2015 NYC - Only One Family by Matt Reagan

No one in the world is outside of a relational context

• Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

• The units of the earth are families

• America is one of the most individualistic cultures in the world

• Matthew 12:48- 50 “But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Family is hard because the idea or concept is wonderful, but it rarely lives up to what we hope for in true family

True Family:
1. They know each other

• The deepest longing of the human heart is to know and be known
• In heaven everyone will know each other perfectly- That's scary right now
• 2 Timothy 1: 2-7

2. They delight in each other's joy

• No competition

3. They do not perform for one another

• Nobody is looking at me, they are too busy looking at themselves
• Not putting on a show
• Song, "Unsteady" by the X Ambassadors
• True families are a haven and a refuge 

4. They discuss each other's pain
5. They walk through conflict

• Galatians 6: 1-2

6. They aren't going anywhere

True families are a messy, wonderfully and healthily messy

• “The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.” -  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

• Ephesians 2: 14-20

How do you step into this family?

• Vertically

• Galatians 4:4-6

2015 NYC - Only One Day by Matt Reagan

Summary: We have one life and it comes from God to us and it fills us up like a chocolate fountain and it overflows from the trinity to us, to other people our one family and then other lives, one life at a time in the world, those who we want to bring in the family so they will be in the family forever.

1 Corinthians 10:31  “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

12 crossroads we experience in any normal day

1. Wake up. To which voice will you listen, the voice of waking, of life or the voice of escape. You remember the world is safe because God is safe
2. Two more voices. One speaks of performance and tasks, the other is the voice of God saying to rest in Jesus, be not do.
3. When you read the bible you feel the call of the scriptures is too hard to live out. You are torn again. You can muster up strength, or you can go to God for help.
4. Communing with God, distractions are already calling but you know there are people who need the same love you are fighting for.
5. What is my purpose today? To be impressive or to be impressed?
6. Breakfast. You can stare blankly or you can actually enjoy the food, think of the great chef who created food to be good, not just for fuel.
7. Class. Opening your mouth to meet the person sitting next to you. You remember he needs Jesus. You remember you are safe, the one who made the world loves you.
8. You know pressing into this conversation will be messy. He hurts, you know it, and you’re a chocolate fountain full of hope.
9. Learning in class. God wants you to know him in history class, so you actually listen. You think of pain and fear that people feel.
10. You decide to ask deeper questions to the person who is hurting.
11. Should you bring up Jesus to this person, it would be taboo and awkward. You ask them to study the bible.
12. You could call someone to get help, but that would be admitting weakness and fear. You remember you are weak and needed a savior to die for you, so you ask for help.

Four Considerations:

1. In a hypothetical way, you chose the right way every time, but what if you don’t. You can go the way of guilt or you can go the way of repentance

•  2 Corinthians 7: 7-10 “8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.”

2. The christian life is both harder and easier that the life of a non- believer

• It's hard to stay awake as a christian, we need vigilance because we want God.
• We are fighting for rest

3. There is coming a day when you don’t have to fight against yourself

• This life is a vapors breath

4. God will carry you in his arms until that day

• We fight with his strength

2015 NYC - Only One Way by Matt Reagan

Hebrews 9:27- 28 “27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

•  I only have this one life, then I will live forever, I will never stop existing

What do we do with this one life?
1. You die to it 

• Colossians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 4:17
• Everything is mine so we die to this life, how can we not give it up when we have everything in Christ?
• Is our life dear to us?
• The glory we have in Christ far outweighs all the suffering and pain we endure for the gospel to go forth.  

2. You go where hurting people are

• Because we are in Jesus, we are invincible. What are they going to do kill us? we would only go to paradise. 

3. You pour your life and that one life out gladly 

• Philippians 2: 16- 17, 2 Corinthians 12:15 
• We get spent for someone else so that their life can be saved 
• Don’t just be a candle that brings light, but be a flashlight that points to Jesus so that others might know him. 
• Give your life away one life at a time

Five ways to die:

1. Pray for one life on campus
2. Start a spiritual conversation with them
3. Invite them to see Jesus in the Bible
4. Give you leisure, development, and free time to them
5. Teach them that one love so they will die to their one life.  

2015 NYC - Only One Love by Matt Reagan

2 Corinthians 4:4-6 “4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

1. How do we see the glory of God?

• In the face of Christ

• Christ came to demonstrate God and His love

2. What is the gospel?

• Jesus shows himself through it

• 1 Peter 3:18 - Paul is the foremost of sinners

*There is one love, God’s love for us. The gospel is free, His love is free*

3. Why don’t we get giddy when we start talking about the gospel of Jesus?  
 - Because we don’t think of God as a person, we think of God as a concept

     a.  We are meant to know the warm, loving face of our father God

     b. Because we think of Him as a cosmic police officer who is never                      pleased

• His countenance is a frown

• Luke 15:20 “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

• Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

   c. Because we don’t look at the world around us as loving communication

• But everything around us is sending a message from God

• Psalm 19:1-5 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving it's chamber, and, like a strong man runs it's course for joy."
  Because the cross of Jesus has become cliche

    d. Because the cross of Jesus has become cliche

• Use my imagination to see the cross more clearly

2015 NYC - Only One Mission by John Piper

1. God’s pursuit of his glory and my joy are not two pursuits, but one
  - John 12:27, 1 Peter 3:18, Psalm 16:11

• God sent Jesus to glorify the father because we trample on it every day 
• He died so that we might have everlasting joy in His presence

2. I must not minimize or diminish my joy in God, but pursue it with all of my heart

• I conquer sin by a superior superior satisfaction in Jesus- we sin because it feels good
• We can’t be christians by ‘should nots’ but by the biggest ‘want to’ of pursuing joy true joy in Jesus

ONE MISSION: Joyfully and sacrificially declare and demonstrate that the glory of christ is more precious than life. And help all people discover that their only hope is in Christ’s death and resurrection for everlasting happiness. 

• Our mission is not living, or staying alive

Breaking down our life mission statement:

1. Declare

• 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 
• With our words 
• Sometimes by giving up our lives 

2. He is better than life 

• Luke 21:12-18 “12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers[a] and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish.”
• If  we ever get arrested for being a christian, we are on assignment 

3. Demonstrate 

• 2 Corinthians 8:1-2 “1We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”
• The glory of Christ has made me more happy than the removal of affliction or poverty 
• 1 Peter 2:12 “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
•  We hope people will see our lives and see Jesus 

4. To all people 

• Revelation 5: 9-10 “9 And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll   and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,  and they shall reign on the earth.”

2015 NYC - Relationships Talk by Reid and Nikki Jilek

Reid and Nikki share their story and Biblical principles for relationships. 

Five Guidelines Healthy for Dating

1. The point of dating is marriage - are you ready to get married? If not, maybe avoid dating for a while. 

2. The bible calls us to community - dating in isolation can be dangerous

(Hebrews 10:24-25, Proverbs 18:1)

3. Be clear about your attentions - both the guy and the girl

Genesis 3:6 - warns against male passivity.
Genesis 3:16 - warns against desires for control and manipulation

4. How to pace a relationship

The emotional, spiritual and physical parts of the relationship should all slowly grow equally. 
But the bible clearly warns about saving sex for marriage, fight to live in community and in the light with the physical parts of dating. 

5. Both of you must have an understanding of the Gospel
 

2015 NYC - Gender Roles & Identity by John Piper

God purposefully creates man and woman. 

• Genesis 1:27 - "Male and female he created them"

Three main qualities of manhood:

1. Initiation
2. Provision
3. Protection

• These are primarily man's responsibility, but not solely; women help in this 

Piper's fictional story that paints a picture of complementarianism: a man initiates a date with a woman, has a plan for the date and pays for her, and then walks her home. They are confronted by two men who want to take the woman. She is a black belt, and her date knows this, but he still puts himself between her and the bad men in order to protect her at risk to himself. He gets beaten up, and when he regains consciousness, he realizes she has beaten up the two bad men using her skills as a black belt. 

    - This story is to demonstrate that it's not about who is more competent; the woman was clearly more competent to fight the men, but the man risked himself for her sake, anyway. 

Ephesians 5:2-33

1) Marriage is a dramatization of Christ and the Church (verse 32)

2) In the drama, husbands take their cues from Christ and women take their cues from what God wills for the Church.

3) The primary responsibility for initiative, leadership, provision, and protection fall on the man. 

          - the man should always be looking for ways to help bring out the woman's gifts and talents 

2015 NYC - Only One Passion by John Piper

2 Corinthians 6: 4-10

“4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

1. What does it mean as christians to be ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing’? Which part, sorrowful or rejoicing, has the emphasis?

- We learn from this passage that the first part of the phrase creates the background for the second part of the phrase.

1. Genuine, yet regarded as imposters

2. Known by God, yet unknown to the world

3. Dying, yet we live on for eternity

4. Beaten, yet not killed

5. Sorrowful because of the pain in the world, yet always rejoicing in the hope of the Gospel

6. Poor materially, yet making many rich for eternity

7. Having nothing, yet possessing everything
    

2. The gospel brings us to life to see more and feel more for the people all around us. We see the pain of the world and feel is deeply. So, what can our joy be rooted in that makes the sorrow ok to feel?

• Sorrow is feeding off the gloom of the world

• Rejoicing is feeding off the glory of God

3. Passion

•  Sometimes people think of passion as a feeling
•  Here it is the object of our feelings, our passion is Jesus Christ and His glory

Peter 1:3-8 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice,though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials...8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” I Peter 1:3-8

4. What does it mean to call have glorious Joy?

• The literal Greek meaning is Glorified joy
• When you are thrilled by something, it shapes the person that you are.
•  If we are thrilled by sin, it shapes us into people who love darkness and evil
• If we are taken up by something beautiful or something we delight in, it shapes our joy.

1 Peter 4:12- 14
“12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

• What makes joy durable in the midst of trials is Jesus’ glory.
• There is glory to come, but we have a glory here and now on this earth. “you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you”

Implications

1. God’s aim to be glorified and his aim to give us joy are the same thing - God is shown to be great when we are happy in him.

2. Since God is shown to be great by us being happy in Him, we should fight to always be happy in Him.

2015 NYC - Only One Gospel by John Piper

Will the gospel that you know be good enough? Will the familiar, smooth gospel that you slip in your back pocket be strong enough for the rough, unfamiliar times we live in today?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

“ 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”
How do we respond to this gospel when we hear it?

• We receive it

• We remember and savor it

• We believe it, steak our life in it, and it saves us

• Is it just my insurance or is it my whole life?

Revelation 13:1-8

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Verse 7- Christians are being conquered(killed) by the beast, 
Verse 8- 8 Observations

1. Lamb. Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

2. Slain. In Greek this means horrible slaughter against the lamb

3. Life. When the lamb is slain and life was taken from him, life is given to us if we receive Him.

4. Book. Names that are written in the book of life live. 
   - Why do they live?

5. Being in the book of life keeps them from worshiping the beast. 
   - God keeps us because our names have been written in the book of life. Not the other way around. God does not write our names in the book of life because we have not ‘worshiped the beast’.

6. Why- The lamb dies to purchase my life and protection from worshiping the beast. The reason they don’t worship is because they are written in the book by the blood.

7. When was our name written in the book?
   - God views Jesus slain before the creation of the world
   - Our names are written in the book of life before the creation of the world

8. Why is this important?

• God intends to give me the deepest security and the deepest confidence in my salvation imaginable.

Close: 
Revelation 22:17
“ ...And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

• God says COME to the fountain you who are thirsty

• You may drink and it is FREE, a free gift. 

You can’t know if your name is written in the book of life by peeking, you can know by how you respond to the lamb who was slain.