• These are the New Year intro sermons where we set the tone for the rest of the year
• The arcing theme is Vigilance on this 5yr arc, where we’re entering year 4: Agency
• By what authority is a Christian vigilant before God to overcome the world and fulfill our mission?
• We’re given several titles under Christ and we will explore what they mean for our agency
• This language of titles and responsibilities will help us understand and act in a way which is lost to the modern world and even the modern Christian
• Our standards have been lowered to the floor, and a big lacking part of this is repentance and holiness among many others. Agency is built upon pillars
• There’s a cost of entry to authentic Christianity
• Let’s look at what is now perceived as power, and respond to course correct
• There’s even a struggle for what it means to love your neighbor, but this discussion has blown up past the local body and into the pop culture spotlight of Christianity
• The major denominations of Christianity has been tearing itself apart in the struggle of compromise to unbiblical demands
• Basic topics such as sex, gender, marriage, clergy qualifications, etc have lost biblical foundation
• Christianity may be as low as 35% by 2070–and that doesn’t account for self-reporting Christians who don’t believe in basic Christian doctrine
• The majority of people will soon be religiously unaffiliated. Christianity has soured them
• We have to acknowledge that our definitions of power and agency are so false that we need a categorical, qualitative change in the the way we understand and act
• Repentance is demanded
• We’ve become obsessed with being the best of the world, rather than be separated from the world
• Romans 12:1-2
• We’ve found that if we can just change the metric by which we’re judged as a healthy and powerful church, then we have been able to succeed. But what is important is character and not money, power, numbers, flashy worship, etc
• The perfect Adam in a perfect setup was able to be corrupted, even by his love for his wife
• The good things created by God are easily corrupted by us
• We must protect the Fruit of the Spirit. Their quality matters
• We should not be satisfied by an orchard of rotten fruit. It’s needs more care and time and understanding to properly cultivate
• But the properly cultivated fruit is powerful and holy and rewarding beyond measure
• We don’t understand our power as believers
• Our fruit is utterly unique, and cannot be found anywhere else
• It’s ontologically holy
• 1 John 4:7
• Love is brought to full expression in us, and it’s unique to active children of God
• True love is only complete with the sacrificial offering of God for our own sin
• The world’s trite expressions of love cheapen God’s full idea and expression of love
• Christians who follow this example do more to obstruct the vision of God than to amplify it
• Even deep parental love or friendships are pitiful in comparison to the love God has for us
• This love can only be grown, and only from the Vine of God. It can’t come from any other source
• Lack of conflict is no substitute for abundance in God. This is not a loving relationship
• Love substituting tolerance for holiness is not love at all, but its hate according to Scripture
• It’s awaiting destruction as the person you claim to love careens toward judgement and death
• 1 Corinthians 13:4 is a commonly cited passage for love, but it’s typically incomplete
• The second half says love doesn’t rejoice about injustice, but when the truth wins out
• Injustice is more like unrighteousness in the Greek, as used in Romans 1 about blatant sin
• 1 Cor 13 speaks to willful sin when it contemplates godly love
• Humans know when we are sinning–its innate. And we “naturally” try to suppress the truth
• How can we say we love when we don’t address them on the truth about themselves? A truth they even know in their hearts… We must work for the real freedom of those we love
• If we don’t do this–we live and love with muted faith. It’s not the full expression of God’s power
• But we aren’t clean. We didn’t even start this way. We must pay the cost of entry to the truth before we can even begin to cultivate proper love in a proper way
• Before it all, we must understand the holiness of God. In the way He has revealed Himself
• There is absolutely nothing like Him
• We are to be holy as well. This doesn’t mean perfect or righteous–but “other”
• We are not like the world. We are, in fact, better than the world. And this is true entirely by grace
• 1 Cor 3:16-20
• John 1:12
• 2 Tim 2:8-14
• Matthew 7:15-29
• Many will claim to know Jesus but are lying to themselves. They have spiritual power, but produce rotten fruit and unrighteousness
• And the crowd was amazed why? Because he taught with real authority
• He “commanded them in God’s presence”
• The word for authority is exousia. It has freedom in its roots. It’s agency. 
• Matthew 9:6
• Christ had freedom to do what he wanted by God’s power
• This authority unnerved people, and most of all the authorities
• Christ repeats to his disciples over and over: “fear not”
• Luke 10:19, this extends to all Jesus’ followers
• The world has an orchard of dull or rotting fruit, finite and ever changing observational science, cogs and machines, fragile and bloated ego, flawed heroes, etc. But we have the redeemed and perfectly designed versions from our perfect and loving Lord
• Believers must know that our new nature is better and more powerful than the world
• Our renewed nature and ontology is capable of being more than the full expression of humanity because we’ve been given an inheritance from our true Father
• This message is offensive to the world. If you are offended, perhaps you should consider where your allegiance lies
• If you can’t admit that being with God is better, then that’s going to be a serious inhibitor to your own agency as a Christian
• We’re not doing this to enable “our best life” but what is best for you instead
• We’ve been given a promised land, but we must take it, and also cultivate it
• Luke 10:19, this extends to all Jesus’ followers
• The world has an orchard of dull or rotting fruit, finite and ever changing observational science, cogs and machines, fragile and bloated ego, flawed heroes, etc. But we have the redeemed and perfectly designed versions from our perfect and loving Lord
• Believers must know that our new nature is better and more powerful than the world
• Our renewed nature and ontology is capable of being more than the full expression of humanity because we’ve been given an inheritance from our true Father
• This message is offensive to the world. If you are offended, perhaps you should consider where your allegiance lies
• If you can’t admit that being with God is better, then that’s going to be a serious inhibitor to your own agency as a Christian
• We’re not doing this to enable “our best life” but what is best for you instead
• *We’ve been given a promised land, but we must take it, and also cultivate it
• Do you want to stop the failures, ugliness in relationship, unrest in your life?
• Are you not the child of a King, the chosen, the elect, the very Body of God?
• Take what God has freely given. Step out of the unlocked chains
• Speak God’s power to Man’s truth
• This is your birthright.
• People should be dumbfounded by your fruit
• This year is about understanding your agency through all these things
• QUESTIONS FROM TODAYS SERMON:
• 1. What are you putting in the way of your understanding of power?
• 2. What about your power as a believer do you find most problematic?
• 3. Are you afraid to be a child of God and the things such a title demands?
• 4. Do you think the Gospel is good news to those who don’t want it?