What is the Church Part 3

Week 3: Meet genuine needs in the community that no one else is meeting (serving)

Scripture Reference: Acts 2:44-45 cf. Matt. 19:21; Matt 25:31-46 cf. Mark 10:41-45

Announcements:

We will be having a special business meeting next Sunday after the morning service.

Pastor Paul Hensley will be speaking next Sunday morning and then he will be chairing the special business meeting.

3. Saturday, Dec 10th we will be handing out info cards about the church Christmas program as we are in the parade and everyone who wants to help is invited to come! More info will be coming on Flocknote and social media. (Jaime will come up and share more about the info cards.)

4. Sunday, Dec 11th at 6PM we will be having our church Christmas program.

Worship:

Come on ring those bells

Go tell it on the mountain (chorus only)

O come let us adore Him (chorus only)

The King is coming (chorus only)

Rest on us (As the spirit was moving)

Introduction:

We are currently in series entitled “What is the Church?”

The first week we talked about we aren’t just called to go but also to make disciples. (evangelism)

We also talked about how we can evangelize as a church by: our lifestyle (attitude towards others in store/waiter/waitress), presence in the community (festivals and other community events), places to love on people (homeless community, nursing homes, where people have been written off).

Last week we talked about discipleship and it being necessary for three things: 1) for people to know Jesus personally, 2) to help us mature in our relationship with Jesus, and 3) to be grounded in sound doctrine by keeping the Word of God central to everything we do. Discipleship is initiating a relationship in which you teach (the words of Jesus and His Word), correct, model (not just at church but especially outside of the church and during the week), and love (encouraging each other to grow in our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ).

This week we are finishing our series by completing the trifecta, if you will.

We talked about evangelism in the first week; discipleship last week; and we will be discussing the topic of serving this week to complete the cycle.

Hand off to Jordan

Matthew 19:21

21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

1. Background/Context

a) A rich man comes up to Jesus and asks him “’Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’” (v. 16)

i) Jesus replies to him with “keep the commandments”

(1) Rich man says that he keeps all the commandments

(a) Jesus challenges him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. “Then come, follow me”

(i) Rich man walks away sad

b) The thrust of this passage is not for everyone to go sell everything they have then they can follow Jesus, it was exploiting the idol in the rich man’s heart

i) His life revolved around his money and possessions; therefore, he was unable to completely follow Jesus because it’s all or nothing

ii) Because he was so self-absorbed, he had no capacity to truly serve others, but only serve himself

2. Insights/Application

a) How often are we driven by the question, “what can I get out of it?” instead of “God, how can I glorify you?”

b) If we are not completely surrendered to Jesus and following him with everything we have, there is no way we can truly serve those around us because if Jesus isn’t the center of our lives…we are

c) We can participate in acts of serving for sure, but where are our hearts at? Are we truly serving from a place of humility, or are we serving to feel better about ourselves?

d) Matthew 6:24 says, “24 ‘No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.’”

i) We must ask ourselves the question, who are we serving for?

(1) If the answer is anyone but Jesus, then we are serving for the wrong reasons

Mark 10:41-45

41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant [upset, frustrated, annoyed]. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

1. Background/Context

a. James and John ask to be at the right and left of Jesus

i. They didn’t fully understand what they were asking for and even then, they were asking for the wrong reasons

ii. The other disciples hear this and become frustrated and annoyed

1. They’re probably thinking, “yo James and John, you think you guys are better than the rest of us?”

a. We see the disciples are missing the mark when it comes to what it means to be a leader or be great in the Kingdom of God because they are too concerned with the worldly perspective of leadership

b. [Insert Jesus] Jesus compares worldly leadership and Kingdom leadership

i. “You know that rulers of this world…" (v. 42)

1. “Lord it over” and “Flaunt their authority” (v. 42)

a. The use of this language implies a negative impact on the leadership of the world that Jesus is describing

ii. Jesus taught that you lead by serving

iii. “BUT among you it will be different” (v. 43A)

1. “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant”

2. “Whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else”

a. “Slave” and “Servant” are interchangeable

c. What is the point in all of this? I thought we were talking about serving, why the sudden shift to leadership?

i. Jesus described Kingdom leadership as a position of serving, not ruling

1. Even Jesus did not come to be served but to serve (v. 45)

1. Insights/Application

a. “The indication [of this passage] is of leadership that is radically other-centered, focused on meeting the needs of others rather than controlling others to meet one’s own ends.” – Mark L Strauss

i. How did Jesus lead?

1. He led by serving those around him

b. We can be in a position of influence, but that does not automatically make us a leader

Acts 2:44-45

44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

1. Background/Context

a. Day of Pentecost just happened

b. Disciples take new converts under their wings and teach them

c. “Sold their property and possessions”

i. This was their way of showing the unity they had under the mission of the Church

1. By no means was it mandatory, and it looked different for everyone

d. “Shared the money with those in need”

i. They didn’t simply sell their property and possessions; they sold it with a purpose

2. Insights/Application

a. We are individualistic and possessive in the west

b. “If, when we lose something, or it is taken away, we become heartbroken [synonym: devastated which means destroyed], we have made that thing an idol” [Paraphrase] – President Kim

i. If we feel as though our world is falling apart, then we have revolved our world around it and built our life on a faulty foundation

Matthew 25:31-46

[PARAPHRASE]

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Background/Context

The final judgment

Insights/Application

Two groups listed, but three groups exist: serve, don’t serve, and serving with an unwilling spirit

Doesn’t matter if you’re serving, where is your heart at

Who you serving for

Hand off to Charity

Sharing pics of past outreaches and what it means to serve others

Testimonies of what God has done in the past and how He has used 15 adults and a few kids to make a major impact in the community around them

Conclusion:

The church should always be about evangelism, discipleship and serving. This doesn’t happen on accident but has to be done on purpose.

Where can we as a church do better at evangelism?

Where can we as a church do better at discipleship?

Where can we as a church do better at serving?

What is working and what is not working?

What needs to change?

Evangelism leads to discipleship which leads to serving which leads to evangelism which leads to discipleship which leads to serving…

Each step leads to the next step and it never ends but keeps going!

We need to pray for God to bring leadership (no matter who it is) in to help lead and guide Hillcrest AG to accomplish what God has called her to do. God knows what He wants to do and how He wants to accomplish it.

Close with “Set A Fire” chorus

Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t explain that I can’t control*

I want more of You God

*Not losing control but handing control over to God and allowing Him to do what He wants how He wants