00:00: Have you ever thought about how many decisions we make?
00:03: Every day we make decision after decision after decision.
00:08: What time to set the alarm clock for?
00:10: What time to actually get up?
00:13: How to style our hair?
00:17: Or, if you're a teenager, whether to style your hair.
00:21: What to wear?
00:23: Whether or not to insist on our socks matching?
00:25: And most of these choices, they don't matter.
00:27: Really not that much in the scheme of things.
00:31: Most of the choices I've made in my life really haven't been significant.
00:37: At least not on their own, though cumulatively there is a trajectory charted out.
00:44: But sometimes there are moments, choices, days that are really significant in shaping the direction of our lives.
00:52: For me, the most significant day of direction in my life was the day that I embraced Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
01:00: The day that I became a Christian.
01:01: After that, some of the turning points were recognizing God's call to attend a Christian college and being discipled at that Christian college by a more mature believer.
01:14: Of course, my wedding and getting married to Carrie.
01:18: The births of each of my children.
01:21: And accepting the call to pastoral ministry from each of the three churches that I have served.
01:26: Today is a decisive landmark day in the history of this congregation, this church family.
01:34: After this morning's worship service, we'll be meeting as a congregation to vote with regards to staying in or leaving our denomination.
01:43: And it seems like at this kind of moment that it would be appropriate to speak to the question of, Who are we?
01:52: And what's ahead for us?
01:54: What should we be remembering and keeping our minds and hearts set on as we go forward?
02:03: Now, first, I want a word of disclaimer.
02:05: Lest there be any misunderstanding, nothing in this message should be construed as any effort to direct your vote in any particular direction other than the following two statements I'm going to make.
02:16: Number one, just as we are called to eat and drink and do everything else in life for the glory of God.
02:24: First Corinthians 10 31, for example.
02:26: I encourage you to vote so as to glorify God by your vote.
02:31: Vote with an aim that says, I want to honor Jesus in how I cast my vote.
02:36: Whatever that looks like.
02:38: Number two, vote your conscience before the Lord.
02:41: Neither I nor any of the other elders want anything other than that from you or for you in this matter.
02:48: None of us honor God by living contrary to our consciences.
02:53: Know this, you are loved and wanted in this church family regardless of how you may think on these matters or vote on these matters.
03:04: You are wanted, you are loved.
03:06: Vote your conscience.
03:07: That said, I'm not talking about the vote again the rest of this morning.
03:12: So, who are we?
03:15: Where are we headed?
03:16: Regardless of the vote.
03:19: We are blood-bought sons and daughters of God.
03:23: We have been redeemed from sin and for God.
03:28: We belong to God, are united to Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and are beloved by God.
03:35: Now, to glance, that could sound like I just strung together a bunch of Christian phrases, but I assure you I didn't.
03:42: I intentionally chose every word that's in there.
03:45: Let me repeat it.
03:46: We are blood-bought sons and daughters of God.
03:50: We have been redeemed from sin and for God.
03:55: We belong to God, are united to Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and are beloved by God.
04:04: That is who we are.
04:06: For every believer in this room, that is who we are.
04:10: We are not defined by our past failures.
04:13: We're not even defined by our past successes.
04:17: We're not defined by anything that we can point to in our resumes, in our history, even in our present circumstances.
04:30: We are defined by our relationship to and relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
04:39: Over 90 times, the Bible talks about Christians being in Christ or in Jesus or in Him.
04:47: That is, that we are in union with Jesus.
04:51: We are connected to Him through faith.
04:53: That matters.
04:55: And that's not even counting some of the other passages, like John 15, where it talks about He is the vine and we are the branches, and we're connected to Him in that way.
05:04: Or 1 Corinthians 12 and Colossians 1, where it talks about the people of God being like a body, and Christ is the head of that body.
05:11: Or Ephesians 5, where it uses the imagery of marriage, and Christ is the bridegroom, and we are the bride.
05:16: Or Romans 6, that we're connected to Him in His death and His resurrection as pictured by baptism.
05:23: We are connected to Jesus, and it makes all the difference in the world.
05:34: You're not simply someone who has certain thoughts about what God is like.
05:39: Because of your faith in Jesus, you're united to Him.
05:44: You're connected to Him.
05:45: When Carrie and I were married, we said certain words in front of a crowd, promising our faithfulness and till death do us part, those typical wedding vow kinds of things.
05:58: And in so doing, we were bonded, we were joined in a way that defines in significant ways who we are from this point further.
06:08: Matthew 20, 28 and Mark 10, 45 remind us that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
06:23: That's from the Last Supper.
06:26: No, not Last Supper.
06:26: It's from the Last Supper.
06:26: Sorry.
06:27: Did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
06:35: That word ransom in the New Testament refers to a price that is paid to get something out of slavery.
06:43: Christ's death was paid to get believers, those who trust in Him, out of slavery to sin and guilt and death, and to bring us into freedom.
06:57: And the price He had to pay was His own life.
07:00: He had to give His life as a ransom for many.
07:05: That is no minor thing.
07:06: It's not just Jesus saying, I'm going to give you some good teaching.
07:10: Here's some moral instruction.
07:10: Good luck.
07:13: May it be well with you.
07:14: He says, no, I will do the ultimate thing of giving my own life at the cross to get you, to buy you out of this slavery to sin.
07:25: And that's got all kinds of implications for us.
07:28: 1 Corinthians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul calls the church in the city of Corinth to repentance in regards to all manner of different sins.
07:38: And then he focuses in on sexual morality in particular.
07:41: And then he gives the basis for that call to sexual morality, to holy living, to spending their lives for God, living as those who have been set apart by God and for God.
07:54: He says in verses 19 and 20, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
08:05: You are not your own, for you are bought with a price.
08:10: So glorify God in your body.
08:14: There's a lot there.
08:15: He's saying, you used to live in all these different sinful ways, but you can't do that anymore.
08:20: Instead, because you were purchased by Christ at the cross, because of that blood-bought ransom paid for you, your life doesn't belong to you.
08:31: Your life belongs to God.
08:34: God has therefore caused his Holy Spirit to begin living in you, hence we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
08:40: And you're expected to live, to use your body, day-to-day life, for God's glory.
08:50: Glorify God in your body.
08:53: He gives two foundations here.
08:55: He says, foundation one, God lives in you as Christians.
08:59: Part two, you don't belong to you.
09:03: You belong to God.
09:04: This is why the Bible so frequently refers to Christians as saints.
09:12: Saints are not special Christians.
09:14: They're not elite Christians.
09:16: They're not especially mature Christians.
09:18: It doesn't refer to Christians through whom God has manifested one or more miracles.
09:24: Literally, the word means set-apart ones.
09:27: And when God calls us saints, he's saying, you belong to me.
09:35: Every Christian is a saint.
09:36: Every Christian has been redeemed by God.
09:39: That ransom price paid at the cross.
09:40: And God says, you're not for you anymore.
09:42: You're for me now.
09:43: You have been set apart from sin.
09:46: That's not for you anymore.
09:47: That's not your business anymore.
09:48: Your business is living for me.
09:51: You belong to me.
09:52: That's why we are set-apart ones.
09:54: The contemporary English version, translation of the Bible says, of the same verse, God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own.
10:05: That's what it means to be a saint.
10:08: You're God's very own.
10:12: Who are you?
10:14: Who are we?
10:15: You and I are people who belong to God by God's choosing, by God's sacrifice at the cross.
10:22: We are purchased by the death of Jesus in our place and are therefore called to live for God and in relationship to God in such a way as to honor God.
10:33: 1 Corinthians 10.31.
10:34: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.
10:39: Implicitly, that means that we don't go about glorifying God in religious situations and religious contexts only, but that there's no context of our lives where we are not called to glorify or honor God.
10:56: Everything, even what you have for lunch this afternoon, how you have your lunch, and the attitude of your heart in it.
11:02: Colossians 3.17.
11:04: Likewise says, whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
11:14: Which is why we remind ourselves over and over here at Faith Chapel that our purpose is that we exist to worship God or glorify God or honor God by enjoying relationship with him and one another through Jesus Christ.
11:29: God means for our lives to be lived, not just in a moral way.
11:35: You don't need Jesus.
11:37: You don't need to be a Christian to just try to do some good behavior stuff.
11:40: But we are called to live in relationship with Jesus day by day by day in every part of it.
11:50: I don't know what's going to happen this coming week as district leadership makes decisions with regards to financial assets.
11:57: I can't tell you what's ahead for us a week or a month or a year from now.
12:03: I don't know.
12:04: Only God knows.
12:05: But I can tell you this.
12:07: We are called by God to live for God.
12:10: Which means living by faith for God's glory.
12:15: It doesn't even matter the circumstances.
12:17: That's true.
12:19: Living by faith for God's glory.
12:22: Sounds nice, doesn't it?
12:23: Living by faith for God's glory.
12:24: It sounds so churchy.
12:25: But what does that even mean?
12:29: It means that we live day by day facing whatever comes, trusting in God to provide what we need to do what he wants us to do and to be what he wants us to be.
12:42: It means we rely on God in everything.
12:44: It means we rely on God to take care of us individually as believers and as a church together, as a church family.
12:52: Instead of seeking to provide for ourselves as though God had abandoned us and says, well, you know, it's good that you worship me, but you got to take care of yourselves.
13:01: Figure it out.
13:03: No.
13:04: We trust God to take care of us.
13:08: Romans 14.23 puts the choice to us very bluntly when it says, whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
13:17: Everything that we do, from the tiniest little things to the biggest decisions, we are to do in faith.
13:23: That is, in reliance on God.
13:28: We either do things trusting in God or we do things not trusting in God.
13:32: And anything done apart from trusting in God is sin.
13:35: It's failure.
13:36: It's dishonoring to God.
13:37: I feed my kids every day.
13:40: There's food available.
13:41: As God has provided for me, I then provide for my children.
13:44: But suppose this afternoon, as we're leaving church, I notice my kids are talking about lunch, talking about being hungry.
13:51: And I notice that their pockets are kind of bulging.
13:55: And I call them over before we drive home.
13:56: I say, what's going on?
13:57: What do you got in your pockets there?
13:59: Pull it out.
13:59: Let me see.
14:00: And it turns out they've been stockpiling those little individual coffee creamers.
14:07: Right?
14:07: And they brought home some tea packets.
14:10: And there were some cookies on the table.
14:12: So they shoved all the remaining crumbs from the box in their pockets.
14:15: They're like, we're going to get whatever we can to bring home for lunch.
14:20: Make sure we got some food.
14:23: Start pulling out breath mints.
14:24: I'm like, God, what are you doing?
14:26: Right?
14:28: That's nuts.
14:29: They don't need to worry about whether they're going to have food for lunch.
14:33: And to the degree that they do that pocket stuffing thing, because they really don't trust me to have food for them, they dishonor me as their father.
14:41: They're saying, we can't trust Dad to feed us.
14:45: We've got to take matter into our own hands.
14:46: And it's not necessary.
14:52: When we don't trust God to take care of us, when we don't live by faith, we're saying something very wrong about God.
15:03: God can't be trusted.
15:04: He's not faithful.
15:05: He doesn't care about us.
15:06: He doesn't love us.
15:07: And that dishonors God.
15:09: God can't be trusted.
15:10: Which is why Romans 14.23 says, whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
15:17: We can do things in faith.
15:18: We can do things not in faith.
15:20: And by the exact same measure, we can do things that honor him or things that don't honor him.
15:25: We are to live by faith for God's glory.
15:31: How is living by faith for God's glory?
15:33: Well, it means that we live in such a way as to demonstrate with our lives that we value and trust God more than we value or trust anything or anyone else.
15:44: There's an old story about a tightrope walker who stretched a cable across Niagara Falls and performed by walking across the tightrope.
15:54: And he walks across.
15:56: And he walks back.
15:57: And the crowd's clapping.
15:58: That's great.
15:59: And then he gets a wheelbarrow.
16:02: And he wheels the wheelbarrow across and back.
16:05: And everyone's, oh, that's even more impressive.
16:07: And then he throws a bunch of heavy things in the wheelbarrow.
16:09: And he walks that across and back.
16:11: And they're going nuts.
16:11: That's so amazing.
16:13: And he says, do you think I could do it with a person in there?
16:15: And they're like, yes.
16:17: And he's like, I need a volunteer.
16:18: And no hands go up.
16:20: Right?
16:21: They like the idea.
16:22: Yeah, they'd like to watch it.
16:24: But they don't want to trust him to do it.
16:26: Right?
16:29: Faith is lived out.
16:31: Not watched from a distance.
16:34: We are called to live our lives, even in the little mundane, trivial, everyday things, so as to demonstrate by how we live that we value and trust God more than we value or trust anything else.
16:54: When I think about that concept, one of the passages that most comes to mind is from Hebrews chapter 10.
17:00: It's this story about what happened to some early church era Christians.
17:07: And then the author of Hebrews says, let me remind you about this.
17:10: Hebrews 10, 32 to 34 says, Now picture this in context.
17:44: Early church era.
17:45: There's lots of persecution going on.
17:47: Some Christians were thrown in jail simply for being Christians.
17:51: Not for breaking the law.
17:52: Not for doing criminal activity.
17:54: But just for breaking the law.
17:55: The apostle Paul had that happen over and over.
17:57: Right?
17:57: He was jailed a number of times.
17:59: And so some of these Christians, just because they were following Jesus, get thrown in jail.
18:03: He says, remember what it was like during that time when you guys were having a hard time as believers.
18:07: Suffering.
18:08: Being persecuted.
18:09: Being mistreated.
18:09: And some of you, they threw in jail.
18:12: But some of you said, I'm going to go to the jail where my brothers and sisters in Christ are.
18:18: And encourage them and help take care of them.
18:20: But that's dicey.
18:23: Right?
18:23: Because if they throw somebody in jail for being a Christian, and you show up and say, hey, my brother.
18:29: You know, I'm with you.
18:31: I'm with this guy.
18:32: I want to go visit the guy that you threw in jail just for believing what he believes.
18:37: Because you're liable to get yourself in trouble.
18:39: And that's what happened to somebody.
18:40: He says, you were willing to go be with those Christians, even if it meant they were going to raid your house and seize your assets of your personal property and whatever.
18:49: Notice their response in verse 34.
18:57: Now, this is not about possession.
19:17: This is not about denominational stuff.
19:20: It's about a faith that says, living the way Jesus calls me to live matters more than anything else.
19:29: They joyfully said, I'll do this even if it costs me everything that I can lay my name to.
19:36: I'll do this.
19:38: And they were exemplar Christians in so doing.
19:43: They made that choice joyfully.
19:45: Who does that?
19:47: And how do they do that?
19:48: Why would they do that?
19:50: Why would they do that?
19:51: Why would they do that?
19:51: You joyfully accepted the plenary of your property since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
20:00: In other words, you're saying, you knew that you might lose these things, but you knew that you had something way better than that and that you couldn't lose.
20:07: They knew that they had something better in Jesus and a better inheritance ahead as they followed Jesus by faith.
20:12: And that anything they might lose along the path of following Jesus didn't even begin to compare.
20:17: They had something ahead that could not be lost, could not be taken away, could not be stolen.
20:23: Sure and secure.
20:26: That's not distinct to them.
20:27: That's every Christian.
20:28: What God has planned for those that love him, who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to echo for eternity.
20:35: There's going to be an inheritance in heaven kept secure waiting for us.
20:39: We can't lose that.
20:41: Let's just keep our eyes on Jesus and follow him every day and in every way.
20:47: Whatever it might cost us.
20:48: Some of the things that are following Jesus are going to cost us are sin.
20:53: We have to give up sin in following Jesus.
20:55: Some of what it's going to cost us is comfort.
20:58: Because sometimes God's going to call us to do things that don't come naturally.
21:02: Like, go share your faith with someone.
21:05: Right?
21:07: Now, I've never been mugged.
21:10: But I've seen it in TV and movies.
21:12: So I'm pretty much an expert on this.
21:15: Mugging basically goes like this.
21:17: Somebody jumps out at you, typically in a dark alley, which is why you don't want to go in dark alleys.
21:21: And they say something like, this is a stick hop or this is a mugging.
21:27: Give me all your money.
21:29: Or maybe more specific, give me your wallet.
21:30: Give me your purse.
21:31: Give me your cell phone.
21:32: Right?
21:35: But what if you're out on the street, guy jumps out with a knife or a gun.
21:40: This is a mugging.
21:42: Give me all the loose change in your pockets.
21:45: How many of you would fight back?
21:48: Nobody.
21:49: Well, there's one in every crowd.
21:53: I don't think we would, right?
21:54: We'd be like, it's not worth it.
21:55: I got 17 cents in my pocket.
21:57: Take it.
21:58: Right?
21:59: Doesn't matter.
22:01: I got far more than that at home and in my bank accounts or whatever.
22:04: 17 cents?
22:05: Who cares?
22:07: That's their mentality.
22:08: They said, all the stuff of this life is like 17 cents.
22:13: If following Jesus, somebody wants to take it, who cares?
22:17: Do you have any idea what I'm headed for with eternity with God?
22:20: I can't lose that.
22:22: Take my 17 cents.
22:24: That's the attitude of these exemplar Christians.
22:29: They said, I'm trusting God that what he has promised me in Jesus is so good and so secure and so worth it.
22:36: I'm going to live right now in a way that proves that to be true.
22:39: I'm going to go ahead and live as Jesus would have me live, loving my fellow Christians in their time of need.
22:46: Even if it means I lose everything I know by going to jail and bringing them a lunch and a blanket so they can keep warm in the jail.
22:53: Because everything we own in this life is like 17 cents compared to the inheritance God has promised us as we believe and follow Jesus Christ.
23:04: Christ, those Christians lived by faith for the glory of God.
23:11: They lived a life dedicated to God in such a way as to demonstrate in action that they believed God could be trusted no matter what he called them to or through and that he was more valuable to them.
23:25: Him and his promises were more valuable than anything they might lose in following him.
23:31: That's the kind of person I want to be.
23:34: That's what I want for all of us as a church family.
23:37: That we would live for God's glory in this moment and in every moment.
23:43: Individually and corporately.
23:45: That Jesus would be our greatest treasure.
23:48: I say that regardless of the vote today.
23:51: I am saying that whatever God calls us to and through, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
23:59: We belong to God and we're called to live by faith for the glory of God.
24:12: Period.
24:13: It's really that simple.
24:15: You are God's very own.
24:17: You are blood-bought sons and daughters of God who have been redeemed from sin and for God.
24:22: We belong to God, are united to Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and beloved by God.
24:28: That's not something you need to work at becoming.
24:31: That's something that as a Christian you already are.
24:33: This is who we are.
24:41: And it defines where we're headed this afternoon and this evening and tomorrow and next week and beyond.
24:50: I find great hope in that.
24:52: Because it means that my identity is not in my performance or what I have or even in what I do.
25:00: It means that my identity is secure, determined by God, and I get to live that out in the strength that God provides.
25:12: I hope you find encouragement in that.
25:15: Because it's not a pastor thing.
25:18: It's a redeemed thing.
25:19: It's true for every single believer in Jesus Christ.
25:23: Here and to the very ends of the earth.
25:27: Would you pray with me?
25:30: Father, we seek to honor you this morning by remembering and reflecting on what Jesus has done.
25:41: What that means for who we are.
25:43: And what you have designed for us going forward.
25:47: To live as set apart ones.
25:50: I pray that as we gather around the Lord's table and observe the Lord's Supper.
25:55: That we will not take this as individuals.
25:59: But as a family of faith saying we together belong to Jesus by his grace.
26:04: It is Jesus that unites us.
26:06: It is Jesus that defines us.
26:08: It is Jesus who has so loved us that he has given himself for us.
26:15: As the Father has directed.
26:17: As the Spirit brings to application in our lives.
26:22: We are separated from sin.
26:24: We are separated unto God.
26:28: And there is no better path.
26:30: There is no more joyful path than saying yes to God in everything.
26:35: As Jonathan testified a few months ago from the Urbana Conference experience.
26:43: Let's put our yes on the table to God.
26:47: And then let God ask the question.
26:50: And give us the marching orders.
26:53: In Jesus' name we pray.
26:55: Amen.