you know the richest parts of the Roman Empire they begin to pop up in the deepest darkest corners of the entire Roman Empire well you would never think you guys know e eklesia you've heard the word before it's a Greek word that we translate into church nowadays right um and it's fascinating because in the sepagan uh the Greek Old Testament uh it's the same word that's used when uh when all of Israel is called together as an assembly right that word is used there as one assembly so when they came together for the feast or they when they were at Mount Si and they came together as an assembly one assembly one under one right before God it was eklesia but in the first century context and in the context of what was happening in the New Testament it was not simply speaking of Israel coming together as one assembly Matt how do you know that because there was not just one eklesia in the Roman Empire they started popping up here and there and there and there there and there and there eklesia of Jerusalem right eklesia of here eia there in Corinth wasn't just one eklesia it wasn't just one assembly it's fascinating because in the first century in the Roman culture if you will eklesia had a legal legal scope on it it was a b a legal governing body if you will when they came together when an eklesia came together it was kind of like a when it was used in terms of government it was kind of like a like Congress coming together if you will right a house coming together an assembly of Who coming together an assembly of what coming a legal assembly of what was coming together and popping up all over Rome legal assembly of Yeshua of the kingdom of God when we gather together Craig can tell you there's power there there is Authority when Believers Come Together Matt why would you say that because we represent a kingdom that we have G been given a stake in a banner that has authority to carry forward we're a legal governing body of the kingdom of God right now we represent it legally and this is what was popping up all over the Roman Empire what a rebellion against the most powerful Empire in the world now as Rome began to expand through War it's how they expanded enslaving all the nations around them it's fascinating because the Yeshua following grew when they proclaimed Freedom From Slavery freedom from sin to the Nations that just became enslaved by this son of God perfect combination you're going to enslave that Nation we're going to go in there and free him as the Caesars offered a government plan to give bread to the hungry something begin to change a subversion begin to happen among the Believers they begin to upstage the ruling class of Roman citizens by selling their own belongings and feeding the poor themselves you don't have to rely on this Caesar to give you we we we help you out they begin to approach slaves and they did something radical they treated slaves as brothers and sisters of Messiah wow we discussed in the past that Roman's entire economy and livelihood depended on the wide gap between the wealthy citizens and the poor if you will there was not really a middle class in Rome um we were talking last night the top 3% you've heard of the 1% right the top three % in Rome owned 95% of the wealth of the Empire 5% was left for the 97% to distribute among themselves I think times were tough huh and then here come these Yeshua freaks here I'll just sell hey let me let me sell my car for you you guys need bread your family needs bread hey let me sell my furniture buy you some bread no problem but that's all you got the father gave it to me and now I give it away for you in the name of the father that way I can be a vessel of his message of love for you this is how the father's Kingdom works let me tell you about it the Christians subverted the entire Roman Empire the economy and the sense of patriotism by voluntarily selling their own belongings giving them to the needy now the early Believers also understood that Caesar was still in charge they weren't leading a revolt against the Roman Empire per se they understood that Not only was Caesar in charge they understood that God put him there and God gave him power the things that they were subverting is when Caesar was trying to take Honors that belong to Yeshua and that's something that the early believing Mo movement would not tolerate you guys want to see a striking striking story so in Mark 12 we we have a very familiar story and you know a lot of the Pharisees some of the Sadducees weren't too fond of Yeshua not all of them some of them dug them you know a little bit pretty cool guy a lot of them didn't for many many different reasons and so one of them says teacher these men said we know how honest you are you were impartial and you don't play favorites you sincerely teach the ways of God now tell us is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not do you think this was a sincere question for Yeshua they were trying to trap him should we pay them or should we not then Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said whom are you trying to fool with with your trick questions show me a Roman coin and I'll tell you well then Yeshua said give to Caesar what belongs to him but everything that belongs to God must be given to God Hand him a hand him a coin and he asked who whose picture is that in the front is that is that God's picture better not be no who picture on front and what's that say in the back right there what's that say in the back give to Cesar what belongs to Caesar and everything else give to God this reply completely amaz in tiberias and then most likely in Judea as well and on the left left here you have a a striking young man here and it says Caesar Augustus Augustus Caesar right there and on this side it says Dei Filas Son of God should we pay what Caesar's should we Yeshua you got a coin yeah I got this one whose face is on it Augustus Caesar what's it say in the back Son of God I would give to Caesar belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God found that fascinating can you can almost hear the audience o in the background how could the first and second third Century Believers act this way stay loyal to a leader and country while also sub subverting the country's exploitation of its own people because the early Believers understood a principle that Caesar wasn't the Ultimate Enemy they understood that powers and principalities stood behind the worldly leaders the leaders themselves were just a puppet the Caesar worship of the day was indicative of a power beyond Mere Men it pointed to the evil one if you will who seeks to keep people enslaved and in bondage to sin and death Rome did not care if Christians spoke about a personal savior ask him into your heart I don't care or spoke about the need of a relationship with Yeshua Rome didn't care Rome was concerned about the testimony that was spreading about what happened that Sunday morning after this guy was crucified and died Rome was concerned about the stories that were going around saying he was raised from the dead which somehow inaugurated him into a lordship a king and now they're saying he is King even over Caesar and then these people are starting to give him the titles that Rome had implemented for their King how long you think it took for things to go downhill fast really went downhill with a man by the name of Nero as we spoke last week the gospel that was preached was less about asking Yeshua into your heart and more about inviting people into God's Community his kingdom where his heart is represented and lived out that's the Forsaken gospel what was the anticipated future of God's kingdom to early Believers when you're the early Believers what did they anticipate about the future what were they thinking was going to happen all right we're saved what's that mean I have a relationship with God what's that mean I've been brought the Exiles in what's that mean they believed God would one day bring a full restoration into the world that was so utterly broken around them all of creation would be redeemed and the faithful who had died would be resurrected and get this they get some glorified bodies that sounds fun the most encouraging aspect though of their message that they preached so zealously in the first three to four centuries was that they believed that this future had already broken into the present the work of restoration and Redemption the green light had come on it had started through the work of Yeshua the age to come had arrived it was present in a sense in the current world it was present through the Believers little pockets little pockets of the world to come walking around even though the world was still ruled by god-hating dictators and oppressors Believers clung to the unshakable faith that Yeshua had already in fact become the ruler and that the faith would one day be seen by all um in other words that the whole world one day despite what's going on right now despite the persecution despite the world hating leaders that are out there one day everyone's going to see them well how do we know that because we know that every knee were bow everybody's going to see him one day it's our job to live out his kingdom now it's our job to represent his kingdom now one day everyone will see it if they don't see it right now that's not my problem that's not my agenda it's not something I'm going to get mad at I just have to do my best to represent and carry his Banner the banner of his kingdom the banner of restoration the banner of forgiveness the banner of God's love the banner of reconciliation that's my job right now it's my job to represent his Reign and his rule on Earth as it is in heaven it's my job to represent the intersection where Heaven has met Earth through the Son of God yes I know when I get excited about the gospel and I do and I know I've been excited about it recently and praise God for that I'm not ashamed of that I know that I've even had some people online message me hey you're sounding really churchy with your messages guys if I sound churchy because I'm talking about the power and the reign of the Son of God Yeshua the Messiah then so be it call me a church I don't good good I don't because that's the message that saves guys we walk out Holiness by following the tour we walk out Holiness by representing God's kingdom by keep by honoring the Shabbat by not eating little what is it shrimp and pork and I mean this is easy stuff easy we acknowledge the feast days the best we can right we look to Torah for the guidelines I say the the minimum standard of what a Believer should be keeping we look to that guys that's the easy stuff the harder stuff is when Yeshua said yeah I know I know what the door says so you hate your enemy take him to court eye for an eye tooth for a tooth pluck your eye out man get that ice pick not really but you know equal weights and measures someone breaks your arm accident whatever you they have to supplement you with the value of whatever that is if someone attacks you man they owe you something and you're rightful to claim it but I say to you chilling words whenever Yeshua says that chilling but I say to you but I'm going to tell you a higher expectation that I'm going to have of you love your neighbor and your enemy Yeshua say what pray for your enemy God I pray that my enemy disappears from the face of the earth I pray that he's raptured far away from me never see him again that's the prayer that our flesh wants to pray right if we go to pray I'll pray I can pray I can get in my hands and knees I don't like this guy father may he have fleas of a thousand camels yes that was not the context of what our King said that the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth heaven on Earth would be like he said yeah you've heard it said you can take him to court and you can continue to hate them that but I'm saying to you if you truly want to fulfill the heart of the father not just the minimum requirements if you want to stand and what the father had always intended for an image Bearer to carry from the beginning in the garden you pray for your enemy When you pray for something do you typically pray for curses you pray for blessings don't you you pray for your enemy you bless your enemy you show love to your enemy you show your enemy that hatred will not overtake you because hatred is a product of the Fall hatred is a product of the flesh hatred is a product of Cain not the man that God formed out of the dirt originally and not of his son Yeshua you do not hate your neighbor you do not hate your enemy such a hard saying isn't it sure what about divorce guys we see very clearly it's right there in the tour what do you think Yeshua right there de 24 it says it right there yeah Torah says you can divorce that was put in there because of the hardness of your heart in the garden divorce wasn't something that was around the Father's Heart Is that there would be no divorce The Father's Heart Is that the husband would love his wife The Father's Heart Is that the wife would love her husband The Father's Heart Is that the husband would be a servant and a helpmate and a respector of the woman that he is in Covenant with the Father's Heart Is that the woman would see herself as a helpmate to coexist as one with her husband that's the Father's Heart that there would be no need for divorce that you would Shape Up and understand your role that you committed to in Covenant you see how all of a sudden sudden when you're looking at Yeshua and he's stating these things sure we have the Torah it's almost like a minimum like that's bar you can pull yourself up above that I didn't never notice something until recently every single time when Yeshua had something to say and he was preaching to the masses it was as if he he wasn't really trying hard to get people to be like yeah I want to do that I mean every single instance he's like are you sure you want to follow me are you sure CU it's not going to be easy it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be easy because of the world that you live in and because of the people that will reject you and the gospel that you will carry on your shoulders will be offensive to the world carry your cross people knew what that meant it wasn't a metaphor literally revolutionary gospel probably going to die and get crucified which was the price a revolutionary paid in the first century never meant to be easy will you be a follower of the king in a world that rejects him totally went off into right field what would it look like today if we reclaimed the subversive nature of the original Yeshua community and there's two two ways to understand the word subversive or to subvert um and uh and one way kind of defines a like an overthrowing of a government you're going to subvert the government right um a great uh great film I'm gonna call myself out here great film had Patrick swayy in it and it had uh Jennifer Gray in it it was called Red Dawn back in the 80s anybody ever seen Red Dawn back in the it's a classic I love Classics um Jennifer Gray she had a a great moment in that scene where she uh um it was her climactic moment in the movie where she she held something tight and she ended up giving it to a few people at the end and it was it was a really cool scene um but uh basically the movie is the Russian and uh was it Mexico joined forces Cuba was it Cuba it's Cuba joined forces and they invaded the US right just surpris that parachutes coming down and and in this the Wolverines I guess it was in Michigan was it in Michigan col Colorado Wolverines I don't think where was it I don't know Washington Colorado it was out there and so all these high school kids are in their school and they're seeing all these skydivers coming down and landing in the field and they're like what is this and so they're going out to investigate and these are paratroopers from like Russia and Cuba and they start opening fire you know they're trying to get everyone down and and show that hey we're attacking right and so you have like these football players or something like a whole group of of students that hop in a four-wheeler and they escape and they getting shot at and ra and they end up going to a gun shop and getting some supplies and they hide out on the mountain for months and they realize that they have to fight because their whole town has been taken over they see their families being put in Camp and everything and it's their job at this point to subvert this oppressive force that has come upon their Kingdom or their nation and so they start using Gorilla Warfare It's a fascinating movie and I digress but regardless they wanted to subvert they needed to overthrow this oppressive force that had overtaken them so that's one definition of uh subversion if you will um another way of looking at it another meaning could mean to to push something down back into its place so if something has risen up beyond what it was ever supposed to be or it has kind of encroached into other areas that it shouldn't be you push it back down get back down there you don't belong here you belong down there I'd like to focus on the latter definition because when we talk about the gospel being subversive it most definitely is the world was never supposed to become what it is today our flesh has a place and it encroaches into many many areas that we allow it to encroach that furthers us from the ways of God so how are we to be like Patrick swezy and Jennifer Gray we we need to subvert the areas that are encroaching on God's kingdom that's our job why because we're part of a greater Kingdom now have a a verse here Ephesians 6:12 for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities or principalities and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly Realms this is what we were empowered to subvert everybody understand you have an opponent that wants to seek to crush kill and destroy and we've been empowered with the tools and the tactics to subvert to overthrow these things to push them down by any means possible this week I wanted to focus inwardly a little bit on the Caesars that we need to be subversive towards the Caesars that are contributing to establishing their own Kingdoms in our lives and preventing the true Kingdom from filling our being the first Caesar is the Caesar of self as we live in a culture the world we live in especially in the west has created an ecosystem of self centeredness and self-love anybody realize that everything is about meat and the world even realizes this right you ever you ever went shopping online right let's say you go on Amazon to check something out and it's marketing and it's brilliant and why how else would you Market if you want to be profitable you go on Amazon check out a toilet or something who knows and then you go on Facebook and we got Facebook you know things stupid thing and you're scrolling through Facebook and then you see an advertisement for toilets they're watching me right it's tracking everything that you look at everywhere that you go everywhere that you might want to buy hey here's what you wanted here's what you just looked like looked at don't you want to buy this fascinating the secular World encourages us to do something we like to call keeping up with the Joneses man someone got a new car baby we need a new car why is that a question they have a new car someone got one of them new Yeti Coolers we need a Yeti cooler someone got a new TV and naat Troy got this new big TV and he got surround sound and he got the new Xbox Jenny I can't just I got I got an Xbox to this has become a standard that the world pushes has it not has it not and so how do you keep up with the Joneses you go to work and you spend your time at work to make the paycheck not to put your family first but you buy consumer goods for who for you it's the world we live in you ever seen a lot of the most famous pop songs that we have be true to who you are don't here's a here's a more recent one don't hide yourself in regret just love yourself and you're set baby you were born this way that that is the music that is currently going through our radio speakers to our youth that is the message hey don't don't there is no you don't you don't need to change just whatever you want to be whatever you want to do obviously God made you that way be true to yourself what's that song from the 80s I think it was ' 80s Listen to Your Heart Right it's been going on for a while Christina agulara song just trust The Voice Within what voice within the Holy Spirit that's not what she's talking about this is the message that our generation pushes in the west this is not quite the same message that put that's pushed in the Middle East or Eastern countries but specifically here it's all about you and if this doesn't benefit you then obviously is not good for you that's the default setting for the human's outlook on life self-centeredness do you guys have to teach your kids to be self-centered no I'm learning my my boy's almost two and and it inspires me cuz sometimes he'll be playing with other kids and he'll do something that is against human nature he'll pick up one of his toys and he'll walk over and give it to another kid and I'm over here like and then the other kid will walk a few steps away with it and he will flip out it's mine until you yank it back it's mine we're naturally self-centered that's in our nature for some reason in our nature we think the world exists for who us for me for I and the sad thing is is that this mentality usually is not checked at the door when you become a believer in the west usually it's not even a thing usually we we become a Believer and it's like Jesus died for this guy he is my personal savior he's in my heart the kingdom is about me and this is the attitude that so many Believers still have even mature Believers we get trapped in this thought so you continue walking along viewing everything existing for you and then you join a fellowship and what is the purpose of this church or this fellowship or this congregation it's to serve you it was made just for you that's why you joined it you never view it as a Community you never view it as being a part of something bigger you never view it as a family if you have this mentality this mindset what can the fellowship what is the fellowship doing for me maybe I can benefit I what is it going to do for me so I want to keep coming so I keep coming because it does stuff for me it becomes an object if you will and the minute conflicts that tend to happen in families anybody ever had a little bit of drama in their home their family right I mean nobody Johnny a little bit me a little bit two three people man I want to come visit y'all's house right sometimes you have a conflict sometimes that's a nice way of putting it right any family is going to have a conflict any family is going to get very comfortable and lovey doy with each other that they're going to get comfortable sometimes it hurts people's feelings but as a family you get the hurt feelings and then you say I love you still and I love you too cuz you're my brother CU you're my sister fine love you and you're still a family right if you go into a fellowship that was made just for you and it revolves around you and a minute conflict happens as natural in a family obviously this is not a good Fellowship to be a part of so I'm going to leave anybody know what I'm talking about anybody had that attitude before uh just me it's just me not here very blessed by you guys tell Jenny all the time I just can't believe how blessed we are to be a part not leadership just a part of the family here with you guys um very blessed to know each and every one of you so a fellowship I went to must be 9 10 years ago I guess it's far enough out I can talk about it me I was 21 years old and um some drama happened at the fellowship and even at 21 years old I understood that the issue that caused the drama was not that big of an issue it just wasn't that big of an issue but for some reason the fire grew and I was just in a how is this happening I don't understand I think six or seven families left the fellowship that's a big deal this offense went on and it fueled this resentment and these families no longer felt like the fellowship could serve them anymore Matt did they go and find another fellowship to be a part of another family to be a part of you know like something no they sat at home they didn't even congregate together and I found that so amazing when I was 21 years old that an offense could do so much damage under the right circumstances and the right mentality guys if you ever get offended at a fellowship and you really think that it's not the right place for your family to be anymore I get it please I beg of you find a another group of people to be a part of do not break the community into pieces don't sit at home find something else to be a part of cuz that's what we're supposed to be doing that has nothing to do with this message but that's just please it's heartbreaking to see families that have an offense and they feel so much anger or resentment that they literally just sit at home these families I don't think ever I think they tried to start their own little fellowship or group together and then it fell apart a few months later because of the same type of issues um and it was it was heartbreaking to see the offense aside that families with children had no Fellowship to attend because an offense could not be viewed as something that we can still love each other and get over as brothers and sisters in Yeshua and ultimately we look at Salvation if we continue this mindset of us and we don't check this mentality at the door ultimately we see salvation and we see God existing solely for me for our glory and we make the mistake of Imaging God after us sociologist Christian Smith um has done extensive research on religious beliefs uh in American teenagers and the youth that we have today and he found that most teenagers I'm going to read it here most teenagers today liken God to a Divine Butler or a magic therapist by and large young people believe that God exists to meet my needs God exists to help you become a better you by Awakening the spark of Life inside of yourself now the understanding that we as individuals do need help on our journey of faith and and this only comes from God that's of course the issue is thinking once you are a better person you made it forgetting completely that it was never about you it was about the world around you it was about creation that belonged to who it was about the body of Believers around you and it was about all of us becoming servants to each other and the world to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that's the mission so we ask God to help us and we ask God to give us the tools that we need so that we can work not so we can just be perfected and stop and be this model of a Believer the Mind self the mindset of self is not new um as I mentioned last week the early Believers battled something called nosism uh in the 2 third and fourth Century specifically uh narcissism was a fascinating not it was it was heresy um but it was just a fascinating mindset I mean you sometimes we bump into people that are kind of out there in their beliefs right I me sometimes these guys were like okay gnostics and gnostics taught that salvation was only found in secret knowledge that could only be taught by special teachers and the world had missed it the world had missed this ultimate knowledge they missed it we know it but we have the truth and salvation ultimately didn't come from God in the Gnostic Community it came from within oneself through this secret knowledge that I acquired I dare say sometimes we get so close to Reinventing nosism we have to subvert this Caesar this self identity that everything is about me the gospel is not centered around you this is a message I know all that was just commentary guys the gospel was not centered around you it was centered around Yeshua salvation does not originate from you it originates from the heart of almighty God salvation is a pure gift from God not from you God saved us in order that we would take part in community of Believers which we call his kingdom and his body and so I want to read a little bit of scripture written by Paul about this specific SE Caesar of self and it's in Ephesians 1 and if you would turn there with me I think you will find a lot of things that maybe you've never seen before and hopefully this will be encouraging um guys the point of this message is how we can understand the attitude that we're supposed to have towards our flesh because so many times we like to study God's word and we don't like to apply it sometimes it's easier to just study God's word and not apply it sometimes it's easier just to say wow look at this secret knowledge I got let me just share this with all my friends and look like I know something and not apply it guys are you going to hire someone that has a lot of book knowledge to lead a mission are you going to hire someone that has adjusted their character to fill the role of said Mission that's what we're studying today and it starts with understanding that the kingdom of God is not about you so [**Subversive Christianity**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00280JOK4/?tag=fitresources) chapter 1:3 oh yeah that's tiny hope you brought your Bibles verse three blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who ESV version who has blessed us in Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places amen even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us for adoption to himself as Sons through Yeshua Messiah according to the purpose of his will to praise of his glorious Grace with which he has blessed us in the Beloved in him we have Redemption through his blood the Forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace which he lavished Upon Us in all wisdom and insight making known to his mystery of his will according to his purpose and he set forth in Messiah as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on Earth are going to be what united in him through who in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him whose works all things according to the counsel of his will so that we who were the first in hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory in him you also when you hear the word of Truth The Gospel of your salvation and believed in him we're sealed with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory this section of scripture is radically God centered you notice the emphasis him him his him he him you were called for him you were given Grace for him you were adopted through Yeshua for his glory that should change the way you look at life when you walk outside I challenge you this week if you remember nothing else you were chosen by God and given Grace by God and adopted as a Son of God a child of God through Messiah Yeshua for his glory in other words he's looking down at you and seeing the tools that he's given you and seeing the renewed life that you have and he's watching how you're walking out and hopefully he's smiling saying yes my glory is exalted through them that's a very humbling weight to carry on your shoulders but that's the mission our Salvation is from God he says it's from God from the foundations of the earth you were chosen his salvation extends all creation under all things in Heaven and Earth you did not do this everybody say I didn't do this with our selfish Minds we demand that our lives be wonderful right now right we want to be blessed right now we deserve to be blessed right now why cuz it's all about us we even get mad at God when we feel our lives have taken an unw wonderful turn anybody ever gotten mad at God I've got I mean let's be honest anybody ever gotten a little mad yeah something happens in your life and you're like well this isn't a blessing my life isn't wonderful right now my life is isn't why isn't my life wonderful I deserve you guys ever seen a quilt I thought they were Silly until my wife started making them and I was like a you make a bunch of squares and you glue them together or something it was so difficult and then I noticed how much time she spent on them and I came in one day and she says yeah I got the top finished like all these little squares I don't know why she you just get a big square and sew back onto it and you're done no that's not not the point right she wants all these little itty bitty and they swirl and all this stuff pretty stuff and I walk in and I see thread look like someone had gotten some nice big clumps of yarn and throw a grenade at them and then all over the kitchen table and I'm like this is done she's like yeah it's done that don't look done babe it look it looks like it's all messed up see I was looking at the back of the quilt in the back of the quilt there's no organization I mean it looks nasty it and it goes over here and it goes over there and then threads over here and then it's just everywhere mess of a tapestry just all over my kitchen table almost got irritated this is what you spent the last month on sometimes that's how we feel Our Lives look like sometimes we're truly living in a mess what is this this isn't nice but the Believers understood that the picture that God is painting the quilt that he's making will be beautiful when he turns it over it's why the early Believers sang songs as Nero burned him to death it's don't look like a wonderful life right now but I know what's coming I know the future and they weren't necessarily just thinking about heaven they were thinking about the future of creation they understood that even if they were out in the middle of the desert starving doing missions work just to tell someone about the boldness of their King man I could really use a hamburger right now but you know what it's okay I know what's coming I know either right now next week next millenni I know what's coming God is going to flip this Earth upside down he's going to flip it over and the fullness of the restoration of his new creation will illuminate all of creation it will stand as a testimony of all time and it's my job as a Believer to be one of those threads it's my job as a Believer to be one of those threads do we have the boldness to walk out our lives as one of those threads under understanding that the restoration Heaven is meeting Earth through every single one of us carrying the banner that Yeshua planted that he started communities of Faith are subversive when they Place their own personal happiness aside and find joy in putting others first it's a very sub verive against what the world tells us to do being a servant is not what you're supposed to be doing you're supposed to be the boss that's exactly what Yeshua did right folks get excited about I'm a new creation you are a new creation but it's not about you you are a new creation in the new creation you're a piece of it and that puts a different emphasis on what we're supposed to be doing or at least the mindset that we're supposed to be having when we walk outside [**Holy Subversion**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y4F2H84/?tag=fitresources) author Trevon wax points out that we strike out with three total strikes after reading Ephesians with the false mindset that the Universe exists for us and I'll conclude with this he calls it the Ephesians road so the Romans road what we just read [**The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversion Spirituality of Jesus**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LX0UR7Z/?tag=fitresources) Road strikes out the self and places it in its proper place strike one takes place when we see that salvation starts with God and the gospel message that's all about Yeshua strike two occurs when we realize that salvation is all of God's grace and we have nothing to contribute in that regard strike three happens when we understand that God has saved us in order to place us in a community of faith that will be a blessing to the Nations to the world you're are worker be congrats you're not the queen but I'm okay being a worker be the salvation of God is for us but the father has chosen us and yeshua's blood has purchased us we are adopted orphans is what Ephesians says salvation is given to us the Holy Spirit stir our heart so that we come to Faith in Yeshua Messiah personally we are forgiven Sinners Sal salvation is also through Us by carrying the message forward the world will be blessed by The Good Deeds we do in the context of a Community of Faith we are commissioned communities fit is a commissioned community and so I want to leave you with this this week instead of asking God for things ask God to allow you to do things if you dare if you dare put that on your plate if you dare take up that burden on your shoulders ask God to place you in a position that he would want you to be a servant in the world that he would want you to be a thread in the beautiful new creation that he started even if you got to go through some layers and go around and go do a couple Twirls and do a knot even if that's what it takes I dare you ask the father what it would take for you to be a servant in your kingdom spoke to someone last week we were talking about the idea that sermons were are just something that is worthless and that we should just be studying the Bible and reading the word of God word by word and getting our strongs concordances out and opening up eord and that's how we should study God's word sermons are worthless that's something that just a generated tradition of church has replicated over time and time and time and then it was brought up in our conversation yeah that's why Yeshua taught in Parables Yeshua didn't break open a strong concordance never he barely quoted scripture I mean a parable I got to story I got a sermon for you guys guys the gospel went forth from Zion through the mouths of the Believers and overtook the world not because they carried around a strong concordance with them and showed them oh look at this Hebrew word here that came after I want to encourage you we have the scriptures and the scriptures are awesome and the scriptures are the gift from God but we also have the message of reconciliation that has been imparted on us as a part of our job to be missionaries or messengers of reconciliation ambassadors of Yeshua your tongue has the power of the boldness of Christ to spread that message that has impacted billions of lives will you dare to pray that the father allows you to use it despite the cost I'm going to have to to be continued this message for time's sake but I dare you to ask that of the father this week if you're serious if you're serious it's so easy to pray to the father pray I pray for healing for this father I pray for Financial Freedom in this father I pray for air conditioning blow a little bit colder probably so easy so selfish father it's a new day you've given life to me I don't deserve it I know what your word says I'm alive today because you chose me from the beginning father how honored I should be will you use me not just as an example but as a servant today I dare you to pray that prayer this week and if you dare I guarantee you will see what the father will change in your life and you will see the manifestation of that prayer amen amen hey everybody I'm Matthew vandell pastor at founded and Truth Fellowship and if you enjoyed this message and would like to see more messages like this one please subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here if you'd like more information about what we do and Who We Are or if you'd like to partner with us to make a donation you can do so with this link right here hope you guys have a great week and we'll see you next time shalom ``` *Note: The book "The Message Paul: The Revolution" was not linked as it does not appear to be available on Amazon.*