Give me Jesus

Context: You know the Father, why do you choose to be orphans?

Jesus +

Jesus -

Justification by grace through faith

LAWS

Lord’s nature: reflecting who God is

Alliance: It set Israel apart as a distinct people to being forth Jesus

Wrong vs Right: It defines clear moral boundaries

S: Salvific Preparation: it dosen’t save people directly, but it prepares human hearts to recognize their need for Christ.

Great Climax of Galatians

We are called to be the adopted sons and daughters of the Father

Yet, many are Orphans instead of being Sons of the Father

And we know that we are sons of the Father because of THE SON, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Y’all may not know, but actually title our sermons. This one is: “Give me Jesus” which, as Michael knows, is one of my favorite songs

Folks, we need Jesus.

We are all made in the image of God, but left to ourselves we are drawn to worship ourselves and idols

Paul has been talking about these false teachers and giving us the theological answer to our dilemma: we cannot save ourselves or turn our lives around. We are not our own answer to identity, meaning, worth, or happiness.

Our own pride and our own works will not save us and lead to the life in which we were designed.

To think that we are the answer leaves us without a Father, it leaves us as Robert said: orphans

Focusing inward to ourselves as our protection, security, sustenance, life. And it doesn’t work.

Paul is clear in today’s passage: he wants to see Christ formed in them. He longs to see them and us transformed by Christ!!!

He does not want us to choose to be orphans: he wants us to be adopted as sons and daughters.

How do you become a son of the Almighty Father? Paul and Scripture is clear: By believing in the Son, Jesus Christ.

Again, as Paul has already laid out: we are justified by grace through faith in THE Son, Jesus Christ.

Gods riches and Christ’s expense: we did nothing, are doing nothin, and will do nothing to gain our salvation! We are adopted, we receive the inheritance, because of what Christ has done for us.

And this brings freedom, not slavery

But, what we find are so many, even those who have heard the gospel proclaimed, THE GOOD NEWS, choose slavery…

So many of our loved ones, coworkers, people we interact with every day, people who we love so much, choose themselves, choose idols, choose slavery over freedom.

Yall, there are a lot of folks that need Jesus!

That beings us to today’s passage, we begin with Paul the Apostle and Theologian continuing on this theme.

Paul says in our text today

Galatians 4:8–9 “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

As Paul says at the conclusion of today’s passage: he is perplexed about them.

John Stott: Oh, the folly of these Galatians! We can certainly understand the language of the Prodigal Son, who came to his father and said ‘I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants’ or ‘slaves’. But how can anyone be so foolish as to say: ‘You have made me your son; but I would rather be a slave’? It is one thing to say ‘I do not deserve it’; it is quite another to say ‘I do not desire it; I prefer slavery to sonship’. Yet that was the folly of the Galatians, under the influence of their false teachers. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians: Only One Way, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 108.

When you turn from God and to anything else, we call that an Idol.

It offers the illusion of freedom, of being your true authentic self, but it is just that, an illusion.

To go back to Egypt seemed like a safe thing to do (at least we had food and housing in Egypt), but it absolutely would not offer them freedom, it would be a return to slavery

Paul is speaking to Galatians who are choosing to be orphans instead of adopted sons and daughters of the living Father.

He is telling them them to remember the gospel message, he is telling them they need Jesus.

Paul the Pastor: God led me to you to share the Gospel

We then see Paul in verse 12 make a huge shift in tone: from being Paul the Apostle, Paul the Theologian… and opens up to them as Paul the Pastor

Galatians 4:12–15 “Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.”

God used his ailment so that he can preach the gospel to them

God led him to them, used his condition, to proclaim the gospel to them

And they accepted him, welcomed him, loved him, listened to him, believed him as a messenger of Christ Jesus

And they would have done anything for him

Galatians 4:14–17 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.”

Why are you listening to these false teachers and being led astray by these false teachers?

They are telling you what you want to hear. They are offering you a false gospel… which isn’t gospel at all. (remember, I told you earlier in my letter there is only one gospel)

They are only telling you this to serve their own purpose.

They are twisting the gospel to shine light on themselves, not to shine the light on Jesus Christ.

To believe them, to turn inward and believe in yourselves, turns you away from the Son… it leads you away from being a son of the Father.

You are choosing to be orphans.

As Stott said, it is one thing to say, “I don’t deserve to be your son.”

But in this case, You are actually saying, “I just don’t desire to be your son”

They desire to be an orphan

So, here we have Pastor Paul pleading with them as a fellow Son of the living God, a family member, their pastor, and he is shooting them straight, ending today’s verse with the classic phrase, “I am perplexed about you”

I don’t get it! You welcomed me, loved me, heard the gospel, and have chosen to be orphans.

All of the Orphans today

And I’d like to take a page out of Paul’s book and for few moments not be theologian Tony or expositor Tony, and just be Pastor Tony

There are a lot of orphans all around us that need Jesus.

How do we join God in giving Jesus to people and making sure they do not choose to be an orphan?

We share the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ

We live our lives together as Disciples making disciples

We believe that we are justified by Father’s grace through faith in his Son

And with that comes an eternal relationship as an adopted son or daughter

And it transforms our lives here and now

To live a life knowing not who we are, but whose we are

And he is pretty clear that a relationship as his son is not just an inward journey, but an outward focus, as well. In fact, he commands us Matthew 28 to GO

Matthew 28:19–20 “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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

And, Scripture shows us that we are not to overcomplicate things

We are to do what the parable today says: we are to sow seeds.

He doesn’t say prepare the soil, he doesn’t say take the soil to the cooperative extension office and see what fertilizer to throw out 15 days before

Y’all, the Holy Spirit will take care of the soil

He is who will move the hearts of those to accept Jesus Christ as their savior

He doesn’t even give us a metric regarding a successful harvest..

Matthew 28, Matthew 13, Paul , the whole of Scripture makes it clear that Jesus said the measure of success is this: were you faithful in going? Did you sow the seeds? Did you sow the Word of God among the orphans? Did you live your life so that others can see that you are a disciple making disciples?

What are some ways God may be calling St. Andrew’s to go and sow among the orphans?

For starters, right here and right now: St. Andrew’s

How many people have heard the gospel preached and had their lives changed by St. Andrew’s?

We gather as a community, hear God’s Word, eat at His table.

We care for each other

Through the liturgy, the sacraments, studies, community groups, prayer, worship, missions, congregational care, benevolence… we live out being Disciples making disciples

Not just St. Andrew’s: Many other faithful, Gospel centered churches in our city who proclaim the one and only gospel truth

Churches like ours are a great and necessary way to fulfill Christ’s command

How blessed are we that we were called here to St. Andrew’s?

Anglicans are prone to dive deep, look inward, have deep and solid relationships with our Lord

We sometimes need a little reminder that there are a lot of folks that just won’t fit in this sanctuary or drive to be a part of this community.

So, historically, we have another avenue…

Plant a church

Data shows that church plants naturally lend themselves to inviting people in its doors who are not currently attending a church somewhere.

It is usually focused highly on it’s local area, neighborhood, or city

Offers numerous ways to serve with the All hands on deck approach.

A typical church plant raises up a pastor, finds 10-12 families that will form a core group, and raise $500,000 over the next few years to plant a church

Church Planting is fantastic! Just like us here today, it is a great thing and a great way to give Jesus to orphans around us.

Typical church plant comes with some high barriers that I just mentioned

Ordained minister with call and vision

That takes time and calling

10-12 families with various gifting and resources

A lot of resources from sending church

Worth it if you have the other two, but still a barrier.

What about areas that need Jesus, but may not have a clergy leader called or 10-12 families willing to plant roots in that area or communities that may not have the resources to sustain a full-time pastor, building overhead, etc?

Missional Communities

You have heard us use the phrase “Missional Community” many times when discussing what the Lord is doing in Conway

We as a church spent a season in prayer and discernment asking the Lord “how do we reach out beyond these walls of St. Andrew’s to give people Jesus? And through this season and discernment, Missional Communities kept popping up

One way to conceptualize Missional Communities is to think of them as a Mission Outpost of St. Andrew’s. Us reaching out to support and resource a group of folks out there who want to live a three stream Anglican life and evangelizing in their local area by being disciples making disciples. A group of people who desire to transform lives in their area by giving people Jesus.

They desire to listen to the Apostle Paul and live their lives shaped by the one true gospel; not swayed by the teachings of false teachers, staying grounded to the Scripture, grounded in prayer, grounded in worship, grounded in living their lives for Christ

they choose to live the life of an adopted son and daughter of the living Father.

The goal here is not necessarily to become a church plant

The goal is to live their lives for Christ in such a way that orphans will see the transforming power of the gospel and desire to be a son or daughter of the Father.

We support them with clergy and resources so that they may meet regularly to break bread, to hear the Word of God proclaimed, to eat from the table, to worship together, to pray together, to once a week gather for evening prayer, they gather so that they can be disciples making disciples and to share the gospel with orphans who cannot help but say, “that is the life I desire”

As Guy Decolmb from All Saints in Dallas likes to say, its focus is on the community without the pressures of sustaining an institution such as a church plant

Our hope is that many of these may grow and become a community where the Lord places on their hearts to call a pastor and be a church. Hallelujah and Amen

Some may never do so, but through their lives invite people in to know the Lord and get them going to an already established church.

These communities take many diferent shapes:

GiG

Ryland likes to point out that one such Missional Community is GiG (Growing in Grace) our weekly addiction and recovery service

A group of people gather each week being disciples making disciples and and demonstrating that their lives have been forever changed by being adopted by the Father!

Every Tuesday, orphans who are hurting and need Jesus are are witinessing the transformative power of Jesus Christ in the lives of those eating with them, singing with them, sharing their testimonies with them, preaching the gospel to them…

A community in which many of them are suffering and slaves to addiction, hurt, shame, guilt, lonliness… a community that needs to know the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of THE higher power to overcome addiction, drugs, incarceration, broken families, guilt, shame…

For 25 years you, St. Andrew’s, has supported this missional community and welcomed the sick, the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the widows, the orphans…

Someone once told me that a pastor aid, and I would think this is correct, that more people have professed Christ as their savior and been baptized through GiG than all AMiA churches combined over the last 25 years.

They saw that these Christians were living their lives based on this gospel message and they desired to be the son or daughter of the Father.

Orphans who need Jesus, and they found him!!!

25 years of sowing seeds that the Holy Spirit uses to transform lives!!!

This community would have a difficult time resourcing itself without the generosity, theological oversight, accountability, and love of our church.

This is a missional community giving people Jesus!

Conway

A group in Conway asked if we could start gathering around an evening service there

Folks who see orphans around them and desire an Anglican expression to be disciples making disciples in their local community

We met with numerous pastors and locals to discern, ask questions, get more connections

Every pastor we met with said, COME, we need an Anglican expression in Conway.

They know that there are people in Conway that will be drawn to the pattern of life that an Anglican Missional Community will live.

Conway gets it: Christ has only one church, not many

We may express it differently, our Sunday mornings may look different. but if you are proclaiming what Paul is saying in Galatians, THE gospel, then we are all part of Christ’s church.

We were welcomed in Conway. So much so that Christ Church Conway, a PCA church downtown, lets us use their facilities at no cost. They haven’t asked for a single thing accept how can we help each other.

They saw that it can only be a good thing for orphans in Conway to see people in their local community gathering regularly and living their lives for Christ.

Tonight is our 5th service in Conway where we continue to meet, worship, learn from the Word and eat from the Lord’s table

There are orphans in Conway that need Jesus. Let’s give them Jesus.

This is a Missional Community

NWA

Chance encounter Robert’s daughter Anne Claire had in a park in Springdale led us to meet a couple of exceptional young men (Luke Worden and Gilbert Gonzalez) desiring to give people Jesus in Springdale.

They truly have the gospel heart of disciples making disciples. They feel called to serve through their non-profit (Lil Homies) to reach youth in Springdale that are at-risk for joining gangs.

Yup, gangs in NWA

They are starting to gathering a group of folks locally to walk them through the Anglican Catechism and seeing how their lives can give Jesus to those in Springdale. Together with them, we are praying and discerning in what ways can St. Andrew’s support and resource them in this effort.

They are here today to experience St Andrew’s, to get to know us better, and to see what the Lord is doing in Conway. I hope you get to meet them and encourage them

This is a Missional Community.

Dallas - Waxahatchie

I had the privilege of joining Guy Delcomb about 30 minutes south of Dallas in a town called Waxahatchie a couple of months ago for a monthly missional community evening service.

It was downtown, in a restaurant on the square. Kids running around, beautiful evening communion service

This group gathers regularly and seeks to live their lives in a rule of life shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It looks like that missional community is on track to call a leader and be an actual church plant in the not too distant future.

Guy is here this morning, too and I hope you get to meet him and see what the Lord is doing in the Dallas area.

This is a missional community.

We need different kinds of expressions (denominational and communal).

Each one is going to be so different, but the one common denominator is that it is a group of people determined to be disciples making disciples and giving people Jesus!

Each one prayerfully desires and goes to show people that you do not have to be an orphan, you can be adopted as His son or daughter… and the Lord is moving in ways to make sure orphans get Jesus.

What can hold us back?

What if we fail?

Well, if the end goal is the expectation that we get a St. Andrew’s church in each community, we will in all probability— by definition — fail.

If our end goal is to get a church plant in each community, we will probably see some failures.

However, If our goal is to give people people some Jesus, and that is our metric, how do we fail?

Some of these communities will end up calling a pastor and being a church. Great!

That doesn’t mean they stop being a missional community.

Just like a priest is always a deacon, a church is always a missional community

Some may stay a local community that gathers monthly for a prayer service and hosting events for their local community. to gather folks in Christ’s name. Fantastic!

Some may run for a season and serve its purpose. Awesome!

We are called to go and to sow…

If through our lives and efforts we plant some seeds on the ground, then we didn’t fail. It is up to the Holy Spirit to work the soil…

According to the Scripture, which is the only metric we should use, failure would be not going in the first place.

We need all kinds of expressions of sharing the gospel. We need the St. Andrews of the world. We need the organized church plants of the world. We need missionaries to go out where they are called. We need reach folks through a wide variety of methods.

And, as we see from our concerned Pastor Paul this morning, it all starts with and continues with us being disciples making disciples because we need to grow in Christ, turning our attention to him, finding our identity in him.

Revival

It sure feels like we are on the verge of a revival

The Lord is definitely doing something.

It sure seems like the Lord is moving in our lives to make sure we are disciples making disciples and giving people Jesus.

Bishop Sospeter: 10 churches in Little Rock

in Tanzania we wouldn’t even think about it, you need 10 Anglican churches in a town this size

He is right. There are not enough chairs in gospel centered churches to hold everyone in Little Rock.

There are so many orphans in the world who have no hope! Anothr way of saying that is there are lost people in this world.

Y’all, there are many people in churches every Sunday that read the creed aloud, but do not believe a word it says. As Paul says, They desire to be orphans.

Paul would look at these churches just like he did the church in Galatia and say, “I am perplexed about you”.

What would Pastor Paul say to us today?

I think he would agree with Bishop Sospeter and say, Look at what the Lord is doing, stay grounded together in the gospel, notice the orphans around you, live your lives devoted to being disciples making disciples, and let’s give the orphans Jesus.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen