The Gospel in Life

This Sunday we begin our series "The Gospel in Life" with an intro message. Throughout this series,on Sunday mornings, in Community Groups and in your private study, we will strive to see the world through the lens of the gospel. You may not even know what that looks like, you may not know what I am even talking about when I use the world gospel.

Let me say two things about that. First, when we see the world through the lens of the gospel, life looks and tastes better. Second, the gospel is a churchy word that means when we were unworthy and repulsive to God, Jesus gave away all that he was to make us worthy and attractive to God.

Come join us on Sunday mornings, in Community Groups or in home study as we go through this series. All three facets of the series can stand alone. But we want to invite you to engage with us fully in this.

Engaging, My Enemy My Hope

I wrote this poem at 5:30 in the morning one morning last week when I could not sleep. It is rooted in place that God has been taking my soul in the last few weeks and I am currently there. What God was teaching me that resulted in this poem is the foundation for my sermon last week.

Here is the deal with it. This is a really frustrating thing about the Christian Condition, we never ever get there. We will always and forever be wrestling with our flesh. Paul says in Romans 7, "I do not do what I want but I do what I hate." Can I be completely honest and say that I absolutely hate that?

I know what I want to do, but I do not do it. That drives me crazy. More than anything in the world I want to have a deep intimacy with God, I want to be everything in the world to by bride that God is calling me to, I want to be everything in the world to my kids that God is calling me to be and I want to be the sort of pastor that God is calling me to be for North Church.

But I do not do what I want but I do what I hate.

What is the take away from this for you who are reading this? I think that it is two things. First, if you are not aware of the battle that rages within you for the affection of your soul then you really need to wake up and pay attention. Second, if you are aware of it and it paralyzes you or makes you walk around this life melancholy; know that you are no different that me or the apostle Paul or any other Christian to walk this earth.

So I offer this poem that God gave to me again. Read it and know that it is true and will always be true.

Like a wandering soul in the night, looking for light, looking for happiness, looking for peace.
Like a wandering soul in the night; searching in the darkness for light where there is no light to be found.
Like a wandering soul in the night; looking for light and unaware of enemies to my quest.
Like a wandering soul in the night, walking back into the same pit, falling again and again.

I look to things that cannot hold light, only reflect it.
I look to things that reflect light as my enemies.
I engage in battles with them.
My enemy laughs at my ignorance and glories in my torment.

But I call to mind your truth and hope returns.
Like a lost friend long forgotten.
Like a lost slipper whose form remains.
Like a warm bed on a cold night.
Like a soft lover after time away.

You oh Lord are my hope, Satan is my enemy.
You offer peace and community.
You inclined your ear and heard my cry.
Your thoughts to me and your deeds never failed.

Satan glories in my torment.
He laughs at my loneliness.
He plots my pain in moments.
He seeks after the temporary.

Fleeting are his deeds,
Given is his power,
Taken is his glory,
Empty is his reality.

Real is my pain, but only for the moment,
for the Lord is the victor.

My Enemy; My Hope

My Enemy; My Hope

Like a wandering soul in the night, looking for light, looking for happiness, looking for peace.
Like a wandering soul in the night; searching in the darkness for light where there is no light to be found.
Like a wandering soul in the night; looking for light unaware of enemies to my quest.
Like a wandering soul in the night, walking back into the same pit, falling again and again.

I look to things that cannot hold light, only reflect it.
I look to things that reflect light as my enemies.
I engage in battles with them.
My enemy laughs at my ignorance and glories in my torment.

But I call to mind your truth and hope returns.
Like a lost friend long forgotten.
Like a lost slipper whose form remains.
Like a warm bed on a cold night.
Like a soft lover after time away.

You oh Lord are my hope, Satan is my enemy.
You offer peace and community.
You inclined your ear and heard my cry.
Your thoughts to me and your deeds never failed.

Satan glories in my torment.
He laughs at my loneliness.
He plots my pain in moments.
He seeks after the temporary.

Fleeting are his deeds,
Given is his power,
Taken is his glory,
Empty is his reality.

Real is my pain, but only for the moment,
for the Lord is the victor.

Thoughts from Bono

"There's nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you're a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross."

"Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building."

"You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff."

"But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity."

"But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven."

Your Enemy and Your Hope

Your enemy has a name. Your hope has a name. Your enemy is Satan and your hope is Jesus.

We get confused often and label things other than these things as our enemy or our hope. We often call created things our hope or we call created things our enemy.

Maybe this will help to explain what I mean. I have a great wife, great kids, great friends and a great church family. None of those things are my hope. Many times I act like they are my hope. When I say my hope, I mean thing that I trust in to give me happiness or peace. Sometimes they succeed in giving those things. When they fail to provide or when they do not provide, they can become my enemy. They are an enemy because they are blocking my happiness.

But my wife, my kids, my friend and my church are all created things. They are all great things. They are all great things that were created to give glimpses of the beauty, care, love and so much more about the majesty of our God. When we see them as such and engage them as such, we are truly worshiping and growing in knowledge and affection for God. When we see them as our hope, they will fail us and leave us alone.

Make no mistake, God intends for you to be in rich community with both Himself and with people. Satan on the other hand intends for you to be alone with feeling of darkness and despair.

In my Insurance job, there is a political inner office battle going on in the midst of our board of directors. The winner of this battle directly affects my ability to do my job well and succeed. There are clear people that are on my team and clear people that are against me. Neither group of people are my hope or my enemy. Both groups of people can, when placed in proper perspective lead me to worship.

Look at any created thing, it is neither your hope nor your enemy. It is created by God to be seized as an opportunity to grasp His beauty, creativity, poetry, love and care for you.

There are a couple of Psalms that I read this morning that give me peace. May they give you peace today as well. Psalm 40 and Psalm 46.

Maybe the most important thing I have written

I just had my 40th birthday last week. Birthdays are hard days for me because they magnify the battle between my flesh and my spirit. Some back story is needed to convey what God has placed on my heart.

Rex Alexander was my youth minister in high school. He was and is a great man of God. The thing that made me admire him so much was that he lived a life where he died to himself. In his marriage, his ministry, the way he interacted with everyone, he was more concerned about them than himself.

It was in high school that God began getting my attention about a life given to pastoral ministry. It was Rex and his dying to himself that led to this. Successful life and successful ministry were dependant upon grasping and living out this idea.

Fast forward many years to a conversation I had a few years ago with a close friend. He was working as an assistant to Darrin Patrick, who is the pastor The Journey in St. Louis. My friend said that on of the reasons for the success of The Journey and that men flocked to Darrin to be discipled was that Darrin had figured out how to die to himself.

That statement has rung in my head and when he said it I was reminded of Rex who God had used to woo me with the same notion 20 years prior.

That is the back story and leads me to this. There are a few things that I want more than anything for my life. Sometimes I don’t act like I want these things, but ultimately, there is nothing that I want more than these things and when I pursue things that are contrary to these things, I am disgusted with myself.

So more than anything I want first to know Christ in the most intimate way. Secondly, I want to be the husband to my wife that she deserves because of who she is in Christ and model Christ to her in a tangible way by laying down my life as I am called to in Ephesians 5. Third, I want to shepherd my kids to the gospel and be a model of Christ to them and remind them of the love of Jesus in a practical way. And lastly, I want to lead North Church in such a way that its people see the beauty of death to self and the joy that comes from it so that they are inspired or compelled to practice this sort of humility.

So back to the context of my recent birthday; our culture wants to make much of people on their birthdays. I find nothing wrong with celebrating a person on the birthday, I do not mean to convey that or to try to get you change the way that you celebrate a person on their birthday. But for me, as I wrestle with this death to self sort of humility, I was in deep conflict.

In one corner of my soul was death to self that was the known way to what I want from my life. In the other corner of my soul was a desire for everyone to cater to me and celebrate me on this day. Ultimately these are two very self centered ideas. It is obvious that wanting everyone to make much of me and celebrate me is a self centered idea. But it is an idea runs against the laws and plans of God.

But really this idea of death to self is a self centered idea as well. It is the way that leads to everything that I want out of life. It leads to intimacy with Jesus, beautiful relationship with my wife, kids that love Jesus and love the gospel and a thriving church to lead.

Take a look at Philippians 2:3-8. Pray through it, chew on each word, meditate on it. Here in these words are the secrets to joy and purpose. Taste of them and see that the Lord is good. Place your faith in these words, trust that God has your very best interest in mind. Surrender to these words and their ability to bring you Jesus.

Faith= Trust + Surrender

In the sermon this week we looked at Galatians 3:15-29. We centered the message around the conclusion of the this passage, in particular Galatians 3:26. You can listen to it here.

Faith is such a key component of who we are in Christ. It is also a WAY misunderstood concept. Faith as a word in our cultural context is so little compared to what it means in respect to your relationship with Jesus. Faith is where trust and surrender meet. Here are some definitions that I came up with in the sermon Sunday.

Trust- I believe with all that I am that you have my best interest in mind and that you are able to come through on what you have promised. I believe you.

Surrender- I bet my life on that trust. I quit trying to do something that I cannot do. I ask you to expel my desires and replace them with your own. I die to myself.

These are big words, big concepts for us to wrestle with. If we really wrestle with them, much of who we are and much of our motivations have to change. Take some time this day to meditate on these definitions and how they shape your faith and your relationship to God.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Post them here or email them to me.