Living on Mission

If you have been to our website,

or

looked at the folding signs as you drive in

you have seen 3 statements....

Living on Mission,

Raising up disciples,

Building the Kingdom.

These are 3 of our core values as a church family.

This morning we are going to start our series called core values and I am going to unpack what this means for us as a church family.

It is important to understand that everyone has core values that they live by.

Everyone is value driven and we make decisions based off the values we have. (how many know that?)

I am sure you have heard me say it before

and

that is we live what we believe.

Talk is cheep and I have found people will say things that they really don’t mean.

I value loving and caring for people… (Jerk)

I value authenticity… (fake)

Talking a big game but not producing is not unique to just individual people,

because I see this to be a common theme with church’s too.

I find in church's that core statements are often times buzz words and statements that sound attractive but really mean nothing. (marketing ploy)

We value community… (No community)

We value generosity… (to who yourself? 40 LCD wall display!)

So this morning when I go over some of these core values,

I want us as a church to be known as people who live out what we say we believe.

Even if people disagree with things that we stand for,

I want us to be known as people who live what we believe each and everyday. Amen!

Living out our faith and living out what we say we believe comes down really to having a strong foundation.

If you have not heard the series we went through at the beginning of the year called foundation.

I encourage you to listen to it. (Series came from many conversations)

We as a church board and elders talked a lot about the importance of being build on a strong foundation.

The name of our church,

Rock Creek is founded on the idea that everything we do and say flow’s through the fact that we are build on the Rock, Jesus Christ.

Therefore,

our core values will never undermine the foundation that we as a church are build on.

If you believe that God is leading you to make Rock Creek your church home I highly encourage you to listen to the series called foundation. (App, website, and youtube)

This series we are starting today is building off that foundation.

Rock Creek Church…

3 core values are…

Living on mission,

Raising up Disciples,

Building the Kingdom

This morning I want to unpack what it looks like to live on mission.

The sermon this morning is titled “Living on Mission”

(This conversation takes place at the end of Matthew… After Jesus’ death and resurrection

Matthew 28:16–20 (ESV)

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This passage is often refereed to as the great commission.

This passage is a mission statement to the disciple’s on what they are supposed to be doing.

This mission statement that Jesus gave to the disciple’s was for them to be intentional and purposeful about how they were to live.

1. Living on Mission means we intentionally and purposely live out God’s mission.

(God’s mission for each person one is going to look different)

[Healing, Prophecy, helps, teaching, administration, evangelism)

It is important to understand that we are apart of God’s redemptive story and mission.

In reading Scripture we see how God interacts with people throughout human history to accomplish his plan for humanity.

Michael Goheen writes,

The Bible is a narrative record of God’s mission in and through his people for the sake of the world. It tells a story in which mission is a central thread—God’s mission, Israel’s mission, Christ’s mission, the Spirit’s mission, the church’s mission. Indeed, “the whole Bible is itself a ‘missional’ phenomenon. The writings that now comprise our Bible are themselves the product of and witness to the ultimate mission of God. . .

When God made a covenant with Abraham it was for the purpose of being a blessing to many.

Genesis 12:1–2 NLT

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

This passage was God’s missional call to Abram who would later be called Abraham.

Abraham was called to be a father of a people who would be set apart,

as the people of God in order that the world may be blessed.

As God’s chosen people,

they were to demonstrate the blessing of being in covenant with God,

as they lived intentionally and purposefully on God’s mission to the world.

Their lives were to be a means of saving the world around them,

because the world was to see a set apart people of God shining the light for all to see.

God’s mission for Israel was for the world to be blessed,

as they would be drawn in to know the creator of the universe.

However, as you study the Old Testament one understands that Israel did not always fulfill their calling,

in fact they seemed to usually not fulfill God’s mission for their lives.

But even in their failings,

God was still weaving his plan of redemption throughout human history.

And God’s plan would involve the cross.

The Old Testament stories of God’s mission with his people were all pointing to the day when Christ would come.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 communicates the mission that God sent his son on,

which is the mission of the cross to save the world from its sin.

God’s redemptive story would involve the greatest act of love,

as Christ would lay down his life,

in total surrender to the will of the Father.

Christ life showed us what living on mission ment,

as he intentionally and purposefully fulfilled the Father’s will for his life.

Even to the point of carrying his cross to Calvary.

Living on mission means that we deny ourselves and pickup the cross to follow Jesus.

Jesus said…

Matthew 16:24 (ESV)

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

As Jesus was commissioned by his father to live on mission,

so He too commissioned his disciples to live on mission.

Jesus gave his disciples the authority to live on mission.

And

not only did Jesus give them authority,

but gave them the power when He gave the Spirit.

Therefore, it is vital to remember that we as the church are equipped to live on mission each and every day. (Amen!)

The problem is many in the church have fallen away from living on mission because it is inconvenient.

And because we are not living on mission we are not seeing transformation take place to the people around us.

(Easter Service)

[Never have had this many mega church’s in history]

created a consumer culture and not a Missional culture

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV 1900)

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish:

But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

When individuals lose site of the vision of the people God has called us to be…

getting stagnant and complacent is certainly going to take place in the life of the church...

If I were to point to why

why we are not seeing transformation take place

why we are not seeing church’s raising up disciples

why we are not seeing expansion of the Kingdom of God.

I would say without hesitation that it is complacency…

(sin, compromise, falsehood.... but those i believe are symptoms)

We have gotten complacent with our faith because we have become consumers and not partakers in the faith.

Most people today when looking for a church are thinking in terms like...

How will this church serve my needs in the best way...

How will this church give me what I am looking for...

How will this church church aid me in my desires and my feelings...

We have a lot of consumer type mentalities in the church,

And

because of this we have a lot of complacent people in church’s today.

It is not very often do you see people looking for a church saying...

What church does God want me to be in so that my Faith will grow in order that i can serve others.

Not to often when people are looking for a church will they say...

God what church do you want me in so I can help serve the needs of the church to help grow the Kingdom of God. (With me?)

A core value is for us to be a church that is living on mission and not a church of production to grow a crowd…

You can grow a crowd of consumers,

but that will not really impact the Kingdom of God.

People who are consumers are much different than people who are living on mission.

I want to share a few differences between a consumer versus someone who is living on mission…

consumers of the church rate the church on performance

missional people look at the church and see how they can serve the needs of the church

consumers of the church will criticize and critique problems within programs, music, and preaching of the church

missional people will see problems and say nothing but role up their sleeves and get dirty to fix the problem

consumers of the church look out only for their own needs and wants

missinal people look out for the needs of others and desire to see spiritual growth and transformation

Our core value of Rock Creek is to be people who live on mission,

knowing that we are not serving our own interest,

but rather are living in service to God and his people.

As a church I want people to know us a people who intentionally and purposefully live on mission for the glory of God.

I want us as a church to be seen in this community as people grounded in the Word of God

and live out our faith with intense purpose.

Our core value of living on mission means that we look out for ways to serve others not ourselves.

Our core value of living on mission means that Jesus who is our rock,

is the foundation of who we are as a church and follow His leading.

Living on mission means we surrender to the will of God not surrender to the will of the flesh.

Living on mission means we stay faithful to our foundation,

even when it is not popular.

Living on mission means we live as people marked by God not by our past mistakes.

Living on mission means we worship passionately because we know the worth of our Savior.

Living on mission means we intentionally tell people of the living hope that we have in Jesus.

Living on mission means we live purposely in our homes, communities and jobs to bring light to places of darkness.

Living on mission means we know our role as part of the body of Christ and live out our calling with passion and purpose.

Living on mission means we pray for the sick and believe God will bring healing.

Living on mission means we don’t limit God but dare to believe for the impossible.

Living on mission means we live out what we believe each and every day because we know that God has called us to be partakers of his great commission of making disciples and building the Kingdom of God.

1. Living on Mission means we intentionally and purposely live out God’s mission.

In other words living on mission means we are people who are about our Heavenly Father’s business.

Steve Tucker Fathers business