Culture Q & A with Michael Leyde and Russell Johnson

what's up guys Michael ID here hey I'm one of the pastor's here at the pursuit Northwest I have the opportunity this morning today to spend some time with our pastor Russell Johnson we wanted to get together today and spend a little bit of time talking through answering some questions that we've been receiving and maybe that even you've been thinking of yourself and so I wanted to give our pastor an opportunity to spend some time sharing with us just from a pastoral perspective in this season that we're in one of the big questions that we've been hearing and receiving and I wanted to ask you and show you an opportunity to share with everybody Russell is this the end of the world it might be we might already be in heaven exactly I think you know I think this question actually reveals what scripture says that eternity has been planted in our hearts and like even people who don't profess Jesus as Savior are wrestling with this question of is this the end and what does this look like and and maybe those crazy Christians been right all along like me maybe there is a soon incoming King and I think maybe in the past where we've gotten in trouble especially in the charismatic community is that you've had like different prophetic voices try to attach dates to the return of the Lord you know and I just go I think there's balance between trying to predict a date and then also the other end of the spectrum where people almost live like the return of Christ is not a reality and like the Apostle Paul encourages the New Testament church because of course in the first century they experienced persecution on a level that is basically unheard of right and they've got Roman emperors and their feet and Christians to lions and they've got you calamity and economic collapse and all sorts just in the first century right and then in the New Testament church especially the church in Thessalonica they're asking this question the Paul and Paul writes them and says no it's not yet but it is coming and for me like that's the tension that we've got to live in as believers this idea that although no this isn't the end of the world it could be in one sense and we ought to live as believers with the earnest expectation that the Lord could return at any moment it's not like a fearful thing right right right it's not like I'm scared and you know it's like a bad left behind movie we don't live in that context but we live with the understanding that what we experience here is temporary right right this is this is a temporary place and and and Jesus says that not not one of the not one of the words of scriptural past wait so all things are completed right so we know that there's a heavenly timeline right and there are things that are being completed and we live during the time of greatest transition that there's ever been the kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdoms of our God and of our king yeah but like you and I have discussed so often we have two revivals that are happening right now number one is a revival of iniquity and number two is a revival of righteousness and as the light gets lighter the dark is also getting darker and the light is going to overcome the darkness and is overcoming the darkness through the continual witness of the church however we live in kind of this dual reality and so I think as believers just important to understand like Jesus is returning and I believe he's returning soon I don't know if that's on Friday and you know a couple days or if that's in 500 yeah I'm not sure but as a believer I think we have to get back to living our lives in the earnest expectation that Christ could return at any moment that it Paul calls it the Blessed hope right and I just feel like in churches today man what's the last time that we've had an honest message about the return of Christ right I just feel like it's not something that's communicated from our pulpits yeah and so as a pastor as a believer I want to encourage people in the language of the New Testament right this idea that that is our Blessed hope it is what we look forward to we are victorious in this world we will have trouble but right yeah yeah totally also I think one of the you know a big question that I've been kind of seeing online is how does the how do we as believers how should the church respond to governmental mandating right and I think this is a great question and the Apostle Paul speaks to this in the book of Romans in specific Romans 13 and the church always has kind of this tangental relationship with governmental entities because like we live in a world by which God has constructed the wineskin of government to help be one of the things that adjudicates the nation's and so like we understand that government is God's idea although not every mandate that comes from government is God ordained right and you know for me I look at our relationship with what the government mandates and I go I want to do everything in my power to honor the god-given authorities in our lives without feeling like I have to compromise the substance or the message of the gospel I think in this context you know the government has asked people not to meet in groups over certain sizes because of the spread of a virus and I think that there's been some people who've reacted to that and they've gone this is the persecution of the gut they're trying to shut our message there but these are the same people who you know if they're Starbucks drive-through order gets messed up its persecution you gonna mean grab some Christians just have a persecution complex sure they just trying to get persecuted everywhere they go right and I just don't know I actually think what this is is probably the government in in scientists and edema ologist and people who are you know right educate ydynt ease of health care go and look in order to reduce the chance of widespread outbreak we got a limit gatherings right now they were saying you can't preach the gospel if they were saying we want you to preach but you can't preach out a certain books of the Bible right we have another conversation that's a different sign me up man way to do it we're doing the opposite of that but I just think of this context hey let's be part of the solution not part of the problem yeah let's be part of the solution and go look this is one of the ways that we love our neighbor we're not trying to spread sickness we're gonna do everything we can to try to comply and we're also gonna be creative and allowed this season to allow new strategies to come from our heart lives how can we connect digitally you know we are getting the unique experience an opportunity to love God outside of weekend services yeah and I go for some Christians the only time that they have ever loved God is on a Sunday morning in the 90-minute contest and now maybe for the first time people are forced to go do I actually love Jesus outside of a Sunday morning experience and I go maybe that's what God is after in all of this and so I just feel like do let's take advantage of this opportunity to really go what does my love for God look like even when I'm inconvenient which kind of leads me into this second part of this question is what what is it how do we as a community what does it look like now that we can't gather weekly all together in one place how are we going to continue to build community right you know right and yeah I think that's such a great question because I think it really touches on the idea of ownership and so often we have made community everybody else's responsibility like if I come to church it's your responsibility to make me feel welcome if I come to church it's your responsibility to invite me into your community group it's your responsibility to check up on me every two days your responsibility to remind me to be at church right and so like we said like perpetuated systematic immaturity by making it everybody else's responsibility for our community involvement of it and I just go like if God is if God uses all things works all things together for good for the good of those who love him it doesn't mean that he causes all things but right use it all thing absolutely so I go how could God use this in this context to help develop the maturity of the believer to bring us into fullness right and I think one of those ways is that we got to take ownership for the way that we connect if I only connect in the context of what somebody else builds for me then really what I've subscribed to is really lazy Christianity if he's gonna be honest absolutely and so I just go hey we got an opportunity to figure out to get we we live literally in the most connected time of the entire universe ever ever you you got instant information at your fingertips instant communication instant connection and we are more connected and yet more alone than we've ever and so I just feel like we got to encourage people that you've got to take the mantle of community upon your shoulders and be somebody who contributes instead of somebody who just consumes so what contribute who should I call you should I connect with instead of just man pester mike hasn't called me in three days I don't know if pursuit loves me who are you reaching out to right why is it everybody else why are you 30 years in the faith and it's still everybody else's responsibility to feed you absolutely what are you gonna contribute to this gospel narrative absolutely so I just feel like let's take a challenge from the Lord let's grow up in the faith yeah yeah let's be more than just milk babies for the rest of our spiritual lives right complaining because pastor so-and-so did check up on me you know I think we have pastored people to death you know what I mean and now I think what God is raising up is communicators who will prophesy people to life yeah and so instead of this like come be babysat in the rest home of the American Church right now it's like come get prophesied to so dead bones can come to life so now you can contribute instead of just consuming so how how long do you think this is going forever we are in this forever no I think you know depending on on what press conference you listen to on what day you know like we turn on the press conference yesterday they're like prepare at least tell May 17th everybody shut yeah and then the president says now everybody's gonna be good by Easter and then somebody says now is gonna be until August we're in lockdown and so I just feel like every time we give an answer about 12 hours later the governor the president the CDC comes out and says something different and so I think the right question is not how long is this gonna last but what type of person am I gonna be when this is over because I feel like hey it's changed the way that we've done community but the question is will it change you I'm hoping it you know if I could say magically okay may middle of May we're all gonna come back what I'm hoping is that we come back as a bride without spot or wrinkle people come back with a fresh love for what they might have treated as common before it was taken away I mean how sometimes you don't value things they're taking easily and I just feel like so I just feel like made this increase our love for the Bride of Christ so I think you kind of answered this next question already but part of it but what what do we as society and culture take away from this you already said you know our growth and maturity our love for the body you know our growth in our love our first love for Christ is you know what else they are you seeing that that this time of squeezing this time of uncomfort right what do you see producing out of this I think it's a reminder of the temporary nature of what we occupy you know how easy it is to just to just think of things in the context of perpetuity you know like this is all is this always gonna be everything's just so stable and now all of a sudden the markets are upside down yeah all of a sudden churches can't meet entire states are on lockdown people can't go outside their homes right and and all of a sudden people are going oh this is I never thought we would be we would be here I never thought this before and so I think for me walking away from this it's it's an it's an encouragement in in context of what Paul says in Hebrews the idea that everything that can be shaken will be shaken to reveal what can't be shaped right and everybody wants you know we're like we're on a firm foundation and God helped us and God solidify us but what they don't understand is that God uses trials and tribulations according to James 1 to bring us into perfection that's good and so I just feel like God is answering the prayers that we've been praying and now we're complaining about oh my god help us God send to the fighters fire yeah refiners fire because he gets turned down so I feel like finally God's like all right I'm gonna do it yeah I'm gonna do it and that now the silver complaining because we can't go your way to miss you know Diane and I'm just like God is after something to it or in this context she's after our hearts and so absolutely maybe if we could just take a step back and go I think God's at work here in more ways he's developing soon he's actually revealing things that can't be taken you know you know what's not on quarantine our relationship with the Lord you know what's not in quarantine I love our commitment joy hope peace you know what's not on quarantine of an ood mind and so I feel like in the midst of the lockdown we got to ask ourselves the question what is not lockdown yeah my spirituality is not lying down creativity my creativity and maybe from this season we're gonna see the best songs the best poems the best movies the best music maybe from this season of the crucible we're gonna see the best silver Purdue's we got a walk away with a deeper gratitude a deeper appreciation and a deeper understanding of the way that God is at work and most of all understand that all throughout human history it is through trials and tribulations that the church grows the gospel increases and the world has changed so I go like let's pray for revival let's prophesy and then let's not complain when it's delivery mechanism makes us uncomfortable solutely that's kind of my art that's so good so good well guys thanks so much for tuning in and watching listen stay connected let's get connected you can join us online on all of our social media channels yeah suddenly Sunday morning at 11 a.m. we're still rallying online live stream live stream has been off the charts incredible guys continue to join this conversation and we want to encourage you thank you so much for watching god bless you you

Channel: The Pursuit NW

Views: 378

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: the pursuit nw, pursuit church, pursuit nw, russell johnson, pursuit livestream, pursuit snohomish, pursuit seattle, pursuit worship, bethel, bethel music, bill johnson, kris vallotton, chad veach, zoe church, mosaic church, mosaic seattle, vous church, rich wilkerson, elevation church, steven furtick, upperroom, upperroom dallas, mercy culture, landon schott, judah smith, churchhome, worship music, sermons, good friday, good friday service, creative churches

Id: hJAtDJEOwpY

Length: 14min 15sec (855 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 26 2020