Fulfilling the Mission on your Doorstep

I want us to think through this morning what it looks like to see our neighborhoods not just as places we live but as Mission fields that God has placed right next door to us. Our text for this morning that we're going to focus on is going to be Galatians 6:9 and 10 have a copy of scriptures. You can open to that will bounce around a little bit beyond this is really where we focus this morning is Galatians 6:9 and 10 and it reads this way. And let us not grow weary of doing good for in due season. We will reap if we do not give up. So then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Let me pray for us this morning and we'll talk through this in more detail.

Heavenly father. Thank you for Gathering us together this morning for corporate worship. Thank you for a chance to sing your praise to call upon you to do what only you can do. Thank you for this opportunity to look at your word and think through ways. We as a church in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be impactful not only to the nation's but to our neighbors right here. And so Lord. I pray you would equip us through this time and you would encourage us through this time and it is we leave here you would give us new eyes to see all the things you are doing around us and hearts that long to engage with them and pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.

So some of you were here last week some of you may not have been so I want to start with a a little bit of a review to help you be ready for where we're at this morning this month of February. We are thinking through what mission is and what missions is and we talked about the fact that our church has a mission to help more and more people become passionate worshipers and gifted Servants of Jesus Christ. Why do we do that? Because that helps us fulfill the Great Commission that we were given which is to go in all the world and Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father son Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that. God has commanded.

If we do that if we fulfilled what we will see happen is there will be an increase in the number of people who will not just know that people think there's a God and not just know that there is a God but they will actually worship God that's the end goal. We said last week that that the goal of missions is worship. The goal of reaching out to people with the truth of the Gospel is so that worship can happen. Hey, we talked last week and I put a little diagram up in in Sam. If you can bring that up for us. That would be helpful about ways. We can think through the levels of reaching out because all of us are called to be Gores. We don't just either go or send people we go. The question is how far do we go in this little scale was developed years ago to help people understand the boundaries that you have to jump over by the grace of God every time you reach farther and farther out with the gospel. So he's 0 Is Vangelis in the happens in the church? It's it's reaching out to those around us who come to church with us, but don't yet know what it's like to have a saving relationship with Jesus. And so we want to make sure that we reach out to them with the truth of the Gospel. Here's the great thing. We don't have to worry necessarily about trying to figure out what is this person really a Christian or not because the gospel is not only good for people who aren't yet Christians. It is good for those of us who are Christians cuz we constantly need the God spoke to be reshaping us and and helping us look more like Christ. So every single one of you that's a Christian here this morning is called as a Christian to be an easy row person the only boundary you have to overcome to do. This is your own personal fear of talking about who Christ is to you and in your life and in the scriptures, The people around you the moment you break into E1 you step outside of the walls of the church. And if the church is not step outside of the walls of the church. We've missed something in our calling. In Acts 1:8 says that we are supposed to be sent out as the apostles where they were sent out to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the ends of the Earth. So there they were in their croup. How is e04 them Jerusalem with the area immediately around them. That was that was E1. It was dangerous in the fact that they are now we're dealing with people who didn't necessarily think like them and weren't accustomed to the same things. They talked about in church. There's an increasing number of people in our community that if you brought them into this building right now and they sat through this service, they would be lost. They would be wondering what in the world. Are you talkin about half the time and why do y'all sing so much and a bunch of other things that we do there are kind of odd by anything else to experience in life. And so we go out and we cross that additional barrier of people who are not sure so I don't know what church is like until we bring the gospel to them. We often call that evangelism. It is bringing the gospel to those who are right around us geographically may be culturally similar to us. Then I'll part of our church. They don't know the Lord that's going to be the focus of today. What does it look like to do that type of mission work in our neighborhood? Next week. We're going to cover E2 that's when you either go to your Judea or your Samaria. It's either something that is geographically a little farther away, but culturally similar or something that's geographically fairly close, but culturally very different. And so it could be going on a short-term missions trip to another city similar to ours but geographically a ways away and helping there either to start a new church or support a church. That's that's working there. It could be reaching out to people in our own Community who are culturally very different than us.

But it pushes that extra boundary you either have to travel somewhere or you have to overcome some cultural barriers to being able to share the gospel because how you're used to talking about. It might not be the way they can understand it. So you got to put it in a different format for them to understand. And then finally we have III just the farthest level out. Now, you have to take it both geographically and culturally to somewhere you're not comfortable with you got to go over several boundaries and that could be taking it just a foreign missions in general or specifically sometimes to Frontier missions where the gospel has never been heard before.

So the question we asked last week of ourselves is not are we called to go? The question is how far is God called us to go and for each of us there's a different answer to that in the church, but according to scripture and I will try to show you this this morning. Even from the text. We're looking at here that all of us are called to e0 and E10 quad and should be being equipped to be able to reach out to those inside the church and those in our neighborhoods around us. Why do I think that from the text? Well, let me in the end of verse 10. It says let's do good to everyone especially those who are of the household of faith whenever we have an opportunity.

And so we want to make sure that we take that opportunity when it's given to us. It is hard to say right now that you have a tremendous opportunity to go around the world on a moment's notice to share the gospel with people, but you are given an opportunity every single day to bring the gospel to people that you see right around you. The reason we don't share the gospel more with people in our own neighborhood is because we don't often see our neighbors and we we see them physically we know they're there. We hear them honk at us at the traffic light if we don't accelerate fast enough. But we don't see them in the sense of seeing them either eternally connected with God the possibility of Eternal separation from God and so it doesn't drive us have the same sort of conversations. So part of what we need is the ability to see the opportunities that have been laid in front of us. And then the opportunity to do good.

Text In this passage were not supposed to grow weary of doing good not supposed to give up and we're supposed to do good to everyone. Which brings me to the first main question for today? What is the best thing that you and I can do for someone? Great work all the coin into this passage to not grow weary of doing good. We want to figure out what are good things so we could do but not just be content with doing any good thing. We want to make sure we're doing the best things that we can do for people and so to ask yourself the question. What is the best thing that I can do for someone is a very important question for all of us to answer.

We sang about it earlier.

The best thing we can do for someone is to truly love them. How do we know this because God always does what's best? And what did he do? He loved us. How did he loved us? He loved us so much that he sent his son Christ loved us so much that he was willing to die on the cross to pay for our sins Love by its expression from God to us shows us that loving is an extremely valuable thing. This is why worship is the goal of missions because we want to see people love God willing to see them in a relationship work their interactions with God rr1 sitter positive where he is loving them like he loves us as a child and his family. We went to see them loving him and being able to show him praise and glory honor for how great he is.

So what love to extend in that vertical Direction, but we also want that love to extend in a horizontal Direction. We're not broken relationships around us that need to be healed showing people how to be loved and love others is very important. So so when you hear this term, don't grow weary of doing good and do good to everyone. I don't want you here that generically as Be nice to people. I want you to hear that is what good things I can do is to truly love someone.

So then we have to ask ourselves. What is the most loving thing that we can do? There's lots of things that show love to one another. What is the most loving thing we can do while I would argue the most loving thing you could do should have the greatest effect for the longest amount of time in that person's life. It should be something that will truly last for them. If you give them something it may be gone.

But if you give them a relationship with someone mainly Christ that will last forever you will alter their eternity when you introduce them to Christ who can alter their eternity. And so when we wish your pass it like this when we say we should be about doing good to everyone especially those of the household of faith. We should hear that as a message to us. Love people enough to give them the one thing that no one else who's not a Christian can give them. And that is an introduction to the one who can save them.

List, the sharing of the Gospel with people is not merely something we do because we feel like we should do it sharing the gospel is something we do because we have been so loved by God. So Changed by what he has done. So grateful for the Forgiveness that is come to us that we say I have to let you know about this cuz it's too good not to tell you it would be mean of me to keep it to myself because it's so good. I think think of examples of this on such small scales. Imagine you're going out with a friend. And your head out for Frozen Custard Milwaukee thing to do. You head out you get yours. They drop theirs on the ground and now they're sitting with none and you're like, this is so good. I love this.

Would that be considered good just to sit there and personally enjoy your stuff as good as it is and never offer them any of it. No. Express love to them by saying I need to share this with you have to try this. It is so good.

custard's good It ain't Cheese's. Jesus is so much better. But if we were to sit here as a church and go so good. I love seeing it sprays. He's so amazing. I love him so much his love me so much. I refuse to tell anybody else about it. It just doesn't follow. The best thing you can do is bring someone else into the joy that you're experiencing in Christ Jesus you are designed to help them. No, eternal life reconcile to a glorious and loving God.

You say this is scary stuff. I'm not sure I know how to do this. You don't have to be totally ready for you know, why because God already set it up ahead of time. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 says this we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You probably heard people talk about, you know, looking for God moments things that all the sudden you go. Oh, it's gone ahead of me to set this up. The reality is that comes from the scriptural concept right here. God set things up ahead of time. And all we need to do is in obedience and trust in him walk through it.

A scary well, yes fine. It's scary. But God's walking with you through it. If he has enough power to save you is enough power to keep you during a conversation. That's a little uncomfortable. And the other thing to keep in mind since God set up these good works if he wants it to be effective in drawing them to Christ. It will be that seems like it takes people like you and I with all of our insecurities and lack of knowledge of things. We wish we knew and Wondering if we'll say the wrong thing and he can say to us. Don't worry about what you're going to say. Cuz if I want this person to have this conversation be what opens their eyes to Christ Jesus, it's gonna you can't mess it up. So bad that I'll send them to me. Like I don't know now, what do I do? I just lost someone who I wanted the same fraternity never happens with God. He can use weak people like us to accomplish amazing things in other people's lives.

So it's the best thing you can do. Introduce someone to Jesus when God gives you the opportunity do good to everyone especially those in the household of faith. The trains is to our second point the who can you focus on? There are billions of people in this world. You will not know most of them your entire life. But God has brought certain people to you. I never thought of it that way where you live right now that the block you live on the place you live in the neighbors that are around you God put them there and put you there for a reason. It wasn't just chance that that happened why because God is Sovereign Lee in control of all things.

So if he can determine whether kings go this way or that way if he can determine the borders of Nations if he can manage everything throughout time and space and keep it all going at the same time clearly. He can put you where he needs you for the discussions you need to have. You are not where you're at. Simply for your own good you are where you are at so that you can do good to those people that God has placed around you.

Our neighborhoods around us have many lights for Christ in them. We're not the only church in the city. Where are the only Christians in the city?

But it is really hard. for one person by themselves

to be a bright light for Christ. It is much easier when a bunch of Lights come together and work together to bring the Light of Christ to community. And so that's why we don't just all go I go to the church of Paul Springer. Me myself. I and Jesus are just four of us at our church. Now. It doesn't work. That way. We're part of a larger body so that we can work together. So you figure out what who is it that God has placed around me. Are there some folks in my church that God has placed near me in the community that we could get together and do things to help reach our neighbors with the gospel. When our life group gets together. Can we do more than I could just do on my own. Who is it that God has put around me that I know she shares my love for Christ that I can work with to be able to reach others with the gospel. And so we start to look around our neighborhoods differently. We start to look within our church differently. I love the fact that you came up with your whole team Melody. I hope that team grows may or may your tribe prosper and what you're doing here because if one person tried to pull off strong baby Sanctuary probably wouldn't work. We got a whole group of people together and you get up a whole body of Christ here looking out for those around us who could use the help and all the sudden we can complish amazing thing.

The best thing we can do for someone is love them enough to introduce them to Christ and we should start by focusing on those who are nearest to us starting your family within your own house and expand out from there. in Luke 10:27 Jesus was asked. About that the great things in life and he answers them and says the greatest thing is that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. He's summarize everything in law in that one great sentence.

You notice it does not specify loving God and then loving 7 billion other people equally.

Love God and then love your neighbor as yourself start with the focus there. Everyone can do that. Some of you may be called to expand your understanding of neighbor to include people that are all over the place.

We can always start. We say the people that live right around you just make a little graph of the homes around you figure out their names start to talk to them and get to know them and figure out how can I help them know Christ bester how I interact with them?

But I also want to deal with something else this morning because only come across Galatians 6:9 and 10. We're supposed to do good to everyone supposed to be about Good Works in the in the natural context of the the Bible passage. He speaking of bearing one another's burdens and caring for one another. Well, there are physical needs emotional needs and mental needs and spiritual needs that people have So where does sitting in all these other needs happen? How does helping someone physically fit into doing good to them?

I think there's a couple things we need to remember from scripture to help us with this. First of all, we need to remember that people are eternal. and therefore their spiritual State matters however They also are multifaceted. I am not just a spirit floating around up here. I'm a whole person physical mental emotional spiritual. And so we love people best when we love them holistically.

What is that look like for our church? How do we not grow weary of doing good? What is it that we are trying to reap if we do not give up.

We are trying to best love our neighbor. And to the love that we need to meet them first where they are.

Helping with physical needs fits in because it helps meet people where they're at. often times we will run across people who know that they have a physical need but they don't realize that they have an emotional need they might know that have a a mental need but they don't know they have a spiritual need and so when we come and we meet them where they think their need is at. We now have a relationship with them that we can help explore. What else do you really need?

Meeting physical needs helps build the relationships necessary to truly know someone well enough to love them holistically.

So we meet people where they're at. We build a relationship and we meet a real I'll be at secondary need that they have. Pepsi this way child goes in to take a test in school. And they have not slept all night, and they have not eaten breakfast and they are burdened down with all the craziness that was going on in their house before they left. They will not perform as well on that test as they would if they were well rested well fed and not stressed out. Why because they have a need mentally be able to do well on the test, but they also have all these other needs they could be met to help them do better there. the same thing applies spiritually

if someone is so worried about where they're going to get their next meal. That they cannot sit down with you and study the word of God the best thing you can do for them. Is to give them a sandwich first and then sit down and study the word of God with them right because your your meaning the Practical physical need which freeze their capacities up to be able to know Christ. It's so when we participate in very physical practical need meeting it can be a way to help us meet spiritual practical needs the two don't have to be separated from each other. Now again, we said at the beginning the greatest thing we can do is introduce them to Christ. So another way to look at how you use physical need meeting to be a blessing to people to show them love is when you see the physical and mental and emotional needs that you meet as breaking down barriers. That would keep them from knowing Christ.

It's a preparation to show them what their greatest need is thick of it with the 30-hour famine that the kids are doing. They're going to experience a little bit 30 hours of what hunger feels like. now there are lots of people out there who go a lot longer than 30 hours without food cuz I have to but by experiencing a little of that they will start to understand the seriousness of that as a barrier. To the gospel going out until one World Vision goes out. They meet practical physical needs in the Name of Christ. They're doing it so that people can flourish to a level. That allows the gospel to flourish as well. Can we look around neighborhood we say how do we how do we interact with our neighbors? We help meet the needs that we can holistically in light of the gospel of Christ. It's not an either-or, but it definitely needs to be a boat and

Proverbs 25:21 says this if your enemy is hungry give him bread to eat if he's thirsty give him water to drink. if we're supposed to do that for our enemy how much more for those who are trying to show love to I mean, it doesn't say in the passage therefore if your neighbor or your people around you that you love and care for bread and water because it doesn't have to If we're supposed to be that kind to people who are enemies, certainly we should be that kind to those who are our friends. Our neighbors are loved ones.

That should be ground enough but scripture isn't done with us. Invite you to turn to Matthew 25 if you have your Bible with you where to look at verses 42 through 45.

Matthew 25 verse 42 starts this way. This is Jesus talking. I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me. And they also will answer saying Lord. When did we see you hungry or thirsty or stranger naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you. He will answer them saying truly I say to you as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me. Why is Jesus saying that why is he putting such a strong example, but positively and negatively earlier he gets the positive version of that.

You got to go back to the whole of scripture here. We talked about God's role in creation. It was not that the father created in Jesus and the holy spirit wear like I will just sit back and watch Rick holding John 1:1 that everything that was created was created through him. So when human beings were created, let us make man in our image. Male and female he creates them. We are made in the image of God. Jesus was there in that creation moment designing Humanity to be in the image of God. He did not choose to come as a camel or a cow. He came as a human being and that matters.

It's important because then how we treat every other being who was made in the image of God reflects on how we view Christ himself.

And so he says if you if you are not willing to meet holistically the needs of the people around you then you are not serving them in a way that shows you honor me.

When we meet the physical needs of those around us, we meet the mental and emotional needs of those around us when we meet the spiritual needs of those around us. We are saying to them I honor the image of God in you and I honor the work of Christ for you so much that I want you to be holistically restored. I long for the day when Christ returns and everything is made right now. We look at the end of Revelation and we just smile when we think about what that's going to look like.

and we cannot fix all the world's problems here and now But that doesn't mean we don't try to fix it we can. We roll back the effects of the curse the effects of the fall through how we love other people. We roll it back spiritually first and foremost by introducing them to Christ.

We roll it back in every area we are able to

Close with this back to the beginning of Galatians 6:9 let us not grow weary of doing good. When do season we will reap if we do not give up. Brothers and sisters. I'm not calling us to this morning to something that I know is easy. Calling us to something this morning that will require sacrifice. All of you who currently minister in your neighborhood and in your workplace and in your family's know it requires sacrifice.

Or caution not to grow weary in it. Why in due season we will reap the reason we do not give up is because God will see to it that his work is ultimately effective. Even when you are tired, and you say I don't know what else to do. God says, don't worry I do. I don't think I can do much more of this. That's okay. I've got brothers and sisters and come alongside you and help you with this. I'm not sure. I know what to say next. That's okay. I've got you covered. I know what you need to say next. I've got some good works. I laid out for you go get a night's rest come back walking them tomorrow. It's hard, but it's good. Because God is good. And he's the one who fulfills it. My hope is for our church that is in the months and the years ahead. We look back at times like this in our church is life when we focus in on what our mission is and if it affects notches what we think but it affects we do. We look back on times like this in the future we go, see what God has done. They were able to stand up here and not introduce you to Ministries that you might be able to take part in but Winstead we bring up all sorts of people from our congregation to give testimony to what we have already seen God do it. We're able to say this is what God accomplished through this group of people. And then this is what God accomplished through this group of people in isn't it amazing that this place is full of people who five years ago. I had no idea the Northwest Baptist Church even existed because God allowed us to bring the gospel to those around us. That's what I long to see. I know many of you share that heart with me and so so let's do this as we go to prayer. Ask the Lord for that I guarantee you no matter how much you asking for your prayers probably too small because it says in scripture he will do far beyond what we can ask or imagine. So ask him to do that ask him to use our congregation to be light in our community to meet the needs of those around us in ways that they are eternally and temporarily Changed by the gospel. And then since we we are a group and you're not an individual don't just pray that God would do this through you.

Pray that he would do it to others. And then talk to some brothers and sisters afterwards and start to figure out where is God calling you. What do you think? You're supposed to be doing? You think I'm supposed to be doing here? How can I do this better have those conversations with each other one another on as the Bible says to love and good deeds.

If you are potentially needing prayer for something Pastor, Don Pastor Bill and I will be upfront. We'd love to take a few minutes with you now to pray if you're someone is coming at this and you're going I think I'm supposed to be walking with Christ differently than I am. I think I'm going to lose e0 people that you're talkin about reaching out to. Come play with us. We would love to talk with you about what your next steps look like in Christ and get you connected in ways. That will help you grow. If you minutes will close up and we'll sing together and then we'll be dismissed. So let's go to prayer.