Sermon - The Malaga Mission

The Malaga Mission

Well I’m forty now. 

It was the day that I paid for all my sins.

            My sister in law said, “You’ll never be younger than you are right now” Thanks

I received a card,  with a person driving and in the rear view mirror was the grim reaper, open the card and it says “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

It was a great day.  My brother Mark and his wife Jean surprised me Friday night by coming down.  I opened the door and almost fell over. 

My wife threw me a surprise party last night.  Come to find out she has been lying to me for weeks!!

For me every birthday is a time of reflection.

Am I where I thought I would be at 40? 

            I think so

I knew from 16 years old that I was called into the ministry. 

My mission in life hasn’t changed 24 years later. 

• “It is to lead everyone who gets to know me into a closer relationship with Jesus.”

            This mission speaks of relationship – relationship to others – relationship to Jesus.

            I am not an evangelist or revivalist who comes and goes

I am a pastor-teacher – who stays and builds relationships to help further God’s Kingdom.

So this mission that God has given me has taken me to many places. I have met many people.  Taught and preached thousands of messages. 

But the mission has changed.

• I want my life to lead others to Jesus.
• Starting with my family that God has given me
• Then from there.

Quite a few years ago I had a salesman come into the church where I was pastoring.  Salesman came often, selling books, knives, perfume but this one was unique. 

It was called Hygolet.

It was a plastic coving for the toilet seat in public restrooms.

Press the button and new plastic would cover the seat. 

Quite a concept.

But that is not what I remember most.  What I remember is what the salesman said about churches.  He said, when you have bazaars, dances, dinners you could use this product.

• I thought to myself then, and I have kept this booklet as a reminder.

The Church of Jesus Christ is not about bazaars, dances or dinners.  It is about fulfilling the Mission of the Savior.

Go into the whole world and make disciples. 

For the past six months or so I have been working on what I would call the Malaga Mission. 

Words or a phrase that we could use so everyone will know what we are about as a church. 

Words that everyone could learn so that we will never what we are about as a church. 

• We are not about bazaars, dances and dinners
• We are not about blue prints or building or realtors or selling property.
• If the realtor calls, if the architect calls, if a contractor calls, if a developer calls, if the engineer calls tell them I’ll be back in on Tuesday.   
• We are called to make disciples. 

The first thing we are called to do is to:

Know - That I might know Christ

Phil 3:8  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Phil 3:9  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Phil 3:10  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Phil 3:11  and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

            Know Him as Savior

                        He is the Only One who died for me – in my place

                        He is the Only One who forgives me

                        He is the Only One who saves me

                        He is the Only One who sets me free

            Know Him as Lord – Supreme in Authority, Master, Leader

                        He is the One I answer to in this life and in the next

                        I work for Him – Not Him for me

            Know Him as Friend

John 15:13  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:14  You are my friends if you do what I command.

            A closer – deeper relationship – What a Friend We have in Jesus

I have used the color red to remind us of His blood that was shed

The next part of the Mission

Grow – 2 Pet 3:18  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

In my relationship to the Lord

            That I might know Him more

            That I might love Him more

            In my relationships with other believers

                        God has chosen to help us grow through our relationships to other people.

                        Iron sharpens Iron

                        We need each other. 

            Table Talk is designed specifically for this growth process.

            Sunday School is designed for this growth process

            Men’s Ministry – Women’s Ministry etc.

            All are for the purpose of Growing in relationship to God and others

Green is the color of growth

Serve

Rom 7:6  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

            God

            His Church

We were talking about this on Wednesday and I have asked two people that shared to share their testimonies of the importance of serving. 

            Cheryl

            Wendy

Serving is where some people stop.

They come to church. They listen to the Word but never get past that.

Final part of the Malaga Mission is to:

Gold is the color of serve for the works we do for God that will last

Go

Mark 16:15  He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

            Share the Gospel

Going is different than leaving.

            People leave the church all the time

            They find a church that better fits them

            They get mad about something – usually not about making disciples

            Going is different

                        It is a deliberate choice in obedience to God

To go out from where you were with the purpose of proclaiming the Good News

This morning Pastor Jim and Donna and some of our people are GOING!

            It is a sad and happy day all at once.

            Sad because we not going to see them as much

            Happy because it is the fulfillment of our mission as a church.

                        Know Grow Serve and Go

Blue is the color the world

The last part of the Power Point is the most important.

Everything we do is wrapped around the CROSS

We can know Him because God revealed His love through Jesus

We can grow because he is alive and well

We can serve remembering what He did for us

We can Go because He came