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Starting this new series called Revelation Revolution 12:30, and it comes from Mark 12:30. You’re going to see that in a moment. But I’ve got an open‑ended question for you, and I really want audience participation. What does a person of God need to change their life? Shout them out. Determination. The Holy Spirit. Repentance. Discipline. Accountability. Trust. Perseverance. Humility. Scripture. Those are all good answers. But I want to answer this question for you this morning: What does the person of God need most to change their life? Having been a follower of Jesus and a pastor for nearly four decades, I think I’m beginning to see it clearly. What do you need most? What do you need first? Here’s the answer: the courage to see ourselves as we really are, and the will to change. We have to see ourselves honestly. It’s easy to go through life pretending we’re someone we’re not. John Tyson says, “God cannot change someone you pretend to be. He can only change who you really are.” If we can get our minds around that, it’ll change the way we live. If you can become a person in your 20s, 30s, 40s who begins to understand who you really are — what makes you tick, what drives what you do, why you spend what you spend, why you work where you work, why you speak up in meetings the way you do — if you can understand who you really are, that’s where God can change you. Otherwise, we’re just going through religious motions. God has so much more for us. Church families also take on characteristics. Titus 1:12–13 gives a hilarious example. Paul quotes a Cretan philosopher from 600 B.C., Epimenides, who said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” Paul says, “This testimony is true.” Now, if you travel to Crete, don’t quote Titus 1:12–13. But the point is: cultures adopt dysfunctional norms. Churches do too. We at 180 Chicago are taking on certain characteristics, and we have to constantly look at who we are and ask God to change us where needed. The clearest evidence of church characteristics is in Revelation, where Jesus addresses seven churches. Ephesus was orthodox but had left their first love. Smyrna was faithful in persecution and poverty. Pergamum had compromised with false teaching. Thyatira was loving but tolerated immorality. Sardis was alive in name only but spiritually dead. Philadelphia was faithful but weak. Laodicea was lukewarm, self‑sufficient, and spiritually poor — so wealthy they thought they didn’t need Jesus, and essentially booted Him out. So what would Jesus say about us? About you? About me? I want to propose that the Western church has adopted powerless spiritual systems — systems with a form of godliness but denying its power — resulting in shallow, scripturally illiterate people settling for far too little. Many spiritual disciplines we applaud are external: attending church, attending small groups, praying occasionally. But the hidden disciplines — contrition, letting the Lord search you, examine your heart, expose your motivations, and change you — those are the ones that transform. One of my own Achilles heels has been listening — truly listening — to my wife. Not listening to fix, not listening to interrupt, not listening to shortcut, but listening to her heart. After 39 years of marriage, we went away recently, and I asked the Lord to give us the greatest vacation we’ve ever had. And He did. My bride grabbed my hand on the drive home and said, “That was the most incredible week I’ve ever had with you.” God showed me what He wanted me to do each day. It took 39 years, but He’s changing me. Do you have the courage to let the Lord see you as you are and change you? Revelation Revolution 12:30 is about overthrowing powerless spiritual systems and discipling the church to reach the world near and far. Let me give you five myths of a disciple‑making church. Myth one: Smaller is always better. Not true. I’ve pastored churches of 5,000 and churches our size. It’s just as easy to get lost here as in a megachurch. You can hide anywhere. Myth two: Disciple‑making is for a few gifted people. No. We’re all called to make disciples. God has given you spiritual gifts — administration, service, teaching, leadership — and those gifts are for building up the body so we can all be conformed to Christ. Look around you. We need you. Myth three: Small groups make disciples. Not necessarily. Some small groups are terrible. You’ve been in them. Two things make groups fail: (1) repeating Bible truths that never get applied, and (2) people sharing their hearts with no response. Real groups rally around each other. No one is without issues — not even pastors. Myth four: Discipleship requires step‑by‑step curriculum. No. People struggle with different things — pornography, finances, destructive friendships, mental patterns from childhood. Discipleship must meet people where they are and move them forward individually. It’s not one‑size‑fits‑all. Myth five: When you’re born again, you’re automatically a disciple. No. You can be radically transformed by Jesus and still not walk the path of discipleship. Many Christians remain spiritual infants needing milk when they should be eating meat. Don’t beat yourself up — today is a new day with new mercy. What is the essential fuel for spiritual revolution? The Great Commandment — loving God radically. Mark 12:30: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” But how do we do that? Love is a verb — but what does loving God look like? It’s not lifting hands higher. I’ve seen people worship passionately and confess adultery a week later. So what is love for God? The Great Commandment is impossible for the unregenerate heart. It is exhausting for the religious heart. But it is possible for the awakened heart. Scripture awakens us — stories of miracles, deliverance, transformation. God awakens us to Himself. We look at scripture and we find stories of how God worked through the woman at the well, through Lydia the seller of purple — a God‑fearing woman who happened to be in town when she heard Paul preach the gospel, and her heart was opened into a relationship with Jesus. These stories are there to awaken us, to stir our hearts, to bring us into love for God. So this morning I want to give you three shocking realities that will awaken your love for God. I’m going to do something different — I’m going to pray with my eyes open. “Oh Lord, as we look at these truths found in your word, would you awaken us? Would you allow us to be awakened? You don’t want us to be religious people; you want us to be relational people who have the Great Commandment overflowing from an awakened soul that sees you for all that you are. Help me articulate these things in just a few minutes. In Jesus’ name, amen.” Here’s the first shocking reality: God loved you when there was nothing lovable about you. Nothing. We were born as enemies of the cross. Everything in our life missed the mark. You might say, “Aren’t there people who are just rank pagans but still do good things?” Yes — even rebellious people who give God the finger can still do good things because God made us as image‑bearers. That’s why you’ll see a man abusive to his children stop to help someone on the side of the road. There are glimpses of God’s image, but there is a consistent reality: apart from Christ, there is nothing lovable about us. First John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” We are born sinners, enemies of the cross. And you are only a child of God when you receive Him — “to as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to be children of God.” Apart from that, scripture says we are children of the devil. God loved you when there was nothing lovable about you. I was a hellraiser in my early twenties — eventually a hell‑creator. I worked hard, made a lot of money, and used it to fuel more debauchery. God saved me on February 11, 1984. It was overwhelmingly transformative. My awareness of my sin, my pitifulness, my need for God — it was like scales falling off. Those who are forgiven much, love much. It’s not about the amount of sin; it’s about the awareness of sin. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. After I was radically changed, my dad told me a story. Two years earlier, my parents had invited me home for my birthday. They knew how I was living. They had found Western Union receipts — I had been wiring money to a cocaine dealer in Southern California for my next shipment. My mom had found a receipt in my pocket months before. My dad said, “Carl, your mom and I couldn’t find a birthday card we could give you with integrity.” He was right. The card could’ve said, “Happy Birthday. We birthed you, and ever since, it’s been downhill.” God loved me when there was nothing lovable about me. And He loved you the same way. Here’s the second shocking reality: The God who commands your love doesn’t need your love. Acts 17:24–25 says God is not served by human hands as though He needed anything. He gives life and breath to all. He commands your love not because He’s deficient, lonely, or lacking — but because He is infinitely satisfying, and He wants you to experience His love. I once preached in Little Rock on Jesus’ words, “Unless you come to me as a little child…” The Greek word means “a child without words.” My granddaughter is just learning words — her funniest phrase is “No, no, no, Mom.” But a child without words brings nothing to the parent. Nothing. And Jesus says, “Come like that.” We never become God’s caregiver. We are always the child. Parents don’t love infants because infants meet their needs — infants have nothing to offer. Love flows from parent to child. In an infinitely greater way, God doesn’t command our love because He needs it — He commands it because He wants us to know His love. Here’s the third shocking reality: Every competing love is destroying you while pretending to save you. Every one of them. Think about the things that get the affection of your heart. My friend Brad Lauers was a phenomenal athlete, destined for Division I, maybe the NFL. In his junior year, he developed a growth on his ankle. It was cancer. The doctors told his parents they had to amputate his leg below the knee. His dad broke the news to him. Brad looked up and said, “Dad, sports make a really good hobby, but a really poor god.” Your job makes a good job, but a poor god. Your spouse can be wonderful, but cannot replace God. Your hobbies, your aspirations, your purchases, your man‑cave, your vacations — they make fun hobbies, but terrible gods. Jeremiah 2:13 says, “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and dug out cisterns for themselves — broken cisterns that can hold no water.” The career you’re digging out? It’s a poor god. The money you’re stacking away? It’s a poor god. When your fixation on financial security supersedes God, you will find how empty that cistern is. Many of you know what it is to invest everything into something that cannot hold water. Some of you young ladies are hanging on to a man, hoping he’ll turn a corner. At best, he’s a broken cistern. Put your hope in God. Even pastors face competing loves — counting people like chess pieces, counting money like a scoreboard. But God has shown me your worth far exceeds a number or a dollar. My greatest desire is for you to grow in Christ. The score will take care of itself. Every competing love is destroying you while pretending to save you. And they call your name every day. I’ve got a “why in the road” for you today, and I want you to take it seriously. In what reality do you need a spiritual awakening? Let me read them again. First: God loved you when there was nothing lovable about you. Some of you need to strip away any notion that you brought something to the table with God. You didn’t. There was nothing lovable about you, yet He loved you still. Second: The God who commands your love doesn’t need your love. You might think God needs you to be good. No — He wants to lavish His goodness on you. He commands your love not because He needs it, but because He wants you to experience the fullness of His love. Third: Every competing love is destroying you while pretending to save you. What competing loves are pulling at your heart? Is it image? Status? Financial security? That’s a house of cards. What if one day it all collapses? Could it happen? Absolutely. We’re 250 years into this nation — we’re on borrowed time. So from the bottom of my heart, I’m asking you: won’t you fall in love with Jesus today? With everything you are, everything you have? Tell Him, “God, I’ve got so many competing loves. I’m delusional at times. I think I bring something to the table. I think going to church makes you happy.” And God says, “Child, with no words on your lips, I have so much more for you.” He opens His arms wide and says, “Bring it in. I want to show you what love is all about.” And if you let Him, He’ll give your heart a hug this morning. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. I want to pray for you. “Lord, thank you so much for loving us when we were unlovable. Thank you that you don’t need our love, yet you love us still. Thank you that you want to set us free from competing loves. I pray in the name of Jesus that there will be a radical awakening of souls in this room today — cries of the heart saying, ‘Oh God, I humble myself and come to you without words. I lift my hands and say thank you for awakening me to the reality that you love me so I can love you back.’ Lord, thank you for the work you’re doing in this room, in my heart, and in the lives of my friends here. Thank you for your grace, your favor, and your power when we have nothing. Thank you, God.”
