John 15:4

Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me you can do nothing... If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples. (John 15)

When God came down, love had everything to do with it—and that love demands a response.

The Creed and Why It Matters

This summer we've been working through the Nicene Creed, taking a break from Luke. For those visiting, the creed was finished around 325 A.D. To give the junior-high explanation: a group of very smart theologians gathered, examined the basic tenets of the faith, and wrote them down, showing where Scripture supported Scripture to establish these foundations.

They did this because some of the church was getting squirrely—creepy teachings, prosperity teachings, all kinds of weird ideas were coming in. So they set up parameters and guidelines. It's a little like a red light meaning stop, yellow meaning slow, and green meaning go. Some rules are good because they save lives. This is the red, yellow, and green of Scripture—things the Protestants, the Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church could all agree on. And that word catholic in the creed isn't the Roman Catholic Church; it means universal.

For Us and Our Salvation He Came Down

Today we're looking at the part of the creed that says, "For us and our salvation He came down." This is one of my favorite statements on the planet. The fact that God came to earth—that He stopped what He was doing, that He had a purpose and a plan for us—should have us very excited. It's the most powerful thing ever done in the history of mankind: that God would come to earth, be born of a virgin, and suffer upon a cross for our sins.

We had a problem. We all know the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. They had one job—really not even a job, just "don't do this"—and they did it. So we're in a mess. How are God's people going to live with a perfect and holy God? It's not going to happen without a sacrifice, without a plan. "For us and our salvation He came down" shows there was intent. God knew how to fix it.

God Got Off the Couch

I grew up where my mom didn't follow the parenting-book rule about never disciplining when you're angry. My dad was a six-foot-two commercial fisherman, gone a lot; my mom was a little Portuguese woman raising three boys, and when the stick came out, she was mad. The golden rule my brothers and I learned was: don't ever get them angry enough to leave the couch, because if they leave the couch, there's going to be an event. As a believer, I don't ever want to do anything that makes God leave the couch.

Well, in the garden, God had to get off the couch and talk to Adam and Eve. The answer is in Genesis 3:15:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

The word for this is the protevangelium—proto meaning first, evangelium meaning gospel. This is the first instance of the gospel of Jesus Christ being shared in the Word of God, 4,000 years before Jesus walked the earth. Do you think God had a plan? Jesus was always the plan. The only reason there was going to be a Jesus who walked the earth is because we messed up.

Here's the difference from how I disciplined my children. God got off the couch not to punish but to be hurt, to be punished, to be the payment for our sin. As a parent, that's almost messed up. Can you imagine suffering for the sins of your children—paying the price for their wrong, bearing the punishment? Some of you in this room have had to do exactly that. It's hard. But the heart of the Father, and the heart of the Christian, should be that we are willing to do that.

Rescued From the Septic Tank

When I was about five, we used to go to Ensenada, Mexico. For a five-year-old kid, forget Disneyland—Mexico is the greatest place on earth, especially when you're allowed to light firecrackers. My dad was the type who said, "You blow your hand off, that's your problem; you mop up your own blood." So we learned not to do dumb things—or to do them well.

One day I was taking a walk with my parents, doing typical five-year-old boy stuff—kicking every rock, board, crab, and piece of trash to see how far it would go. I came to a crate, leaned into it, and it went flying. Underneath it was a very fresh, very open, very full septic tank. I couldn't quite swim yet, but the nails on the side caught me, and I was up to my neck. My dad scooped me up, cleaned me off, and took me home.

We've all come to the Lord out of some septic tank. Some are prettier than others, some aren't. But we all needed the God of the universe to rescue us, and to do it without hesitation, with what they call agape love—unconditional love.

What's Love Got to Do With It?

The title of the message is "What's Love Got to Do With It?" Love has everything to do with this act. God's love for us is the only reason this whole thing went down—the only reason He left heaven, because He loves you. You will never experience a more faithful love than the love of God, and He proved it, because He paid the price.

So what do you do when you've been given an incredible gift you could never get on your own? There should be a response. If somebody gives you a nice gift, you say thank you. But a gift like this can never be repaid; "thank you" isn't even enough. Still, it demands a response. For most of us, that response was, "Yeah, I'm in. Lead me and guide me." But for some people it's, "No thanks." Either way, it demands an answer.

Living in Connection With God

Cross Connection has a creed of sorts: we live in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ. A young lady came up to me a few weeks ago and said she'd never been to church before and asked what to do. I told her to sit down, watch, sing along if she could, and afterward come talk with me and the other pastors, because she'd have questions—and to come back next week so she'd have more questions.

So the question this morning is: what should my response be to the gift of salvation? The answer is in John 15—abide with me. If you want to live in connection with God, you live with Him as part of your life. Point one: We should respond to God's gift of salvation by living in connection with Him.

The first step in connecting with God is to say yes to His offer of salvation—to say yes to Jesus. You are not getting to heaven without Jesus, and it is a free gift.

A Gift Freely Given

People sometimes bless me with gifts, which makes me a little uncomfortable, because I'm supposed to be serving you. Because I'm the rabid fisherman on staff, people sometimes give me old fishing rods. A few weeks ago a woman whose brother—an off-the-hook sport fisherman—had died, told me she wanted me to have Jimmy's old cow tuna rod. A cow tuna rod is specially made for catching tuna over 200 pounds; they're stupid expensive, and I would never buy one.

I figured it was probably some old beat-up rod. But when I got to my office, there it was: a 50-wide Accurate reel, an amazing rod, the world's most expensive line—way beyond anything I'd ever imagine having. I had to take a moment alone with it. I was a little teary-eyed. The gift was too much; I never asked for it, never expected it. It put me in a place of overwhelming thankfulness.

That's how the gift of salvation works. It blows you away. You couldn't buy it. It's valuable, freely given, entrusted to you because you're meant to use it. It's more than monetary—it's personal.

Grace and Works

There are two Scriptures that set the parameters. Ephesians 2:8–9:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

You don't get to heaven on your own works, your good looks, or how many rosaries you pray. It's a gift, by grace through faith. But James—the Proverbs of the New Testament—says:

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Your faith gets worked out, because you'll automatically want to do some things—not in a rabid pace to attain a level, but because you want to please your Father and expand His kingdom.

Years ago I was remodeling my house on a 90-degree Escondido day—saws, routers, paint everywhere, like Home Depot blew up. Some Jehovah's Witnesses came up the driveway. In my early Calvary Chapel days I'd have busted out Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults and had a big argument. But I just said, "Do I look like a guy who wants to trade my grace-based relationship with Jesus for one I have to do more work for?" Then I told them: when your performance is what gets you to heaven, that's exhausting, because it's not true—and when we do things that aren't biblically sound, it wears us out. I told them to write down my address, and when they run out of gas, to come see me, and we'll talk about what it looks like to have Jesus pay your debt and the joy that goes with it. I pray one day one of them walks to my door.

Becoming Like Jesus

So how do we connect with God? We say yes to Jesus, and then we do the things Jesus did. We read our Bibles, because that's how you get to know someone—you spend time with them and read what they've written and done. Jesus was the Word. We worship—sometimes singing with hands lifted, sometimes on our knees praying, as Jesus did. We imitate Jesus and live in obedience to God's Word. Pastor Miles and I call it the EAT principle: we sacrifice our Energy, our Assets, and our Time, giving them back to God as an act of worship.

The fancy word for this process is sanctification—trying to be more holy like God, becoming more like Jesus. When God's people live like that, it's overwhelmingly attractive to the rest of the world. They see the calm in the storm, how you use your time, how you treat people, and it's evangelistic. One of our board members grew up in a home where God wasn't present, but neighbors down the street were God-loving people with Sunday barbecues. He became part of that family, and their example led him to give his heart to Christ as a child. Matthew 5:16:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Connection With One Another

How do we live in connection with one another? Admittedly, that can be rough, because our church family can be like family—there's a saying about "family and friends," because if they weren't your family, you might not be friends. Philippians 2:1–5 tells us our priority:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ... fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

And Galatians 6:9:

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Point two: The depth of our relationship with God is proven by how we connect with His people.

In 2020 I was remodeling again to make our home more inviting—part of the roof was coming off. A man I barely knew volunteered to help. I felt uncomfortable, because in my head I'm supposed to be helping him. But for almost a year, three and four days a week, sometimes working in the dark to beat the rain, we forged a friendship that became family. I heard about his childhood, the good, the bad, and the super ugly; I got to help disciple him, and he discipled me in practical construction. Friendship turned into family—he gets a text that my grandson is born before I do, because he's part of my family.

Are You a Player or a Spectator?

Being part of God's body, the church, requires that we be part of the body. You'll never discover your gifts, talents, and where you fit until you start participating. Next week 35 people are taking time off—some using vacation days—to do Vacation Bible School because the message of the cross matters to kids. We have Child Evangelism Fellowship in about six schools every week, a security team, a prayer team, hospitality—all parts of the body.

But I'll be honest: some people's part of the body is the appendix—that organ that may kill you if it goes bad, but otherwise you don't even notice when it's gone. We don't want to be an appendix. If you're an appendix this morning, there's hope—there are so many things to do here. So ask yourself: am I a spectator or a player? Do I live life in connection with God's people, or do I buzz in and buzz out like a fly on the wall? Don't be mad at Pastor Mark—it's in the Word.

Connecting With the World

Matthew 28:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Point three: A sanctified life focused on eternity connects with the world and makes disciples. This is called the Great Commission—nowhere is it called the Great Suggestion. It's our job, our instruction from the Lord.

I'm on this stage because I volunteered in a two- and three-year-old room and a bunch of godly men poured into me. Discipleship isn't complex. Jesus' disciples followed Him around; He spent time with them and answered their questions. Two guys on a roof, one asking questions and the other answering—that's discipleship. If every Christian discipled even a half-dozen people in their lifetime, the world would be completely different.

When I was a youth pastor, there were four boys I just took surfing. They weren't madly in love with a 40-year-old guy; they needed a ride and didn't have licenses. We listened to Christian music and talked about Christian principles. Of those four boys, three became pastors—one pastors one of the largest churches in San Diego, Maranatha Chapel. I was just taking kids surfing. Loving God and hating sin, baby—that's my slogan. If I can do that, you can too.

Connecting Through Suffering

As we conclude, I was hesitant to share this last part. A year ago I entered the graduate program of the School of Hard Knocks—my wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. One of the ways God connects with us is through suffering. I don't like that part; in the old King James it's "sucketh." But I'm not the only one in that boat. Reading your prayer requests every week, I see some of you suffering from cancer, some with loved ones who have it, some with wayward children, divorce, financial trials. You're suffering. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

How do you live in connection with God when you're suffering? I have a saying: God is gooder. As things drop off the option list to fix your problem, you become painfully aware that God is your only answer.

How do you live in connection with one another while suffering? Scripture tells us to bear one another's burdens; your suffering can encourage someone else. Coming out of the oncology infusion center one day, I ran into a member of our fellowship whose wife was being diagnosed for the first time, and I got to pray with them. You think that's an accident? God intends us to use our suffering to encourage others. When I go in, I let the doctors and nurses know I'm praying for them, just as I do with the firefighters at San Marcos Fire, where I'm a chaplain. They see a lot of heartbreak. Let the world know that through our suffering, pain, and disappointment, we're praying for them. That's a reflection of our relationship with Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You so much this morning that You've allowed me to share this burden on my heart—that You had a plan. You already knew who we were going to be and what we were going to do, and that we desperately needed a Savior, and You sent Your Son. So this morning I ask, Father, that You mend our hearts and mold our hearts. Send us out into the world to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, when it's convenient and when it's inconvenient. Lord, thank You for doing something for us, giving us a gift we could never repay. We love You and we thank You. In Jesus' name we pray, and all God's saints said, Amen.