You're listening to Mountain View Church Audio, Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City, Whitehorse, UConn. Here's this week's message. Hello, my name is Jeremy, and I'm the lead pastor of Mountain View Church, and I am so glad that you chose to join us today. If you have never completed a Connect card before, I'd encourage you to pause this video and visit mountainview.church slash connect or text connect to the number on the screen and do so. Now, if you're attending in-house, you can fill out a Connect card that's sitting under the seat in front of you and hand it in to the welcome desk on your way out. I'm going to be back in a few minutes with today's message, but first, here's today's Basecamp Kids Minute.
Hi everyone, my name is Cormac and I am one of the junior helpers at base camp. Campers, the Bible is full of people who believe in God and did good because they felt grateful for everything God did for them. So this week, we will learn how to put our faith into actions like those people from the Bible. James 2.26 teaches us that faith without good works is weak or dead. Campers, are you ready to learn how to make our faith stronger?
If so, join us this Sunday downstairs at Base Camp in one of our two gatherings at 9.30 or 11 a.m. And if you can join us in person, be sure to ask your parents to download the lesson and activities from our website at mountainview.church.basecamp and learn together that doing good for Jesus makes our faith stronger. Thanks for listening, and I hope you have a great week. What a fellowship, what a joy divine. Leaning on the everlasting arms. What a blessedness, what a peace is mine. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning is heard from all alone. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I prove Him o'er and o'er.
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust him more. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to take him at his word. Just to rest upon his promise. Just to know the safe, the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him. How I prove.
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust Him more. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I've proved Him more and more. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust Him more. Oh, for grace to trust Him more.
I'm currently in my 40s, and if there's one lesson I have been learning over and over and over again is you don't know what you don't know. For example, we were in Texas a couple years ago, and it was crazy humid. Very different than where we live here. And one day, my wife plugged in her phone to charge it, and she received this notice, liquid detection. And it stated that it wouldn't charge until she somehow dried out her phone. The problem was, it's not like she dropped the phone in the water. It was because of humidity.
which we couldn't get rid of we were both stumped all of a sudden my son who was 13 at the time pipes up and he says just use the sound that gets the water out what? It sounded crazy. A sound that gets water out? That's nuts. And he says, yeah, there's even an app for it. It plays a frequency to get the moisture out of your phone. And he said it like everyone in the world knew this information and knew this existed. I certainly didn't. Nicole certainly didn't. But long story short, he was right. And it worked. Nicole and I were completely shocked. For me, it was another lesson of you don't know what you don't know. But more importantly, it's a lesson for all parents and adults that we can't dismiss young minds. They may have unconventional ideas, but sometimes they become innovations for current problems.
We need to be willing to shift and change when challenges come our way. Last week in our Not Quickly Broken series, we looked at the ability to start when God calls. Starting something new is difficult. Today, we dive into the ability to shift. Granted, the ability to change or shift our perspective when we're faced with challenges, it actually might be more difficult than starting something new. Potentially, it might require more faith and trust to change course after we're already headed in a certain direction or have a preconceived thought, process, or idea, opinion.
That being said, it is a powerful quality that we actually need to pursue throughout our spiritual journey. We need to be aware and accepting of shifts that the Holy Spirit might be bringing into our lives, our work, our relationships, family, even the local church. Today, within the ability to shift, you'll discover how adaptation supports the elevation of our growth. How it gets higher, bigger, more substantial when we're able to adapt and shift and change. Our ability to adapt supports that elevation. In a world that is constantly changing, being resilient and aware of shifts is crucial for seeking God's next plan and seeking gospel-centered outcomes. Truth be told, we all struggle with change on some level. You do, I do. And if you're someone who leans heavily into tradition, this message might be hard to walk through. If that's you, you're automatically asking the question, why do I need to change? Why do I need to adapt?
These feelings can be amplified in church settings, big time. But here's why. Without adaptation, there are risks to spiritual growth and gospel impact. We can miss out on positive shifts in our faith that the Holy Spirit might be calling us to embrace. The ability to shift is not just a survival skill, it's a key element for thriving in our walk with Christ. It matters because through embracing change, we align ourselves with the unfolding plan for our lives and for other people, for the world, for culture, and ultimately those that we're called to reach.
As a biblical example of adjusting to change, we're going to look at the shifts in dietary regulations. Might seem strange, but bear with me. And it's found throughout Scripture, and there's a journey that went forward. And it started in the Old Testament with Moses. It was challenged by Jesus in the Gospels, changed through Peter in the early church, and finalized through James, again in the early church in the book of Acts. And it radically shifted rules and traditions that had been in place for millennia. Did you hear that? Millennia. Some of which would have been considered sin not to follow.
We're going to take that journey within clean and unclean foods throughout the Bible. Let's start with Moses. The law, also known as the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, is a central component to the Hebrew Bible, to the Old Testament. It encompasses the religious and ethical teachings given by God to the Israelites through Moses. And Leviticus is the third book of the Torah and is particularly focused on ritual laws, cleanliness, and holiness. Within Leviticus 11, specific laws regarding the consumption of food are outlined, and then they conclude with these verses.
This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground. To make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. This is our starting point with strict rules. Now, you can pause the video and read through the entire Torah, the first five books of the Bible. You can read through all of Leviticus if you want to go heavy into all these laws and traditions, all the things.
And Leviticus 11 underscores the laws distinguishing between clean and unclean animals as a holiness mandate. I know I only gave the kind of sum up the last two verses, but you can read through the whole thing if you'd like to pause and look at it now. All right. This emphasis on dietary distinctions was aimed at promoting purity and obedience to God's commandments within the context of the Israelite community. Now, let's fast forward to Jesus in Mark 7 in the Gospels. The events leading up to Jesus challenge of clean and unclean foods, and we'll see that the Pharisees and some scribes questioned Jesus about the behavior of his disciples. They had observed that some of his disciples were eating with hands that were not ritually washed according to the tradition of the elders. You see, the Pharisees and the scribes were known for their strict adherence to tradition and ritual law, and they sought to understand why Jesus' disciples were not following these customary practices. Jesus responds with an absolutely shocking shift in religious teaching. Let's check it out in Mark 7.
And he called the people to him again and said to them, hear me all of you and understand there is nothing outside a person that by going into them can defile them. But the things that come out of a person are what defile him. And when he had entered the house and left the people, he asked his disciples about the parable. And he said to them, then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from the outside cannot defile him? Since it enters not his heart, but his stomach and is expelled. Thus he declared all foods clean. And he said, what comes out of a person is what defiles him.
All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. Jesus clearly explains that what enters a person from the outside, like food, It doesn't defile them because it goes in the stomach and it's expelled, as he says. However, he's making a statement. The text notes that Jesus declared all foods clean, signaling a big, massive shift from the dietary laws of the Old Testament. And for the record, I don't think we can truly comprehend how massive this shift was for God's people, for the first century Jews. Those listening to Jesus' teaching would have been asking, is this rabbi telling us to break God's law? Is he telling us to willingly sin?
And for the religious leaders, my goodness, who lived and breathed the law and tradition, this was a ludicrous heresy that would have made them so angry, it would have made their blood boil. And yet, as always, as always, Jesus points to the heart condition, not rule following. Jesus wanted to emphasize that true defilement arises from within the person, from our thoughts, our words, our actions, from the human struggle with sin inside all of us. Jesus calls us away from external rituals and traditions, and he emphasizes the need for inner transformation and righteousness that comes through him. This teaching reflected a massive shift, again, in perspective and understanding and of spiritual purity and how defilement worked. But let's keep rolling forward. Let's fast forward again to Peter and to the rise of the early church found in the book of Acts. In the book of Acts in chapter 11, Peter's faced with a massive shift as God calls him to bring the gospel to Gentiles or non-Jewish people. Peter has a vision where he's presented with various kinds of animals and it's lowered from heaven and a voice instructs him to kill and eat.
Peter initially resists, stating that he has never eaten anything common or unclean in his life. The voice then responds that what God has cleansed, Peter should not call common. He's presented with these animals three times, each time being taken back to heaven. Soon after, messengers arrive inviting Peter to go to a particular house. The Holy Spirit instructs Peter to go with them, and as the circumstances unfold, he realizes that God in this moment is breaking down barriers between Jews and Gentiles, non-Jewish people. Let's catch it up in verse 13.
And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter. He will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?
When they heard these things, they fell silent and they glorified God saying, then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life. Chapter 11 of Acts reflects Peter's realization that the Gentiles, non-Jewish people previously considered unclean by traditional Jewish standards, were all of a sudden now recipients of the same gift of the Holy Spirit. Everything had changed. He recognized that God's plan included salvation for both Jews and Gentiles, breaking down more of those religious barriers that separated them. This pivotal moment contributes to the broader acceptance of Gentile believers in the early Christian community and represents a significant development in the spread of the gospel beyond the Jewish community. This is an important moment. But now we fast forward a few more chapters and move to James.
The final judgment on the Gentiles is found in Acts 15. It begins with a dispute among the early Christian community regarding the legal requirement of circumcision for Gentile believers. Some argued that Gentiles needed to be circumcised according to Jewish tradition to be saved, while others, including Paul and Barnabas, believed in salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ without imposing such requirements. The matter became an immense point of contention, leading to a council to discuss and resolve the issue. And that's where we pick it up in Acts 15.
After they finished speaking, James replied, brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. And with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written. After this, I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen. I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it. That the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who make these things known from old.
In his judgment, James gives a clear ruling that Gentiles who turn to God should not be burdened with the Jewish requirements of the law. Instead, he suggests... writing to them and advising them to abstain from things polluted by idols, sexual immorality, things strangled, blood, the bigger things, the more important things, the more controversial things, but to lay aside a lot of those rules and rituals and traditions, trying to make it easier for non-Jewish people to accept Jesus coming to the church without all the rules. Now, let's reflect a little bit on this scriptural journey we've been on. It provides an important example of spiritual adaptation. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter and James embraced a shift in understanding from the laws and traditions they had known for so long. But the goal was to welcome the expanding body of believers.
This biblical walkthrough illustrates the importance of being open to God's leading, even when it challenges our long-held beliefs. In the modern Western church, we sometimes get upset over shifts and changes within a couple of decades. Most of them completely unrelated to sinful activity. It's often to do with change of structure, ministry philosophy, things like that. We should always remember the struggles of the early church. They weren't about musical style or what type of ministry is coming next or what kind of leadership style will be next. It was about letting go of Old Testament laws that had been a requirement for millennia. Millennia. We're not talking hundreds of years. We're talking thousands of years.
Now, thankfully, since then and for 2,000 years, whenever the gospel has been impeded by rules or traditions, the Holy Spirit has raised out new leaders and new innovations to reach our culture for Jesus. It's been amazing, actually. And for us, we need to think about that. If we lean on Jesus and let go of what's nostalgic or comfortable, we'll be amazed at what we're willing to let go of and embrace for the gospel at the Holy Spirit's leading. After all, remember, you don't know what you don't know, especially when it comes to a fork in the road that God has put there for a reason, for your spiritual growth and for the advancement of his kingdom.
So let's reflect. What about you? Are you willing to adapt or change for Jesus? Really? To experience an elevated level of spiritual growth is making a shift worth it to you. Are you willing to innovate and create if the Holy Spirit leads you in that direction? Are you willing to listen to new ideas, maybe even from younger people, even if your traditions and rituals and rules are at stake? If the Holy Spirit is leading you toward change, consider the growth that you may be initiating inside your heart and mind. And that's going to come next. It's coming. We just need to follow.
This week, identify some areas of resistance and make a commitment to be flexible. If we don't adapt, we might miss out on the positive shifts that God wants us to embrace. And the failure to adapt can lead to stagnation and a potential misalignment with God's mission and vision for our lives and for the local church. You know, it's one thing to start something new, but making a change can require the greatest level of faith. It's hard, I get it. But in our ability to shift, we find the key to elevating our spiritual growth. It's just another step that we've talked through in this series. One more spiritual practice, one more area of faith and trust that'll help us grow.
We're only a few weeks into the new year. Why not make a spiritual commitment to be a person who embraces change? If the Holy Spirit prompts you in this moment to adapt or to transition in your life, accept it, embrace it, depending on him for every outcome. Let's pray. Dear Father in heaven, I thank you for the scriptures we looked at today and walking through a journey of the clean and unclean foods. At one point, it was so important that you gave those laws to the people of Israel and for a time. And yet, as you brought your son to this earth, things shifted and then the early church shifted again. I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been for many of the...
first century Jewish people. Everything was upended for them. But as always, you're trying to help us focus on the heart condition. We need to do that now. Help us look at what's nostalgic, what's tradition, what's rule or ritual. Convict us of what we need to let go of so that we might bring in new gospel opportunities, new areas in our life where you want to help us grow, where your Holy Spirit is leading us. Father, if there's anyone out there that's holding on to something, I pray that even now, you would show them. You know where they're at. You know what they need.
Show them a way to let go and to just release it to you. And even though it's a change, it's a shift, it's a fork in the road that they can trust you for the outcome. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for attending Mountain View Church. If you would like us to pray for you, please click that connect link at mountainview.church, text connect to the number on the screen, and again, fill out that connect card if you're in-house with us here in our physical gathering. Before you go, I want to share some exciting news. We raised over $14,000, $14,500 during our first gifts initiative during Christmas Eve. So a huge thank you to everyone out there who chose to support our local food bank and women's transition home this Christmas. Although this project is over, we still need your support for ongoing ministries throughout the year.
To make a tax-deductible donation, simply click give at mountainview.church or text give to the number on the screen. And if you're attending in-house, you can feel free to use the donation envelope found on the seats in front of you, drop it in the donation box located at the back of the auditorium, or use the square kiosk at the welcome desk. Next, a quick update for our Covenant members. We'll be hosting a meeting. We'll take part in prayer, worship, and communion, celebrating the induction of some new members, and voting on our annual budget. If you're not a member of Mountain View Church, but you're interested in becoming one, please drop us an email at admin at mountainview.church. That's admin at mountainview.church.
What's up, junior youth? Here's what's happening tonight. We'll be playing some dodgeball. As you guys know, doctor dodgeball, free-for-all dodgeball, cup pyramid dodgeball, all the dodgeballs. My main goal will be to avoid getting another black eye now that I know how dangerous you small people are. Now, last time when we met, we took a look at the big picture story of the book of Genesis. What an amazing story, right? Despite humanity goofing up over and over again, God keeps his promises and he does the impossible. So cool. This week, we're going to look at the next book of the Bible, Exodus.
Now, when we read the Bible, we just kind of, you know, turn the page from Genesis to Exodus. It's no big deal. But for the people of Israel, it was a big deal. There was between, you know, 250 to 400 years between the events mentioned in Genesis and Exodus. That's a long time and they endured a lot of hardship. It's almost like God was waiting for something before the next step of his salvation plan was going to happen. But what was that something? What was he waiting for? Show up tonight to find out.
As always, we have our discussion and prayer focus to end. We want you to talk about it. We want you to pray about it. We don't just want you to listen or watch this content. So let's dig in with the online feed if you want to comment there, or you can gather with people who you're watching right now and ask this question. Where do you need to shift or adapt? What rule or tradition is the Holy Spirit calling you to let go of? Where do you need to shift or adapt? What rule or tradition is the Holy Spirit calling you to let go of? After you talk about that as a group or in the comment stream, take some time to pray. Pray for openness to change and shift in areas where spiritual growth is needed, trusting God for the outcome.
Once again, pray for openness to change and shift in areas where spiritual growth is needed in your life, trusting God for the outcome. Thank you again for being a part of our church gathering here online with Mountain View Church. Thank you so much for being a part of our Not Quickly Broken series. Next week is our final week in the series, and we're going to look at the ability to stop, to stop everything, to be present, to Sabbath, to rest. Maybe you need that. I know I need it. And we're also going to take some time to do communion together too. It's going to be amazing. You're not going to want to miss it. See you then.
If you prayed to receive Jesus today or would like to connect with our church community, visit mountainview.church and click the connect link. If this podcast and radio ministry has been a blessing to you, please consider partnering with us or making a tax-deductible donation at mountainview.church. Thanks for listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Join us next week for more Christ-centered teaching from the Wilderness City of Whitehorse UConn.