Church on Purpose- SEND: "Ready, Set..."

Sermon: FCC Afton February 19, 2023 Church on Purpose Series Send: "Ready, Set..." Scripture: James 2:14-24 We continue this morning in our Church on Purpose series, taking a deeper look at the purpose of the Church and at you specifically, your purpose. What does it mean to teach others what Jesus taught us first, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus and to make disciples of others, and what does it mean to go unto the world for Jesus as readied, disciple-making disciples and to grow the Kingdom of God? Last week, we finished the Disciple pillar. We've now finished two of the three pillars of our purpose: to teach others what Jesus has taught us, and to make disciples. We've looked at making sure that we are listening to what God is trying to teach us so that we can effectively teach those things to others. We've looked at what it means to develop someone into a disciple of Jesus, at being an example of Godliness for others to follow, and at being prepared for when God brings a Timothy into your life. Today, we begin the Send pillar. For the next two weeks, we will be looking at what it means to not only be called by God and to actually go doing what He's called you to do, but also what it means to live every day in readiness, in the expectation, in the willingness, to accept God's call- to surrender to His will. It is telling God: "When you call, I will go." As Isaiah 6:8 says, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" When Christ asks you to "Take up your cross and follow Me," will you be ready to put your faith into action and move? Read James 2:14-24 [Pray here!] Main Idea: The foundational answer to the question "What is the church's purpose? What is MY purpose?" is surrender. When we are discussing what it means to be a disciple and what it means to make disciples, we must start with surrender. Without surrender, you are not ready to follow Christ- and if you are unready or unwilling to follow Christ, then as we just read, your faith may be dead or dying. There are two basic competing ideologies in this world: one of surrender to Christ and our Creator God and one of control. I say only two basic ideologies, because everything outside of surrender falls into the second ideology: Christians unwilling to surrender, other religions, atheists, humanists, pluralists- it all falls into the category of wanting control over one's own life and ultimately refusing to surrender to God and His plans. The ideology of control says, "God won't call me to do much or go anywhere. Even if He did, I must stay because I have put down roots; this is my home and my community. I know better than God what I can and can't do. If God wants me, He can just use me here." The ideology of surrender says, "I will listen to my God. I will allow Him to use me because I know He loves me, I know He saved me, and I know that He has a better plan for my life than I ever could. I will be obedient to God's call and mission for me and I will go where He can most effectively utilize me." Of course, these two things don't have to be mutually exclusive. Living with an attitude of surrender does not mean that you're automatically going to be sent somewhere crazy by God. God does not call every Christian overseas to be a missionary. In fact, if you look at the early church, only a small percentage were the go-ers, while the majority were the stay-ers- God called the majority of the Christians to their individual cities, serving God in their growing local churches in whatever way God had for them. If we are going to legitimately follow Christ, we must have active, living faith! The church needs people who are living with an attitude of surrender, an attitude that is reflected in the active work for God, an attitude that replies to God: "I will serve my God, the source of my hope and salvation, wherever He calls me- even if it means leaving my comfort zone and/ or doing something that I never saw myself doing!" It is living a life of faith that shows those around you that you are no longer the boss of this life and instead, living a life of gratitude that thanks God for His mercy on you by being active for the Kingdom! Question: For those of us who are striving to legitimately follow Christ, to authentically surrender to His purposes, do we have an accurate understanding of what those purposes are? Christ's purpose- To introduce His atoning sacrifice and bring us salvation, to give us the opportunity to come back into right relationship with the Father, and to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. Christ's Intent for His Church, the Body of Believers: To follow the Great Commission- to make disciples, to teach others what He taught us, to baptize, to grow the Kingdom of God- and to be His witnesses to all the earth. My purpose as a Follower of Christ: To take up my cross and follow Christ, to be effective in fulfilling the Great Commission, and to be His ambassador and witness unto the world. So, if all of the purpose of the church is focused outward at making disciples and being His witnesses, then what is the purpose of our communal worship service? Hebrews 10:25 reminds us to not neglect meeting together in Brotherhood and fellowship, but nothing says to 'make it your priority to sit in a pew on Sunday morning.' -Church service: Provides a framework within which the saints can come together to fellowship and to pray for one another, and in which the saints can be prepared, equipped, and encouraged to go out into the world to fulfill the Great Commission and be His witnesses- be prepared to do the good works of ministry that God has called them to do AND has prepared in advance for them to do. -Sunday School/ Discipleship: Time for intense study of the Word with time to ask questions and for discussion. Also a sign of your willingness to surrender, to get up earlier than required to spend extra time studying and discussing the Word and preparing yourself for worship. If this time does not facilitate a deeper study of the Word and prepare you for worship, then it is a waste of time. -Worship: To provide time for authentic worship, to give thanks and praise to the Father. This time of worship requires surrender that prepares your heart to be ready for the change and commitment that God has for you. If this time of worship does not facilitate your surrender to the Father and prepare you for the greater meat of the time of fellowship, then it is a waste of time. Your time in worship is given for you to give praise to God and for you to be equipped to go out and accomplish God's purpose for you. Question: Are you ready to actively live out what God is trying to accomplish through you? Are you paying attention to what God wants to do in you or are you living life with an "out of sight, out of mind" type of deal? Maybe you feel like you won't be held accountable for not doing God's work if you can claim that you never heard God's call and direction... I would refer you to the prophet Jonah. Jonah: Jonah tries to run away from God's call; he tries to escape from the responsibility that God had placed on him, but God doesn't let you get away with just not listening to what He is trying to do in you. There are consequences for ignoring what God is trying to do in you and through you. -Your faith without works is dead- it is meaningless! God does not call you to repentance and salvation and then say, 'Now you're good.' No, an authentic, living faith requires action, a fulfillment to show that it is alive and maturing. It requires the surrender to God's will and direction and a lifestyle that is active in doing good works, serving others, and growing the Kingdom of God. Our faith, our salvation, is not dependent on the works that we do. Faith without works is not dead in the sense of spiritually dead or separately from God. Rather, it is dead in the sense of withered and not producing a good fruit that would show that it is alive. We are shown in Romans 3:28 "A man is saved by faith alone." and Galatians 2:16 "A man is not justified by works of the Law, but through faith in Jesus Christ." that our salvation, Jesus justifying us before God, is not based on the things we do for God, but that the works that we accomplish for the Kingdom show the world around us how much we love God and are thankful for Him saving us from our sins. These ideas are not contradictory. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 that we should live such good lives that the world might see our good deeds and glorify God because of it. Rather than be contradictory, these ideas are complementary: once you accept salvation, repent, and surrender yourself to God's will, THEN you should naturally begin to live a life that glorifies God. You should begin to live out the expectation that God's power has changed you and that now you want to show those around you what that changed life looks like. If you are not doing the things that demonstrate your faith- that demonstrate how thankful you are for the life-changing power that has transformed you from a worthless sinner into a Child of the King- then as James says, your faith might as well be dead, because it is not doing anybody any good- it is basically just the God-in-the-box "only open in emergencies" on the shelf and the "get out of hell free card" that you keep in your wallet. The works of faith that James is referring to, that we are looking at in this first part of our Send pillar, come later. They have nothing to do with us accepting salvation. We didn't strike some bargain with God- salvation in exchange for some future works of service. God extended grace to us when He had no use for us- He loved us and wanted to save us. That's it. Now anything that we do in service of the Kingdom is an outward expression of our thanks! It is the outward proof of our faith in Jesus and His gift of salvation to save us from our own sins. James is not saying that we are saved by faith plus our works- He is stating to us that to have an authentic faith is to do active, authentic work in service of the one that justifies and saves us. -Our works are the fruit of an authentic faith. A faith that is fruitless is dead and, as Jesus says in Matthew 7:19, at risk of being cut down and cast into the fire. In other words, not the root of salvation, but the fruit that grows out of it! Part of this fruitful expression of faith is the actionable assistance of others. It is serving others, to meet their needs but also so that they can see your good works and glorify God because of it. It is not just saying 'I wish you well' or 'I'll pray for you;' it is tangibly meeting the physical needs of others, especially at your own expense! -There is no neutral in the Kingdom of God. You cannot experience the life-changing power of the Gospel and it not bring about drastic positive change in your life, without it bringing an outpouring of serving others and doing things so that those around you can see them and then glorify God; if that is not something that you can say, then it is likely that haven't really surrendered yourself to God and that you are experiencing dead, withered faith. -This why the murderer Saul becomes the missionary Paul. Therefore, the doubter Thomas becomes a Church Father. It is why the fisherman Peter becomes the Rock on which Christ could build the church. It is why Martin Luster sees the sin and hypocrisy filling the church and breaks free of it. It is why the atheist CS Lewis becomes one of the greatest Christian Theologians and authors of the 20th century. Question: Are you ready for God to move? Do you have your bags packed and your affairs in order? God may not take you out of your comfort zone, but if He calls is your go-bag packed and ready to follow His direction? -Are you ready to go if God were to call you to action today? I don't literally mean actually be able to move today, but is your life ready so that you can follow God's direction when He calls? Remember, your surrender comes with an attitude of being willing to listen to God, to let go of things, and to go where He calls- if He is really Lord and Master of your life, do you go when He says GO?. It is raising your hand when God says 'Who will I send?' and replying with a joyful 'Here I am. Send me!' (Read Matthew 25:1-13) - This is a 10 virgins situation. 5 of the virgins were ready when the bridegroom came, while the other 5 were unprepared. The application of that parable is what? To be prepared to light your lamp when the bridegroom calls.God will not necessarily call you to action now, but the implication is clear: if you are not living with an attitude of being ready and willing to move when He wants to use you, then, like Barak in Judges 4, you will be passed over and miss out on the honor of God using you. -Luke 12:35 reaffirms this idea: "Be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps lit." -In Ephesians 6:14-15 we are instructed in this way: "Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the Gospel of peace." -God is calling on you, Christian, to be ready to go, ready to be His witness to Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth, ready to take the Gospel of peace to the world. -Even if He never calls you to leave Afton, to leave northeastern Oklahoma, He is still calling you to be ready to bring the Gospel of peace to your neighbors and loved ones- to those within your sphere of influence. Last reminder before we wrap: God does not call you, Christian, to just exist in this world; to try to good and try not to be too much of a sinner or too worldly. He does, however, call you to do three things: * To be His witness, His ambassador (to be an example of God's expectations and an authorized agent to act on His behalf), to this fallen world. * To make disciples, to teach them what He has taught you (the implication being that you are a disciple and know what Jesus has taught!) * And to live such a good life among the world that they might see your good works and glorify God because of them- (this is not just people seeing your good works and saying 'Thank you, God. Your servant here is doing some good stuff. You're a good God.' The idea here is that someone would see your good works and be so moved by it that they are ready and willing to surrender their lives to Jesus in response!) Are you ready and prepared for the work that God wants to accomplish through you? Are you listening for God's instructions for you in how to prepare yourself; He tends to give a pretty good idea of where He wants to use you- many times its going to come from an increased passion or a sudden desire in your heart, a sudden quickening of the spirit. Is your faith living and producing good fruit? Are you living with an attitude of surrender to God? Invitation and challenge: