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“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give…”

 

Tim Keller in Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters

Redemption City Church exists to make disciples. Our mission is the same mission the crucified and risen, King Jesus gave his first followers: to make disciples. We know this because God’s authoritative Word tells us this in Matthew 28:18-20. He says, “¹⁸ Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus’ command to make disciples comes with his authority and his presence. At Redemption City, we exist to make disciples because Jesus commanded us to make disciples.

And we believe that the bible says that a disciple should be marked by 5 core loves.  The deepest core love is a love for Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure. Out of this love, disciples also love the church, the world, serving, and multiplication.

The reason we emphasize love here is because the Bible does. Jesus summed up all of our requirements of the law using the word love. He says, He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” The Apostle Paul says good works without love amounts to nothing. He says, “If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.” So, the Apostle Paul concludes, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” A disciple’s life should be marked by love–we believe–five core loves.

1. Disciples love Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure. We love him as Savior because through his gospel he saves us from the penalty and power of sin, delivering us to eternal life. We love him as Lord so we obey his word in all areas of life, because “he is Lord of all or he is not Lord at all.” We love him as Treasure because if he is not our greatest Treasure, he is not our Savior or Lord. This love is a worshipful love. Loving Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure makes us free, purposeful, and satisfied. Everyone loves something supremely, but the only through the transformative work of the gospel—the good news about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension that is received by faith—will we love Jesus like this. That’s why we put the gospel at the center of everything we do. At Redemption City, this love for Jesus is expressed at our weekly gathering as we praise Jesus, hear from Jesus’ word, pray to Jesus, and give of our finances to Jesus. This corporate gathering comes from the overflow of each members personal love for Jesus every day individually, seeing all of their lives as an expression of their love for Jesus.

2. Disciples love the church. Sure, the church isn’t perfect, but Jesus loves the church. That’s why he gave his life for her. Since the church is united to Christ by faith, our treatment of the church and Jesus is indistinguishable. When the Apostle Paul persecuted the church, Jesus asked him why he was persecuting him (Acts 9:4). Like Jesus, disciples love the church. At Redemption City, this love for the church is expressed primarily through the Redemption Groups that meet weekly in homes to hang out, get to know, encourage, challenge each other through God’s Word and practically caring for each other as life happens.

3. Disciples love the world. Jesus loved the world to death, and we want to do the same (John 3:16). Jesus didn’t stay out of our world, he stepped into all of the mess of our world, coming to where we were in order to bring us to God. We want to follow him. Sure, Jesus didn’t endorse worldliness, but he did love the world. And he showed his love in practical and eternal ways, healing sickness and giving eternal life. We want to do the same. We want to love the world where we live, work, and play, in such a way, that even if they don’t agree with what we believe, they are happy that we are here in this area. At Redemption City, this love for the world is expressed primarily through personal evangelism and service projects that Redemption Groups do several times a year on a local, national, and international level.

4. Disciples love serving. When you hit the big time in our culture, people serve you. In the kingdom of Christ, greatness is defined by serving. Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” You can’t worship a God who got his hands dirty washing the crap off of his followers feet, without getting your hands dirty for others (John 13:1-17). Jesus considered others more important than himself and calls us to do the same. At Redemption City, this love for serving is expressed primarily through serving on a Ministry Team. Whether it is the Set-Up Team, Kid’s Team, Hospitality Team, or the Worship Team, all our teams serve so that others might know Jesus.

5. Disciples love multiplication. Jesus changed the world, not by political action, etc., but by discipling a few people. Jesus personally made disciples and personally asked all of us to make disciples. Jesus didn’t just teach people so they learned it, he taught them so they could teach others. Teach people not just so they learn, but so they’ll be able to teach others. When Jesus told his disciples to teach others everything that he commanded, this included the command to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Although many people haven’t ever done this, we believe it should be a significant aspect of following Jesus. At Redemption City, this love for multiplication is expressed primarily through Multiplication Groups. These groups focus on a wide range of needed topics and are one-on-one or one-on-few. Each Multiplication Group is relational, intentional, and reproducible. Members attend a Multiplication Group with the intention of growing and then leading other people in that same Multiplication Group material.

By the grace of God, with the gospel of Christ and the power of the Spirit, we are giving our lives to building a city where every citizen—every disciple—loves Jesus, the church, the world, serving, and multiplication. Pray for us, join us, as we seek to glorify God through a disciple-making movement powered by the gospel.

Rather than think about the things YOU need to do, I wanted to point your attention to a few incredible things that God has done for you in Christ. I mentioned the first three accomplishments in the last post. Below are three more.

God Revealed to Us in Christ – Ephesians 1:9-10 says “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him ¹⁰ for the administration  of the days of fulfillment —to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth  in Him.” God revealed to us in Christ. Paul says that in Christ we have had mysteries revealed to us. God is letting us in on the secret of all secrets. This is a secret that changes everything. Just as the relevant nations and organizations made adjustments to their practices in light of the information leaked by Edward Snowden, Christians should adjust all of their lives so that it is aligned with God’s purposes in Christ.

God Gave an Inheritance to Us in Christ – Ephesians 1:11 says “We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will.” He gave an inheritance to us in Christ. Outside of Christ, we get no inheritance; we get wrath. In Christ, Paul is telling us that we receive an inheritance. Like the homeless man, Max Melitzer, who discovered at age 60 of an inheritance that was his, Christians discover in Christ that they have received an eternal inheritance. We are co-heirs with Jesus.

God Sealed Us in Christ – Ephesians 1:13 says “When you heard the message of truth,  the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” God sealed us with the Holy Spirit in Christ. Paul is letting us know that the Holy Spirit is not given to us like it was given to Saul in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, Saul loses the Holy Spirit. But as followers of Christ, when we give our lives to Christ, we are sealed, once for all by the Holy Spirit. Like a cattle brand, God’s Spirit is God’s method of settling once for all that we are his.

So we’ve been chosen, adopted, redeemed, revealed to, given an inheritance, and sealed in Christ. What does he want us to do? Enjoy his work in Christ. Praise him for this. In fact, in Ephesians 1:3, 1:6, 1:12, and 1:14 he calls us to praise God for his glorious grace. Let’s be a people of praise in 2014.

Run a marathon. Start a blog. Lose some weight. Read through the Bible. These are just a few examples of some of the many New Year’s resolutions many of us make each New Year. And wherever you are on your New Year’s resolution journey, whether you have made resolutions or not, whether you will keep your resolutions or not, I’d like to point your attention to six awesome things that God has already done for you in Christ. I don’t want you to start the New Year thinking there is a small god desperate for you to do big things for him. I want you to see and savor the big God who has done great things for you in Christ—things more significant than anything anyone will accomplish this year.

God Chose Us in Christ – Ephesians 1:4 says, “For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Paul wanted us to know that God wasn’t stuck with us. We weren’t on the clearance rack. The language of being chosen is meant to make the Ephesians and other Christians feel special, prized, and precious. Like the love that drives a young man looking for an engagement ring, God’s gracious love led him to choose us. This is even more amazing in light of the fact that Paul tells us just how unworthy we were to be chosen (Eph 2:1ff). Yet, in his grace he chose us.

God Adopted Us in Christ – Ephesians 1:5 says, “He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will.” He predestined us to be adopted in Christ. Although we’re a culture that loves talk about pursuing our destiny, we don’t like someone else controlling it. But God is saying he has a destiny in place for us before we were born—like a parent getting the room, clothes, and plans ready for their soon to be adopted daughter or son. In Christ, we are adopted.

God Redeemed Us in Christ – Ephesians 1:7 says “We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” We have been redeemed in Christ. Just as God redeemed Israel from the oppressive slavery of Egypt, he has redeemed us from the oppressive slavery to sin. When we come to Jesus an emancipation proclamation is made over our life purchased by the blood of Christ. We are free men and women in Christ.

That makes 3 of the 6 things Ephesians 1 tells us God’s done for us in Christ. I’ll post the other three next…

What would you do to gain access to messages that could save a lot of lives? Would you set aside a few things for it? Maybe even Facebook for a period of time, if needed? In our best moments, we’d probably say that we’d be willing to do whatever we needed to do—no matter the cost.

During World War 2, the Allies found themselves in exactly this kind of situation. And they exerted a ton of energy in the area of cryptology to get access to messages that would save a lot of lives. While there were many code and cipher system success stories, some mark out the Allies decryption of the German “Enigma” Cipher, as the most important success. It enabled the Allies to understand enemy messages that helped position them to save what would have been a lot of lost lives. Understanding the right message makes a massive difference.

I admire the creativity, intelligence, and perseverance that it took to create such systems—to acquire these messages. Their efforts are truly amazing. But could you imagine, after all of this fine work was done and the messages were acquired, the Allies ignoring them? How loud would the outcry be amongst the Allied nations if their citizens were to learn that they neglected such important messages?

This, of course, wouldn’t happen. Even with fallible human beings, a failure of this magnitude seems hardly conceivable.

And yet, we see something like this happen year after year amongst us Christians. In the Western world, we don’t have to achieve some super human feat in order to gain access to God’s eternally significant message. We are surrounded by it. In fact, for most of us, we probably have quite a few copies gathering up dust in our homes.

While we affirm the difference God’s Word makes in eternal life and death, we neglect it. We are unfamiliar with it. We are unsure of how to handle it. Sure, we have a lot to do. But so did the Allied forces. Like it would be for them, neglecting the message would be inexcusable. Can we really find tasks that we’d say should replace prioritized time in God’s Word?

As we start the New Year, let’s be a people of the Book. Recent history says that we won’t. We’ll a people of everything but the Book. But let’s not let recent history determine our near future. Let’s draw from the endless, life-transforming, new habit-making grace of Christ, and make the message of Christ the priority for us and our loved ones this year.

Let’s hang Colossians 3:16 over 2014 and be a people who “Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.” It’s simple. It’s strategic. Eternal life and death hang in the balance.

As I’ve made my way through Peter Scazzero’s Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your LIfe In Christ, I found these quotes from chapter 4 particularly helpful to me. So I thought I’d share them with y’all. Hope they help you too:

“The vast majority of us go to our graves without knowing who we are. We unconsciously live someone else’s life, or at least someone else’s expectations for us. This does violence to ourselves, our relationships with God, and ultimately to others…”(66)

“I have spent years meditating on Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness (see Luke:1-13). They outline the three false identities or masks that Satan offers each one of us. And they show us the choices we, too, must make to remain faithful to our God-given unique life and identity…”(74)

Temptation One: I Am What I Do (Performance)

“The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). Jesus had apparently done nothing for thirty years. He had not yet begun his ministry. He seemed like a loser. Nobody believed in him. He was hungry. What contribution had he made to the world?

Our culture asks the same question. What have you achieved? How have you demonstrated your usefulness? What do you do? Most of us consider ourselves worthwhile if we have scored sufficient successes—in work, family, school, church, relationships. When we don’t, we may move harder and faster, go inward into depression out of shame, or perhaps blame others for our predicaments…”(75)

Temptation Two: I Am What I Have (Possession)

“Jesus was taken to see all the magnificence and power of the earth. The devil basically said to him, “Look around you at what everyone else has. You don’t have anything. How can you think you are somebody? How will you survive? You’re a nobody?” The devil played on profound issues of fear and the source of his security.

Our culture measures our success by what we own. Marketers now spend over fifteen billion dollars each year seducing children and adolescents to believe they have to have certain toys, clothes, iPods, CDs, etc. Their very identities depend on it. As adults we measure ourselves through comparisons: Who has the most money? The most beautiful body? The most comfortable life? Often our sense of worth is tied to our positions at work—the money and perks. Who has the best education from what school, the most talents and awards, more degrees on their resume? Who has the most attentive, handsome boyfriend or husband? The best-looking girl or wife?…”(76)

Temptation Three: I Am What Others Think (Popularity)

“Some of us are addicted to what others think.

Satan invited Jesus to throw himself down from the highest spot of the temple that people might believe in him. At this point people did not think anything of Jesus. He was, in effect, invisible. How could he think he had worth and value?

Most of us place a higher premium on what other people think than we realize. What will I say or not say in a conversation? What school will my child attend? Who will I date? Do I tell that person he or she hurt me? What kind of career will I pursue? Our self-image soars with a compliment and is devastated by a criticism…”(77)

Conclusion

“At times our false self has become such a part of who we are that we don’t even realize it. The consequences—fear, self-protection, possessiveness, manipulation, self-destructive tendencies, self-promotion, self-indulgence, and a need to distinguish ourselves from others—are harder to hide.

Living your God-given life involves remaining faithful to your true self. It entails distinguishing your true self from the demands and voices around you and discerning the unique vision, calling, and mission the Father has given to you. It requires listening to God from within yourself and understanding how he has uniquely made you. Knowing your personality, temperament, likes and dislikes, thoughts, and feelings all contribute to your discovery…”(80)

Which do you struggle with most?

Charles Spurgeon once told this great story:

“Once upon a time there was a king who ruled over everything in a land. One day there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. He took it to his king and said, “My lord, this is the greatest carrot I’ve ever grown or ever will grow; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.” The king was touched and discerned the man’s heart, so as he turned to go, the king said, “Wait! You are clearly a good steward of the earth. I want to give a plot of land to you freely as a gift, so you can garden it all.” The gardener was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing. But there was a nobleman at the king’s court who overheard all this, and he said, “My! If that is what you get for a carrot, what if you gave the king something better?” The next day the nobleman came before the king, and he was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said, “My lord, I breed horses, and this is the greatest horse I’ve ever bred or ever will; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.” But the king discerned his heart and said, “Thank you,” and took the horse and simply dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed, so the king said, “Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse.”

Motives matter.

 

The Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross Medal, the Defense Distinguished Service Medals, and the Silver Star are all significant medals given to our military personal for unusual acts of courage and sacrifice in the line of duty. But the most prestigious of them all is the Medal of Honor, which is awarded for “personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty.” There only have been 3,468 Medals of Honor awarded to the nation’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and coast guardsmen since the decoration’s creation in 1861.

If New Testament churches were to receive such awards, the Philippian church would probably get the highest honor, the Medal of Honor. As the first church in Europe, it played a key role in the advance of the Great Commission. The Philippian church supported the Apostle Paul, even when no one else would. Unlike all of the Apostle Paul’s other epistles, he doesn’t give the Philippian church a sharp rebuke. The Apostle Paul had a special love for this church.

We want Redemption City Church to play a meaningful role in the mission of Christ like the Philippian church. And one of the ways we hope to do this is by uniting in the gospel like the Philippian church.

Unite in the Gospel 

The Apostle Paul opens up his letter to the Philippian church by pointing their attention towards their unity in the gospel. Verse 1:1 says that he is writing to those that are “in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” Although we typically skim right past these words like they’re the book’s copyright information, this simple language is significant. In Christ, they are unified. In Philippi, they are divided. The gospel brings them together. Their preferences divide them. They are unified in Christ because their identify, their past, their present, and their future had become HIS identity, past, present, and future. They were one with Christ and with each other as his body.

But in order to understand how significant it is that the Philippians are united Christ, you have to understand who the Philippians are. In order to get a glimpse into who the Philippians are, you have to look at Acts 16. In Acts 16 we see the beginning of the church of Philippi. And like any other major metropolitan city, the population was diverse. And in Acts 16 we see three very different types of people become Christians and form the Philippian church. We meet Lydia in verses 14-15, the slave girl in verses 16-19, and the jailer in verses 23-34. These people are different racially, socio-economically, and vocationally. These people didn’t ever cross paths, much less hang out. They valued different things, talked differently, spent money differently, did family life differently, spent time differently.

Their preferences didn’t unite them, only Jesus did. And the same is and will be true for us. Let’s lay down our preferences and hold fast to Christ. Let’s unite in the gospel like the Philippian church. 

 

 

I’m not a professional cook, but I’m pretty close to being a professional eater.  And I can tell the difference between a steak that has been sitting in some kind of marinade and one that hasn’t. I can tell the difference between a steak that has been soaking in teriyaki sauce or dale’s sauce for a while, and one that hasn’t. In order for the flavor of the steak to change, the steak has to spend some time sitting in that marinade.

And in a similar way, for the flavor of our lives to glorify Christ and do good in the world, our hearts and minds need to marinate in the truth, grace, and beauty of the gospel.

As we marinate in God’s mercy, we are changed by God’s mercy.

As we marinate in God’s kindness to us even though we don’t deserve it, we will be kind to others even though they don’t deserve it.

As we marinate in God’s patience toward us even though we don’t deserve it, we will become patient with people who don’t deserve it.

As we marinate in God’s purposes that caused him to proactively love us in practical ways even though we didn’t deserve it, we will proactively love others in practical ways even though they don’t deserve it.

Let’s marinate. Marinate in the gospel daily and let the flavor of your life glorify Christ and help the world.