Alright, this morning I want to talk to you about building a living model.
! Building a living model.
This last Friday, May 1st, was our two-year anniversary of our church, for those who don't know.
And as we look forward to the years ahead, I want to talk to you about this concept of a living model.
Before I do that, I want to just briefly tell a little story here about the four-minute mile,
by way of introduction.
Some of you guys know this, but for years, so many athletes had tried and failed to run a mile in less than four minutes.
And actually, even doctors and such made it out to be a physical impossibility.
Are you familiar with this at all?
They literally said, this can't be done.
You cannot run less than a four-minute mile.
On May 6, 1954, in Oxford, England, Roger Bannister became the first person to do it.
Finishing in three minutes, 59.4 seconds.
He did it, right? I thought it couldn't be done.
Two months later, John Landy ran a mile in under four minutes in a race he lost to Bannister.
Steve Scott has run 136 sub-four-minute miles in his lifetime.
In 1997, Daniel Komen of Kenya ran two miles in less than eight minutes.
Doubling up on Bannister's accomplishment, the current record is held by Hikam El-Garaj,
who ran a time of three minutes, or three, yes, three minutes, 43.13 seconds.
Okay, in 1999.
According to World Athletic Statistics, the four-minute barrier has been broken by just over 2,000 athletes.
Okay?
So, for so long, a four-minute mile was never accomplished, and then in the 70 years after,
the record's blown to smithereens.
What happened?
This quick glance at history would lead you to believe that it was impossible to run a four-minute mile
prior to May 6, 1954, but after May 6, 1954, it somehow became possible.
But we know that's not true, right?
It wasn't some miracle that happened on May 6, 1954, where all of a sudden, the impossible became possible,
some kind of magic that he performed.
It wasn't impossible before May 6, 1954.
It was just invisible.
No one had seen it done before.
The impossible is made possible when the invisible is made visible.
Okay?
On May 6, 1954, the impossible was made visible by one, making it possible for many.
This is true for so much more than running.
And today, I want to look at how it's true with the church.
Okay?
I've heard so many people say they've never seen certain things in a local church.
You ever had these conversations?
I remember a very discouraging conversation I had with my family on a trip up to Wisconsin years ago.
And they all started saying all these things that they've never seen in a church.
And then went on to say that they never would.
And I'm thinking, wait a minute.
Hold up.
Says who?
Well, it says all of them.
And they were pretty convinced of it.
And I'm telling them, I'm like, no.
I've seen it.
What you're saying is impossible.
I've seen it.
So they're all connecting around their unbelief.
And I'm like, no, no, no.
Hey, I've seen what you say is impossible.
But the reason, none of them believe me.
They kind of just kind of pushed me off.
And I was like, good grief.
But I get it.
It's because they've never seen it.
And the reason I have faith for it is because I have seen it.
And it takes people to see something.
And it takes people also to see it before it's seen.
One of my favorite quotes, actually, is regarding Walt Disney.
Walt Disney had this vision to build the Disney theme park in Orlando, right?
But he died before it was finished.
And there's a famous interaction between a reporter and Walt's brother.
I think it was Roy.
And they're standing in some place where they could oversee the whole park.
And the reporter says to Roy, wow, if only Walt could have seen this.
And Roy looks at him and says, if Walt didn't see this, it would have never existed.
And again, this speaks of this seeing of something.
Once you see it, now someone's got to see it.
Bannister, with the four-minute mile, he believed it could happen even before it happened.
But once he put it on display, over 2,000 other people now believe it's possible and have done it.
And there's a lot of things in the Bible.
There's a lot of things about the church that people don't believe.
And one of the reasons they don't believe it is they've never seen it.
And this is one of the great privileges of the local church.
Not just that we could be a part of all the good things, like Samir has said.
Things like adoption.
Things like all the good things we have in Christ Jesus.
But we can actually put on display invisible things.
Things not visible to some people.
We can experience them and make them visible.
Make the invisible visible.
So that the invisible becomes valuable.
And so that the invisible, in the eyes of many, becomes possible.
Do you believe this?
I believe it.
I've seen it happen.
And I would love to see it happen in churches all over.
I have a firm and strong belief that church can be done the way God wants it to be done.
Why?
Because it's his church.
Because he says, I will build my church.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
His church is invincible when it comes to hell.
Now, if we build our own church and build our own way,
yeah, I got no hope that that's going to last.
I got no hope in man's movements.
I got no hope that our version of church is going to overcome the gates of hell.
But I believe that his church will.
And if we build what he is building, that we will see that.
And other people can see and have hope.
So the question is, how do we make the invisible visible
so that people believe that the invisible is possible?
I want to look at very simple, just three things this morning.
Okay.
First one is, you have to care.
Okay.
You have to care specifically about the church.
You have to have conviction.
Okay.
You'll never endure discomfort for something you don't have conviction about.
Right.
You'll never endure discomfort.
And there is discomfort that is required to put on display the things that God wants to show forth in his church.
But you'll never endure that discomfort if you don't first have conviction about what the church is supposed to be.
For Christians, the best way to appropriate, to appropriately care about something is to know how much Christ cares for it.
You follow me on that?
The best way to have the appropriate care for something is know how much does Christ care about it.
You know, Philippians 2.21 has this indictment that is spoken.
It says,
They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ has things he's interested in.
One of those things that he's interested in is the church being a certain way.
There are specific things in the Bible that are referred to when talking about the church.
It's not one thing.
It's not two things.
It's not five things.
It's not ten things.
I count at least 15 different things that the Bible says the church is.
And for us to be convictional about what those things are and to say,
Hey, it's not okay if these things aren't expressed through the local church.
And I want to do everything I can to see that expressed.
Because I care about the interests of Christ.
If Christ is interested in these things, I'm interested in these things.
Acts 20.28, when Paul was speaking to the Ephesian elders in Miletus,
He said,
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,
to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
That last phrase there is important.
If we want to care rightly, correctly, for the church of God,
one of the keys is just remembering,
and this is part of the reason we take of the Lord's Table every week,
is remembering what was the cost of the church.
Care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
When we see what it cost to receive the church,
we start to value.
We start to value it.
If the cost of the church was the blood of Christ,
it is a very valuable thing.
Because we know the value of anything is what you pay for it.
Someone says,
Hey man, my house is worth this.
And you walk through it and you're just like,
You get ripped off, man.
This is not worth this.
No one else is going to pay this much for this.
But if you look at the church, you'd say,
What is the worth of the church?
Why is the church worthy of our time?
Why is the church worthy of our effort?
Why is there worth in our putting in effort and sacrifice
to see the church become what God says it's supposed to be?
Why?
Well, let's look at what was paid for it.
The price of the church was the blood of Jesus.
The sacrifice of the Son, the sinless Savior.
When I look at it that way, I say,
Oh my gosh, this is of great worth.
Ephesians 5.25 says,
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
The price of the church was Christ.
The price of the church was Christ crucified.
It's very valuable.
What is of higher value than that?
It truly is a pearl of great price.
To say, well, Jesus thought the church was so valuable,
he gave himself for her.
And anyone who says that they love Jesus
should walk as Jesus did.
1 John says this.
And so, number one,
in order to put these things on display,
we've got to start with just caring.
And I want to ask you, do you care?
Do you care?
And how much do you care?
At the end of the day,
I've had times in my life where I've been convicted,
like, I don't care enough about what Jesus cares about.
I don't care enough about what Jesus cared so much for
that he gave his all for it.
He paid for it with his very life.
I want to care consistently
with what the scriptures say is of great worth.
And I would say there are,
what would be of greater worth
than that which Jesus gave himself for?
So let me ask you the question,
do you care about the church?
Do you care appropriately?
Is it just kind of a,
well, you know, I get it.
I'm a Christian.
I should attend a church somewhere on a Sunday morning.
Please.
I'm looking around here.
I know that the people in this room
know better than that, right?
You've been around enough to know
that that's not what Christ has for us.
Christ didn't die so that we could attend
Sunday morning services.
It's like, praise God, Jesus died
so we have someplace to go on a Sunday morning.
Jesus died so that I could fight with my spouse
and argue with my kids and getting them dressed
on a Sunday morning.
Praise God.
That was such a great thing that he did.
That's not what he, that's not why he did it.
It was so much more than that.
I'm not saying that that's the soul.
Some of that, you understand.
But it's so much more than that.
It's life together.
It's a group of people.
It's a people for his own possession, right?
He died to purchase a people
and that people would be his church.
That people would be his bride.
That people would be a family.
That people would be light and salt.
That people would be an army of soldiers.
That people would be the people of God
who are possessed by God, okay?
So that's the first thing we gotta care.
Number two, we gotta care about the right things.
We gotta care about the right things.
Okay?
So we got three sub-points within the second point.
Three things I think we need to care about
when we're thinking about the church.
Number one, there are three things
that the church is to make known.
Number one, and this is of utmost importance,
is we have to care about the wisdom of God
being made known.
This comes from a very important verse in the Bible
in Ephesians chapter 3, verses 8 through 11.
Listen as I read this scripture.
To me though, this is Paul,
I am the very least of all the saints.
This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles
the unsearchable riches of Christ
and to bring to light for everyone
what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God.
Okay?
Already you got my attention.
You're gonna bring to light the plan of the mystery.
This is something that people have been longing to know.
The Bible says even angels longed to look into this.
This is what the prophets could see partially
but they didn't see it fully.
This is what people have been longing to know
all the way up until this point.
This plan of God that was a mystery
hidden for ages in God.
Then it says,
who created all things so that...
Whoa, time out again.
Again, he's about to tell us
why he created all things.
Does he have your attention?
He's got my attention.
Anytime God's about to say,
hey, I'm not just...
I want to tell you why he created all things.
Okay?
I'm listening.
That's a big deal.
Why you created all things.
So he says,
So the reason is what?
So that through the church,
the manifold wisdom of God
may now be made known
to the rulers and authorities
in the heavenly places.
So God had this plan
hidden throughout the ages
that the rulers and authorities
in heavenly realms
would know the wisdom of God
through a particular entity
called the church.
And this was why
all things were created.
Oh, come on, Josh.
I just read it, right?
That's what it says.
All things that were created
so that a particular entity
called the church,
through that entity,
rulers and authorities
in heavenly places
would know the wisdom of God.
This was according to
the eternal purpose
that he has realized
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We're talking eternal purpose.
We're talking the reason
earth was created.
We're talking the mystery
that has been hidden
in ages in God.
This is big deal stuff right here.
Okay?
Paul's unpacking quite a bit.
And these, I mean,
you could preach on this
for a long time.
This is big deal stuff.
But it tells us,
hey, number one,
there's a wisdom
that God wants to make known,
which number one,
what is the wisdom of God?
The wisdom of God is what?
Christ crucified.
We see this in 1 Corinthians, right?
God wants to display
to not humans.
So the eternal purpose
is the ultimate test
of whether or not
we are just consumers
in it for our own good
because the eternal purpose
has nothing to do with us.
Do you hear that?
He created the earth
so that the church could exist
to display the wisdom of God
to us?
No.
To rulers and authorities
in heavenly realms.
Is that offensive to you?
Hopefully it offends your pride.
It was meant to.
God is fully committed
to offending your pride,
by the way.
He didn't create this
to be displayed for us.
We are supposed to,
as the church,
display wisdom.
How do we do that?
Through a crucified life.
Through a life that is laid down
for Jesus and for one another.
The cross should be displayed
through an entity called the church
so that rulers and authorities
in heavenly places
would know the wisdom of God.
This is a phenomenal thing.
This is an awesome thing.
Do you have a value
for the wisdom of God
being made known
to entities far above us?
Rulers and authorities
in heavenly realms.
That's one of the reasons
why the church exists.
This is the eternal purpose.
This is the reason
that all things were created,
that through the church.
Do you believe in that phrase,
through the church?
This is why we make such a big deal
about the local church.
Because the whole earth
was created so that
that entity could display something.
So it's a big deal.
It's a big deal.
So that's the first thing.
We have to care about
the wisdom of God
being made known.
Number two,
we should care about
the character of God
being made known.
In other words,
what is God like?
Well, how do we know
what God is like?
Well, Jesus incarnated God.
He is God.
And then incarnated
who God was
into an actual human.
Right?
So that we could see
what God was like.
He says,
if you've seen me,
you've seen the Father.
It says that Jesus
is the exact representation
of God.
Okay?
So he put on display
what God was like.
And when he rose
from the dead
and then ascended
into heaven,
do we have no longer
any representation
of Christ
in the earth anymore?
No.
We still do.
And what is it called?
His body.
What is his body?
The church.
Ephesians 1, 22-23
says,
The church,
which is his body,
the fullness of him
who fills all in all.
So God wants to fill up
the world
with this picture
of who God is.
He wants to fill it up
with this entity
called his body.
Even though his physical body
is no longer here,
it ascended into heaven,
he has his body
still on the earth
in this thing called
the church.
And through that,
the fullness of him
who fills all in all.
He wants people to see
what he is like
now not through
his actual physical body
because he ascended.
But he sent his spirit
and filled up
a group of people
to now represent him.
Right?
Ephesians 2, 19-22
says,
You are members
of the household of God
built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone
in whom the whole structure
being joined together
grows into a holy temple
in the Lord.
In him you also
are being built together
into a dwelling place
for God by the Spirit.
So he wants the church
to be built together.
And we're not talking
about a building itself.
We're not talking about
the walls of a building
like this.
We're talking about people
being built together
for what?
To be a dwelling place
for God by the Spirit
so that people could see
what God is like.
1 Corinthians 3, 16-17.
And when you hear the word
you in this verse,
the Greek in that is plural.
So it says,
Do you not know
that you, plural,
are God's temple
and that God's Spirit
dwells in you?
If anyone destroys
God's temple,
God will destroy him.
For God's temple is holy
and you, plural,
are that temple.
We are to be a temple
that God inhabits.
That people can see
what God is like
because they see
his body on the earth
in this temple.
1 John 4, verse 12
in the NIV says,
No one has ever seen God,
but if we love one another,
God lives in us
and his love
is made complete in us.
So what does that mean?
From that verse,
I can say,
Your revelation
of the love of God
is incomplete
apart from people.
So if you want to be a hermit
and go live in a monastery
or go sit in a prayer room
for all your time,
you're missing it.
It says,
No one has ever seen God,
but if we love one another,
God lives in us
and his love
is made complete in us.
Okay?
Well, is God's love
incomplete?
No.
He's not talking about
his actual love.
He's talking about
the expression of it,
the view of it
is incomplete
apart from real skin
of like real people.
Right?
Real flesh and blood
who are indwelt by God
modeling who God is
by the way they live
in love.
This is why we have
verses like Romans 15, 7.
Welcome one another.
How?
As Christ has welcomed you
for the glory of God.
When people are welcomed
with Christ-like affection
and love,
they know what God is like
because of how we welcome them.
Colossians 3, 13 says,
As the Lord has forgiven you,
so also you must forgive.
When we forgive others
the way we've been forgiven,
people are able to understand
how Christ has forgiven them.
Ephesians 5, 25 again says,
Husbands, love your wives.
How?
As Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for her.
Marriage is putting on display
how Christ loves his church.
John 13, 34.
Just as I have loved you,
you also are to love one another.
Being able to see how God loves
because of how we love one another.
John 15, 12 to 13.
This is my commandment
that you love one another.
How?
As I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this,
than someone lay down his life
for his friends.
In 1 John 3, 16.
By this we know love,
that he laid down his life for us
and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brothers.
Do you see this?
The character of God being made known
when we love one another
as we've been loved.
When we forgive one another
as we've been forgiven.
When we welcome one another
as we've been welcomed.
We end up being the body of Christ,
being indwelt by God.
The love of God is shed abroad
into the hearts of those around us
because they've seen it
in a group of people.
It's not theory.
We're making the invisible visible.
God is not visible.
It says,
No one has seen God,
but when we love one another,
God lives in us
and his love is made complete in us.
We are making visible the invisible
so that people now have faith for it.
The invisible made visible
makes the invisible valuable.
It makes the invisible possible.
Wait a second.
I could be loved this way?
I never thought anyone could love me this way
until,
and I for sure never thought
God could love me this way,
until I saw his people love me
the way God loves me.
And it opened my eyes.
It opened my heart.
It helped me to experience something
I had heard about,
I had dreamed about,
but I had never seen.
Now that I've seen it,
now that I've tasted of it,
I'm in.
I'm sold.
And I want as many people as possible
to experience what I've experienced.
You see what I'm saying here?
Number three,
the kingdom of God made known.
We have to care
about the kingdom of God
being made known.
Essentially,
seeing the church
is like kingdom embassies.
What is the kingdom like?
1 Peter 2 verse 9 says,
You're a holy nation.
And Ephesians 2 verse 19 says,
You're no longer strangers and aliens,
but you're fellow citizens
with the saints
and members of the household of God.
Philippians 3 verse 20 says,
Your citizenship is in heaven.
So it's a group of people
whose citizenship is in heaven,
a holy nation of heavenly people.
Okay?
So think of it like,
but we're living in a world
that is not ultimately,
right now,
expressed in the way
that our heavenly citizenship
is expressed.
as it is in heaven,
it is not on earth
in all things.
But,
where the church exists
as a heavenly embassy,
just like an embassy
in another country,
all the culture of the country,
all the laws of the country,
all the rules of the country,
are expressed in that embassy.
And there are ambassadors
in those embassies
who go to other places
and represent the kingdom
or the country
from where they're coming.
we too are to build
an expression,
a living model
of what heaven is like,
of what it's like
to be ruled by King Jesus,
of what it's like
to love one another,
take care of one another,
suffer with one another,
rejoice with one another.
We create little pockets
of heaven on earth
called the church
and then become ambassadors
of that
to people
who've never heard of it,
who've never seen it.
And we say,
we speak a message
and then we point
to an expression
as ambassadors
where they can experience
a part of heaven
not just in the words we say
but in the life that we live.
This is the kingdom of God
being made known.
2 Corinthians 5.20 says,
we're ambassadors
for Christ.
God making his appeal
through us.
We implore you
on behalf of Christ
be reconciled to God.
Ephesians 6.19-20
Paul says,
pray that words
may be given to me
and opening my mouth boldly
to proclaim the mystery
of the gospel
for which I am
an ambassador in chains
that I may declare it boldly
as I ought to speak.
Do you see this?
Do you have a vision?
Do you care
about the kingdom of God
being made known
in a group of people
so that
what you say
about God
and his kingdom
you can point to?
You can display it.
People can say,
oh, I get it.
I understand
what you're saying.
I experienced that
the other night
in so-and-so's living room.
Oh, I get it.
I understand.
I experienced that
the other day
when so-and-so
helped me with this
and so-and-so
cried with me.
When so-and-so
watched my kids
as if they were their own.
When so-and-so
cared enough
to speak into my marriage.
When so-and-so
adopted me
as a single person
and is just like
I was a part
of their family.
I understand
this reality
you speak of
in the gospel
because
it's lived
among a group
of people.
Heaven has come down
into a particular
group of people
and it's called
the church.
Some groups of people
would say,
oh, we want to see
that everywhere.
Yes, we do want
to see that everywhere.
But some people
want to do that
by aborting
the means that
God has created
to bring that everywhere.
We're not revivalists
seeking revival.
We are Christians
who are ambassadors
for Christ
who build
an experience
of that
demonstration of people
in the context
of church
and then seek
to be ambassadors
of bringing
as many people
into that as possible.
But the core place
that that's happening
is what Jesus
in his eternal purpose
created the whole earth
for that through the church
this would happen.
There's no other means.
It's through the church.
And when you get
a vision for that
you do Romans 1,
11 to 12
you say things like
I long to see you
that I may impart
to you some spiritual
gift to strengthen you.
That is
that we may be
mutually encouraged
by each other's faith
both yours and mine.
This is an expression
of the kingdom of God
together
where we're both encouraged
because we're with each other.
It's Hebrews 10,
24 to 25.
Let us consider
how to stir up
one another
to love and good works
not neglecting
to meet together
as is the habit
of some
but encouraging
one another
all the more
as you see
the day drawing near.
It's a group of people
who are encouraging
one another
strengthening one another
building a strong
foundation of kingdom
reality on earth
as it is in heaven.
That's the church.
But it doesn't just
sit there and enjoy
this on earth
as it is in heaven
with a bunch of Christians
where they're in it
the context of church
where it's all about us
and we're never
outward focused
and we have no vision
for mission.
it's a group of people
who are a holy nation
experiencing on earth
as it is heaven
but then functioning
as ambassadors
of that kingdom
ambassadors
of that holy nation
who are constantly
going out to the world
and saying
come experience heaven
come experience
the good news
of the gospel
of the kingdom
right?
The gospel of the kingdom
the good news
an ambassador
is a trumpeter
of the good news
of the kingdom
and he's always
experiencing it
among his local church
so he's not
as Brendan Manning
puts it
a spiritual travel agent
handing out brochures
to places he's never been.
He's been there.
He knows it.
He's experienced it.
And he's able
not only to speak it
and not just speak it
as someone
who wishes
he's been there
who's dreamt about it
who's read about it
but has actually
experienced it
and then his words
have so much more power
because he's not
speaking theory
he's not speaking
about something
he's never seen
or experienced
he's saying
no listen
I've been there
I've experienced this
come experience
the good news
of the gospel
of the kingdom
come experience it
this is what
the good news is
this is why
it's so important
that we are convicted
about building
on earth
as it is in heaven
about building
healthy churches
that model this
a living model
of what we're talking about
this is why
we're so zealous
about this
this is why
Jesus said
in Psalm 69
and then quoted it
in John 2
when he made a whip
and cleared out the temple
zeal for God's house
consumes me
it's a consuming zeal
to see these
local churches
be expressions
of heaven on earth
so that as ambassadors
we're not speaking
of things
that have no weight
that have no glory
that have no reality
okay
the impossible
is made possible
when the invisible
is made visible
what are we making visible
can we make visible
healthy church
do you know how many people
I come into contact
who do not believe
that healthy church
is possible
I mean it's at
epidemic proportions
I'm not discouraged
though
because I have a promise
that
he will build
his church
and the gates of hell
shall not prevail
against it
and so I talk to some people
it looks like
wow it looks like
the gates of hell
are prevailing
it looks like
these people
would never believe
that there's healthy church
and I say
really
my God
will be thwarted
by these things
I don't think so
this is the one
undefeatable
okay
thing that God
has created
it's the church
it cannot lose
when it
when it is going
against the gates of hell
it will prevail
and we can have
confidence in that
but
man
my heart
beats and longs
to see as many
healthy churches
as possible
so that
those who
have experienced
horrible experiences
in church
or they've started
to think
this isn't even possible
that they can see
no this is possible
and the good news
is in fact that
it is good news
it's awesome
when we can make
the invisible visible
some people have never
seen good church leadership
can we put on display
good church leadership
as elders are appointed
as other people
rise up into
other positions
of leadership
in the church
can we put on display
what good leadership
looks like
can we put on display
what a plurality
of leadership
looks like
instead of
one man shows
that have
one point of failure
and have no
biblical precedent
in the scriptures
but like healthy
leaders working
together
disagreeing well
with one another
working through
things together
can we do that
can we put that
on display
we can
can we put on display
church as family
not just having
the language of family
but the experience
of family
there's nothing
more disillusioning
than having the
language of family
without the expression
of it
don't get so enamored
and dreamy
about the language
of family
when we're not
willingly opening up
our homes
and our hearts
and our schedules
to create real
atmospheres of family
amongst us
you really want to
disillusion someone
talk about family
without actually
putting skin in the game
to create it
and to experience it
let us be the kind
of people
that don't speak
of something
that we don't know
but that really
we can function
as a family
can we make
the impossible
possible by making
the invisible
visible with
being a church
on mission
some people think
there's no
I don't even
understand how
we can be
a church on mission
I don't understand
how small
families of believers
can be on mission
to specific people
and places
and do it in a way
that we're engaged
and excited
it is possible
I've seen it
I'm seeing it here
at Christ Church
let's continue
to put that on display
can we put on display
healthy church membership
so often people
get nauseated
when you even mention
the topic of membership
but I think it's one
of the most beautiful
biblical realities
and when it's played
out well
it is powerful
it is impactful
and it points
to heaven
can we put on display
healthy church discipline
some people
balk at the idea
of church discipline
and say
oh really
you're a church
that does church discipline
I can't tell you
how much fruit
I've seen
I'm calling the wayward soul
back to Jesus
through church discipline
it bears fruit
because it's God's idea
can we put on display
gospel centrality
having our motivation
and our fuel
be the person
and the work of Jesus
in a gospel dense culture
where it's
it's everywhere
everything we're doing
is because he first loved us
1 John 4 19
can we put on display
a freedom to confess sin
just talking to a brother
the other day
who was a part of another church
in another state
and he lived there
for multiple years
and he ended up
falling into some sin
in his marriage
some sexual sin
and he ended up
confessing it to them
and you would have thought
he said something to them
that they'd never heard before
and they looked at him
with kind of like
kind of
they didn't say it
but they basically said it
we don't do that here
kind of thing
you know
and it's like
what?
and there's churches
like this
where it's like
no no no
we don't talk about our sins
what about a church
that has all
their identity
and their worth
and the person
and the work of Jesus Christ
so that they're free
to share all their foibles
and failures
free to confess their sins
free to lose
because they have
everything in Christ
and so they can lose
their reputation
they can lose
what people might think
of them
because they know
that Jesus
loves them
not for who they are
but for who Jesus is
and what he's done
if we put that on display
can we make that visible
can we make
suffering together
and rejoicing together
visible
can we make an
all of life expression
of church visible
rather than just
this compartmentalized
you can get this
Jesus
but you can't touch that
can we make that visible
with joy
so that people come in
and say
wow this sounds
like way too much
and we say
it is apart from Christ
but in Christ
it's all joy
it's joy
it's pleasure
can we put on display
healthy marriage
can we put on display
healthy marriage
I remember one of the main reasons
I wanted to get married
as a young person
is because
the youth group
that I was a part of
at the time
that I was
helping pastor
at the time
more
more kids than not
were coming from
divorced families
and they had no clue
because they'd never seen it
they didn't know
what a healthy family
looked like
and I wanted to get married
and have kids
so that I could
make the invisible visible
I wanted people
in broken families
to be able to see
no it's possible
it's possible
can we put on display
healthy marriage
can we put on display
healthy parenting
child discipline
can we put on display
disciplining our children
in a loving way
in a consistent way
so that our kids
rise up
and call us blessed
and people don't look
upon them with scorn
can we put on display
an orderly kids
an orderly family
orderly large families
who love Jesus
some people think
it's so spiritual
to have a bunch of kids
if you have a bunch of kids
and they're disorderly
all you did
would just create
more disorder
if you have a bunch of kids
and they don't love Jesus
there's no blessing in that
that's a curse
you're just creating
a bunch more people
who don't love Jesus
there's nothing spiritual
about a large family
unless it's stewarded
but can we put that
on display
can we put on display
spiritual fathers
and mothers
can we put on display
healthy dating
can we put on display
this reality
which so many people
have no grit for
that Jesus Christ died
so that people
could be free from lust
I'm not talking about
for one week
or two weeks
I'm talking about
for their whole life
can we put on display
that lust isn't something
that guys just need
to settle and say
this is just the way it is
I know many guys
who believe that
who no longer believe that
and they walk out
freedom from lust
it's possible
and God wants us
to put it on display
can we put on display
healthy gender roles
can we put on display
charismatic gifts
that aren't charismatic
wackiness
but like real solid
biblical reality
that builds up the church
can we put on display
those things
we can
and we will
by God's grace
and I'm asking you
to believe for these things
I'm asking you
to believe for a church
that this is possible
and it has nothing
to do with any of your
own strength
or wisdom
this is God's church
if this lands on you
as burden
I have good news
let it go
it's not your church
Christ's church
isn't your church
Christ's church
isn't my church
it's his church
we co-labor
but he's ultimately
the one building
his grace is sufficient
and hey
trust me
I get stressed
about church stuff
I have many times
when I read that verse
that Paul says
about the anxiety
of the church is
I feel it
but at the end of the day
I just gotta say
it's not my church
Jesus is building
his church
he loves
and cares for her
like I could never
love and care for her
like you could never
love and care for her
and he's building
something
that the gates of hell
cannot prevail against
that is assuring
but it leaves me
to my last point here
you have to count the cost
it is costly
to have a church
like I'm talking of
it is costly
now there's a cost
that is death unto death
and I don't know about you
but I'm not really
into death unto death
that's not even
that's not cool
just die for death's sake
nah
not really
I don't really like that
Jesus never told us
to die
just for death's sake
it was always
always death
unto life
death unto life
our death
our sacrifice
our giving up
of our lives
is to experience
the life of Christ
if you believe that
then you can
gladly give
everything you have
to purchase
the pearl of great price
or the treasure
in the field
and you can do it
like the guy who did it
did it
in his
joy
in his joy
do you have joy
in your sacrifice
some of you are like
oh my gosh
I've heard this before
heard it in past churches
you're freaking me out
Josh
I get it
I've been that person
being freaked out as well
by someone else
saying it
and all I can say
to that is
real things happen
from real broken people
that are hard to overcome
but Jesus is the same
yesterday
today
and forever
and he's calling us
to believe him
and to trust him
and to say
once again
just like Paul said
I die daily
it's a daily choice
it's a daily to say
you know God
I'm having a hard time
trusting today
I've met a lot of your people
that are really hard to trust
and I'm sure
God understands
because he happened to
walk on earth
with those people
and they betrayed him
they killed him
he knows
about people
who can't be trusted
he knows about people
who betray
he knows about people
who treat you
poorly
Jesus knows
he is a sympathetic
high priest
isn't it amazing
that the one we serve
can relate to us
because he's our high priest
and he went through
what we went through
that's an amazing thing
he's not asking us
to give ourselves
to these realities
thinking
oh
this is a walk in the park
he knows
and he's with us
and he'll never leave us
or forsake us
and some of us
have maybe felt
like the church
through the church
that we've been forsaken
by God
and maybe you never
thought of it that way
because we thought
oh actually
I was forsaken by people
but deep down
what is underneath
the hurt
from being forsaken
by people
is a pain
that God himself
has forsaken us
and I want to say
to you
with full confidence
God has never forsaken
God has never forsaken you
and he will never leave you
he will never forsake you
he will be with you
always
how long
to the very end
of the age
and then he's going to
come back
and bring us
to be with him
so
that's a good promise
but it costs
it does cost
God is not
we have to be honest
about it
to say
hey we want a church
like this
but it doesn't cost
anything
would be
I'd be
I'd be a salesman
selling you something
that's not real
and I can't do that
Luke 14 28
says
which of you
desiring to build
a tower
does not first
sit down
and count the cost
whether he has
enough to complete it
I'm asking you
if you consider
the cost of a church
like that I'm talking
about
an invisible church
that we want to make
visible
that we're starting
to do
in these two years
and I praise God
for that
but it's going to
continue to cost
and a lot of times
it costs more
than we'd like to pay
so we need to remember
what do we need to remember
well 1 Corinthians 15 58
NIV says
always
give yourselves
fully
to the work
of the Lord
and I love that
that's not the end
of the verse
why
how
because you know
that your labor
in the Lord
is not in vain
some of you
maybe the devil
has told you
over the years
that your labor
in the Lord
was not in vain
or was in vain
maybe you looked
at certain things
you've given yourself
to that didn't turn
out the way
you wanted them to
they didn't turn
out the way
you had hoped
they would
and the devil
says see
that was in vain
that was vanity
you gave yourself
to something
that had no worth
you gave yourself
to something
that didn't go
as you thought
it was
you gave yourself
to something
that failed
maybe
and God
says here
always give
yourselves fully
when always
how much
fully
to what
the work
of the Lord
why
because your labor
in the Lord
is not in vain
someone needs
to hear that
this morning
that your labor
in the Lord
is not in vain
did you hear
what I said
your labor
in the Lord
is not in vain
so why do we
give ourselves
to this stuff
why do we
give ourselves
to seeing
the invisible
made visible
so that
the invisible
can be possible
for a group
of people
who have been
disillusioned
we do it
because our labor
in the Lord
is not in vain
our labor
in the Lord
is not in vain
Tom Brady
in his Hall
of Fame speech
you're quoting Tom Brady
yeah I'm quoting Tom Brady
and his Hall
of Fame speech
said
to be successful
at anything
the truth is
you don't have
to be special
you just have
to be what
most people
aren't
consistent
determined
and willing
to work for it
no shortcuts
consistently believing
that the impossible
is possible
and being determined
to work for it
to be displayed
is what is required
it's consistency
if you want
a church
that you haven't
experienced
you have to do
something
that you
haven't done
do you hear me
if you want
a church
that you've
not experienced
you have to
do something
that you
haven't done
to keep
doing the same
thing you've
always done
expecting to
have a different
church experience
is a fool's errand
we have to be
willing to count
the cost
be consistent
and put in
the work
and I'm thankful
that there's a
group of people
in this room
that have shown
over the last
two years
that you're
willing to do
it
and for that
I'm proud
to be a part
of it
I'm excited
to be a part
of it
I am
grateful
to be a part
of it
you guys
are
some people
that I really
appreciate
and what you've
done this last
two years
is powerful
it's powerful
to see the work
that you guys
have put in
hasn't always
been easy
but you guys
have done it
and you're still
doing it
and you're putting
in the work
and you left
certain things
that were hard
to leave
you left certain
things that were
much easier
and you said
no we want
to make the
invisible visible
for a group
of people
that haven't
seen it yet
and so we're
doing this
thing called
Christ Church
and for that
I applaud you
for that
I say well
done
and I say
don't let up
keep going
because Luke
18
27
says
what is
impossible
with man
is possible
with God
let's build
a living model
for God's
glory
and the good
of those
who don't yet
believe that
the impossible
is possible
amen