Code Orange Revival Day 3

Day 3 is going to be a bit longer than the posts I have done because of the message that Matt chose to preach on.  This was hard hitting stuff and I can wait to share it with you! I have included the whole video at the bottom because EVERYONE needs to hear... Wow Matt Chandler crushed this one!
Before I get into the message I want to frame this up really quick... as most of you know, I have been looking forward to Elevation Church’s #Codeorangerevival and made the commitment to myself to watch it in its entirety.   Being a weekly attendee of Elevation Church, I knew it wouldn't be to difficult to do since every service I have ever been to has been awesome! It has seriously been like everyone of these sermons that Pastor Steven is preaching have been specific for my ears so, I couldn’t wait to hear all the guest speakers they had lined up!

I want you guys to actually think about this really quickly... this didn’t hit me until last night... we have 12 days of “Revival”, plus 2 Sunday services… that’s basically 14 times I am attending church within a 12 day period. That is close to 3 and a half months of Church Service in just a week and a half… amazing when I think of it like this.

The point of that wasn’t to toot my own horn but, when I started to think about that it really hit me… It's Insane and I love it!

I have hosted all 3 (now 4) nights of #Codeorangerevival hoping to lean farther in, wanting, hoping, and praying to hear what God has to say through some powerful voices of our day and possibly bring my friends and family closer to God.... On day 3 Matt Chandler was the speaker.

Matt Chandler serves as lead pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX. He describes his 7 year tenure at The Village as a re-planting effort where he was involved in changing the theological and philosophical culture of the congregation. The church has witnessed a tremendous response growing from 160 people to over 5,000 including two satellite campuses (Denton and Northway).  Prior to accepting the pastorate at The Village, Matt had a vibrant itinerant ministry for over ten years where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of people in America and abroad about the glory of God and beauty of Jesus.

Matt’s story and faith are unreal, his ministry and preaching anointed, and he gave me a real feeling of conviction.

When Pastor Matt was on stage, I tweeted several times about his service and I am still floored by his message… Wow... he was amazing, it left me speechless, and it totally blew me away

I think there main thing that Chandler wanted us to hear comes from Psalm 23

Read Psalm 23… If you read it wrong however, you’ll think that the point is that God is all about You, that’s 100% wrong:

The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. I won’t be in want. The deepest needs of my want and my soul will be satisfied in my Shepherd. He MAKES me lie down in green pastures. You can lie down or be MADE to lie down. You will bow or you’ WILL bow. He leads me besides still waters. He brings us into peace. He restores my soul. And he leads me in paths of righteousness...

Sounds like he is REALLY INTO ME doesn't it... leading me besides still waters, paths of righteousness… but why?  Look at the motivation… Its for His names sake. His provision and love and passion about you – the motivation for this isn’t that YOU are great but, that HE IS GREAT. The motivation is His Name, His renown, His glory.

See, everything in our culture says you are valuable, its all about you...well I have bad news...it's all about God.

Chandler also really hit home when he said God is here for your joy… notice He didn’t say HAPPINESS. Happiness can be taken from you in a second. Happiness is cheap and will not sustain you for the journey that God has for you. “I am after your joy, but sometimes getting to joy STINGS”.

Don’t live on a superficial plane because that will not sustain you.  If you live long enough you’ll bleed. You’ll experience loss. Your strength will fail you.

Non believers have this misconception... break the rules, do and don’t type of idea... like God is Santa.

Evangelicals misconception is that... God is all about US and ME...That creation is all about... God being lonely so He created ME… Me and Jesus are best friends type things. Bottom line is God is about God.

God’s motivation is always His glory, His name, His renown. All through the Scriptures, the works of God are expressed “for the glory of HIS name”.

Here are a few more highlights of Matt Chandlers message at #Codeorangerevival are shoe God is for God

• Isaiah 43 God created us for His glory
• Isaiah 49 God called Israel for His glory
• 2 Samuel 7 God gave Israel victory, for his glory.
• 1 Samuel 12 He does not throw his people away for the glory of His name
• Ez 36 restored Israel from exile for the glory of his name
• John 7:18 Jesus sought the glory of his father in all he did
• Matt 5:16 and 1 Peter 2:12 do good works for the glory of his name
• John 14 Jesus answers prayer so that God may be glorified
• John 12 and John 17 Jesus endured his final hours of suffering for the glory of God.
• Romans 3:25-26 God gave his son to vindicate the glory of his righteousness – does anyone have a problem that God forgave David WITHOUT Jesus, David was a adulterer and murderer. God is holy. How was David a man after God’s heart? he was a sinner! how is that possible, because Jesus vindicated ALL the forgiveness of ALL the people in OT and NT and now
• John 16:14 the minister of the Holy Spirit is to glorify God
• 1 Peter 4 serve in a way that will glorify him
• 2 Thess 1 Jesus is coming again for the glory of god
• John 17 Jesus ultimate aim for us is that we will see and enjoy his glory
• Hab 2 the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God
• Romans 11 everything that happens will redound to the glory of God
• Rev 21:23 the glory of God will replace the sun – when I make all things new, we wont need the sun anymore. Jesus will be the sun, warmth, light, growth, life… what the sun does I WILL DO

From genesis to revelation – the story of The Bible, God is for the glory of His name, He is reconciling and reclaiming all things to Himself. The Bible is not about YOU. The bible is about JESUS. 

Yes, it does have instructions but, its not the road map to life.

If you don’t get this, you’ll be reading it the wrong way. You’ll keep infusing yourself into the stories of the bible like you’re the hero.

• You’re not David. You’re trouble in life is not goliath.
• Jesus is the greater David, the greater Moses, the greater Abraham.
• Jesus is the greater then.
• Jesus is David, goliath is sin and death.

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

God tends to use people that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to use.  He chooses to make much of Himself through us. Because he loves us so much he saves us and transforms us and wounds us and heals us.

Why is it such good news that GOD IS FOR GOD over God being FOR YOU? His motivation is for the sake of His own name, not our own glory. Since God is for God and since God is ultimately about the praise of His glorious grace, God is not after my begrudging submission but, after my joy. God is ferociously about my joy, because the more I enjoy him the more His grace is gloried in. 

See God is not after me, like “I better do what he says or he’ll send me to hell.” God wants me to enjoy Him. That’s why He gives me the law. Chandler talked about The Law and The Pharisees.  He spoke about David delighted in the law, he sung about the law. Because God is for God and not our begrudging submission.

The commands of God are meant to lead us into greater life and greater joy and to line us up with how He designed things to work rather than for us to have it our way... which doesn’t work. God doesn’t suggest things, because he knows how things work, He does it because he created it… rest, money, marriage, sex etc. Greater life (John 10:10) is found in our obedience to how He wired the universe to work, rather than how we think the universe should work... we are own worse enemies, we are the problem, God’s law leads us into life. We are supposed to believe his law and His commands lead to greater joy and life.

Now we’re not going to keep that law perfectly... thats the implication of God being about God. If God is about God that means we are not the center of the universe... 

Almost all the conflict in our life is predicated upon the belief that the world is about me. Road rage = the world is about me. Marriage conflict = the world is about me. Work issues = the world is about me. The more the world is about you, the more angry and tired you will be, the more it is NOT about you, the more free you are. (this is right on point)

The Apostle Paul was an unfazed, untouchable man... though in prison, beaten, left for dead, and shipwrecked 3 times… Lord are you serious! Confident in Jesus... how is that possible? Because his righteousness was from Jesus.

Despite me, despite my continued failures, despite my foolish heart and shortcomings, God because of the imputed righteousness of Christ to me and his wrath absorbing death on the cross and his resurrection now sees me as perfect and spotless and holy, not because I am but, because HE IS.

That is why Ephesians 2 says that even the faith I had to believe in was given to me was given by God, it is a gift, so God so owns the glory, that everything is His, that is why no one should walk with a swagger or with a limp, because we are His. Don’t touch His glory... He guides us and shepherds us and leads us for His names sake. 

Our old man wants creation over the Creator – even in the church. Yes, God loves you but, God is ultimately after the praise of His glorious grace.

Trying to earn your righteousness will make your exhausted...We are all liars, thieves, adulterers, murderers. We are infinitely guilty but, Christ has made a way. Our hope is in Christ’s perfection. God is not in love with some future version of you, its not in the us of tomorrow that he loves or when we get our act together... if you believe that, you dismiss the cross of Christ.

The cross is a glaringly acknowledgement of our sin, that we fall short, that we’re not perfect (noone is except Jesus), that we’re screw ups. The cross says yes I know, I’ve made provision, I’ve handled that... There’s no sin in our past, present, or future that has more power than the cross of Jesus Christ. Christ absorbs God’s wrath on the cross, so serious was our transgressions that a price had to pay and the resurrection shows us that it was paid in full, that’s why Romans 8 says there is no condemnation for those in Christ.

God gives freely to those who will ask for it, who will humble themselves in repentance... There is no wound He cannot heal. The cross is the evidence that God knows. He knows our sinfulness. God responds when His people cry out for mercy.

Let us humble ourselves.

Love you guys,

BC