A sword in one hand. Working with the other. (February 18, 2012)
The Growth Process | Part 2 (February 16, 2012)
John 8:32
And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free
We are all looking for freedom. Often our desire for freedom leads us to a misunderstanding of what true freedom actually is. The verse above from the book of John is one of the most famous verses in the Bible and is even used by many people who don’t even realize they are quoting the Bible. The equation of truth = freedom is an easy one to understand but much more labored to apply. That’s where understanding the context of this verse helps us.
See when Jesus said this, He was coming off of a jab-hook-uppercut-ninja kick combo of addressing several issues. He addressed His status as messiah and living water. He attacked the issues of division and unbelief. He responded to a woman (and her accusers ready to stone her) caught in adultery with baffling grace (especially for someone who was beginning to paint a vivid picture of the fact that He came straight from His Father who is our Holy and unapproachable God). He was also almost arrested 4 times in less than 2 chapters. The best way to get to the heart of this verse though is to examine the verse RIGHT before it.
John 8:31
“Jesus said to the people who believed Him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.”
Jesus was being clear, if you want to be a disciple, follow my teachings ONLY then will you find freedom from ALL these other ideas and rules, of which confusion over said rules and ideas would lead to the arresting of God Himself and ultimately His death on our behalf. See discipleship is not just for the spiritually elite who “get it”. It isn’t some Christian black ops task force who carry out missions with their amazing strength and faith. EVERYONE is a disciple.
So the question isn’t, are you a disciple…the question is, WHO are you a disciple of?
So as disciples, how do we stay faithful to the teachings of Jesus and GROW in our obedience to His word when so many get so confused? This is where Revolution’s GROW UP process helps us to encourage one another in becoming faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and to continue to obey His scripture.
Our process of obedience is never ending, but has 3 clear steps to start:
Step 1
Gospel Class
This is where we set the foundation of all our beliefs and get on the same page about how to Grow in response to the greatest news ever.
Step 2
Membership Class
In this class, we both clarify what it means to be a part of a body of believers and how Jesus left us the church to help us continue on a life long journey of growth.
Step 3
Once we have joined each other in covenant membership, we pledge to continue to study His word together. The first class we have for this is a practical class designed to equip and encourage you, which we call our 101 class. We also have seasonal studies and classes, which we will use to help propel everyone all year long in continued dedication to the Scriptures.
Our membership process is 2 steps that happen the same night. We want you to set the foundation of belief in our Gospel Class first, then after you can join Revolution at our Membership Class. Ideally you would attend our 101 class a few weeks later, then sign up for classes and studies as they are offered throughout the year. All of this is, of course, with a continued personal commitment to spending time in God’s Word.
Contributor | Preston Porter (Grow Pastor)
Gospel Marriage (February 15, 2012)
This past weekend we started our relationship series called CRUSH. The idea is that we get into marriage because of the passion we have for another person but then the marriage becomes a crushing weight. None of us wanted it to go that way but somehow it does. The reason is that we can misunderstand marriage and fail to see the underlying reasons that led it to that point.
In Ephesians 5, Paul calls marriage a “profound mystery” because of how it compares to the relationship between Jesus and the church. It could be translated a “Great Secret” and helps us to understand why marriage can be crushing. In other words, we will never be passionate in our marriage until we understand how it relates to the gospel. In addition, we will never receive from marriage what was intended until we apply the gospel to it.
The reason why marriage is crushing is because both people are wanting the other to make them happy and when they don’t it gets heavy. But there in lies the problem. Marriage is not about us being happy but about us becoming holy. If we put our happiness on our spouse it will crush them, however if we put it on Jesus then He has already been crushed and rose again. A Gospel marriage is one where you find your satisfaction in who Jesus is for you and then you are free to “crush” or love on your spouse. This then creates a true sacrificial love where your actions are not based on their responses. When you love your spouse this way it opens up their heart and then in turn they will reciprocate love back to you.
Marriage can only work when the Gospel is at the center and not self-gratification. This is the essence of Gospel marriage.
Here are my sermon notes: Crush week #1: Crush or Crushed (18)
P.S. I know we immediately think about objections to this based upon circumstances and we will deal with those this weekend for week 2. Make sure you are there.