What is in Your hand?

Intro

A couple of weeks ago - Reimagine your Church asked for ideas

Some good suggestions some other interesting ones.

We wanted to get more ideas on how to reach our community.

But at times it can be difficult to see past what we are familiar with.

It’s like, when you go over someone’s house and their is a weird smell.

They are used to it but your notice it right away. And the same thing goes with your house.

So it is good to get someone else’s perspective

In the process though we needed to clarify that we aren’t looking for ways to make you happier with the church we aren’t looking for ideas on how to add things that you like.

We want all of us to think outside of ourselves. To consider others and what would help them connect to the Gospel.

Pastor put it this way “We will always be about reaching lost people not about making found people happy”

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t meet your needs but it does mean that if push comes to shove and we need have to make a decision between what will lead someone into a relationship with Jesus or do something that we like we will choose what will reach someone who is lost.

We should always be looking at ways to tear down obstacles that keep people from following Jesus.

We can never and will never compromise the Gospel, we will never compromise the message that we are separated from God because of our selfish nature that causes us to try to be our own God and determine what is right and wrong for ourselves that is what we call sin and we will always stand in opposition to that. However since the Gospel is provocative enough we must let Jesus be the stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the gentiles and not our own traditions and preferences.

Pastor reminded us last week of a story in Mark Chapter 2, I want us to be reminded of that once again.

Matthew 9 NIV84

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region. As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.” Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:9–12 NLT

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”

Matthew 9

Mark 2:15–17 NLT

Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

That is the church that we want to be.

Mark 2:15-17

That is the church that we want to be. We want to reach people that know one is reaching. We want to love people that no one is loving. We aren’t here as an organization to

We want to reach people that know one is reaching. We want to love people that no one is loving.

We aren’t here as an organization to make well people feel good about their wellness we are here to reach out to the sick and help them get well.

That is what Jesus was about and that is what we are about.

Pastor’s point last week was that lost people, hurting people, people without hope are incredibly important to God and so they are incredibly important to us. And we should be willing to do whatever we can short of sin to reach them with the Gospel.

We have to have compassion on them, we have to care. They can’t be a target, they can’t be just another person to increase our attendance and offerings.

We are called to genuinely love and care about them. We have to care about them more than we care about ourselves.

We have the greatest message of hope that the world has ever heard, it can heal sicknesses, it can set the people free from bitterness, depression, hopelessness and addictions. It can give people joy and hope when they are going through devastating circumstances. It can raise those who are dead back to life. And it exists within each one of us, it is a part of our story, it changed the trajectory of our lives. And we have each been given a command to share that story, that hope with those that are around us.

It was interesting to read some of the ideas that were sent in and many of them were great and if nothing else it caused each one of us to think beyond ourselves and think about how we can reach others.

However as we think about re-imagining the church we cannot forget that we aren’t necessarily looking to re-imagine the church calendar because we must also look at how we should re-imagine ourselves. Because we are the church.

Collectively, each one of us should re-imagine our role in this process.

It is easy to re-imagine what others can do, what the church can do, what the pastors can do, but in this process are we looking at ourselves and re-imagining what we else we can do to reach people for Jesus.

How do we do this?

Called Into the World (not just bring the people to the church but bring the church to the people)

Are each one of us willing to do anything short of sin to reach people no one else has reached.

We are called to not watch the world go by. We are not called to simply be consumers of Christians goods and services coming to church to a dose of church, we are called to be co-laborers with Christ on God’s mission of reconciliation. We are called to join with Christ in showing the world God’s love and grace and how they can have a close personal relationship with the God who created them and loves them.

We see this in Matthew Chapter 28 which recounts the moment when Christ tells us what He wants us to do. After he suffered and died for us after He proved He was the son of God by rising from the dead He tells us that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him SO go into all the world and make disciples. It is a command. Each one of us is called into the world to bring people along on this journey of freedom, this incredible abundant life.

It isn’t just about bringing them to church although that is a huge part of it, we are also called to bring the church to them.

We want to see transformation. This isn’t about attendance of offerings, this isn’t about feeling the excitement of a lot of people here, this is about transformation. We want nothing less than transformation.

He tells us to go into all the world and make disciples. It is a command. Each one of us is called into the world to bring people along on this journey of freedom, this incredible abundant life.

We want to see lives changed, transformed.

If you are here today and your just checking this christianity thing out, I want you to know there is a God that loves you desperately and is going to incredible lengths to reach out to you even when you don’t acknowledge his existence or want his love. And he wants to change your life. He wants you to truly live again. To not be defined by your mistakes, or what others say about you, He wants to define you by how much he was willing to do to set you free to give you hope, to give you purpose. Because He loves you that much and that is the message that each one of us is carrying in our hearts and in our lives.

Not to sit in a church and call it christianity but to invade the chaos of this world with the greatest hope the world has ever seen.

Jesus says this about what He wants for us this is his prayer.

John 17:15–19 NIV84

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

John 17:15

We are called to live our lives in Christ out in the world.

Now some of us might say, well that is easy for you to say, you are a pastor- it is easy for you to do that, but I am not called like you are, I can’t do all of that, here take my tithe and you do it.

It doesn’t work that way.

We can each find excuses why we can’t do what God has commanded each one of us to do.

Even some of our heroes of the faith did that.

Moses did it as well. Look at what happened

New Living Translation Chapter 3

7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land

New Living Translation Chapter 3

7 Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

It has been God’s MO to use his people to bring his hope to those that are hurting.

So Moses is talking to God at this moment and God is telling him that He will deliver an entire nation from slavery through Moses but Moses continually tells God I can’t I can’t I can’t

And God says you can you can you can because I can and I will.

This goes on back and forth until Moses protests again:

New Living Translation Chapter 4

But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The LORD never appeared to you’?”

2 Then the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the LORD told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

4 Then the LORD told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

God goes on to display two other examples of His power through Moses.

And in the same way you might be saying to God I can’t I can’t I can’t

And God like he said to Moses is saying You can you can you can because I can and I will.

And I wan’t to ask you the same thing that God asked Moses,

What is in your hand? What do you have that God can use when you throw it down. What miracles will He do through you if you are willing to use what God has given youl

God is not asking you to give Him something that you don’t have. We have to stop looking at what we don’t have and start looking at what we do have. Because it is exactly what God has given you that He can use to set others free.

You are not insignificant you are strategically placed here at this time to reach people.

Out of the billions and billions of people who have existed God chose you to be his person right here and right now.

To be His guy or his girl at your job, or in your neighborhood. He isn’t asking you to be something that you are not He isn’t asking you to do use what you don’t have, He is asking you what is in your hand?

Take that and give it to Him and watch what He will do.

Don’t think that you don’t have anything to offer. You do.

What can you do. Stop focusing on the things you can’t do, look at what you can do.

Story of Janet Eckland and Gail Neally .

We want to collectively be innovative and creative and look for new ways of reaching people for the Gospel, but it that is all we do, we won’t be successful in transforming lives. Each one of us is called to make an impact each one of has something in our hands that can be used to both transform lives and serve each other.