<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

My greatest desire isn’t to see Epic Church become great; rather to be used by Jesus in a movement to see the Gospel transform the lives of all people within our city.

We are in part 2 of our Membership Series at Epic Church titled: Growing a Movement.  As I have prepared for this series it is totally humbling as I notice all my short comings as it relates to growing a movement which would transform my city and the nations.  This week is about Giving Ourselves Away.  It sounds good.  I mean it is a great title for a sermon but making it become reality is going to be HARD work.  But by the grace of God I pray the Holy Spirit will use those connected to Epic Church to transform their communities by enabling them to give themselves away.

Church Planting is hard work.  Period.  The “existing” church has a lot to be thankful for.  Mainly structure and support.  In church planting we are blazing new roads.  Many times without the support of mature Godly men and women around you.  The summer has been tough at Epic Church.  Attendance has been low with many on vacations at different times, plus the factor that Epic Church is a young generation church many have summer plans.

Tonight I started a series called: Identity.  Though then hoopla of summer struggles I have found it it refreshing and necessary to refocus my thoughts and energy on who I am in Jesus.  This extends out of the words of Paul the Apostle.  “Therefore the old has gone and the new has come.”

We are all creations of God but when we move from creations to children the miraculous occurs.  The old falls away and the new comes forth.

Have you been made new?  Do you celebrate this fact?  My prayer is this week we would experience the joy of our salvation though being made new.

Here is a sneak peak behind the new series we are starting tonight at Epic Church called Identity.  This series stems really from a personal reflection at who am I in Christ.  I forget all too often who I am in Jesus and where my value comes from.  So, peak at my musings as I studied this week for tonight’s sermon.

-Jake

<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} strong {mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;} em {mso-bidi-font-style:italic;} p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} p.norm, li.norm, div.norm {mso-style-name:norm; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.no-indent, li.no-indent, div.no-indent {mso-style-name:no-indent; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.espagenumber1 {mso-style-name:espagenumber1; display:none; mso-hide:all;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

Identity.

When we understand who we are we have power. The power in understanding outselves and what we were created for allows us to live our lives better.

We have been created in the image of the living God. He has given us more worth then we give ourselves.

When we rest in the fact that our identity is given to us and not earned we have so much freedom.

“Don’t worry about what they say, we know what you really are like.”

I am made in the image of God.

I am the inheritor of Gods Kingdom.

I am the Bride of Christ.

I am a Child of God.

Galatians 3:26-27 (NIV)
²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3:29 (NIV)
²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

I am an Alien.

I am Royalty.

Galatians 3:29 (NIV)
²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 8:17 (NIV)
¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Old is Gone.

1 Corinthians 5:13 (NIV)
¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NIV)
¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Identity of Christ’s Followers:

Romans 3:24 – We are justified. (declared “not guilty” of sin)

Romans 8:1 – No condemnation awaits us.

Romans 8:2 – We are set free from the law of sin and death.

1 Corinthians 1:2 – We are sanctified and made acceptable in Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:30 – We are righteous and holy in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:22 – We will be made alive at the resurrection.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – We are a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – We receive God’s righteousness.

Galatians 3:28 – We are one in Christ with all other believers.

Ephesians 1:3 – We are blessed with every spiritual blessing Christ.

Ephesians 1:4 = We are holy, blameless, and covered with God’s love.

Ephesians 1:5,6 – We are adopted as God’s children.

Ephesians 1:7 – Our sins are taken away, and we are forgiven.

Ephesians 1:10,11 – We will be brought under Christ’s headship.

Ephesians 1:13 – We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:6 – We have been raised up to sit with Christ in glory.

Ephesians 2:10 – We are God’s work of art.

Ephesians 2:13– We have been brought near to God.

Ephesians 3:6 – We share in the promise in Christ.

Ephesians 3:12 – We can come with freedom and confidence into God’s presence.

Ephesians 5:29,30 – We are member of Christ’s body, the church.

Colossians 2:10 – We have been given fullness in Christ.

Colossians 2:11 – We are set free from our sinful nature.

2 Timothy 2:10 – We will have eternal glory.

People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. Thomas Szasz

In an act of kindness, Actor Kirk Douglas pulled over to the side of the road to pick up a Sailor on leave who was hitchhiking. When the Sailor recognized him, he said to Mr. Douglas, “Hey, man, do you know who you are?”

That’s a great question that everyone of us should ask ourselves from time to time and when we do, we should listen for God’s answer.

Isaiah 43:4 NIV “you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”

It seems that this college student needed a small two-hour course to fill out his schedule. The only one that fit was in Wildlife Zoology. He had some reservations as he heard the course was tough and the teacher a bit different. But, it seemed like the only choice so he signed up.

After one week and one chapter the professor had a test for the class. He passed it out and it was a sheet of paper divided into squares and in each square was a carefully drawn picture of some bird legs. Not bodies, not feet—just different birds’ legs. The test simply asked them to identify the birds from the pictures of their legs.

Well, he was absolutely floored. He didn’t have a clue. The student sat and stared at the test and got madder and madder. Finally, reaching the boiling point, he stomped up to the front of the classroom and threw the test on the teacher’s desk and exclaimed, “This is the worst test I have ever seen and this is the dumbest course I have ever taken.” The teacher looked up at him and said, “Young man, you just flunked the test.” Then the teacher picked up the paper, saw that the student hadn’t even put his name on the paper, and said, “By the way, young man, what’s your name?” At this the student bent over, pulled up his pants, revealed his legs and said, “You identify me.”

God’s changes are complete. Christians are brand-new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated—we are re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Christ (Col. 2:6-7). At conversion we are not merely turning over a new leaf; we are beginning a new life under a new Master.

Paul said that from now on “we regard no one from a worldly point of view” (2 Cor. 5:16). That is, we simply do not judge them by what we see. If we looked at Jesus in this way, we would see only an idealistic Carpenter, murdered by wicked and selfish men. But we look at Jesus 884through the eyes of faith! In the Cross we do not see defeat, but victory! Though we do not see Jesus with our physical eyes, we recognize Him as the living God, our Savior and our Lord

32. How to Be Reconciled to God

Identity: The way we see others.

2 Corinthians 5:16 (NIV)
¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

2 Corinthians 5:16 (NLT)
¹⁶ So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!

2 Corinthians 5:16 (MSG)
¹⁶ Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore.

The church is a group of transformed follower of Jesus, who perceive themselves to be the Body of Christ in their local community and to the nations, and live as such.

This is a definition of church.  Help me interact with it and let me know what you think about this.

Genesis 1:27

27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

rmale and female he created them.

It is my belief that God created all men with the same worth and value. God values each of us the same. And we see from the book John:

John 3:16

16 “For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal life.

We know that each person is loved and valued the same from God. I fully believe this and I ask God often, though I am sure not often enough, to allow me to have the mind and heart of Christ and that I would see creation as God sees his creation.

I made a poor decision this morning while preaching at Epic Church. I made the choice to call Christians who try to do their own plans and try to pawn them off as “God is leading me” yet it is in direct contradiction to the Bible, Morons. I should not have called anyone a moron.  Everyone no matter what the believe still have value.  No one is more valuable to the Father than any other and we should not try to assume otherwise.

Yes, I said if you are saying God is speaking to you yet it in contradiction to the Word of God you are a moron. Here is the transcript starting in the 39^th minute:

Starting in min 39:00 of the sermon, I am speaking:

“Why Mormons are heretical and demonic influences and that allah is a demon. As you look at this and you grab at and look at their doctrine please pray in light that they are very powerful spirits, they are gods with a lowercase g.”

“They were created by God and have fallen and belong to Satan. They are very powerful and you need to guard your heart and you need to guard your mind. Read them and contrast them with what we know to be true. Seek wise council. God does not contradict himself.”

“If you say, “Well the Holy Spirit is telling me there really isn’t the Holy Spirit, there really isn’t Jesus and there really isn’t God. He’s not going to go against his word. It’s not going to happen.”

39:50

“That’s a whole another sermon for another time. For all your people who say that, “God is leading me”. Well show me your verse. I don’t have one I just feel it. Well you’re a moron. Quit eating BK late at night. The problems with this is that modelism denies the relationships within the Trinity.”

Then in the 42^nd minute of my sermon I used the word, “moron”, again. I said that I would sound like a moron to some when asked about who send me I just reply, “I AM.” Here is the transcript from this:

42:50

“There is yet one God and he is the Lord. He is I AM. That’s pretty flippin’ sweet if you think about it. “How are you to describe me” “God how should I describe you?” “Just say I AM.” I’m going to sound like a moron that you’re God and I AM” I AM is God.”

As a preacher of God’s Word and a herold of the King I should be wise in the way I chose my words. The word, moron, is not up lifting even harsh. I should have not have called Christians “morons” who misuse the calling of the Holy Spirit. And I should not have called myself a moron for trying to describe God to others as saying that God calls himself, “I AM”.

I have a lot to learn as a communicator of God’s Word. I will write more late but please forgive me for using the hard word moron in these contexts.

You can listen to my sermon this morning here. http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2423642

I have been doing a ton of research for tomorrow’s sermon.  In all honesty I was looking forward to Epic Church’s Porn Sunday.  I was thinking it would be fun to talk about something so taboo.  But in all reality porn and lust are destroying, yes DESTROYING, the life Jesus has created for us.  We think we know best.  We think we can “handle” our sin.  You know what – we don’t handle sin, sin handles us.  It is only by the power of Jesus that we are able to flee from sin.  Not because we remove it from our lives but because Jesus takes it away.

Isn’t that the Gospel message?  Not that we did anything, but that because of a deep unfathomable love Jesus has taken all of the crap of our lives and lives everywhere upon himself so that we may experience freedom.

Enough is Enough.  Lust and Porn are so entrenched in our culture.  I can’t even begin to think how or where to start to reverse the tide, but I tell you this – my life will be focused on Jesus and I will fight to the death for my purity.  Purity with Jesus.  Purity in my marriage.  Purity in my relationships.  I must allow Jesus to work within me and though me.

What are you going to do?

The next three posts will focus on what Epic Church, and our lives for that matter, must focus.

Focus 1 – Our Focus Must Be On Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 12)

Epic Church must focus on Jesus Christ.  As I prepare my sermons to the church I love so much I always ask myself this question, “How will this sermon glorify Jesus and allow Him to be the focus of our time together?”  (John 17) This too is the focus of all decisions regarding all things Epic Church and all things Team Rasmussen.  To be honest, sometimes I feel like I fail, just being honest.  Without a doubt, if Jesus is not the focus of our lives and church, we will fail.  And fail BIG TIME.

It sounds kind of silly to write a post or even say out loud that Jesus must be the focus of our church.  I mean it should go without saying.  Right?  Well, one would think so.  It would be like a baseball game without a hot dog, or a church planter without a Mac, chili without beans.  You get the point, just sounds totally ridiculous.

I see all sorts of churches put their focus on something other than Jesus.  At times in my life have been focused on other things rather than Jesus.  Some churches put their focus on doing good things, giving a lot of money, building the best worship service, having the coolest artwork, having the best music and the list can go on and on.  But, we must – let me say it another way; WE MUST have Jesus as our central focus in all we do.  (Matthew 6:33)

This does not negate the need for other things to compliment our focus but they must not be the driving force behind what we do.  It must be Jesus.

The message of the Gospel and person of Jesus will permeate all we do as Epic Church.  Jesus lived a perfect life, died a gruesome death, fulfilled scripture, has given us hope, a future, a purpose, a heaven, and the list could go on and on.  (1Cor 15)  Because of Jesus we have Epic Church.  Because of Jesus we have a story.

What does it look like for a church to be focused on Jesus?  (Acts)
I have been asking this question for months.  What does Epic Church look like when it is focused entirely on Jesus Christ?

For Epic Church when we focus on Jesus we will see radical life-change and authentic community.  (Acts)

Look out for number two tomorrow.

Tuesday is the big TTT for the Tour de France. Listen for my predictions at the end.  Dinner tonight was awesome with the Epic Church team.  Tonight was a reminder of why I love church planting and leadership.  I know Jesus has called me and my family to church leadership and it has been a blessing to used by Jesus in our city and in His church.

OH YEAH!!!  And I got to hang with a member of Stand By Red 5.  He hooked me up with a FREE CD.  This band is HOT!  Check em out at: http://www.myspace.com/standbyred5 You can follow them on Twitter too at: http://twitter.com/StandbyRed5

• Started a new series today called Man to Man.
• 5 weeks of preaching without notes. Scary and a little anxious at times.
• Met two cool new people this morning.  One just recovering from brain surgery and 17 years old, the other a nurse.
• I LOVE EpicChurch and the family which is being created.
• Really enjoyed lunch today after the Gathering.
• Best part of my day, HANDS DOWN, was the family time at the mall and then swimming tonight.
• Totally stoked about the TTT coming Tuesday from the Tour de France.
• Really enjoy eating Milk Chocolate with my daughter really late at night.
• Pretty excited that my mom is on Facebook and Twitter.
• Amazed that the life of a follower of Jesus is easy yet extremely hard all at the same time.
• Excited that Sunday started another great week. Not excited about the amount of trash piled up for me to take out.
• I really enjoy having Mat Johnson at EpicChurch as the Emcee.
• Feeling guilty that I didn’t ride at all this weekend but looking forward to this week riding with Jackson and Kyle.
• I love being married to my best friend, Jennifer. Oh yeah and she help proof read all my posts!
• Last…  I predict…  M. Cavendish, T. Farrar, T. Hushovd

Again I am reading more of Mark Driscoll’s book, Death by Love.  It has been a super good read thus far.  Focused on Jesus whole heartedly and it has been good to catch this side of Driscoll.  He is very pastoral and compassionate, yet leading with Jesus and calling people to Jesus.  Good Stuff.  We are almost to Plano Texas.  We will be staying there for a day or so then home to Tucson.

It was cool to check out Epic Church online today until their feed went down.  I am excited for the near future of Epic Church.  There is a lot of work to be done but one thing is for sure, we cannot loose sight of Jesus or the power of the cross.  We must all be willing to submit to God’s authority and repent of our sin and wickedness in order to be conformed more to the image of Jesus.