REALLIFE Spokane

Devin Mecham breaks down what it looks like to let Jesus impact your work life.

The over-reaching of the church via politicking and aggressive language and behavior into the broken culture as a means of making a difference is a broken way of thinking and acting. We are to be light in the darkness – not fight the darkness with dark ways.

Let’s ask the right questions? How do we be light in a dark world? How do we make an impact? We want to change the world – we want to help people be free from brokenness and pain. We want to show the world a better way – Jesus’ way. That heart is amazing – we want to grow that heart – but we don’t want to fight for the things of God like the devil would fight.

Happy Father’s Day dads! We are so thankful for you and honor you. We celebrate you dads. We are in a series all about how Jesus is making all things new in our lives. Our relationship with him, within the church, in our homes…today we wrapping up the home sphere with a conversation about parenting. I love being a dad. I love my girls. So so much. I am excited to talk to you about parenting – I know we all have lots of different stories in here…some really amazing – some really painful. Today’s conversation is meant to be a inspiration for you to parent according to God’s design. There isn’t a ton in scripture about parenting – there is enough though for us to get a good sense of how we are to parent. Let’s dive in together today.

Many of us would probably agree that Jesus should be the center of certain aspects of our lives. But we often draw a line around certain parts of our lives where we don’t allow him to have that level of authority. Sometimes it’s just out of ignorance, and sometimes it’s intentional. One of the top places that we tend to do that is with our families. Our time together rarely involves Jesus, and many times our kids’ sports games or our family hobbies crowd out things like devotional time, going to church, or serving. If we look at our schedules and the way we use our time with our families, it becomes clear that Jesus isn’t really at the center of our families. This has led to things like similar divorce rates within the church as there are outside of the church; kids who are neglected and grow up with bitterness toward their “Christian” parents who really showed them a hollow version of Jesus; pornography addictions and affairs; and many other family-related issues that show what happens when Jesus is pushed out of the picture. Surely God intended better things for our families, right?

Let’s tackle a few small topics today – marriage and sexuality! Ha! I am only going to be able to lay a foundation for this conversation today. My wife and I have done some work on the practicality of this in our podcast if you haven’t listened to it…check it out. But today let’s lay the foundation Biblically for marriage and sexuality. The Bible speaks to this adventure in a powerful way. There are spiritual laws and designs that govern our families – when we live according to those designs we are blessed – when we step outside of those designs we experience the pain and destruction that is associated with doing things our own way.

We’ve always been passionate about the next generation being raised up and developed around here. But to actually believe in and invest in the next generation takes a heart for who is next and takes a passion for unity. 20 years separates us – there could be so many things that divide us. But God has done something special here. He has given us a passion for unity that supersedes our age and our preferences. Most churches get old as the leaders get old. The preferences of the older generation begin to create less and less room for the next generation to thrive. 66% of High School Students step away from their faith when they graduate High School. By having a passion for unity, we as a church can help change this statistic, but we have to make room for the next generation to not only grow, but to thrive!

Jesus is making all things new. There are several spheres of influence that we have as we go about life. As we follow Jesus, He begins to change us in every one of those areas. That’s what we have been talking about – we started this series talking about the first sphere – our abiding relationship with Jesus. Then last week Richie introduced us to the second sphere – the church. This is where we are going to pick up today. As followers of Jesus, we have been given a mission to reach this world for Jesus one person at a time. The primary way that we do this is by being in intentional relationships with the people around us – as we grow together in being and making disciples of Jesus. That word relationship is what can get us into trouble. Mostly from personal experience, we all bring our own definitions to what relationship looks like – most of which look totally different. Jesus’ church has always been and still is where we are supposed to learn how to be in intentional relationships with the people around us.

Why is the church here? What is the purpose of the church? Why do we need the church in our lives? How do we interact with the church? What is our role in the church? I wonder if we just attend and not think about some of these questions? I wonder if it would be important for us to spend a few minutes unpacking this conversation…I think it is actually essential to know what you believe and how you live within the church. When Paul wrote the book of Ephesians – he wrote more about the church than anything else. What a mess it could be – lots of different opinions and desires all colliding within the church. Who’s right? Wrong? What is God’s heart and plan? What does maturity look like within the church?

As a church, what kind of people are we going to be? The saddest Christian in the world is the one who only seeks God half-heartedly or casually. That person cannot enjoy sin anymore because they know it’s wrong but will not experience any of the joy and fulfillment of the gospel because they are not all in with Jesus. Remember Jeremiah’s statements? Those who seek God wholeheartedly will be in for the adventure of their lives. Those who are half-hearted and compromise will live a life of pain and separation from the goodness of God. When we look at the gospel, it is hard not to be moved by the goodness of God and hunger to know him better. The only way we will genuinely reach this world for Jesus one person at a time is by laying a foundation of faithful connection to God through day-in, day-out spiritual discipline. This world needs something real. They need SOMEONE real. They need Jesus. The more connected we are with him, the more people will see him shining through our lives. God loves you and wants to be in deep community with you. Will you create the space? Will you let him in?

We want to present all of us Mature in Christ. Each of us becoming who God made us to be. That is a process of transformation. Each of us are learning what it means to be mature in every area of our life. You see up here – there 5 spheres of life you walk through every day. Jesus, church, family, world, spiritual realm. Maturity is essential in each of these spheres. Today we are spending more time in this abiding sphere – your relationship with Jesus – everything flows from that – if you are immature there – everything else will be affected. He is the source of life and power to be transformed in every area of your life. Without his power – you have no hope to become who he made you to be.