The Who of Love | Compelled by Love - 1 Corinthians 9 | April 28

Intro

Hey family! How are we all doing?

I know we are getting close to wrapping up a series in 1 Corinthians [whether it seems like it or not I don't know], but there are these verses in 2 Corinthians which I’d love to share with you. They say, “13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. [The NIV version says that Christ’s love compels us. The power of Christ compels you.]

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”

What we’re talking about right is motivation. What motivates you? What is controlling your decisions? What compels you in this life? The love of Christ here sort of has two means of interpretation–two ways of looking at it. It is both God’s love for people that motivates Paul to share the Gospel and it is also Paul’s love for God that allows for Christ to control him. There’s this song, maybe we’ll sing it. “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me”. God’s love for us and Paul’s love for God allow for a life where Paul is driven by His Captain, His King, His Pilot–Jesus.

“The great love of Christ was such that “Christ died for all” people (2 Corinthians 5:14, NLT). Paul’s love for Christ was such that he was willing to die to self (see Galatians 2:20)... When the apostle Paul wrote, “The love of Christ compels us,” he was describing the powerful, Spirit-filled motivation that drives followers of Christ to share the gospel in ways that persuade people to commit their lives to Jesus.”

In these three chapters, we are exploring the who of love. In the next chapters we’ll talk about the Way of love and the Why of love. In some sense these all noticeably blend together. Next week, in chapter 10, and this week in chapter 9 we’re still looking at the Who of love. God is the who of love initiating within us the desire to pursue others in love. The who of love compels us to think of others who are not here and to invite them in.

What we’re going to talk about today is just this. Is the love of God compelling you? What does that mean? What does that practically look like in your life, in your decisions, in your finance? Are you compelled to invite others into this family? The church exists for those who are not here–to share the love of God and bring them in. Does the love of God compel you?

With those questions in mind, let’s get right into our text this morning

COMPELLED TO GIVE

Paul’s really going to hit us over the head with some truth this morning. Listen, what we are compelled to is hard, but what we are compelled by still outweighs the hardship. The prize outweighs the price. We’ll talk about the prize more directly at the end of our time, for now ask yourself, what’s your motivation in life? What drives you? As we saw in 2 Corinthians 5, for the Christian, it is the love of Christ that compels us–we are compelled by love. Since we are compelled by love we are compelled to love, we are compelled to act, we are compelled to do–we are compelled to live…

“The way we live our lives has eternal consequences. Life is a proving ground where we prove who we are, whom we trust, and what we cherish. Eternal life, the upward call, the crown of righteousness—all these hang on what our life says about who we are, whom we trust, and what we love.”

And “God has not saved you to sit on the edge of the pool with your feet in the water. God has saved you to spend yourself for the glory of his Son (Philippians 1:20)… The point of salvation is to make the glory of God visible in the universe.”

So let’s read these verses,

“1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

We’ve encountered some strange stuff so far–no doubt. And this is a bit strange. For some reason Paul goes on this rant to justify his apostleship, a rant about how he and Barnabas still have to work to support themselves even though Peter and the other apostles don’t work, they get their money from the church for the work of speaking the Gospel. He uses several examples to justify his frustration and why he has the right to be financially supported by the churches he plants even though he doesn’t make use of that right with the Corinthians.

And he says some weird stuff like, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” He takes an old testament law about livestock and applies it to the contemporary setting of priestly work. After all, is God not concerned for our sake? Should spiritual work not be financially supported? Why is it important enough to mention. Especially since Paul at times was supported by other churches, but not the Corinthians apparently.

What Paul is doing is setting up a line of argumentation that will build upon itself to lead us to the ultimate conclusion of the ultimate value of God’s love and the prize of the work. Financial gain is fine and Biblically supported is what he’s saying, but material gains are not the prize he will speak of at the end of the chapter. Even so, he wants the Corinthians to see that the work of the Gospel is worthy of our time, our talent, and–yes even our treasure. We needed to be financially invested in the mission of God!

Back in 2012, the Summit Church in Raleigh did an “All-in Generosity” series about sacrifice, stewardship, treasure, trust, and mission. The series asks us to live our lives with open hands, that everything we have in our lives we would open up in surrender to Him. I remember a testimony of a mother holding on to her children and realizing she couldn’t let them go. She had made her family, her children her idol, and she realized that she was trying to hold it all together herself and wasn’t surrendering her children’s future to the Lord. She was placing all the pressure on her shoulders and so as she prayed to have open hands, she imagined letting go of her children and trusting them to the Lord. That’s one example. What are you holding on to? There are, of course, some more obvious financial considerations with regard to generosity.

Here’s the thing, God is all in. He is fully committed to us and His mission. But sometimes our hearts aren’t in it. In Matthew, Jesus says, “21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21). If you want to know what you care about, look at what you give most of your money to. If you want to know how much you love Starbucks, or Hatchet, or Local Lion perhaps, look at how much money you spend there. How much money goes to streaming services. How much money do we pour into our quality of life. That’s all I do at work. The cliche saying is, “If you build a better place to live, work, and play, you’ll build a better place where people want to visit.”

It always amazes me to think about professional athletes and finances because the statistics are astonishing. We are taught to idolize athletes as children and some children are groomed to be athletes to provide wealth for the family, but the truth is that “78% of professional athletes go broke after 3 years of retirement.” Seventy-eight percent! Mostly because of overspending. But their spending shows what they love. Most of them feel an obligation to family, friends, and their neighborhoods so they pour their money into these things. And these are not bad things, they are better than other things professional athletes tend to overspend on that I probably shouldn’t mention. But even a mansion for Grandma is not permanent, especially if you’re broke.

And the truth is that what we invest our finances in matters because “This world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). All these things are non-permanent. Why not invest in what will last? Why not invest in God’s mission? Why not invest in this church? I don’t care how much! I mean I know what we need for our budgets. And the Old Testament tithe of 10% is a good starting point, but the Biblical standard is generosity. What does it look like for you to give generously of your treasure?

This is not a “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) kind of message. Though that is true and Biblical. This is a we are compelled by the love of Christ in us, for us, and for this world to give our financial resources for the sake of His mission and His kingdom.

Listen, I don’t know who gives to this church or how much they give. I don’t look at those numbers. So if you’re thinking he’s looking right at me. That’s not on me. I’m looking at everyone. That’s perhaps the Spirit tugging at your heart. Because you’ll love where your money is. So what is it that you’re loving? Love God’s church more!

COMPELLED TO SACRIFICE

We are compelled to give and we are compelled to sacrifice.

15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

We know that Paul did receive financial support, perhaps only from the Philippian church and maybe only on rare occasions, but Paul as we read even here, Paul wasn’t opposed to financial support. Nevertheless, he didn’t make use of this right amongst the Corinthians. Paul sacrifices his right for financial gain for the sake of the Corinthians who based on their divisions would not receive the blessing of giving with a right heart but would have more reason to be puffed up and divided.

Philippians 4 says, “17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more….”

“He’s not trying to gain the pleasure of money. He’s not trying to gain the power of rights. The gospel has already assured him that he will gain the fullness of the enjoyment of Christ. And now, he wants to gain people… I will magnify the worth of the gospel, the worth of Christ — by showing that the satisfaction it gives — that he gives — does not need to be supplemented by the pleasures of money or the pleasures of power.”

As many of you know, I work a full-time job. Not because I’m financially concerned about trusting God with the salary Mountainside can support–I’m not. I am forced, by some of you, to take a small salary from Mountainside, which isn’t completely my choice because I would do this for free and maybe one day I will convince enough of you that I should. I work a full-time job to demonstrate in my own life what is of most importance. For all of us who work, I will always pour my life into this, whether I’m paid or not, because this is of greatest value. And if I’m doing it, you can do it too.

To be a Christian is to be one who sacrifices. There’s a sermon/interview that I mean to listen to once a year from the church we were a part of in Columbia, SC; and one thing it says is if you’re not denying yourself at least 70-80% of the time or even more than that, then you might need to question whether you’re actually following Jesus. I don’t know if those statistics match up, but it bears asking if I’m not sacrificing in my life at all then am I really a Christian? Am I really a follower of Jesus? Am I really a little anointed one that is providing a place where Heaven meets earth and God is glorified?

Here’s a quick definition of sacrifice. It may be helpful. Sacrificing means to give up what I love for something I love more. Sacrificing means to give up what you love for something you love more.

Brad, a classmate of Rebekah’s, has been hanging out with our family group when he’s in town for school. The first week he was with us he brought up a profound truth that is almost exactly what Paul is writing. He shared that what we see in the scriptures is that we are to be patient. But how do I even know what it means to be patient? What does it even look like? I can’t even understand patience except as it is demonstrated by Jesus. We don’t even know how to live were it not for the example of Jesus. What does it look like to sacrifice? We look to Jesus. Jesus is our standard for life. He is the object of our love and the example for how to love.

Jesus provides the example of what sacrifice is. We cannot understand what it even means to sacrifice were it not for the Word of God come to life in the person of Jesus–God made flesh. He sacrificed for you and shows us, provides the example, the definition for what it means to sacrifice.

The question I want you to ask yourself is, what could I sacrifice for the mission of God? What could I sacrifice to see people changed by the Gospel of Christ? What might I need to do to rearrange my time, or my schedule, or my money? How might I need to reorder my life to see people meet Jesus?

What compels you? What do you love? Love God’s mission more!

COMPELLED TO LOVE

We are compelled by Christ’s love to give. We are compelled to sacrifice. And as if it were not obvious enough, we are compelled to love.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Here’s another one of those word repetitions. Paul says I serve all to win some. I lay aside my pride and my preferences and my desires so that I might see the people around me transformed by the Gospel. I become like all to win as many as I can.

Then in the last repetition he switches from the word win to the word save. Just as repetition is important, a purposeful break in repetition is just as or even more important. “We are compelled by love for the sake of the gospel to share Christ and win new family members, and in our winning Christ saves them and we share in the blessing of joy and rejoice with the Heavens… It is a transformative experience in such a sense that Paul felt the need to relate to people, to bridge the gap, even to Jews though technically he was already a Jew, how does that work?”

“In other words, the Jewish man, Paul, was so profoundly and pervasively redefined — given a new identity — by union with Christ Jesus, that Jewishness was not his truest, deepest identity anymore and, therefore, in order to win Jews, he had to become a Jew. When you become a Christian, your family roots, your tribal connections, your ethnicity and race, your nation of origin—all of them become secondary, at most. And the real you is something supernaturally new, different. A new creation. A new family identity in Christ. A new citizenship in his kingdom. Every other identity and allegiance is relativized.”

We are compelled by the love of God to be people who love–to be people who love well.

“10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us… 19 We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:10-12, 19).

Do I love Jesus and His mission? Do you love Jesus and His mission? If you think through all the names and faces of people you know and have some sort of relationship with, who would you love to see part of the family next year? Whatever you love in this life, learn to love Jesus and the spread of His gospel more… become all things to all people, that by all means you might save some. That someone new in your life will be welcomed in the family this year.

OUTRO - COMPELLED BY THE PRIZE

“Paul’s aim is to gain more and more people so that he can “share with them the blessings of the gospel.” His intent and purpose has a prize in mind. He’s got his eyes set on a blessing to be shared.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Again what is motivating you? What prize are you chasing after? To be the one who dies with the most stuff. Some people consider that winning. To stack your sexual conquests against another? How we live proves what we love–what compels us.

Our lives should change when we encounter Christ. They shouldn’t still be the same. We shouldn’t still love the same things we used to. We shouldn’t prioritize the same pursuits. We spent the last several weeks of 1 Corinthians talking about marriage. When you get married something should be different. We’ve been to so many weddings where it was just another day and then life would continue as it always had. But marriage should usher in a different way of life. In the same way, the Church is the bride of Christ, so encountering God should usher in a new way of living—a new identity.

“The race Paul was running (and calling us to run) was not merely about guarding the faith in our own hearts, but about pursuing that faith and joy in others… Paul was running to win the lost, despite how much effort it required and how much it cost him. He was talking about aggressive mission, not merely secret devotion.”

“I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10)

“What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?” he asks the Thessalonians. “Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19–20).

Every time you show up on a Sunday is worth it. Every time you drag yourself to family night rather than staying home in your pajamas is worth it. Wear your pajamas to family group. Every time you sacrifice for the kingdom and to welcome someone new into the family it is worth it. Every time you deny your desires and say no to sin and yes to Jesus it is so worth it!

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://www.gotquestions.org/love-of-Christ-compels-us.html

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/the-demands-of-love-part-2

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-missionary-miracle

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-then-shall-we-run

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/souls-are-our-reward

https://summitchurch.com/series/all-in-generosity

https://www.gotquestions.org/for-where-your-treasure-is.html

Real | Real Family - 1 Timothy 5:1-2 | January 14

THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY SEEM

Hey family!

Today we’re going to have the kid’s moment be a part of the teaching rather than separate. This is not going to become a regular thing, but I had an idea I wanted to share.

First, do any of you remember what I talked about last week?

I talked a lot about being a real person. What that looks like. What that means. A real person lives visibly for the world to see, not hiding in the shadows. A real person lives a life inspired by the Holy Spirit, believing in the work of Christ and His daily provision. A real person lives relationally with God and one another. That’s what we’re going to dive a bit deeper into today. A real person lives a life that is actively involved in pursuing peace, welfare, and blessing for their community, nourishing the lives around them as they are nourished by Jesus. And a real person lives a true life, guided by the truths of God’s word. We don’t demand truth on our own terms but we trust in God’s own way of life.

I have something to show you. What do you see in the middle of this card? “A small hole in the shape of a circle”. What do you think will happen when I put this card in front of the projector? We can see a small circle on the screen. Look, can you see it?

I have another card. What do you see in the middle of this card? “A bigger hole. A bigger circle”. I’m going to do the same thing. What do you think will happen? It’s another circle on the screen. Does it look bigger or smaller than the last one? It’s about the same size. Huh!?

Ok, one last card. What’s in the middle of this card? “A triangle”. What do you think will happen this time? A circle! How can that be? It’s a circle the same size as the other two?

Sometimes, things are not always what they appear to be. The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 5 verses 1 and 2, “1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

The Bible says, you see Mr. Josh over there? Treat him as you should your own father, with respect and encouragement. You see Ms. Rebekah, that’s your mother. Love and honor her. Look at River, you know what he is? He’s your brother! You know who Lilly is? She’s your sister!

Things are not always what they seem. Sometimes, when we look at people we just see family, friends, classmates/coworkers (put the cards in front of the light again one by one). But God sees family. Family. Family. It all looks like a family from God’s perspective.

Jesus tells us that “whoever does the will of [our] Father in heaven is [our] brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50).

Alright, your listening words are real and family.

PHAEDRUS - REVEALING TRUTH

Does anyone know why all of the cards displayed the same image? What is it that they are revealing to us?

Each card acts almost like a pinhole camera or a camera obscura which reveals the image of what’s on the other side, in this case the bulb of the projector. Where we see an individuals' character and detail, the Bible sees images of God, reflections of the divine.

Believe it or not, I unintentionally stumbled across another writing of Plato that has some relevance to what we’re talking about today. I’m a sucker for consistency. Trust me, I don’t go around reading Greek philosophers–although I have always wanted to read Aristotle’s Rhetoric.

But in Phaedrus Plato writes, “Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”

Phaedrus is the name of the character Socrates is speaking with in this dialogue, perhaps a cousin-in-law to Plato. Not surprising, the name means "bright" or "radiant" in particular how one might show light on something, "to reveal".

PRAYER

Lord, would you shine a light today on what it means for us to be a real family. Would you reveal to us all the places where our culture, our worldview, the way that we’ve been programmed from birth to see the world around us doesn’t measure up to the depth of your call for us to bea real family. Expose and renew us today Father.

We want to be a community of people committed to sharing life together. Help us Jesus! Amen.

ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS

I do have a quick activity for the adults as well. I don’t want you to feel left out.

Take a quick 2 minutes, turn to one of your neighbors who you don’t know as well as the others and find 3 things you share in common. Go ahead.

What are some of the lines of connection that you all discovered?

Did any of you discover that you had the same number of siblings? That’s pretty low hanging fruit. How about any of your parent’s names being the same? What about grandparents or great grandparents? Did any of you ask about family? I’m sure some of you must have, statistically speaking. But you know what, I bet a lot of your questions centered around three things: what you’ve done in your life, where you’ve done it, and perhaps who you’ve done it with. We’re a very predictable culture.

“Americans relish the freedom we have to make decisions in all key areas of our lives. We are generally free to decide what we are going to do with our lives (vocation), who we are going to do life with (marriage/relationship), and where we are going to do it (location/residence).”

And so when we get to know another person, the things we most readily ask are: what do you do for a living, where are you from, are you married, do you have kids? Now, all of us know each other fairly well at this point, so we’re a bit past these pleasantries, but I bring this up to demonstrate how difficult a battle we have before us today. We have to dismantle our entire way of thinking because the picture of family we have in the Bible is so radically different than what we know. And for some of you, the picture we have of the Church in the New Testament as a family is going to make you uncomfortable. But a family is what we are, that is how we live, and that is how we make decisions–as a family.

WHEN THE CHURCH WAS A FAMILY

A while back, I read an excerpt from a book by Joseph Hellerman called When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus' Vision for Authentic Christian Community. I am happy to announce that I have since read the whole thing. Well, most of it. Okay, some of it….

Anyway, Hellerman writes that in our culture, “Radical individualism has affected our whole way of viewing the Christian faith, and it has profoundly compromised the solidarity of our relational commitments to one another…

The world in which Jesus and His followers lived was a distinctly strong-group culture in which the health of the group–not the needs of the individual–received first priority. And the most important group for persons in the ancient world was the family. It is hardly accidental that the New Testament writers chose the concept of family as the central social metaphor to describe the kind of interpersonal relationships that were to characterize those early Christian communities…

One’s family demands the highest commitment of undivided loyalty, relational solidarity, and personal sacrifice of any social entity…”

So when we read verses like 1 Timothy 5:1-2, “Encourage an older man as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters…” We have to understand that there is a depth of meaning behind that! A depth of meaning that is completely foreign to us.

When we make decisions in our culture; such as those big three; what we’re going to do for a living, who we’re going to marry, and where we’re going to live; our personal goals, happiness, and satisfaction take first priority. We don’t consider the group. We may at some point, but not first. In Jesus’ time and in the New Testament author’s view of the Church, the group is primary.

So to understand what it means for us to be a real family, we have to first begin to understand what Jesus meant when He talked about family. What did a real family look like to Jesus? Spoiler alert, it’s not all that different from what family has looked like for the majority of the world for most of History.

THE GROUP COMES FIRST

There is a lot here to unpack. So let’s just begin with the broadest understanding and work our way in. The place we have to start to dismantle our family misconceptions is that in the New Testament the group took priority over the individual.

The atmosphere of the ancient Mediterranean world as well as the majority world operates within the context of collectivist cultures, not individualistic like ours. Jesus’ followers had no problem believing that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. When JFK said, “ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country”. We may agree in support, but the strong-group minded person acts.

You see, we are wired from birth to believe in self; that my happiness, my well-being, my pleasure, my satisfaction is of utmost importance and the sacrifice of the many is a small price to pay to fulfill the dreams of the individual. That’s a bit of a harsh way to put it but it is true, even if we don’t notice it as a driving force in our lives. It is so pervasive that we can barely recognize it in our own hearts. We look at the majority world around us and think them strange because they would sacrifice their “freedom” of choice for the sake of their family unit. That’s how we see it, as a freedom issue.

Here’s how pervasive this is. In antidiscrimination law, the Supreme Court requires that all persons be treated as individuals and that the laws operate primarily to protect “persons, not groups.” This is rooted in what they call moral principles of respect for individual autonomy. Individual autonomy, in essence, requires that the individual be afforded as much freedom as possible. So we first have to come to terms with the fact that we have a freedom idol in this country.

This is not Jesus’ view of life!

When I think of the world Jesus grew up in and the stories that influenced his life and those around him, I think of Esther who risked it all–her very life even by approaching the king when she did not have an audience with him to expose the plot of the evil Haman and save the people of Israel. Esther epitomizes Jesus’ teaching in John 15; “13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

I think of the mighty men of David who fought through an army of Philistines to get David a drink of water. And when they returned David refused to drink it but poured it out as an offering to the Lord saying, “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” (2 Samuel 23:17). These mighty men sacrificed for the group and David humbled himself and stood in solidarity not as outstanding, but as just one of the guys. A piece of a greater whole.

In the early Church, Acts 4 paints us a better picture of how we should see family. It says “32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common… 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.”

Family is a practical group ethic. What’s mine is yours. I freely give of myself and give up my individuality for the sake of the group. And the story which directly follows this statement lets us know how serious this family bond is to God.

In Acts 5 we meet Ananias and Sapphira, who had a field of their own which they sold. But instead of giving all the money to be distributed among the family, they held some back and lied about it instead. They didn’t have to sell the land. They didn’t have to give the money. The Bible says that it was always theirs to do what they wanted with it. No one would have judged them poorly had they kept some money to themselves. The problem is that they pretended to prioritize the group. They played at family while elevating themselves. And God has no room for imitation.

He made us to be a real family. And in Jesus’ understanding of family, the group comes first—before love, before business, before “following your dreams.”

The voice of our culture says, “Be yourself! Listen to your heart! Follow your dreams!”

Jesus says, “The group comes first!”

FAMILY - THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP

And in the ancient Mediterranean world, there was no group more important than family.

Somehow our children seem to understand this better than we do before they get brainwashed by the American Dream. I was having a conversation in the car with Canaan the other day and somehow it turned to the successive nature of generations. He had the revelation that for our family to continue, it was up to him. When Ada gets married she’ll no longer be a Hoffman. Her kids won’t be Hoffman kids. They’ll carry on some other bloodline. If the Hoffman name is going to continue he has to be the one who does it. Isn’t that amazing!

Family is the most important group! No wonder Jesus and the New Testament authors chose this metaphor more than any other to describe the relationship of those within the Church.

THE BOND OF BROTHERS (AND SISTERS)

Let’s take it a step further. Paul and the writers in the New Testament most often refer to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Because, not only is the family the most important group, but the closest family bond is the bond between siblings.

We understand Biblical marriage in the context of these words, “a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh—no longer two bodies but one” (Matthew 19:4-6). And while this is true for the man, it didn’t always feel as true for the woman. Let me explain.

The husband, once married, stayed in the household compound of his father, surrounded by blood relatives. His children were his blood relatives. It was family. The woman left her family to live in a house where she didn’t share the same blood. While we understand genetics a little differently, her children didn’t share her same blood. Her closest relatives would always be her brothers and sisters, who she would often travel to see as frequently as she was able and stay with as long as she was able. She felt most at home with her brothers and sisters.

That’s what makes stories such as Ruth’s so much more intriguing. Instead of returning to her blood she attached herself to Naomi saying, “where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried” (Ruth 1:16-17). That’s an incredible picture of the Church! It’s not the family she was born into, but the one God blessed her with that took priority.

That’s what makes the bond between David and Jonathan so special. Though they did not share the same blood, they were as brothers. David couldn’t return home to his own relatives, so “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself” (1 Samuel 18:3).

And we see the same truth in Jesus. Jesus saw the relationships between His followers as more than family, as closer than siblings.

HATE YOUR FAMILY

So with that, there is some very hard teachings of Jesus that we can’t escape.

First, in Matthew 8, “a teacher of the law came to [Jesus] and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Now, either this man’s father was already dead and waiting at home, stinking in the sun for this poor fellow to return home and pay him respects–seems unlikely. Or, his dad wasn’t dead yet and the man was asking to return home to attend to the duties of his sonship before gallivanting around the Galilean countryside with Jesus. Either way, Jesus’ words are clear, it’s not your biological father that takes priority–it’s your Heavenly Father.

In fact, Jesus doesn’t ease up on this language, but rather intensifies it when He says in Luke 14, “16 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

This is more than just a summary statement of “seek first the kingdom of God”. This is an entirely different way of life and it was just as radical then as it is now, but for very different reasons as you may well infer from the wealth of discussion we’ve had thus far. In order to be a disciple, we must be willing to give up everything for Jesus.

Now, what I’m not saying is to completely forget your earthly family. Your bio-family as it were. That sort of ignores all of Jesus’ other teachings about love, and justice, and respect, and provision and care for your parents and siblings.

What I am saying is that from Jesus’ point of view if it comes down to your earthly relatives and your real family, the Church always wins.

The group always takes priority. The most important group is your family. And the closest family bond is the bond between you and your brothers and sisters in Christ!

THE CHURCH - A REAL FAMILY

So the question is, are you moving closer to this reality or stepping further away?

What I don’t expect to happen is for all of this to click for you overnight and for you to wake up rid of all your American presuppositions. I do not doubt the power of God, but that has not been my story. It’s a journey. Individualism is our default. And you know what, not all aspects of our individualistic culture are truly unredeemable. You don’t have to give up your freedom, go live on a commune, and become a collectivist. You’re not going to be a very effective minister for the Gospel if you do that.

You do need to see the problems with the way we do things, and set yourself on a course to embrace more fully the Biblical picture of the Church as a family.

So, are you moving closer into this reality or stepping further away?

If you’re making any of those big life decisions that we talked about (what you do, who you do it with, and where you do it) without considering the implications to the group, the family and without relying on the Biblical counsel of your brothers and sisters then you are moving away from God’s design for the Church. And that may be difficult to hear.

And I know it’s easy to rationalize these challenging teachings away. When I feel God tugging at my heart to do something uncomfortable sometimes I think next time–I’ll be more prepared to follow and obey next time. Don’t ignore this call. And don’t put it off.

Because we are a family, whether you are choosing to recognize that or not, you’re not just harming yourself, you’re harming the group and the group is more important than the individual.

Family is about more than me, the wife, and the kids.

Your decisions affect us.

We are your family! So act like it!

“We share our hearts with one another, we stay, we embrace the pain and grow together… Important life decisions are made together as a community.”

Hold your plans loosely, give up control and authority over the outcome, allow the group–your real family, to prayerfully offer wise counsel.

“Quit trying to find [your own] way through life as an isolated individual and, instead, take advantage of the guidance, community, and accountability offered by [your] brothers and sisters in the family of God.”

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1636/1636-h/1636-h.htm

When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus' Vision for Authentic Christian Community by Joseph H. Hellerman

https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djclpp/vol12/iss1/3/

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/october-web-only/misreading-scripture-individualist-eyes-randolph-richards.html

Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World; Richard James; E. Randolph Richards

https://www.gotquestions.org/hate-father-mother.html

Real | Real People - 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 | January 7

INTRO

Happy New Year family!

You know what? Why don’t we take a selfie to commemorate this new beginning? I hardly do any of these things.

Isn’t it a funny world we live in? I remember when you only had 24 or 36 pictures and that’s all you got! Now there are thousands upon thousands right here. The world is at your fingertips.

It’s an instagram and tiktok culture with a filter for every memory.

“Each person has more opportunity to broadcast their ideas worldwide. You have a canvas with unlimited space, and you can shoot 20 takes and make 30 selfies in order to choose the ‘real self’ that you want to expose to the world. Hours and hours of ‘real’ content are at your fingertips.”

All this ‘reality’ and the result–nobody is real anymore. Everyone just shares their best moments, carefully curated to capture the eyes of a world with ever waning attention spans. They crave something real, and so they scroll endlessly through post after post searching for an itch that cannot be scratched–unsatisfied!

What does it take to be real?

PLATO’S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

In the Republic, written by Plato in 380 BCE, he contemplates a scenario where there are prisoners who have lived in a deep dark cave from birth, their bodies and heads restrained so they can only ever look at the cave wall in front of them. Behind them is a partition and behind that a great raging fire. Guards regularly pass by this fire as puppeteers, concealing their bodies, while holding aloft animals, images, carved statues, and the like. Some of them make noises while others do not. All these captives ever see are the shadowed projections on the cave wall in front of them. And so to them, the shadows are their reality. They do not know of the fire and cannot perceive the guards. Perhaps they even begin to give names to these shadows. If the prisoners could speak with one another, maybe they even play games and award honors to those who could remember the most names or correctly guess which image would appear next.

Now suppose one of the captives was released and turns to see the production behind. “What do you think his reaction would be if someone informed him that everything he had formerly known was illusion and delusion, but that now he was a few steps closer to reality, oriented now toward things that were more authentic, and able to see more truly? Would he, rather, believe that the shadows he formerly knew were more real than the objects now being shown to him?”

Now suppose with great struggle he was brought to the surface and forced to endure the pain his eyes would surely feel when met with the blazing glory of the sun. How would he be changed by the grandeur before him, knowing that this is the source of life? “We should not be surprised that individuals who have reached this level might be unwilling to spend their time on mundane affairs, for would it not be that their souls always feel a calling to the higher things.” 

Why would we ever want to waste our time on lesser things, isn’t that right Scott?

Now, one last time, imagine if you will, that this captive was returned to his shackles in the depths of that cave. How little would the honors he previously coveted mean to him now? Would he not try to open the eyes of his fellow prisoners, to free their mind? “Wouldn’t he become a laughing-stock? Wouldn’t they say, ‘You have returned from your adventure up there with ruined eyes!’ Would they not say that the ascent was a waste of time? And if they had the opportunity, do you suppose that they might raise their hands against him and kill this person who is trying to liberate them to a higher plane?”

Do we not all “resemble captives who are chained deep within a cavern, who do not yet realize that there is more to reality than the shadows they see against the wall.” And given the chance, do we not suppress that truth for fear of what it may mean to our own pitiful lives captivated by shadows? We shun reality to be enamored by a life without substance.

ROMANS 1

This is crazy! Doesn’t it sound crazy? Who would do such a thing?

Does not Paul say the very same thing? 

In Romans chapter 1 he writes, “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts…”

We suppress the truth. We pursue the shadow and not the substance. We settle for lesser things for fear of what a life where God exists would mean and what we may have to give up. We are slaves–captives waiting for something, someone to wake us up to the grandeur above. Though we may not know it, we all long for something real, to be someone real. We want to be real people. We want to be part of a real family. We long for the presence of a real God. We long to live lives fully awake.

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)

AWAKE AND ALIVE

Don’t think it is not lost on me that all this talk of shadows and sleeping sounds shockingly similar to the 1999 blockbuster hit, The Matrix.

Doesn’t it though? And no, “ignorance is [not] bliss” Cypher.

No doubt that movie certainly has Christian overtones. 

We all have the need to be unplugged from the delusions we’ve surrounded ourselves with so that we may live real lives. Lives with our eyes fully opened.

While that’s pretty Biblical right there, in and of itself. Here’s even a step further, to live lives with unveiled faces.

In 2 Corinthians it says, “12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…”

Being transformed into the likeness of God. Drawing closer to the grandeur of His luminous realm. This is what it means to live as real people–vibrant lives unto the Lord.

V.I.B.R.A.N.T.

Real people. Real family. Real God.

In the following weeks, we’re going to talk about what it means to be a real family and what it means that we serve a real God. But today I want to give you a framework for what it means for you to be a real person here with us as we strive to be real people here with you.

And the way I’m going to do that, is through the acronym V.I.B.R.A.N.T. If you want to live a real, vibrant life for the Lord this is where you start. And as we walk into this new year together this is what we individually and collectively should be striving toward–vibrancy!

VISIBLE

The first word is visible. If you want to be a real person you can’t go around hiding in the shadows. Paul writes that since we have this hope we are bold. We don’t hide what we have behind a veil, but we live it visibly.

Our faith is not private. It exists to be seen! To be felt and experienced by the world around us. As the anointed ones of Christ, we are here to be and create places where Heaven meets earth.

Hebrews 1 refers to Jesus as "the very image of God’s substance" (Hebrews 1:3) and in Colossians we learn that He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Jesus’ life puts God on display. And so, as His followers, as we are being transformed into His likeness, we reflect His glory and character in our own lives to be seen by the word. 

INSPIRED

A real person lives a visible life! And a real person lives an inspired life. Pauls writes that it’s the Spirit of the Lord that awakens a life to true freedom–true reality.

When we think of that word, inspired, I think of what it means that this word is inspired (2 Timothy 3:16-17). That it is God-breathed. That it is God-initiated. We talk about that word Spirit, pneuma. God fills our lungs with His breath, and we breathe deeply as real people.

Our lives do not operate from mere human impulse but are driven by the power of the Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. It empowers us. It changes us. 

The love of Christ compels us, His Spirit controls us (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Our lives are inspired!

BELIEVING

A real person is also a believing person.

It’s only through Christ that our veil is taken away. It’s only through Christ that the shackles are removed and we can see the reality beyond the shadows. So we repent. We turn to the Lord and away from the darkness (Acts 26:18). We seek the Lord (Hebrews 11:6; Jeremiah 29:13).

The foundation of who we are rests on Jesus. So, we put our full weight on Him, His finished work, and His daily provision. We have no backup plans. 

We are a believing people.

RELATIONAL

Being real is also about being relational.

God Himself exists in perfect community with Himself–perfect relationship. Father, Son, and Spirit. A perfect loving relationship defines God’s very being.

“Moreover, if God is perfect relationship, and we are created in the image of God, then [this is] our life as well. We are called by divine grace to enter into that mode of loving relationship that defines God's very being.”

It’s about being fully known and only then do we open ourselves up in vulnerability and intimacy to be fully loved. Fully known and fully loved. That is something we will strive toward in this new year as we become more fully the real family God has made us to be. 

ACTIVE

So a real person is relational. And a real person is also active–actively involved in the world and the lives of those around them.

This may seem obvious as being a part of visible and relational, but it bears emphasizing.

The pictures of exile in the Old Testament, of Daniel and his friends in Babylon, the picture Jesus paints for us living under the rule of an empire opposed to the very values of Christ. These are pictures of a loyalist subversion. Staying true to Yahweh at every turn though pain it may cause. And so, not conforming to the culture but subverting the culture with love. 

In our exile, “God sends the prophet Jeremiah who instructs [us] to do the unthinkable. He tells [us] to pray for the world’s peace and to seek the welfare of [our] city. He says… unpack and settle in, plant gardens, build houses, get married, and have kids. Jeremiah assures [us] of a brilliant future ahead—one that will not be won with war. He promises that one day, God will return [us] to [our] homeland (Jeremiah 29:4-11).

This bright future comes not through violent overthrow nor through timid conformity—this change starts with the peoples’ choice to trust Yahweh by loving their neighbors and blessing the community [we] have found [ourselves] in. This choice requires loyal love for God and his own way of life.”

We live out what we believe for the benefit of our brothers and sisters as well as those who are not yet a part of the family. We carry our faith with us as we do all things to the glory of God (Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:23-33).

NOURISHING

And so, a real person is also nourishing. 

There are a lot of people who suck… suck the life out of those around them. Like babies we come to our family and cry, feed me, attend to me, love me, care for me… You "suck the​ life" out of people rather than drinking from Jesus, the Spring of Living Water (John 4:!4). 

The disciple of Christ–real people are nourished by Christ and so nourish others by their lives. In 1 Corinthians 15, which we’ll get to at some point in the future, it says, “‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit… 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

We are not bound by the consumerism of our culture that looks to what benefit we can get, it’s our self-care idolatry. Instead we seek to be life-giving spirits which encourage and care for all people. We die to ourselves. We love on purpose and with purpose. 

TRUE

Finally, as real people, we are true.

We are a true family. We are the Church. And as the Church we are called to be the pillar and foundation of truth in this world (1 Timothy 3:14-16). And so truth guides us into truth. 

We can not settle for the lie of the shadows. There is reality beyond what we can see, touch, taste, and hear. This is true reality. God is ultimate reality and we find our true being, our full life as we make that climb out of the cave of illusion and into His glorious light (1 Peter 2:9).

God is real. He can be trusted. His promises are for here and now. And His words guide our lives. 

A LUMINOUS REALM

We are a real people and we are becoming a real people. This is what our future holds–more realness. Less lies. Less fakeness. Less imitation, playing at life. More real.

In his allegory of the cave, Plato said “those who are able to see beyond the shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed, by the masses.”

We are a people with unveiled faces peering into the Son and beholding the majesty of God. And this is our call, to shake the world around us to the reality that lies beyond what can easily be seen and perceived. Though few may listen, this is our call nonetheless (Isaiah 6:8-13).

Look around you! Look around you at work, in your neighborhoods.

“17 These are a [mere] shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ… [Let us therefore hold] fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:17-19).

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/does-anyone-know-what-s-real-anymore/

https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/seyer/files/plato_republic_514b-518d_allegory-of-the-cave.pdf

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/trinity-loving-relationship-defines-gods-very-being

https://bibleproject.com/articles/exile-in-the-bible-ethic-of-loyalty-and-subversion/