Vision: Surprise the World, Linked Together in Him
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Surprise the World | A Call to Be Transformed
Surprise the World | A Call to Be Transformed
· You are the light of the world
“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
· Jesus sends us into the world to continue his mission
Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.”
· God loves the world, and we can share his heart for the lost
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
· The world is beautiful but also broken, and part of our job is to make it better
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”
· Seven practical ways to surprise the world:
o Sexual Purity
For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you keep away from sexual immorality, that each of you knows how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passions, like the Gentiles, who don’t know God.
o Serve sacrificially
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.
o Suffer Well
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
o Share the Gospel
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
o Submit to authority
Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.
Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.
o Stand up for what is right
So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.
Speak up for those who have no voice,
for the justice of all who are dispossessed.
Speak up, judge righteously,
and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.
o Simple lifestyle
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
· To do this, you need to care more about what God thinks than anyone else
· Lord Jesus, work through me
Linked Together | A Call to Belong
Linked Together | A Call to Belong
· You are a chosen people
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
· We are united around the word of God and the worship of God
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
· Our relationships with each other are the key measurement of spiritual maturity
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
· Here, people find healing for yesterday, help for today, and hope for tomorrow
· Seven practical ways to belong
o Live an open and honest life
Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.
If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity.
o Put other people first
“Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
o Clear up relationships
So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister from your heart.”
o Hold each other accountable
But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.
And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
o Join in and use your gifts
From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
o Follow leadership
Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
1 Peter 5:5–7 (CSB)
In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.
o Stay outward focused
Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God.
· To do this, you need to define belonging as accepting others not feeling accepted
· Holy Spirit, work around me
Ø Connection to previous: our unity is the sign that the world needs to see
May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.
In Him | A Call to Believe
· You can have a personal relationship with God
God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
· God exists and he loves you
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
· A personal relationship with God comes through Jesus and Jesus alone
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
· Even in times of doubt and distress, following God is worth it
Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”
· Seven practical ways to abide in Christ
o Devotion: develop a heart for God
“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
o Decide: deny yourself and follow Jesus
Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
o Doubt: understand and answer your questions
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
o Doctrine: learn the faith
But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.
o Discipline: spend time in the world and prayer
But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
I have treasured your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against you.
o Discipleship: meaningful relationships with multiple adults
What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
o Discernment: is this good for me?
But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.
“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.
· To do this, you need to love God; and to do that, you need to understand his love for you
We love because he first loved us.
· Father, work in me
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.
Ø Connection to previous: it is Jesus in us that surprises the world, and us being in Christ that binds us together
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.