Firm Foundations: The Mission

WHAT is the church to do:

The church of Jesus Christ exists in and for the world. The local church is a strategic base from which Christians move out to the structures of society, providing the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs. It is a community of true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by persons divinely called and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the world. The function of the local church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is to help people to accept and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to live their daily lives in light of their relationship with God. Therefore, the local church is to minister to persons in the community where the church is located, to provide appropriate training and nurture to all, to cooperate in ministry with other local churches, to defend God’s creation and live as an ecologically responsible community, and to participate in the worldwide mission of the church, as minimal expectations of an authentic church. Each local church shall have a definite evangelistic, nurture, and witness responsibility for its members and the surrounding area and a missional outreach responsibility to the local and global community. It shall be responsible for ministering to all its members, wherever they live, and for persons who choose it as their church. Such a society of believers, being within the denomination and subject to its discipline, is also an inherent part of the church universal, which is composed of all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

HOW are we to do it:

Holy Spirit

WHY are we to do it?

Obedience is the way we show our Love and in Acts 1:8 Jesus Charged his church with making disciples.

IT wasn’t the first time, or second time.

The first time it was just the 12, later he would send out 72 followers with clear instructions as to what to do in this disciple making operation. I think it would be good for us to look back at it.

Jesus Sends out the 72...

Luke 10:1–11 NIV

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’

Luke 10:17–20 NIV

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

A 2000 Year Old Mission

Not a new responsibility… Not something new for the church… this has been and always will be Jesus’s mission and filled with his Spirit, it becomes each of our mission.

IF we are being sent out… how can we make sure we are doing what we are supposed to do - not sinning - obviously… but how do we lead people to Jesus by showing them the love of Jesus?

Who likes to go first? Know the job - make disciples. Know where - out there. Know how - by the Spirit. We all want to know what exactly am I to do?

We do what Jesus did… we show the community Jesus

Rock Hall Needs Jesus… How can we represent Jesus well?

How Can We Represent Jesus Well? First, Leave the HOLY HUDDLE.

As a football coach, the time in the huddle is very important. They get the play, they communicate the play to make sure everyone is on the same page. But in order to play the game, the team has to get out of the huddle.

In the same way, WE love each other… its natural we want to spend time together… it’s actually important that we spend time with other Christians, but we can’t reach the world if we ONLY spend time with other Christians.

That’s what Jesus was getting at when he shared with his Disciples...

Matthew 5:14–16 NIV

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

1 Peter 2:11–12 NIV

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Never confuse a SAFE life with a GODLY life.

How Can We Represent Jesus Well? CARE before we SPEAK.

Matthew 4:23–25 NIV

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Love earns us the RIGHT to be HEARD.

The Good News is made up of WORDS and ACTIONS.

How Can We Represent Jesus Well? When the door opens, GO IN. If it closes, LEAVE.

1 Peter 3:15–16 NIV

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Mark 6:11 NIV

11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

We can’t argue or shame people into FOLLOWING JESUS.

How Can We Represent Jesus Well? Leave OUTCOMES to GOD.

Our goal is to MOVE people CLOSER.