Intro: The Lord Jesus Christ wants to be involved in the building process of the local church. The Lord Jesus Christ is the builder of the church. Matthew 16:18 – “…And on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
How does the Lord build His church? One way is through the works and words of those who are already Christians. This might be called life-style evangelism and lip-style evangelism. To fulfill either of these aspects of witness means that we need to be in constant contact with people that are lost.
How many people live around us either ignorant or indifferent to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The co-worker who can’t keep a husband. The neighbor caught in the trap of addiction. The kid on the block always dressed in black. The troubled relative who just doesn’t fit in with the family. If such people are within your reach, they are in your Jerusalem. If such people are within the reach of our church, they are in our Jerusalem. That which we are to do is to be faithful in reaching the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Without an outward focus, we will have only an inward focus. While it is important to have a strong church family, we cannot realize the full blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ if we are only fulfilling one aspect of His command to His followers.
I. The Priority of Reaching – Matthew 28:18-20
A. Teaching – “To give instruction”
B. Preaching – To proclaim with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an
authority which must be listened to and obeyed.
C. Reaching – The assumption that a person will be going. As you go, reach
the lost.
Reaching the nations is the full process of discipleship, i.e., teaching and training, beginning with conversion. The “all nations” makes it clear that the Commission to the church is a worldwide one, encompassing the entire missionary effort.
The church is not to be merely “missionary-minded.” The church is the vehicle of Christ’s mission to the world and the two (church and mission) are inseparable. Every local church has a mission to its world. To attempt to eliminate this commission from the church age would be to leave the church without an assigned purpose from her Lord.
II. The Pattern for Reaching – John 20:21
The pattern is simply reaching in the way that Jesus reached people.
Christ came into the world as a poor Person. He came as a Servant. He delighted to do the Father’s will. He identified Himself with sinful man. He went about doing good. He reached people in the synagogues as well as on the streets. He did not forget the towns and villages around the larger cities. He did everything by the power of the Holy Spirit. His goal was the glory of the Father. Now He said to the disciples, “I also send you.”
Who is the “you?” It is us, believers comprising the body of Christ with a “Christ” calling on the body. As Jesus sought to make his Father known so we too are sent to make Jesus known. We are to communicate God’s truth to others. We are the body of Christ on earth today, which like Jesus is to do everything by the power of the Holy Spirit including faithfulness to reaching our Jerusalem.
Romans 12:5 – “So we being many, are one body in Christ…”; 1 Corinthians 12:27 – “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”; Ephesians 4:12 – “…For the edifying of the body of Christ.”; Colossians 1:18 – “And He is the head of the body, the church…”
III. The Plan for Reaching – Acts 1:8
A. Be Inwardly Filled –
- We can do nothing without the Holy Spirit.
- Power is the indispensable of Christian witness.
- Spiritual power keeps you out of sight.
B. Be Outwardly Focused –
1. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, End of the Earth
2. Our Jerusalem is our Community
- Community – Goal: Evangelism
- Crowd – Goal: Membership
- Congregation – Goal: Discipleship
- Connected – Goal: Discipleship & Ministry
- Core – Goal: Ministry & Leadership
C. Be Steadfastly Faithful
1. Evangelism Style #1 – Individual
2. Evangelism Style #2 – Relational
3. Evangelism Style #3 – Incarnational
By incarnational evangelism I mean that we need to put flesh on that which we say believe in order to prove our faith to the lost community around us. What are we doing to prove to our community that we believe God is love? That we believe that God is not willing that any should perish? That we believe the Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners? That we believe sinners that die without Christ spend eternity in Hell? The church is the body of Christ, but what are we doing as a church that is meeting the needs of our community—Mayville, Chautauqua? What are we doing that is exclusively for the purpose of evangelism? Over the coming weeks this is the question that we are seeking to answer, “What can we do to meet the needs of our community?”
Some might ask the question cynically, but our God is a big God and is able to provide the direction and the revelation as we seek His mind. That which we are to do is to be faithful in reaching the lost—our Jerusalem, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
How Will I Know?
Genesis 15:5-8, 18
Intro: Someone once said “Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts. Simple to say. Hard at times to do consistently. Yet if we are going to progress in the Christian life, we must continue believing what we know to be true. We must fight against the tendency to allow doubts to develop and grow to the point of dominating.
Doubt in the Christian life might be compared to a dungeon in which the one with doubts becomes locked in as a captive. Yet there is a key that each one in this dungeon holds and it is a key known as promise. Holding to the promises of God keeps us moving through life in faith and freedom.
The Situation: Abraham is faithfully following the LORD’S directive for his life which included leaving from Ur of the Chaldeans and separating from his family including his nephew, Lot.
Abraham has also been given more information from the LORD with respect to the promise that was made several years earlier. At the beginning of God’s revelation to Abraham, he was told about “a land” that God would show him. Later God made things more specific and said “this land” (12:7) was the land of promise. Now the LORD says to Abraham that “I brought you out…to give you” and later God says “To your descendants I have given this…” Before Abraham has any descendents, God has established what His plan and promise for Abraham encompasses.
Yet Abraham asks the question that each of us are so prone to ask; the question is “how shall I know?”
The answer given by God is essentially that Abraham shall know because of the character of God. Additionally, the LORD makes a covenant, not with Abraham, but with Himself. God who cannot lie validates all that He has promised through covenant (promise).
The Meditation: Doubts are not an uncommon struggle for the Christian. Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith in the promise of God.
Like Abraham, that is where our journey with God begins. We believe the promise of salvation through Christ and we are declared righteous and we have peace with God. But the position of righteous does not neutralize the potential of doubts arising and moving into the believer’s heart—my heart and your heart.
How do I know when I have moved from believing my beliefs and doubting my doubts to believing my doubts and doubting my beliefs?
The evidence of such a move is the emotions that become dominant in my life. Things such as worry, anxiety, fear, despair, etc are the emotions of one that doubts. When I am doubting my beliefs, the peace of God will be missing from my life. Salvation assures that I have peace with God. Doubt assures that the peace of God that I need for daily life will be removed.
Abraham asked the question “how will I know?” when he needed an answer to a situation in his life that he could not get a handle on. He knew what God promised and asked for assurance.
The Application: What assurances do we have from God that enables us to remain outside of the dungeon of doubt? When tempted to ask “how shall I know?” what are some key truths to keep a hold on as protection against believing our doubts?
1. The Faithfulness of God – 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3
- God is faithful to do what He has said.
- God swore by Himself – Hebrews 6:17-18
- His Word and His oath – Titus 1:2
2. The Goodness of God – Matthew 7:11
3. The Awareness of God – Matthew 6:32
Conclusion – There really is a difference between those that believe their beliefs versus those that doubt their beliefs (John the Baptist and Paul). Cf. Matthew 11:2-6 and 2 Timothy 1:12.
“All the Way My Savior Leads Me” – Fanny Crosby
All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
For I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
Intro: Someone once said “Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts. Simple to say. Hard at times to do consistently. Yet if we are going to progress in the Christian life, we must continue believing what we know to be true. We must fight against the tendency to allow doubts to develop and grow to the point of dominating.
Doubt in the Christian life might be compared to a dungeon in which the one with doubts becomes locked in as a captive. Yet there is a key that each one in this dungeon holds and it is a key known as promise. Holding to the promises of God keeps us moving through life in faith and freedom.
The Situation: Abraham is faithfully following the LORD’S directive for his life which included leaving from Ur of the Chaldeans and separating from his family including his nephew, Lot.
Abraham has also been given more information from the LORD with respect to the promise that was made several years earlier. At the beginning of God’s revelation to Abraham, he was told about “a land” that God would show him. Later God made things more specific and said “this land” (12:7) was the land of promise. Now the LORD says to Abraham that “I brought you out…to give you” and later God says “To your descendants I have given this…” Before Abraham has any descendents, God has established what His plan and promise for Abraham encompasses.
Yet Abraham asks the question that each of us are so prone to ask; the question is “how shall I know?”
The answer given by God is essentially that Abraham shall know because of the character of God. Additionally, the LORD makes a covenant, not with Abraham, but with Himself. God who cannot lie validates all that He has promised through covenant (promise).
The Meditation: Doubts are not an uncommon struggle for the Christian. Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith in the promise of God.
Like Abraham, that is where our journey with God begins. We believe the promise of salvation through Christ and we are declared righteous and we have peace with God. But the position of righteous does not neutralize the potential of doubts arising and moving into the believer’s heart—my heart and your heart.
How do I know when I have moved from believing my beliefs and doubting my doubts to believing my doubts and doubting my beliefs?
The evidence of such a move is the emotions that become dominant in my life. Things such as worry, anxiety, fear, despair, etc are the emotions of one that doubts. When I am doubting my beliefs, the peace of God will be missing from my life. Salvation assures that I have peace with God. Doubt assures that the peace of God that I need for daily life will be removed.
Abraham asked the question “how will I know?” when he needed an answer to a situation in his life that he could not get a handle on. He knew what God promised and asked for assurance.
The Application: What assurances do we have from God that enables us to remain outside of the dungeon of doubt? When tempted to ask “how shall I know?” what are some key truths to keep a hold on as protection against believing our doubts?
1. The Faithfulness of God – 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3
- God is faithful to do what He has said.
- God swore by Himself – Hebrews 6:17-18
- His Word and His oath – Titus 1:2
2. The Goodness of God – Matthew 7:11
3. The Awareness of God – Matthew 6:32
Conclusion – There really is a difference between those that believe their beliefs versus those that doubt their beliefs (John the Baptist and Paul). Cf. Matthew 11:2-6 and 2 Timothy 1:12.
“All the Way My Savior Leads Me” – Fanny Crosby
All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
For I know what e'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
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