Skip to content The City Session One Jan 6 · 55 min ...more
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Since 2000 Every Man Ministries has been activating men worldwide to live out their truest identity in Christ through its discipleship resources, live events, and steaming platform.
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Cities: God's Strategic Hubs for Transformation 0:01 Welcome to the men's global livestream. If you have a Bible, I want you to hold a spot in Acts 17. We also have another key passage in the book of Acts, which kinda keep a marker there. We are starting a new0:13 series, and it's called The City. Now, if you're watching this, you fall into probably 1 of 3 camps. You either live in a city, right? You know who you are,0:25 or you drive into, the city from where you live in a concentric circle away from the center, so you drive into it or you live in a city's0:37 sort of regional footprint. Like people say, hey, where are you from? I say, well, I'm from Trabuco Canyon, California. It's an hour south of Los Angeles, and it just0:48 gives, people, a marker, that they're familiar with that lets us know that we're in that city's regional footprint. But cities, as you might guess, are hubs,1:01 right, for any region of the planet. There's logistics going on in the city. There's economics going on in the city. There's technology going on in cities. There's services that go on in cities that1:13 actually service the footprint. What happens in the city usually expands in concentric circles out even to the larger regions, that it's connected to. Cities are dense.1:24 Cities are usually more culturally diverse. Cities are centers. Okay? Concentrated centers of art, centers of power,1:36 centers of talent, centers of financial, resources. Cities call forth the creative entities.1:48 They draw out that that the energies of creation where you have, centers of architecture and art and science and higher education, even.2:00 Cities put people together who are not like each other. That's what I meant when I said cities are culturally diverse. You know what that does? That challenges,2:12 your thinking and your views and your ability, to get along. Another dynamic of cities is that it attracts both the strongest and2:25 the weakest. So, people who are seeking strength and power, they're drawn like magnets to the cities because there's things there for them. But, also, cities are a refuge2:37 for the weak who can't live, in other places. Right? So what I'm what I'm building here is a case that that cities are critical.2:50 And if they're that critical, then we have to think as God's people, whether you live in a city that is a metro urban city or a town that's closely connected to a city or like a more3:02 rural spot, cities are very important. Can I just tell you something right now? Here at Everyman, we realize how critical cities are, listen, for evangelism,3:14 okay, of any particular region or area. And there is a commitment on the part of Everyman Ministries to transform cities through spirit3:26 empowered men. Now if you wanna get an idea of why cities are critical and how things spread, I mean, just go to the movie theater right now, watch the Jesus Revolution. Or3:38 if you're watching this and it's not available in your area, just go stream it. Right? Download it or or stream it. You know, it happened in Southern California, but what started as a Southern California phenomenon,3:50 quickly, you know, spread, and and God has a connection. And as we'll see and learn in this series called The City, you know, cities are God's idea. He knows everything that I just discussed,4:03 and there's a certain leverage and supernatural power and battle that is pregnant within cities that has an opportunity to create a blast. In Jesus4:14 Revolution, for example, you know, that revival and outpouring of the Holy Spirit spread across the entire nation in the largest modern awakening in US history. Go see, the movie4:26 highly recommend. But even in the first century so in the city of Jerusalem, spirit empowered men are are creating transform transforming revival4:38 in the city of Jerusalem by 300 AD, 50 percent of all the urban centers in the Roman Empire were Christian. So you see how God has4:50 purposes and plans for the city that affect everybody. So whether you're rural or whether you live in the heart of a city, cities matter. And here at Everyman, we5:02 are making a 150 percent commitment to city transformation because you reach a city, you reach a region. Okay? Now, why is this important to you?5:14 Okay? Might be important to God, might be important to the vision and ministry of of every man, but why is it important to you individually? Well, the Bible says, you know, that while5:26 man was created in and started in a garden, right? Genesis chapter 1 and 2 and 3. Guess where we're gonna end up?5:38 Well, you might have guessed. A city, the city of God is the fulfillment of the purposes of God, and God's future and redeemed5:49 world is depicted in a city. Okay? So, whatever your attachment is to the city, whether you just escape the city,6:01 whether you love the city, whether you live outside the city and never go into the city, guess what's in every 1 of our futures, man of God? It's the city6:13 in all its dynamics of God. So if that's the case, you know, you look at the scripture and you see God's man like Abraham in in Hebrews 11,6:25 you know, and it says he was he sought the city whose builder and maker is God. So the man of God seeks, listen, the city of God.6:37 The city of God is our hope. That's that's our eternity, is the city of God. So there's a there's a personal connection6:49 to the city, for the man of god. Now you may have never thought about that, or maybe you have thought about it, or maybe you're just going, oh, yeah. We're gonna be living in close proximity,7:01 to 1 another, and we're gonna have all the diversity and the density, but the difference is there's no sinful society. And we're gonna talk a little bit about that because that's not the case right now, but that's where7:12 we're headed. So while we begin in a garden, guess where we all end up? We end up in a city. Right? So the city is God's idea. It's not man's. It's not,7:24 sociological phenomenon or a civilization building phenomenon. The city and the idea is is birthed in the mind of God. It's7:36 his idea, and that means that if it's birthed in his mind, God has an intention, okay, for what his ideas are and what he wants to realize. And listen, guys,7:49 every single 1 of you is a part of it. His church is a part of it, and Jesus is leading the charge. So if you have the downloaded notes, I want you to take those8:00 out because the Bible declares that God has placed us in the village, the town, the city that we are in, in the city we find ourselves, next to the people he we encounter in8:12 our city for a supernatural purpose, and that's really the overarching tale. Your place matters. So here's a question for you. What is your connection, kind of in8:24 your mind and in your heart to your city or town? Now these are just places. They're just reference points for most people, but to God,8:36 your particular place matters. Okay? When we read the Bible, Babylon, even though the Jews were in exile, mattered. Okay? Daniel8:49 was there. Canaan mattered. Capernaum mattered. Cities mattered. Jesus did miracles in cities to get people to see a witness of God so that they could9:00 repent and believe. Right? And so in the Bible, placement of God's man is by design. You are in the city or town that you're in by design,9:13 right? So it doesn't matter whether your city is big or small, Right? Your connection to it matters. Why? Because it's your city and you should care9:25 about about it. So in this series, we're gonna, this is where we're going. We're gonna we're gonna challenge you to think about and act on God's word, listen, about9:36 your city. Maybe you've never had a Bible study related to that. And then we're gonna we're gonna challenge you to think about and act on your role in your city9:48 as a man of God and as a community of men of God. Alright? And how your city needs a movement of spirit10:00 empowered men taking risks. K? And that's the challenging part. Taking risks, right, to change it toward God's purposes,10:12 to shift, right, to shift things away from darkness and toward the kingdom of God in your city. So here's where we're10:24 going. In part 1 today, I'm gonna lay the foundation that your place matters. I just wanted to to to kinda burn that into our spirits. Alright? Where I am matters, where I live matters, the cityYour Divine Placement: Time, City, and Purpose 10:36 I'm a part of matters to God, and he has an intention for me in that city. Then in parts 2 through 6, I'm gonna explore the specific ways spirit empowered men10:48 and spirit empowered communities of men are called in scripture to to come together and to impact their city. So like I said, if you11:00 have the downloaded notes, let's let's start part 1. Alright? A foundation's gotta be laid by seeing the original creation of man, the placement of11:12 men, and the intention of God in the creation of man and the placement of men. So we start in Acts chapter 17 verses 26 and 27, says this, from 1 man, he made all the11:23 nations that they should inhabit the whole earth. And he marked out keywords, their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this11:35 so that they would seek him. And perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any 1 of us. Okay? So what do we see? We see a lot11:47 of intention. We see a lot of specificity, right, from Adam. Now he starts creating nations, places men in those nations, establish11:59 boundaries in lands. Okay? Every place where you are has been mapped out. The world is mapped. Okay? If you haven't figured that out, open Google Google Maps on your phone. We12:11 have a 360 degree mapping of pretty much 99.9 percent of the Earth. Okay? But what I want you to see here is the specificity. Okay? Now let's move to first12:23 Corinthians 7 17 and then we'll make some observations on the Acts passage and the first Corinthians passage. Alright? First Corinthians 7 says this, and don't be wishing you were someplace else or12:34 with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right12:46 there. God, not your marital status to find your life. Don't think I'm being harder on you than others. I give the same counsel in all the churches. What's so interesting is that things in the first century were not12:58 totally unlike things here in the 20 first century. Right? Where, you know, people are concerned about a lot of things that could replace God,13:10 in their lives. Right? They're looking for some alternative life, some alternative place, some alternative set of relationships, right, instead of seeking God's purpose for where they13:21 are right now, living in God, obeying God, loving God, and believing in God right where we are. Okay? We're so distracted and diverted by so many things.13:33 People were distracted and diverted then. People are distracted and diverted now. But what God wants you to hear very specifically is 3 simple truths. Okay? Write these13:45 down. Number 1, your time in history, matters. Okay? Your time matters. And I parenthetically, let me just say, your appointed times in history. Okay? Like13:57 it says there in the Acts passage, he said, he he from 1 man, he made all the nations that they, the men, should inhabit the whole earth, and he marked out their appointed times. Wow. That's specific. So14:09 in god's mind, he didn't stick you in the 17 hundreds, the 18 hundreds, the 19 hundreds. No. You're alive in this hour, on this day, in this time in history for a specific purpose.14:21 Okay? Secondly, write this down. Your city matters. Okay? Do you notice the language? Boundaries of lands. Okay? Your city is marked by boundaries. K? And you know when you're crossing it, you cross bridges,14:33 you go into towns, you are now entering the city of boom. Right? I mean, we we enter in through boundaries that are marked out, and those boundaries were14:45 established by god, not by the urban planning commission. Right? Not by your your state, local, or federal government, but by God. And within those boundaries is you.14:57 Okay? So your city, the boundary place where you are, your city, your town, where you where you are, that matters to God and it's by God's intention. Just please hear me. Right?15:10 You're on planet Earth in the city. He's placed you in on planet Earth by his design and by his intention. Third, your place15:22 in your city matters. Bible says, where you are right now is God's place for you. Okay? Now I know that so many times, you know, you you see these these films15:33 or you you see these stories or you read books about people who wanna leave where they they come from. Right? They wanna escape where they are to go somewhere else because that's an adventure. So that might be you, but15:45 if it's not, you are where you are now. Okay? Regardless of what your longing is or maybe your desire, but God has you where you are right now. And what I want you to to see is what is15:57 declared now that we've established that that your time and history matters, your city marked by boundaries matters to God, it's God's design, and your place where you are right now, right down to the16:09 block. Okay? Right down to the coffee shop you visit, the donut shop you visit, the restaurants you go into, the mechanic you go to, alright? Your place in your city matters to god. Now, let's read Jeremiah 2916:21 7 and kinda just put a little headline over this. God says this, work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to16:33 the lord for it. The city that you live in. For its welfare of the city you live in because that's welfare will determine your welfare. Wow. Okay. So16:45 speaking to those that that god sent to Babylon, he's like, I don't care if you were sent if I sent you there, if you like being there. Of course, you know, you could be somewhere else, but I sent you there.16:58 Some of us might be in exile, but really literally a Christian, this is not your home. We're all kind of pilgrims progressing through Earth. This is not our17:10 permanent residence. Right? Our residence is in heaven for all eternity, but we're here now. So whether you are taken into captivity and brought somewhere where you don't wanna17:21 be, that's passed through God before it got to you, so you're where you're where you are. Or if you just wanna look in the supernatural eternal timeline, k, this little pinprick on the eternal timeline called17:33 Earth is the place where we are right now, and we might not be home, but this is where we are. K? Now what does God tell us to do? It's a command. Work for shalom.17:45 Work for peace in the city. Right? And prosperity of the city. K. You know what that's called? An advance of God's kingdom17:57 where you have peace and prosperity of God, people in right relationship with God, right in relationship with 1 another, justice, compassion. Right? Unity.18:10 You're supposed to work for those things. Right? You're put there by God to do that. And that's where god's placed us. Pray pray for it. Pray for your city. Pray to the lord for your city. Are you praying for the city18:20 that you live in? Your neighborhood, your block? It's challenging. Isn't it challenging me? Just even saying the words of my, am I doing that? Am I? That's challenging, but this is what God's calling us to do.18:32 Because guess what? Its welfare is your welfare. Your welfare can't exceed the prosperity and peace of your city. Just ask some of the cities that are under ask people in the cities18:44 that are under siege. Okay? It's welfare is their welfare. Right? And they're not powerless. Okay? Because we don't trust in princes and mortal men who cannot save.18:56 We don't trust in necessarily the political process to save us. But people to people in the spaces and places that we occupy, transforming those spaces. We're gonna learn more about that in the series called The City.19:08 Now God says and I want you to write this down. Just as we made those simple observations, look and see what God's intention is and the command that we're supposed to work for the peace and prosperity and the welfare of19:20 our city, God says, write this down. Your city and community gets your focused energy. Your city and your community get your19:32 focused energy as a man of God and as a men's group and as a community of God's men in that city. There's a template for that. We're gonna get into19:43 it that can transform an entire city. And that's exciting, and that's what's happening. I mean, turn on the news, you know.19:55 Click on a feed. Search the word revival in the US right now, and you're a part of it. K? So with that reality and20:07 that command, these observations that it's by intention, time, city, and place matter to god. God says, pray for your city. Pray for its peace, its welfare.20:19 Work for the peace and welfare of your city. Its prosperity is your prosperity. Listen to Matthew 5 14 to 16, And then we get it all wrapped up into 120:31 thing. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket. But on the lampstand and it gives20:42 light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is20:54 in heaven. Okay? In the first century, there were no lights. You couldn't flick on a switch. You had oil lamps that were put on a lamp stand that was set21:07 in an optimal place to spread as much light as possible to as much space as possible. K? You catching my drift here?21:19 Jesus says, you're that light, and you're on that lampstand in your optimal place, in your city, to spread the light of God and the21:30 kingdom of God, and the message of the good news about Jesus from your optimal place, which is not my optimal place because you're where you are, and I'm where I am, and I'm in21:42 places and spaces that that you're not. But that's your that's your lampstand. K? God has put you in your optimal place because he has this blast zone of light that wants to21:54 come that's supposed to come from you in your space, in your place, in your city to shift that environment, displace the darkness,22:06 and bring light into that space. Isn't that exciting? I mean, that's that's cool, man. And that's the overarching tale. That's the super humanity, super adventure, and22:18 super story that we're we're all involved in. So whether your city is big or small, k, I just want you to know 1 thing. If you don't take anything away from this session, take away this. Your place matters to God. He's22:30 putting you on your lamp stand, the optimal spot. Okay? Because there's not another man of light that can reach the space that only you walk in. Spaces and places thatShow more In this video 0:00 Cities: God's Strategic Hubs for Transformation10:32 Your Divine Placement: Time, City, and Purpose22:33 Empowering Your City: Truth, Works, Kingdom, and Community5:34
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