Values: Up, In, Out

Announcements:

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Fall Retreat

October 24th-26th (Fri-Sun)

Palm Springs

Registrations Live

$235

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Wednesday Nights starting up

6:30pm in the HSM Room

New space tbd — demo starts Friday

Fire Pit//Bride’s Room

Introduction

This is our last week in our vision series

Next week we will be back in the Gospel of Mark

And I know we’ve talked a lot about the vision of our community as a whole

We are a family committed to one another

We are a body — each part plays a role

We spent time getting to know each other

But today I want to give you a vision of what it means to follow Jesus—as an individual

I hope to give you all a framework for discipleship

What does it look like for you to follow Jesus?

I had no framework for what it meant to follow Jesus when I was in high school

Christianity = Mental Assent

I beleive our Christian life must be lived out in three directions

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Up, In, Out

Up — In relationship with God

In — Transforming us from the inside out

Out — Our discipleship spills out of us and affects the people around us

These three directions make up the Christian life

And this isn’t something I’m just making up—today, we’re going to look at the early church and see that these were their priorities

Scripture Reading

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Acts 2:41–47 CSB

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Outline

Up — Adoration

In — Transformation

Out — Incarnation

Up — Adoration

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Acts 2:43 CSB

43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

Acts 2:46–47 CSB

46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

These were people with their eyes fixed upward

They enjoyed life, and each other, while recognizing that every good thing comes from God

Everything we do in the Christian life is rooted upward

God is the source of life—and apart from the source we can’t do anything

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John 15:5 CSB

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

If you are serious about following Jesus—it has to begin by looking upward

In recognizing God’s provision—and in giving Him the glory

We are never the initiator—God is always at work first

And he invites us into the work that he is up to

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“The assumption of spirituality is that God is always doing something before I know it. So the task is not to get God to do something I think needs to be done, but to become aware of what God is doing so that I can respond to it and participate and take delight in it

—Eugene Peterson

We also recognize that the Christian life is about relationship

It’s not just about inner transformation

Or outward acts of justice and mercy

But first and foremost—it is a relationship upward with the Living God

Without the upward aspect we lose out on the main point

We lack a relationship with God

Life is about deepening relationship with God

This is what the whole Bible is about

In the Garden

The Fall

Moses/Tabernacle

David/Temple

Jesus

God’s pursuit of humanity—to bring us back into relationship

So on this side of the cross—there is no more barrier

We have direct access to our God through Jesus

Without relating upward we have no power or confidence moving forward

And very practically what this upwards looks like:

On Sundays:

We worship through song

We take time of reflection after teaching

In our everyday life

Meditating on God’s word

Prayer

Worship

In — Transformation

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Acts 2:42 CSB

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

Acts 2:44–45 CSB

44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.

All of this is the result of a radical inward transformation

You see as we engage upward with God—it actually does something to us

Like a friend rubbing off on you

It transforms us from the inside out:

It changes the way we think

It changes the ways we see others

It changes how we see ourselves

It changes what we do with our time, treasure, and talents

The Christian life is about deep inward transformation

And I mean deep transformation

Not just the way you think about things or see things

It brings transformation to the deepest areas—our desires

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Psalm 37:4 CSB

4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Not a genie

But as we engage with God—it actually changes our desires

We no longer want to live how we used to

We desire holiness over sin

We might struggle to live it out—but we have a new heart—and our deepest desires are to love and please our God

God’s love is transformational

Freedom and safety

Being loved changes us

Experiencing love changes us

We actually become more and more like Jesus

Without this inner transformation— you will lack spiritual maturity

You’ll be just as selfish and miserable as before

And you might relate upward in prayer and worship

You might serve others and live outwardly

But it will all be a sham—it’s all fake

You have not changed on the inside

Practically what this inward transformation looks like:

On Sundays:

Worship — changes our desires

Bible — combats the lies we beleive with the truth

Community — belonging to community transforms us

In our everyday life:

Prayer — your will be done / Lord’s Prayer

Scripture

Out — Incarnation

Finally all of this must be lived out

3000 people added to the church

Every day the Lord was adding to the church

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1 Corinthians 12:27 CSB

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.

Incarnation

Carne - meat

Putting flesh and bones to the gospel

Being the hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus

Christianity isn’t just about beleiving the right things

Its about being representatives of Jesus in a dark and fallen world

It means:

Showing compassion on those who are suffering

Forgiving those who wrong you

Speaking up for justice even when it’s not popular

Using our words for healing and building up rather than hurting and tearing down

Prioritizing others in humility

This is the end of the Christian life: incarnation

Taking on the life of Christ

Which leads to upward adoration

Which leads to inward transformation

Which leads to further outward incarnation

This is what it is about

And without this outward incarnation

We are just selfish hypocrites

How can we relate upwards and receive mercy and grace from God—let that transform us—and not have it affect how we live our lives?

It’s not just about doing what Jesus would do —WWJD

It’s about becoming like Jesus so that what Jesus would do—is the same thing that we would do—because we have been transformed

I think of a body of water

Stagnation

Intake and outflow

And what this outward aspect looks like

On Sundays:

Our time with each other

Our free time before teaching

After service

In the courtyard

In our everyday lives:

Incarnating Jesus to those in YOUR life

Your schools

Your sports teams

Your family

Your friend group

Conclusion

Lastly I want to talk about the dangers of focusing on only one of these aspects—pride

Pride is the dam that will stop up this natural flow from god, into us, and out of us

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Only Up:

Insular separatist

Pride—You actually aren’t letting God transform you

Only In:

Self-help guru

Pride—You only care about yourself, and becoming the best version of yourself—and you try to do so in your own strength

Only Out:

Person of Action

Pride—You think you can change the world without God

God is far more concerned about your heart and who you are becoming than what he can accomplish through you

He can speak through a donkey

This is what following Jesus is about

I personally wish I had this understanding when I was your age

UP-IN-OUT

And in that order

It is a natural progression

If you are truly relating upward rightly

The rest will happen

And it is cyclical

We continue to grow in each capacity

We never reach the end

And we are here for you—for this purpose

We do this together

Remember—there are no lone wolf Christians

So we are going to take some time to reflect and then we are going to talk together about this in smaller groups

Reflection Questions

How do you relate upward with God?

Where is an area of your life needing transformation?

Where are you being called to live outward for Jesus?

Group Questions

What are your thoughts about this framework? (up, in, out)

Why does relating upward with God come first?

What is an area of your life that has been transformed by Jesus?

How has someone else incarnated Jesus love to you?