By Mike Juday, Gathering UMD Campus Director

These past few weeks of the Gathering has been so crazy. John said it perfectly when he said, “When the school semester starts, it’s this crazy tornado that picks you up and spins you around. Then you get spit out somewhere in May without really realizing what just happened.” It wasn’t those exact words but something like that. And that is EXACTLY how I feel.

I’m not 100% sure what to write about so I’ll just write about what happened this past Thursday. This past Thursday I taught the sermon at the Gathering at the University of Maryland. It was so exciting. I’m been investing into these students for the past year and my heart has really broken for them and the campus. It was such a blessing to be able to speak my heart to them. I still remember walking up to the stage w/ my notes and Bible as Nick (the worship leader) prayed after the last song. It kind of felt like cliff jumping: there is a split second where you work up enough courage to shift most of your body weight forward towards the edge of the cliff, when you realize that you don’t want to do it anymore the terrifying truth hits you that if you stop now it would be a complete disaster, most likely ending in death. That is how I felt walking up to give my sermon!! Okay, well maybe not the “ending in death” part. I wanted to walk through what God showed me through scripture.

14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16From now on, therefore we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
- 2 Corinthians 5:14-20a

So what does it look like to be Controlled by the Love of Christ? The Greek word for control is synecho which means “to hold together”. Now switch that definition with the word “control”. We are HELD TOGETHER by the LOVER OF CHRIST. It was also a military term which means “to besiege from all sides”. Now switch that definition. The LOVE OF CHRIST BESIEGES US FROM ALL SIDES. That may be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. Christ’s love encircles us with the intention of invading and taken over. I love the idea of that.

So what does it look like?
1 – We must have an eternal perspective (v 16). This is an issue of our minds.
2 – We must put on the new self (v 17). This is an issue of our hearts.
3 – We must be ambassadors of Christ the reconciler (v 18-20). This is an issue of representation. Ambassador – someone in a foreign land representing their King or president.

After studying this passage, I realized that I was not being controlled by the love of Christ but I was controlled by service for Christ. So often in the Bible, we see the words “service” and “slaves to Christ”. Where these things are good, God doesn’t want us to be slaves. We must be controlled by something so much deeper then that: we must be controlled by the love that Christ showed on the cross.
So what it controlling you in your life?

If you want to hear this message, go to http://www.gatheringonline.org/sermons/. This sermon was entitled Control. Also, check out Brett Becker’s (another brew/future leader) sermon on being the light.