Be Sent (Pathway Series Sermon)
Notes
Transcript
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Be Sent
Be Sent
Be Sent is the last portion of our pathway that completes what we at First Baptist define as a disciple of Jesus Christ...
A disciple of Jesus at First Baptist...
Knows God’s plan. (Begin)
Knows God’s people. (Belong)
Knows God’s path. (Become)
Knows God’s purpose. (Be Sent)
Today’s Objective for Be Sent
Today’s Objective for Be Sent
We collectively catch a vision of what God could do in and through First Baptist in our city, our state, our nation, and our world...
We collectively leave encouraged, confident in the Holy Spirit’s work in us, to reach people and make disciples.
Have you ever experienced a supernatural move of God?
I am not talking about a service where the music was your spotify playlist or a time you were brought to tears by conviction...
I mean an experience where you cannot explain what you are in… It can only be OF God.
A experience where what seemed like immovable mountains were crumbled to the ground and breakthroughs were happening for those we never would have thought God would be in their sight...
I remember being in middle school and watching a move of God sweep across our campus.
What started as a chapel service (which means it was a christian school) led to school canceling classes for the day.
Students were being saved and prayers were being answered in the moment.
It forever marked our school and the students I was raised by.
You might say, “yeah, but you went to a christian school.”
Only people who have never been to christians schools say those kind of things..
I can’t count on two hands the amount of students I went to high school with that are currently serving in ministry, on the mission field, or are heavily actively involved in their local churches.
Do you long to experience that? I do.
Longing for such a movement always brings to mind the church at Ephesus.
Ephesus was a key city as it was located precisely to act as an anchor point for those traveling east and west within the empire… whether by land or sea.
It was a beautiful city! A costal city marked by the great temple of the goddess, Artemis. This temple was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world!
Ephesus was also marked by it’s education and high levels of learning… If you were an ephesian, you were proud to be one...
Ephesus was dark… Not only was there the worship of many pagan God’s and cults...Slavery was normal- you could literally go to the market where kidnapped kids were sold half naked on a daily basis. The number of slaves were equal to the quarter of the population. (This effort was changed because of Christianity)
Paul arrives in Ephesus around 52 AD.
God had already been stirring something.
He encountered some disciples of John the Baptist. After talking with them, he realized they did not have the full gospel.
He baptizes them in the name of Jesus and they receive the Holy Spirit.
This marks the beginning of one of the greatest movements of God through a local church the world has seen...
Paul starts going into synagogues and then city halls, unapologetically declaring Jesus as King and savior!
Don’t you want to wear the Jesus T-Shirt like that?
Like, I am going to go into the familiar places and just talk to people about Jesus.
While he is there, God begins to do miraculous things… Let’s turn to Acts 19.
11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
God is just absolutely wrecking this city. As God continues to work through Paul and the local church there, the city begins to shift and it’s sinful culture begins to be turned upside down…
Continuing in Acts 19 we see the story of the jewish exorcist.
I don’t have time to read the passage so let me tell you what happens!
These Jewish exorcist- yes this was a real job… see paul’s work and begin to try and perform similar things...
They see people who are possessed by evil spirits..
Ironically, these JEWISH exorcist attempt to use the name of Jesus to pull these spirits out of them...
Jesus name is not to be used for the sake of self-promotion or performative fame.
The evil spirits kind of “clapped back” at them saying...
Listen, we know who Jesus is… We have heard of Paul… But who the heck are you?”
The spirits, like two bullies on a playground, jump on these poser exorcist and this is how the passage ends...
16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Listen… if you ever get in a fight… and you flee the scene naked and wounded… you have just been OWNED.
But look at the implications of this scene here...
17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
Are you seeing this? A city built on pagan worship and cults is being overthrown by the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of local believers!
Oh but it is just getting started...
Paul sends Timothy after he leaves to oversee the church and continue to gospel mission.
23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.
When God is working, the enemy rares his head. Before we continue, let’s always remember that revival comes at a cost…
Because many are coming to the faith and the community of the local church was turning heads, not only was it impacting cultural lifestyles but also economic expectations.
24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.
God’s self-glorifying movement among the city of Ephesus was shutting down businesses devoted to upholding false religions and pagan cults… WHAT.
Could you imagine if our church lived to make Jesus’s name known in such a way that…
School systems started canceling practices and games on Wednesdays and Sundays, prioritizing the gathering of believers.
Abortion clinics closed because the value of life is seen as God’s treasure and not just our own.
Dive bars are vacant because there is a realization that hope can be found and wounds can be healed outside of the bottom of a bottle.
What if we saw 200 men at Men’s prayer breakfast instead of 50-70...
The majority of people leaving to enjoy the state of Alabama’s finest treasure, college football, are making every effort to be back with their family on Sunday morning because of the love of their church community and Lord.
As I was sitting in awe and wonder of this potential, I began to find myself getting a little… hopeless...
This question came to mind… Why haven’t we/don’t we experience this?
What causes us to be afraid of wearing the Jesus t-shirt?
From living missional and carrying gospel conversations regularly?
Why aren’t people seeing our community and our family here and noticing a drastic difference? Are they?
Some do. But does the city of Decatur, Hartselle, Priceville, Athens, Madison feel the presence of God’s people from FBC Decatur living as one?
Maybe because Paul’s instruction to the church in Ephesus is something we ourselves have neglected to give attention to...
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Paul is warning and instructing the church at Ephesus on the way they go about their day to day lives...
Look Carefully
Look Carefully
We look carefully so as to not stumble
What are we looking at?
How we walk!
The word walking in the greek carries this implication that we are living our life while teaching or discussing.
We are careful because we are continually walking before the eyes of non-believers.
But be careful because here is where we can get swamped by legalism!
We are keeping a close eye on the principles by which we walk, not the action of walking itself!
These principles are the fundamental truths of our faith.
Paul covers these in the first half of Ephesians!
We walk as one who is redeedmed (Eph. 1:1-11)
We walk as one who is sealed by the Spirit (Eph. 1:13)
We walk as one who is filled with the power of the Spirit (Eph. 1:19-20)
We walk knowing God’s plan is perfect and good (Eph. 2:10)
We walk with God, having access to Him through Christ (Eph. 3:11-12)
Our life, lived by walking carefully as we seek to make Jesus known, is built on the principles outlining our redeemed and restored life in Christ!
Maybe our community doesn’t see our lives defined by this because instead, they see a life defined by laws, rules, judgement, and gossip...
We have to be careful when we walk...
To walk in such a way is unwise...
Paul says to walk as wise...
not as unwise but as wise
not as unwise but as wise
To walk as one who is unwise is to walk while lacking discernment!
We can’t make the most of our opportunity every day for Jesus if we are living carelessly, only focused on what we want!
Eternity is at stake! What is more important? You agenda for the day and social plans, or the eternal life of someone you might encounter throughout your day?!
This wisdom is practical wisdom that aligns conduct with faith!
Paul is praying for this wisdom for the people of Ephesus!
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
making the best use of the time
making the best use of the time
The idea of efficiently using time suitable for a particular purpose (season).
The most ineffective christian is the one who would rather have the life of someone else.
“…we must accept the circumstances we constantly find ourselves in as the place of God's kingdom and blessing.
God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are, and if we faithlessly discard situation after situation, moment after moment, as not being 'right,' we will simply have no place to receive his kingdom into our life.
For those situations are our life."
– Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy
We can’t carry out a gospel mission lifestyle if we are constantly concerned about what we don’t have and what we would rather want!
We trust in our abilities to give us what we need yet we are the ones who fool ourselves EVERY TIME.
Here is the matter of the fact:
Lost opportunities may never be regained; they are gone forever.
or in the wise words of the great theologian Wayne Gretzky
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
There is a weight of urgency to this call to walk carefully as one who is wise...
because the days are evil.
because the days are evil.
Church, this is the responsibility of the church....
To love God and love people.
To reach people and make disciples.
How do we make the best use of our time?
How do we make the best use of our time?
When we start using language like “living on mission” or “going to evangelize” we tend to squirmy and uncomfortable.
In 2018, Barna, a research agency, found that 76% of current church goers were either unaware of the great commission or couldn’t tell you what it meant.
Let me define evangelism:
Evangelism: teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.
Building homes, working a food pantry, and painting walls are all phenomenal things. We are commanding to live a like worth of this gospel. These thing are a great avenue for evangelism though...
*btw, very rarely does God call you to come tell us what we should do in terms of projects and efforts...
If the spirit has convicted you concerning the reaching a particular community, to start this effort, or go start this ministry, He is calling YOU to it.. Take the first step!
“But it is too big of a goal..”
Just take a step and see what God can do!
You think ministry in the town hall by Paul was preceeded by a vision for the city’s economics to be challenged because of the spread of the gospel? NO! He was just faithful to his conviction and God’s call on his life...
However- what marks evangelism is the effort to TEACH the GOSPEL..
8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
This is an spirit empowered effort! You have been equipped with the Holy Spirit to guide your conversation and you present opportunities to live, making the best use of the time.
He has called YOU to go...
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
This takes practice!
*pickleball illustration
We have an evangelism training on March 17th at 5pm! Come learn the basic narrative of the gospel and best you can set yourself up to share the gospel!
Here is another way to make the best use of the time...
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.