Rebrand: Refocusing Our Mission & Purpose (2)

Week 2 Feb 12, 2023

Part I

Romans 10: 11-17; Acts 4: 32-33; Mark 2: 13-17

Good morning, today we are continuing our series called ReBrand, where we are refocusing on our mission and the vision of Ottawa First. We are going to look at 3 different passages today, one from the book of Romans, then Acts and another passage from the book of Mark. We are going to approach our passages a bit differently today. Today, I have one main point, then 2 supporting points. In total, as I mentioned before I have 3 texts, but they all point to the same theme. One of my sub-points might be difficult for some of you…so just a warning up front. If what I say bothers you, and by the end of my sermon, where I have (hopefully) explained things to the best of my ability, I would encourage you to let me know…go home and do some homework to check if what I’m saying doesn’t line up with the overall message of scripture; and if you feel it doesn't I would be happy to discuss it with you. Everything I talk about today has to do with our role as witnesses for Christ. My goal today is to get us thinking differently about our mission of evangelism. Remember last week, I said that we have 2 main goals: discipleship and evangelism. This week we are going to focus our attention on evangelism…allowing the light of Christ to shine, first to those in our circle of influence, then to our community, then to the world at large.

Let’s Pray

(Not Keeping the Honey for Yourself)

I will not believe that you have tasted of the honey of the gospel if you can eat it all yourself. True grace puts an end to all spiritual monopoly.

CHARLES SPURGEON

As we talk about evangelism today, there are 3 main points that I want you to keep in mind…as they relate to how we should approach evangelism. As we get to each one, I will explain them more in depth. Here are my 3 points:

1. Live as a person who has been sent

A. Recognize the power of your testimony

B. Have the mindset that God is with all and for all.

If we are able to adopt these principles, we will be able to be a more effective witness for Christ. Let’s start by look at my main point today.

1. Live as a person who has been sent

What do I mean when I say that we should have the mindset of being a sent person. Well, when we hand our lives over to Christ, we are no longer our own. Our lives take on a different meaning. No longer is life all about us and what we can get out of it. Of course, there is a process involved. The longer we live for Christ, hopefully we are in the process of submitting our mind, will and emotions to Him. As we do that, everything about us should change…and one of those changes is that we receive a burden for those who do not know Christ. There are a number of verses I could use when talking about us having the mindset of being a sent people; I decided on:

Romans 10:11–17

11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.

Here in the 10th chapter of the book of Romans, Paul is talking about his burden for those who do not know Christ. As he writes, he says:

How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent?

Think about how many people in the world need to hear the good news of Christ? When we talk about the whole world, it can seem like an impossible task. I think, there is no possible way for me to form a relationship and share the gospel with people from India and China and Africa. What about if we narrow it down to our town: how many people in the town of Ottawa need to hear the good news of Christ? Perhaps this is a tad less daunting, but still, we are talking thousands of people. How am I supposed to reach all of those people? What about though if we narrow it down to your family and circle of influence? How many in your family and circle of influence (those with whom you have influence) need to hear the good news of Christ? Perhaps this still seems like a difficult task, but it is much easier for us to wrap our heads around. The Apostle Paul says: how can those who you associate with hear this good news, unless someone is sent to tell them? How can they hear if no one speaks? That someone is you. Similar to what I taught about the principle of giving (a few weeks ago), that all of us are called to be good stewards and live with a spirit of generosity, just like that, everyone (who belongs to Christ) has recieved the mandate of the great commission. Some of you are already familiar with that passage of scripture, some of you might not be, we can find the great commission in the book of

Matthew 28: 18-20

8 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These were the very last instructions that Jesus gave His disciples…to go out and spread the good news of the gospel. The longer you and I live for Christ, the more we tend too drift away from living as a person who has been sent. We become wrapped up in our own walk and neglect to live out Christ’s last command.

Acts 1: 6-8

6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Here in Acts ch. 1, the disciples were gathered together after the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus appears to them to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were still concerned about the political aspect, meaning they still thought that Jesus was going to free Israel from Roman rule. Jesus says that they shouldn’t be concerned about that…but that going forward, their jobs were to be a witness for Christ, throughout the earth. You and I still have the same mandate today…to be a witness for Christ. All throughout scripture we can see this mandate. To live as a person who has been sent means that you recognise that you are no longer living for yourself, no longer are we following our own path, the wide path, rather, we are following the narrow path. In Matthew Ch. 10, Jesus was speaking with His disciples. In this talk with His disciples, Jesus cuts to the bone, letting them know what the path will look like, should they choose to follow Him.

Matthew 10: 32-39

32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his [ae]life for My sake will find it.

Notice first that Jesus was speaking privately with His disciples. To you and I, this may sound pretty rough and has a much more pointed tone than we normally see from Jesus. In essence, what Jesus is trying to teach His disciples is that there is a cost associated with following Him. Sometimes that cost is very high…like having to go against your own family. Laura and I have experienced this personally. Here in the US, where most people are “live and let live,” most of us do not experience a ton of hostility for our faith. Our family may not agree, but most of us will not be disowned. In many parts of the world though, that is exactly what happens. For example, if you were living in China or Iran....the consequences of proclaiming yourself a believer are very high. Here in the US, we become upset if we are made fun of or talked down too. What is implied, but not stated directly, here in Matthew 10 is that we should not be afraid to share our faith with those around us.

We are to live as a person who has a calling on their life to share the gospel with those around us. Perhaps this topic makes you nervous…maybe you don’t know what to say, or you feel as though you don’t know enough about the Bible to tell others about it. Maybe you tend to be shy and have a hard time talking with people about this subject. If that is you, then the second part of my sermon is directed at you…and in some ways, that is all of us. None of us have the perfect words to say in every situation. So, if living as a person who has been sent is our mandate, what does it look like to live that out? How are we supposed to fulfill that mandate, especially if we can be unsure of ourselves in this area. Are we called to be a bull in a china shop? Should we all take a step stool downtown Ottawa, stand on top of it and tell everyone to turn or burn? Does living as a sent person mean that we are called to tell everyone how wrong they are? Or, is living out this mandate less about what we say and more about how we think and act? I will submit to you that (most of the time) evangelism is less about our words and more about our mindset and motivation. There are multiple ways that we can live out our mandate to reach others. Let me give you 2 today…neither of them have to do with the words we say to someone.

Part II

A. Recognize the power of your testimony

B. Have the mindset that God is with all and for all.

A. Recognize the power of your testimony!

Acts 4: 32-33

32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

Acts 4 is talking about the early church, not long after Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and thousands came to know Christ. There are a few notable differences between our modern society and that of the early church. First, the early Christians lived an a collective society, where there was very little emphasis on the individual. Your entire social structure was based upon either your family or a group of people who you chose to associate with. People did not go to work everyday so they could buy their next house or car, they went to work to help provide for the group they belonged to. Most of the time that was their family, but (as we talked about earlier) many of these new believers had been rejected by their family....so groups of Christians would band together and form a little “society.” It’s hard for us to fully understand that way of living, as we all grew up in an individualistic society…where the needs of the individual outweigh the needs of the group.

As a quick side note, a teachable moment here, it may sound as though I am saying that way of life is better than ours…I’m not saying that at all, it’s just different. Just because the early church lived in a collective society doesn't mean that is what we are called to do. I’ve met well meaning believers that have been convinced to join some group that tries to live like the early church. What ends up happening is that the lifestyle becomes an idol and a means of works based righteousness. Also, we must understand that one of the main reasons the early church had to do this was that the Roman government was a tyranny that persecuted Christians, so part of that lifestyle was for safety reasons. Last thing about this, pretty much every cult that has existed started out as a group of people who decided to live “collectively.”

Anyway, here in Acts, Luke is pointing out that the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of Jesus, meaning that they were spreading the word that Christ has risen from the dead, and that they had “great power” in doing so. For the disciples, this was part of their personal testimony-that their Lord, the person whom they followed had kept His word and defeated the power of the grave. For you and I today, we have great power in our testimony.

The question then is, what is a testimony? According to the dictionary, a testimony is:

evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something.

Our testimony is the evidence of our life belonging to Christ. Our testimony is not us saying we belong to Christ (although that is part of it sometimes), our testimony is the actual evidence that we are different than we used to be. I can tell my family and friends that I belong to Christ, that my life is no longer mine, but if my actions are not saying the same thing, that is not a testimony, those are just words, or like we would say in T.C. that’s a testiphony!

1st Timothy 1: 12-16

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

The Apostle Paul is one of the best examples in scripture of a person who lived one way, then after Christ got a hold of his life, he then used his testimony to make a large impact, all throughout the world.

Maybe you are thinking…well, that’s the early church, the disciples, and the Apostle Paul, very unique people and a very unique period of time…my testimony can’t have that same world changing impact! Maybe you expect me to say: absolutely it can have the same impact, but I won’t say that, because in a sense you are correct, none of us are Paul, none of us walked with Jesus while He was on this earth, and we are not living in the early years of the church, where some amazing things were going on. I could stand up here and puff you up and make you feel good about yourself…I could tell you that you have the ability to be the next Paul, or for you ladies, the next Priscilla or Phoebe and maybe God will bless one of us to follow such a path, but more than likely, that is not what the Lord would have for us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God isn’t capable of calling someone to do great things, I believe He is still in that business…but for the majority of people, we do ourselves a disservice always looking for ways to make a huge impact, when the Lord has called us to make an impact right where we are, to our circle of influence.

Most of the time, the power of our testimony comes from how we act…how we treat those around us. We treat them like we would want to be treated, especially those who do not know the Lord. One of the reasons that the disciples and the apostle Paul were so successful was because their actions matched their words. It wasn’t because they were perfect little Christians, they all had their own issues, just as we do. For example, God pretty much had to drag Peter along kicking and screaming to get him to understand that God no longer made a distinction between the Jew and Gentile. At one point, Paul even had to step in and rebuke Peter for showing favoritism to the Jews. Church history tells us that Peter did understand, and when faced with death, he chose to be hung upside down, as he felt unworthy to die like Christ did. Last thing on this, before I move on. Your unsaved family and friends are not looking for words, they are looking at your actions…how you live your life; how you treat people you disagree with; do you gossip about that family member you don’t get along with? A powerful testimony is not perfection, a powerful testimony has Christ as it’s foundation and humility as its framework, helping to hold all things together.

Let’s finish up today with my last point, the second sub point under “living as a sent person.” The first was recognise the power of your testimony, the second

B. Have the mindset that God is with all and that God is for all!

Remember, today we are talking about evangelism and how you and I can be most effective in living out our mandate of being a sent person. The only way that we can live out that mandate is to consider every person that we come across, as worthy of our time and attention. There are 2 main doctrines when it comes to people coming to know the Lord, but regardless of which you believe, my statement still rings true. If you believe that God determined before time who would be saved and who wouldn’t or if you believe that a person decides of their own choice, or free will whether or not they will serve the Lord, in both instances, you and I are not God and are not in a position to make that determination…therefore, we should operate with the mindset that God is with all and God is for all…this should be our default mode of thinking in most cases.

I came across a quote by a guy I tend to disagree with, on many parts of doctrine and theology. To be honest, I was surprised to read this from him. In regard to if God loves the whole world, as opposed to only “the elect,” or those chosen by God, in his book, The God Who Loves, John McArthur says this:

Nevertheless, while acknowledging that some people are prone to abuse the notion of God’s love, we cannot respond by minimizing what Scripture says about the extent of God’s love. John 3:16 is a rich and crucial verse. In chapter 1, I noted that some Christians actually deny that God truly loves the whole world. I referred to Arthur Pink’s famous attempt to argue that “world” in John 3:16 refers to “the world of believers” rather than “the world of the ungodly.” 1 I pointed out that this notion seems to have gained popularity in recent years.

Perhaps it’s worth revisiting this subject for a closer look. As I said, I am encountering more and more Christians who want to argue that the only correct interpretation of John 3:16 is one that actually limits God’s love to the elect and eliminates any notion of divine love for mankind in general.

A friend of mine recently gave me seven or eight articles that have circulated in recent months on the Internet. All of them were written and posted in various computer forums by Christians. And all of them deny that God loves everyone. It is frankly surprising how pervasive this idea has become among evangelicals.

I would have never thought, in a million years that I would be using a quote from John McArthur to help me drive this point home.

Mark 2: 13-17

13 And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.14 As He passed by, He saw [g]Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. 15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The expository commentary on Mathew, Mark and Luke had this to say about this passage. I think it describes it very well.

Matthew–Luke (Comment)

The newly added disciple “Levi” collects inflated taxes (e.g., customs from the fish trade) and thus cooperates with the Galilean leader Herod Antipas, who in turn serves the suppressing Roman Empire as a client king. The Roman taxation system was fraudulent, or at least prone to be corrupt. A Jewish tax collector was thus considered by law-abiding Jews to belong to the category of moral “sinners” (cf. Mark 2:16) who must be avoided. On account of Jesus’ impending substitutionary atonement through death on the cross, cultural, religious, ethnic, and societal norms of discrimination are, however, rendered meaningless. The new and only criteria for participation in God’s eternal kingdom are repentance (1:14–15), receiving and trusting Jesus’ substitutionary death , and, as a consequence, following him in a manner worthy of him. All man-made forms of segregating human beings into classes are obsolete.

Here in Mark, we see Jesus call Mathew to be one of His disciples. As the commentary I read put it so succinctly, Mathew would have been considered an outcast in Jewish society, even though he was a Jew himself…yet Jesus called him....along with some of the very fishermen who he had probably taken advantage of. The religious leaders did not like this one bit…Jesus reminds them that He came, not for people who think they have it all together, but for the broken and in need of a savior.

Why is it important for us to have the mindset that God is with all and that God is for all? If we do not have this mindset, then we are saying that we know who God is against and who God has abandoned…and none of us are in the position to determine that. This one is close to my heart because I’ve had people (long ago) tell me that I’m (basically) beyond the reach of God. Thankfully, our heavenly father didn’t listen to that person. This means that those who disagree with you on political matters, matters of faith, or anything else, we must have t he mindset that God has placed you in a unique position to reach that person…if only for that momentary act of kindness, that affirming word or smile. It’s in moments like this, where the power of our testimony can have an impact in the life of someone.

I’ll conclude with these thoughts-

Earlier I read a verse in which Jesus says:

Matthew 10: 34-36

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

While unfortunately this happens sometimes, this is NOT what the Lord desires in your life. It’s easy to read a verse like this and develop warped theology. Like I mentioned in the beginning, just about every cult in history uses this passage as a means to separate people from their families, in order to isolate them. Yes, it’s true that we must count the cost of our decision to follow Christ and yes, sometimes that will cause a division in your family…but most of the time, even if your loved ones are hesitant at first, hopefully the power of your testimony will demonstrate to them the goodness and mercy of our Lord. This can only happen though if we approach them with kindness and grace, which is especially difficult sometimes when dealing with family. Remember, living as a person who has been sent does not mean that you force a confrontation…it means that your actions demonstrate the deep and abiding grace of our Lord. If you know that you are going to be around family members that show disrespect to your faith…get yourself prayed up, get some council and be prepared to live out the grace that has been given to you. At some point, perhaps some difficult decisions might need to happen…even Jesus had to walk away from certain situations in which people could not receive Him, but Jesus didn’t make a big show of it...

Matthew 10:14

14 If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town.

Acts 13:51

51 But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium.

As I often talk about, we want balance in all things…we live as a sent person, using the power of our testimony, having the mindset that God is with all and God is for all. In this way, we are allowing the Lord to reach those around us. We do not force confrontations, we allow our actions and attitude to speak for us most often…using grace and compassion.

Let’s Pray!