Everyone lives a committed life

“No one lives an uncommitted life.” Even the person who is lazy is a committed person i.e. committed to laziness. We’re brought up in a culture of commitment (from parents who are seeking to instill a commitment to the family, studies or values - to a culture that tells us to be committed to a our personal development and careers). No one lives an uncommitted life – because everyone is committed to something, someone or some way in life. Commitment is not a bad thing and is to be valued, but as followers of Jesus, it must be asked, ‘what are you committed to in life?’ What controls your commitments in life? Look at your ambitions and priorities, your family, your use of time and money, and your relationships – are they shaped by a commitment to follow Jesus?

Paul in 2 Cor.5:10-6:2 was a man shaped by two events that shaped his commitment to Jesus and his mission. Firstly, Paul understood that as a follower of Jesus he was accountable for the way he lived his life. He makes clear that there is a judgment where we must ALL appear before Jesus to give an account. His desire to please Jesus and to see people come to know Jesus was grounded in the knowledge that it will be Jesus who will one day judge all people (Paul included). Paul had a healthy fear of judgment in his life – a judgment that held him accountable, and a judgment that he knew people around him would also one day face. And so he makes it his commitment to persuade others to join him in fearing Jesus, in living a life that pleases Jesus and in being reconciled to Jesus.

Secondly, Paul understood that as a follower of Jesus he was personally loved by Jesus, who died so that he might live. "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died" - 2 Cor.5:14. We often forget that Paul was not always a Christian. He was an angry, violent, legalistic, self-sufficient man (1 Tim.2:12-16; Gal.1:13, 23; Acts 22:8; 26:19). And like those around him, Paul was under God’s judgment, destined for hell. Then Jesus saved him and transformed him. It’s Paul’s experience of the love and saving power of Jesus that transforms and directs his commitments in life. From one under judgment and hell, to one saved by Jesus, who is now a man accountable to Jesus and his mission because others are still under judgment, who is now ‘compelled’ or ‘constrained’ by Jesus’ love for him in life.

If there was a profound truth that summed up Paul’s personal relationship and commitment to Jesus – it would be ‘Jesus loves me’. If you were to interview Paul and asked him what is the most profound truth you’ve discovered in your Christian life? He would say – Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak but he is strong / Jesus loves me, he who died. Heaven’s gate to open wide. He will wash away my sin. Let his little child come in. / Jesus loves me, he will stay. Close beside me all the way. If I love him when I die. He will take me home on high (Anna B. Warner, 1860). His life was constrained, shaped, directed, marked, overwhelmed, won over by Jesus’ love for him. Is yours?

No one lives an uncommitted life – what or who are you deeply committed to?

A View Of History In Our City

Our view of history shapes the way we look at life, how we live and how we understand circumstances and events in our world. Some people believe that history is cyclical – life is a cyclical. There’s nothing new – because history repeats itself in an endless cycle. Others believe that history is linear. History and life is linear with a beginning and an end. Then there are others who hold to a chaotic view of history. History and life is nothing more than a series of events that are left to chance, a series of random disconnected events with no beginning, end meaning.

And so when you look at life you’re faced with 3 possible windows. Am I stuck in a never ending cycle beyond my control? Am I moving forward towards some ultimate goal or ultimate end? Or am I living a series of random disconnected events that just happen without beginning, end or purpose?

As I shared last week from the pulpit, there is a Biblical and Christian view of history and life. The Christian view of history and life is that it’s linear and purposeful moving towards a plan put in place by God himself. The Christian view of history is that there’s an unifying story that’s being played out in history and life that cuts across every nation, culture, people and language group – it’s going somewhere … it’s not a random series of events … and all that happens in history and life in our city is moving towards a plan put in place by God himself. There’s a story that unites us in this city.

Firstly, the Christian view of history is that something is wrong with us, our society, our city and our world. Even in an affluent and modern city like ours brokenness is self-evident, from local council corruption, to 30,000 homeless on our streets, to 31,000 abortions each year. Nationally, 40% of marriages in our country ends in divorce, and we spend more on our pets (2.3 billion) than on overseas aid (2 billion). Something is wrong with us, our city and our world. The Bible calls it the consequences of sin i.e. the consequences of living life in a society and culture that has rejected God. What we see and experience of brokenness around us is the outworking of a culture and society that has turned its back on God. (Rom.1:18-32)

Secondly, the Christian view of history is that God is not absent, but is involved, in control, working out his purposes in history to save us, to fix us, to redeem our culture, to renew society, to transform our broken cities and world. And he’s doing it in a man called Jesus who 2000 years ago died on the cross for our sins, who rose again from the dead, and who now rules as God’s appointed right hand man in our lives, our city and our world … who is gathering to himself a people, building a new and transformed society and culture, a city within our city, called the church. Everything in history and life converges and centres on Jesus who comes to save and to transform those living life without God, caught up in sin and brokenness. (Acts 2:21-36; 4:12)

There is a story being played out on the stage of history, in our lives and in our city. We live in a broken world, because we’re broken people who have rejected the God who made us and ignored his way in life. We all need saving, and God acts to save us in Jesus by sending him to die for our sins, to conquer death by raising him from the dead, and to be the one who now rules over all. And right now Jesus continues to save and gather his people, building a new and transformed city within our city called the church; a city where his love, compassion, forgiveness, justice and mercy rule; a city on a hill, a church whose light cannot be hidden in a city that desperately needs saving. You and I are that city, and the story is still being played out today.

A Time To Chart New Maps In Our City

Not only are there two ways to live in life – as a church, there are also always two ways to do ministry in our city. We’re either investing our lives in building the ministry of the gospel in our city or we’re happy being comfortable and safe where we're building up our own little patch in the city of Sydney. It’s always worth asking … what are you building – who are you following?

If your focus in the Christian life or even as a church is on your little patch in life (and honestly that’s all it is … a little patch of grass), and some have larger patches than others in nicer suburbs, the reality is that its still only a patch of grass in God’s scheme. This is the reality as Peter puts it, “All men are like grass, and all their glory (their work) is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And then we read that, "this is the word that was preached to you – this is the word that saved you". (1 Peter 1:24-25)

There’s nothing you build in this city that’ll last - grass grows and fades and withers, but it’s only the Word of God, the Word of the Gospel that saves, that’ll stands forever in our city. I want to make sure that we keep investing and building in what will last beyond our lifetime in this city. Personally, and as a church, what matters is growing the Word of the Gospel in our city. In fact, we’re believers today in the city of Sydney, because the apostles first preached the gospel in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.

In fact, the book of Acts is really a testimony to the living, enduring and growing Word of the Gospel. You read in Acts 1:8 where Jesus says to his apostles, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And today the Word of God is still going out to the ends of the earth in the lives of men and women who have received the gospel. Nations rise and fall, empires come and go, buildings are built and demolished, but the Word of the Gospel will always stand. In fact the growth of the gospel has never depended on the size of a church congregation or its facilities. The pattern you see in Acts is one where as the gospel is preached and received, there you see churches planted in those communities. Some churches meeting in homes, others in public lecture halls, still others in the outdoors.

What are we building and growing in our city? My vision has always been to grow a church not bound by walls, by tradition, by fear, by comfort, but a church with a vision to raise the next generation and to plant Bible believing, Jesus loving, Spirit empowered, gospel proclaiming, mission minded churches across the city of Sydney. In 2005 I cast that vision of sailing the deep waters which led to us starting GracePoint at Auburn. That was part of the start of a vision to plant churches across the city of Sydney: to be a church without walls, looking to plant 7 new churches in 13 years. It’s a vision I’m still committed to.

Between 1994 and 1996, the Institute for Church Development in Germany conducted a research project surveying 1000 churches in 32 countries (published by Charles Schwarz in Natural Church Development.) Churches were categorized into sets of 1-100, 100-200, 200-300 etc. They found that churches in the 1-100 category increased an average of 32 new people over the past 5 years; churches in the 100-200 category also increased an average of 32 new people; churches in the 200-300 category averaged 39 new people; and churches in the 300-400 category increased an average of 25 people (C. Schwarz, Natural Church Development. p.47.) And that means 'a small church wins just as many people for Christ as a large one, and what's more, two churches with 200 worshippers on Sundays would win twice as many new people as one church with 400 in attendance.' (Schwarz, p.47)

What about churches with more than 1000 people? They found that the smallest churches (with an average attendance of 51) won an average of 32 new people in the past five years, while mega-churches (with an average attendance of 2,856) won 112 new persons over the same 5 years.

In raw numbers it means that a mega-church wins more people than a single small church. But, if you keep in mind that a mega-church is 56 times the size of a small church, then the following calculations shows you the potential of the two groups more realistically. 'If instead of a single church with 2,856 people worshipping we had 56 churches, each with 51 worshippers, these churches would, statistically, win 1,792 new people within five years - 16 times the number the mega-church would win.' (Schwarz, p.48)

The effectiveness of small churches in terms of growth is statistically, 1,600 percent greater than that of mega-churches. The myth is that big is better. What we need are more Bible believing, Jesus loving, Spirit empowered, gospel proclaiming, mission minded churches planted across our city. Research also found that statistically more people are mobilized to use their gifts to serve in a smaller church than in a larger churches. If you look at our growth at GracePoint we fall into the small church category. When we started with our first congregation between 2000 and 2003 we grew from an average of 45 to 95 people attending our service (a growth of 50 new people in our service through evangelistic and transfer growth).

I believe we grow the ministry of the gospel best in our city by planting new churches or congregations. As each church plant grows and develops, we begin to plant new churches in different suburbs, which in turn eventually plants new churches themselves. And apart from achieving a much more effective rate of growth evangelistically reaching people groups across the city of Sydney, a smaller group allows for much greater involvement of people in terms of using their gifts in serving, less red-tape and structures to worry about, a much greater ability to maintain focus, and a much more personal church.

We can actually reach people across Sydney more effectively by planting new churches. You plant the first one, and then in 4-5 years time when you have a stable and strong congregation, you plant another new church in a different suburb, one out of our evening congregation, and one out of our morning congregation. If we did this, potentially by 2013 we could have 400 people spread across 4 churches or congregations, with all 4 churches ready to plant another 4 new churches.


Personally I believe it’s time to sail the deep waters again, to chart out new maps as a church in our city. We musn't be bound by walls, by tradition, by fear, by comfort. We’re called to love Jesus and his mission, and people in our city. We’re called to be a church with a vision to raise the next generation and to plant Bible believing, Jesus loving, Spirit empowered, gospel proclaiming, mission minded churches across the city of Sydney.

Water, Church and Ministry

This morning I was at my local coffee shop reading and thinking about ministry. Felt the need to re-read a book titled, 'Aqua Church' by one of my favorite authors, Leonard Sweet. Been thinking about the 'church' recently. What does it mean to be a church where Jesus is at the center leading, directing, shaping, molding, modeling, instructing us? I hear people pray that all the time, that our church might honor Jesus, or that our church might have Jesus at the center. What does it actually mean?

So much of what we do seems more 'human' led rather than Jesus led. Like most churches, I suspect our ministry is filled with countless meetings where decisions are made, where church plans are discussed, where Bible studies are run, where leaders are trained, where evangelism is carried out. The question that's constantly on my mind is, 'where is Jesus in all of this?' Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that ministry = meetings. Run enough meetings, pump out enough paper, organize enough events, keep the wheels turning each week, and we fool ourselves into thinking that we're doing ministry.

Someone forgot to tell us that the church is not a business, a committee or a company, but a people that Jesus has saved and gathered around himself; that he's transforming and leading. The church belongs to Jesus and it's His mission and vision we serve. Leonard in his opening chapter points out that our mission is to lead people to water i.e. to Jesus. I'm not always sure whether we're leading people to water whether it's those who belong to the church or those still on the outside.

When was the last time you attended a meeting at church whether a cell group, a committee meeting, a music team practice, or even a worship service and thought to yourself, 'man, that was refreshing ... I came and I met Jesus today'? Like the words of that song on what's at the Heart Of Worship, 'it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus'. I wish I could say that about every single one of our meetings at church. Unfortunately, it's not always true at church. The Psalmist tells us to 'taste and see that the Lord is good' and that there is 'blessing for the man or woman who takes refuge in Him' (Ps.34:8). Our mission is to lead people to water i.e. to Jesus. We need water and so do those on the outside.

Our problem is that sometimes we muddy the water in our meetings because the cups are dirty. And when you muddy the water, it's difficult to convince people to drink from it, because all they see is a broken and dirty cup. Even worse if people actually drink the water, instead of an experience of Jesus, what they get is an empty, draining, often lifeless experience of church. Or maybe sometimes the cups are not dirty, but just unattractive, so they obscure the pure refreshing water on the inside.

As I was reading Aqua Church, it was also made clear that if you notice something about water ... it's liquid. It's a liquid that fills the shape of any container. The main thing is to trust the water. Don't tamper with it, don't muddy it, don't dilute it. The content always remains the same - the same Jesus yesterday is what I need and what people need today. When it comes to church, people need water, but the containers might need changing. Perhaps what the church needs is a different container. Leonard writes that,

"Every generation needs a shape that fits its own hands, its own soul. Each generation, every person, needs a different handle from which to receive the living waters of Jesus. Our task is to pour the living water into anything anyone will pick up. By 'anything' I mean that literally: anything. If I want to reach my twenty-second century children with the gospel of Jesus, I must be prepared to to pour the living water into containers out of which I myself would never be caught dead drinking. This is what Paul meant when he talked about our "becoming all things to all men" that we might win some (1 Corinthians 9:22)"

Perhaps what we need is not just more of Jesus, but different containers in the way we do church that will help people drink from the living waters of Jesus. Maybe what we need is not just new wine, but new wine skins as well in the way we do church. Ours is an ancient faith, a well of living water that has been running a long long time. There's nothing wrong with the water, it's the containers that need changing in our generation.

The Shame Of The Cross

This week in preparing my Sunday sermon on being ‘unashamed’ of the gospel, I spent some time researching the shame of the cross. Paul’s statement in Romans 1:16 where he says that he’s not ashamed of the gospel is a radical statement. It’s radical because the cross was a symbol of shame and humiliation in the world of the New Testament (NT). When Paul writes, I am not ashamed of the gospel … he’s in effect saying, “I’m not ashamed to look bad, I’m not afraid to look foolish, I’m not afraid to be considered a fool, I’m not afraid to be shamed and humiliated for the gospel”.

Why was the Christian gospel considered both an embarrassment and shameful? In 1 Cor.1:22-23 Paul reminds us that, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. The gospel was considered a foolish message and a shameful message, because at the heart of the gospel was the symbol of a cross – a message concerning the crucified Christ.

These days – crosses are a common sight aren’t they. In our church we have a cross on the steeple of the church, on the stained glass windows, even on our weekly bulletins. In fact the wearing of a cross is a fashion symbol these days, worn by the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, David Beckam and Liz Hurley. But in the world of the NT, the cross was a shame symbol. Only the scum of society were crucified. Death by crucifixion was reserved only for runaway slaves, criminals and murderers, rebels convicted of treason, and captured enemies of the state. What people fail to understand is that death by crucifixion wasn’t just meant to cause a person great pain. Crucifixion wasn’t just a way to cause someone a slow and painful death (where you eventually suffocated to death, as your organs shut down from lack of oxygen, as your lungs fill with fluid causing you to drown in your own bodily fluids). Crucifying someone was also a way of shaming them, of publicly humiliating them.

The goal of a Roman crucifixion was to not just kill the victim, but to shame them in a public way. You were stripped naked so that your body would be exposed (remember how the guards gambled for Jesus robes and divided it up among themselves in Mark 15 and Matthew 27). You were scourged or flogged with a whip with metal or bone at the tips ripping pieces of flesh from your body. And then 5 to 7 inch nails would be driven into your wrists as you’re tied to a cross. Your legs are then broken. And then you’re left out in the open air in all your nakedness for everyone to see … each hour, each day, as the life drains out of you … as you loose control of your bodily functions … and then left to the vultures to be consumed. In the world of the NT, a crucifixion was a public shaming of the person, leaving them exposed and powerless. It took away their rights, their control, their worth, their dignity … a public statement really to say to everyone around that this is what this person is worth.

The cross was a symbol of shame in the world of the NT. And a gospel whose message is Christ crucified wasn’t just absurd or embarrassing, it was shameful and appalling. What sort of people worship a crucified man? What sort of people speak of a crucified man saving them? They should be ashamed of the cross. Only fools worship a crucified man whom they call God’s King and Savior.

Graffiti has been around a long time. In 1857, archaeologist discovered graffiti scratched into the plaster walls of the barracks of some Roman soldiers built by the Emperor Nero. One of these pieces of graffiti called the Alexamenos Graffito drawn in the first century Jesus reads, ‘Alexamenos worships his god”. And alongside these words is a picture scratched into the wall. The picture shows a small man, Alexamenos, praying with one arm extended toward Jesus suffering on the cross. Jesus appears on a visible cross with arms outstretched, hands nailed. But in this crude picture, scratched on the barracks wall by a pagan soldier, Jesus has the body of a crucified man - but the head of an ass. And beneath this are the words, ‘Alexamenos worships his god’.

That was the common, prevalent attitude of the day to the gospel and those who called themselves Christians. A gospel whose message was Christ crucified was a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greek speaking world. In fact, the word used to describe the early Christians was asinarii, which can be translated to mean "belonging to an ass" or an ‘ass-worshipper’.

In the eyes of most people, not only was this crucified King and Savior an ass, but so were his followers. For what sort of people glory and boast in, proclaim and worship a crucified man? It was both appalling and shameful. How can the cross be good news? What’s so good about the crucifixion of a man on a Roman cross? It’s something you should be ashamed of!!!

The temptation for Paul and certainly for Christians in the NT was to be ashamed of the gospel, to be ashamed of the cross of Jesus. Yet, we read in Rom.1:16, that Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. He is unashamed to be shamed and humiliated for the gospel in his world. He is unashamed to be considered an ass for Jesus! And the reason comes in the second half of v.16. Paul is unashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

It is the ‘dynamite’ explosive power of God to save all who believe! (1 Cor.1:18) Paul is unashamed of the cross because in and through the death of Jesus on the cross God saves! For in this gospel a way to be right with God is revealed, a way to be right with God that is by faith from beginning to end (Rom.1:17). If you go on to read Romans 1:8-32 and Romans 3:9-26 you discover that in the death of Jesus on the cross God is saving us from his wrath and from the consequences of our rebellion (more on this in the weeks to come). You discover how at the cross Jesus pays the penalty for our sin: bearing on himself God’s wrath and dying for our sins. And the way to be right with God comes through faith or trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified in my place as a sacrifice for my sin (Rom.3:22).

For ultimately, the death of Jesus on the cross was not the last word. For the last word at the cross is not death, but resurrection. For the last word at the cross is not shame, but vindication. For the last word at the cross is not humiliation, but exaltation. For the same Jesus who went to the cross, is the same Jesus God has resurrected and lifted up to the highest place to be worshipped, and given the name above every name (Phil.2:6-10). For the same Jesus who went to the cross, is the same Jesus God has declared to be his promised Son, His chosen King and Savior by his powerful resurrection from the dead (Rom.1:1-4).

And because of that, Paul is unashamed of the gospel!

At the cross
God demonstrates His love for us
While we were sinners Jesus came to die
So by His blood we would be justified

So be not ashamed of the cross
It brings salvation to all who believe
God is revealed, Guilt is removed
Forgiveness can now be received

So be not ashamed of the cross
Tell of its power to all who will hear
Great is our joy, Glory is ours
From death we can now be set free

At the cross
God demonstrates that He is just
Unpunished sins could not be overlooked
So Jesus took them on himself

At the cross
God demonstrates His endless grace
He chose to send His precious only Son
To punish Him for sins we’ve done


At The Cross.
Music: Phil Percival. Words: Bryson Smith.
(Consider Christ Album. Available at www.emu.mu)