Engaging our world

Good morning,

It is so good to come together this morning as we finish our series called we are the church.

The first week we looked at Knowing Jesus, it just happened to be the week we had our VBS and that week several kids accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, and even more received Bibles.

What an amazing week that was.

In week two, we learned about serving in the church.

Last week we looked at what it meant to live in community.

If you missed any of those messages they are up on our website and our app.

In fact even if you were here it would be worth the time to go back and listen to them again because it is so important for us to know what our church, NCCF sees as foundational core values.

Today we are going to wrap up this series by looking at what it looks like to engage our world.

We were created to make a difference, first of all in the lives of those that we are in community with [in the church] and second but just as important we are called to make a difference in the lives of those outside of the church Monday through Saturday.

Let’s pray

Romans chapter 10 has one of the best descriptions on salvation in the whole Bible.

For instance

(ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Or verse (ESV)

11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Or verse (ESV)

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But sadly enough the chapter doesn’t end there.

(ESV)

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

One little word repeated so many times HOW

That very word, if we are honest, is where fear has a chance to creep in because we know that we are the how, and that is where the tension comes from.

If only we could begin to see this word as an amazing opportunity rather than a dreaded obligation or responsibility!

I don’t know about you but I am glad that I am not Billy or Franklin Graham, because the very thought of standing before thousands of people proclaiming the Gospel makes me want to run and hide like King Saul when he was made king.

The Bible tells us they found him hiding in the baggage.

However, that being said the Lord desires to use each one of us as a godly example of how to live before the Lord and how to treat others that we are in relationship with!

So where does our help come from? The LORD

The answer, as always is found in the words of Jesus.

Story of sitting at Wonder Park Elementary

John 14:16-17

(ESV)

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

So if the world cannot receive Him because it neither sees Him or knows Him how does He choose to accomplish this task?

WE are the HOW remember.

(ESV)

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

The world around us is very spiritual, its just that they worship the creation rather than the one that created it all.

Did you know that the stories that you share about the ways that God has come through for you will speak louder to the world than quoting scripture to them, at first.

A word for the uninformed.

On the flip side how many of us know people in the world have a completely flawed perspective of who God is?

For most of us 50 and older, we grew up with a Bible somewhere in our house. Even if nobody ever read it, if it was moved everyone knew it because of the dust pattern.

For most of us 50 and older, we grew up with a Bible somewhere in our house. Even if nobody ever read it, if it was moved everyone knew it because of the dust

For instance, some think He is cruel, or angry, or doesn’t care.

Have you ever heard of a tornado or earthquake referred to as an act of God?

Have you ever wondered why the world around us has called us judgmental and critical?

It’s because we expect them to live by the same rule book we do, but they aren’t even on our team yet!

The Apostle Paul had an amazing way of bringing Jesus into a conversation.

(ESV)

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,

Notice first how he is standing in their midst.

How much of our time is spent around non believers?

Second, he points out that they are religious, a non confrontational approach.

He notices the objects of their worship.

I had a conversation one time with a friend about campfires, then I told him a story of how God was a pillar of fire for the Israelites as they escaped from slavery.

We need to be seed planter and let God do the watering

Paul uses an inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ To share with them of who this God really was.

I believe that for Paul, he had such a keen understanding of what he had been forgiven that he wanted everyone he spoke with to experience that same forgiveness.

The same should be true of the church today, as we begin to understand the depth of the forgiveness we have received, it should stir such a passion in us to share the freedom we have recieved through Faith in Jesus.

The sand dollar story

These sand dollars are alive. They’ve been washed up here on the shore by the high tide, but now they’re stranded. They can’t make it all the way back to the water on their own and they need our help. If they don’t get back into the water soon, well... they’re going to die.”

As he put one back into the water he said, it made a difference to that one!

In another story Paul gives us an amazing look into his desire for people to know Jesus.

(ESV)

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

It almost sounds like Paul can’t decide who he wants to be but if you look at the passion behind what he did and said, it was so that people from every people group would have an opportunity to eternal life.

In response to the very words that Paul had written in , how will they believe, we have looked at 3 different examples of how we are called to be the answer for that how question.

Jesus shared a very simple model with His disciples about evangelism that everyone can apply.

shares this account

(ESV)

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

A. Jesus wants His presence to be known everywhere we go.

B. Pray to the Lord of the harvest.

Verses 5-6

(ESV)

5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.

A. Speak peace to others.

Verses 8-9

(ESV)

8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

B. Fellowship with them.

People will never care how much you know until they know how much you care.

C. Take care of their needs.

D. Proclaim the GOOD NEWS