Vintage Faith Community

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

1. Do you notice how JESUS-CENTERED Jesus’ talk is? Ought to shock us: No other figure does this!
   1. The key question for every disciple: Who do you say that I am?
   2. PETER gets the name right (Messiah) but not the content – come to suffer and die
2. Jesus calls Peter “Satan” because he has his mind set on something other than the cross
   1. And you better get it right – Jesus calls Peter “Satan” because he doesn’t get it right!
   2. Maybe it was hope for personal glory, or for a life of ease, or for a fun ride with Jesus to the top
   3. It could be any number of things for you or for me: we use Jesus for what he can give us
      1.                                       i.     Relationships, Significance, Importance, a job, a wife, etc – think this is good news
      2.                                     ii.     But he isn’t going our way – he says to expect that is evil – would he say it to you?
      3.                                    iii.     He is calling me away from the little rivers, into his oceans – not coming to play in ours
3. KEY: the good news is first and foremost the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – about HIM
   1. Calling you to change the way you think – make this the center
   2. Don’t set your mind on the things of the world – what consumes your mind? Wander?
      1.                                       i.     What do you value? What do you treasure and cherish?
      2.                                     ii.     Opposite: What angers you? Usually the result of what we value being threatened!
   3. Eat, drink, breath, sing, celebrate the gospel of Jesus – nothing else
4. Calling you to TRUE THEOLOGY: not info about God, but to cherish him: have our minds filled
   1. Not so that we can speculate about God, but to be humbled and amazed by who God actually is
   2. Peer into this – the angels long to look into it – and see the HEART of GOD
   3. He has revealed himself in the Gospel: God has given Christ so He remains just and the justifier
5. Week after week, as we gather here & around, we hold up Jesus and try to see him for the treasure he is
   1. He calls us away from our dirty little rivers by calling us to himself – be satisfied in ME!
   2. 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

1. If you see me for who I am, and you want to come along with me: you’ll lose your life for this gospel
   1. Deny, disregard, or disown yourself
   2. Not primarily physical life – not bios, though these guys all did, and you might
   3. But psyche – your identity, your sense of self
   4. Jesus calls us to FORSAKE all hope in our own ability & performance & LOOK to HIS!
2. If the first thing is that the Gospel changes our MIND, the second is that it changes our Identity or Heart
   1. The Gospel is not just historical, not just what Jesus has done: also personal, deeply affecting us
   2. “Gospel is Personally troubling but wonderfully transforming”
      1.                                       i.     Humbling – you don’t need a mentor/teacher/self-help – you need to be rescued
      2.                                     ii.     Exalting – though you deserve death, God has freely & graciously chosen to rescue you
      3.                                    iii.     Leads to 2 things that don’t exist together naturally: humility and courage
3. Titus 2: The grace of God has appeared, teaching us to say no to ungodliness…
   1. Keller: Baseline motivations for most people: Fear and/or Pride… Why do we lie?
      1.                                       i.     Fear: we don’t want to be caught, be known; Pride: we want to be thought well of
      2.                                     ii.     Irony – tell the truth for the same reasons: fear (God will get you) Pride (better than that)
   2. Grace is different: argues with you, wrestles with you, it begins to melt you and change you
   3. Grace says – you are already known, in all your brokenness, and you are loved & accepted!
   4. Grace says, You don’t need to lie anymore! You can tell the truth for the beauty of truth itself!
4. Gospel doesn’t just change our actions, but more primarily our motivations & our sense identity
   1. We begin to live as new people, with a new sense of self: actually become something different
      1.                                       i.     Some of us – myself included – are so committed to looking righteous…
      2.                                     ii.     And so we focus on what we can do: bible study, church attendance, personal mission
      3.                                    iii.     And in the process we fail to realize there is no real fruit: love, joy, peace, patience…
      4.                                    iv.     If those things aren’t present and growing, you need to take the axe to the root
   2. A long process!!  Mark 8.22-26: The “multiple touches” of the blind man story
5. Honestly, I don’t care to try to motivate you to give, or serve, or get involved – I am not a cheerleader
   1. Sometimes I live in that mode – like it is up to me to do a song & dance and hope you pay up
   2. I just want to lift him up, and let you deal with him – let you see his claim on every inch of life
6. When we talk about our Gospel Identity, we are talking about this “losing your life for my sake”
   1. Our MCs are the primary way we are doing this – not the only way
   2. 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

1. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he didn’t just talk about personal salvation: spoke of the kingdom of God
   1. Kingdom does not mean state; it means reign, as in where the king has influence, power
   2. The kingdom coming in power is the inauguration of the reign of God into the world again
   3. Jesus isn’t just saving sinners; he is healing the whole world, making it as God intended it to be
2. Following the death & resurrection, Jesus gathers his disciples, sends his Spirit, and sends them out
   1. This is what he is referring to in this passage – but the next story gives a foretaste of it
   2. Disciples up the mountain to see Jesus in glory, but then go down the mountain to heal & restore
      1.                                       i.     Always the flow - more you know of Christ, the more you are transformed internally
      2.                                     ii.     Which leads to ministry, to service, to bringing healing to the world around you
      3.                                    iii.     In other words: the gospel changes your mind, your heart/motivations, and your city!
   3. The kingdom of God come in power is transformative of the city and culture in which we live
3. Patterned after his life, death, & resurrection – religions tend to go in one of 2 directions
   1. Militant: we will change the world by force, make it conform to God’s standards at all costs
   2. Escapist: we can’t change the world, so we retreat: physically in desert or spiritual detachment
   3. Jesus calls us to Sacrificial Service: we change the world by bearing the sin & brokenness of it!
      1.                                       i.     Even to the point of giving our lives, because we believe the resurrection is coming!
      2.                                     ii.     God is making all things new, in & through Jesus, and we bring that to bear by serving
4. But never alone! – never for a minute think this is about you alone: this is about us, together
   1. Jesus’ disciples always go together – He calls them first to be with him together, then to go!
   2. Jesus sends them in 2s at various points; the great commission is to them together; Pentecost!
   3. Almost every one of the NT letters is written to groups of Christians, to small church (MC!)
   4. 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!