Vintage Mission 2009
- Mark 8:22-9:1
- Steve Hart
- Sep 6, 2009
What has God called us to as Christians, and what does that mean for a church who wants to faithfully follow Christ? The answer from Jesus is both harsh and hopeful.
Vision Fall 2009
Mark 8.27-9.1
INTRO: My mini-Sabbatical – took almost 4 weeks, didn’t preach at all in August – refreshed, renewed
One week in Cannon Beach – even with Luis Palau we don’t go to chapel!
First night – the river to play in… The oceans of grace and the little rivers we settle for…
I’ve been acutely aware of the little rivers lately – my own powerlessness, joylessness, drudgery
Ecclesiastes – life in little rivers!
MARK 8 – p.844
One of the hardest and most life-giving passages in the Scripture – Harsh and Hopeful!
Jesus is talking about this very thing: our dirty little rivers vs. the ocean he invites us to
5 years: as a Church this is the direction we are moving and calling you to throw in to
First – above all else, Vintage exists to call you to the person & work of Jesus: Re-read v.27-33
- Do you notice how JESUS-CENTERED Jesus’ talk is? Ought to shock us: No other figure does this!
- The key question for every disciple: Who do you say that I am?
- PETER gets the name right (Messiah) but not the content – come to suffer and die
- Jesus calls Peter “Satan” because he has his mind set on something other than the cross
- And you better get it right – Jesus calls Peter “Satan” because he doesn’t get it right!
- Maybe it was hope for personal glory, or for a life of ease, or for a fun ride with Jesus to the top
- It could be any number of things for you or for me: we use Jesus for what he can give us
- i. Relationships, Significance, Importance, a job, a wife, etc – think this is good news
- ii. But he isn’t going our way – he says to expect that is evil – would he say it to you?
- iii. He is calling me away from the little rivers, into his oceans – not coming to play in ours
- KEY: the good news is first and foremost the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – about HIM
- Calling you to change the way you think – make this the center
- Don’t set your mind on the things of the world – what consumes your mind? Wander?
- i. What do you value? What do you treasure and cherish?
- ii. Opposite: What angers you? Usually the result of what we value being threatened!
- Eat, drink, breath, sing, celebrate the gospel of Jesus – nothing else
- Calling you to TRUE THEOLOGY: not info about God, but to cherish him: have our minds filled
- Not so that we can speculate about God, but to be humbled and amazed by who God actually is
- Peer into this – the angels long to look into it – and see the HEART of GOD
- He has revealed himself in the Gospel: God has given Christ so He remains just and the justifier
- Week after week, as we gather here & around, we hold up Jesus and try to see him for the treasure he is
- He calls us away from our dirty little rivers by calling us to himself – be satisfied in ME!
- We call this the gospel: Jesus lives my life, dies my death, and restores me to fellowship w/God
Second – following Jesus should be MASSIVELY transforming: Reread v.34-38
- If you see me for who I am, and you want to come along with me: you’ll lose your life for this gospel
- Deny, disregard, or disown yourself
- Not primarily physical life – not bios, though these guys all did, and you might
- But psyche – your identity, your sense of self
- Jesus calls us to FORSAKE all hope in our own ability & performance & LOOK to HIS!
- If the first thing is that the Gospel changes our MIND, the second is that it changes our Identity or Heart
- The Gospel is not just historical, not just what Jesus has done: also personal, deeply affecting us
- “Gospel is Personally troubling but wonderfully transforming”
- i. Humbling – you don’t need a mentor/teacher/self-help – you need to be rescued
- ii. Exalting – though you deserve death, God has freely & graciously chosen to rescue you
- iii. Leads to 2 things that don’t exist together naturally: humility and courage
- Titus 2: The grace of God has appeared, teaching us to say no to ungodliness…
- Keller: Baseline motivations for most people: Fear and/or Pride… Why do we lie?
- i. Fear: we don’t want to be caught, be known; Pride: we want to be thought well of
- ii. Irony – tell the truth for the same reasons: fear (God will get you) Pride (better than that)
- Grace is different: argues with you, wrestles with you, it begins to melt you and change you
- Grace says – you are already known, in all your brokenness, and you are loved & accepted!
- Grace says, You don’t need to lie anymore! You can tell the truth for the beauty of truth itself!
- Keller: Baseline motivations for most people: Fear and/or Pride… Why do we lie?
- Gospel doesn’t just change our actions, but more primarily our motivations & our sense identity
- We begin to live as new people, with a new sense of self: actually become something different
- i. Some of us – myself included – are so committed to looking righteous…
- ii. And so we focus on what we can do: bible study, church attendance, personal mission
- iii. And in the process we fail to realize there is no real fruit: love, joy, peace, patience…
- iv. If those things aren’t present and growing, you need to take the axe to the root
- A long process!! Mark 8.22-26: The “multiple touches” of the blind man story
- We begin to live as new people, with a new sense of self: actually become something different
- Honestly, I don’t care to try to motivate you to give, or serve, or get involved – I am not a cheerleader
- Sometimes I live in that mode – like it is up to me to do a song & dance and hope you pay up
- I just want to lift him up, and let you deal with him – let you see his claim on every inch of life
- When we talk about our Gospel Identity, we are talking about this “losing your life for my sake”
- Our MCs are the primary way we are doing this – not the only way
- Some of you aren’t in a MC but you are still living out these IDs – don’t need it to be sanctioned
Third – lastly, we’re calling you to do the work of Jesus in community: Reread 9.1
- Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he didn’t just talk about personal salvation: spoke of the kingdom of God
- Kingdom does not mean state; it means reign, as in where the king has influence, power
- The kingdom coming in power is the inauguration of the reign of God into the world again
- Jesus isn’t just saving sinners; he is healing the whole world, making it as God intended it to be
- Following the death & resurrection, Jesus gathers his disciples, sends his Spirit, and sends them out
- This is what he is referring to in this passage – but the next story gives a foretaste of it
- Disciples up the mountain to see Jesus in glory, but then go down the mountain to heal & restore
- i. Always the flow - more you know of Christ, the more you are transformed internally
- ii. Which leads to ministry, to service, to bringing healing to the world around you
- iii. In other words: the gospel changes your mind, your heart/motivations, and your city!
- The kingdom of God come in power is transformative of the city and culture in which we live
- Patterned after his life, death, & resurrection – religions tend to go in one of 2 directions
- Militant: we will change the world by force, make it conform to God’s standards at all costs
- Escapist: we can’t change the world, so we retreat: physically in desert or spiritual detachment
- Jesus calls us to Sacrificial Service: we change the world by bearing the sin & brokenness of it!
- i. Even to the point of giving our lives, because we believe the resurrection is coming!
- ii. God is making all things new, in & through Jesus, and we bring that to bear by serving
- But never alone! – never for a minute think this is about you alone: this is about us, together
- Jesus’ disciples always go together – He calls them first to be with him together, then to go!
- Jesus sends them in 2s at various points; the great commission is to them together; Pentecost!
- Almost every one of the NT letters is written to groups of Christians, to small church (MC!)
- Salvation brings us together in Jesus family, and sends us in Jesus’ mission together
SUMMARY: 3 Things you CAN’T AVOID as a CHRISTIAN!
1. The Gospel – don’t move past this, keep exploring it and all its wonderful implications
Allow the Story to continue to humble you, keep you in awe & wonder at Jesus
Look into the cross and see the heart of God behind it – who does this?! For me?!
2. Build your Life on this Gospel – pursue making this Jesus the center of everything for you
Ruthlessly evaluate your motives – are you moved by Jesus and his grace?
Do you find your Identity in his performance for you or in your performance & ability?
Are you more aware of your sin or of his grace to you?
3. Live the kingdom together – with a group of Christians, pursue Jesus-like ministry together
Eat together, bless one another, look for opportunities to bless & serve your neighbors
Work and Sabbath together, speaking the truth in love to each other & your neighbors
Pray together, confess sin to one another, do all the “one another” commands together
Live as a community of the King, doing his works, for his fame and the joy of our city
2 things you can do:
First, throw in this fall with a MC – but expect to be called to this!
When I talk about being a part of a Missional Community, some of you hear church program
Just another thing the church wants us to do, and is therefore optional – if I feel like it, it fits, etc
Listen: I’m not trying to organize you into a program that makes our church more successful
I want to see you know Jesus, be changed by grace and not religion, and together live for his kingdom
That’s really it. That is what a MC is all about. That is what the church is all about!
My job is to equip you for that, not to pull off the best Sunday service
Second – our Partners in Mission class is a great way to get to know how this works out!