What Is Before Our Eyes

Opening prayer

Our Vision of the World

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

We have all read the Great commission

We should all understand that as Christians, our vision for the world should be in line with the Vision Jesus has and the very reason He died on the cross and that is the seeking out and the presenting of the Gospel to the lost

Which Starts with our personal evangilism

incidental evangelist?

wife at the breakfast table

intentional evangelist

setting out with a focused purpose of finding someone to share the Gospel with

that begins when we have a firm understanding of who Jesus Christ is

Not only understand who He is, but that we have accepted Jesus in our own lives in His full capacity as not only saviour but also as Lord

Peter’s understanding of who Christ is

Peter was a fisherman who became an apostle and leader of the early church

Peter refers to Jesus as Master ()

The crowd was pressing around Jesus so He goes out in a boat, Peter’s boat, to preach.

Peter had fished all night and caught nothing

Jesus instructs him to“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (v.4b)

In v.5 Peter, in pleading his case, refers to Jesus as Master which means that recognizes Jesus as a person of importance

It was after the miracle of the great catch described in that Peter understood that Jesus was so much more And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

After the catch, Peter then referred to Jesus properly as Lord V.8

Two things Peter realized very quickly

he understood fully who Christ was

he also understood that Christ could see his heart

v.8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Here is how Christ responds to Peter v.10

Here is how Christ responds to Peter

First, He tells him “Do not be afraid”

I know who you are and all that you have done and I love you anyway

Three very important words in the Bible “from now on”

The past is behind them and they now have a different purpose

Then Jesus reveals that purpose “you will catch men”

v. 11 says “they forsook all and followed Him”

They left everything that bound them to their previous life behind to pursue an undivided life in Christ .

The same thing happened to Paul in

After encountering Christ, Paul comes to the quick realization of who Christ is And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

And the very next words out of Paul’s mouth in the very next verse is “So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Both Paul and Peter not only realized who Christ is, but also realized who they were in Him, changed and intended for a different purpose.

The big question is this, do we serve a Lord worth our total devotion

Christ was born, crucified, raised and ascended into Heaven where He sits on His throne and continues to perfect His church through the evangelistic efforts of the Christians, through His body, the church, and in that, our vision must be in line with the vision of our Lord, Jesus Christ

Later chronologically, in when asked by Jesus “Who do you say I am” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Peter reaffirms the fact that he understands exactly who Christ is and Peter gets a new name, from Simon to Peter or Petra, meaning rock, the solid foundation, his faith and understanding of who Christ is

The Worlds Vision of the Church

Tell the story of Van Gough

The painting shows a picturesque countryside view – an old Gothic church against a clear blue sky, surrounded by sunny green meadows and orange house roofs. Its hexagonal annexes, whimsical windows and graceful clock tower form a marvelous ensemble that catches the eye in a multitude of fine details. However, there is something disturbing in this seemingly idyllic scenery. The lush grass with dots of blooming flowers and the forking sand alley in the foreground are brightly illuminated by the sun, but the building remains in its own shadow neither reflecting nor emitting any light. The stained-glass windows are painted over with dull ultramarine giving us no opportunity to even guess what’s inside. There are no doors visible; no hands on the clock. Despite all its architectural splendor, the building looks rather unwelcoming. This strange reticent structure caught between the warm-hued landscape and the menacing cobalt swirls in the sky seems to be a subtle metaphor hinting at Van Gogh’s early religious experience. Even a solitary female figure on the alley we would expect to be heading to the church is actually walking past it as if wasn’t there.

- The painting was completed just one month before Van Gogh’s death.- Few know that Van Gogh was going to become a priest, but eventually gave up on Christianity. The canvas is considered to be an expression of criticism against the official religion that, according to the artist, tries to replace faith with blind dogmas or simply put, man’s ideals over God’s

As a church with no doors, the lost could not come in nor the Gospel contained inside could not get out

As a church, are we making our presence known by seeing all people with the eyes of Christ, and are we seeking them with the Heart of Christ