Our Mission
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Introduction
Introduction
Evangelism and Discipleship go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. And while I know some of you are humming the theme song of married with Children, we are going to bring the last two weeks of Pastor Arts sermons together and we are going to discuss where it is that Jesus expects us to evangelize and make disciples. This idea of discipleship and evangelism are very personal and involved aspects of our faith. We have lost sight of this in our come and show church revolution and if we want to see something truly amazing happen in our world it is going to have to start right here in this building. Our scripture this morning is very short and this may be the most important but shortest sermon you have ever heard from me. Today we will dive deeper into the last words Jesus ever said on earth. Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In this one sentence Jesus brought everything he had been teaching his disciples together. Their lives up to this point finally was given direct mission. Today we will break this down into what exactly Jesus was saying to his disciples. Jesus was giving the disciples a guideline of how to go about their making disciples and evangelizing in their world. Jesus told his disciples that they would start right there at home, they would then move to Judea, then to Samaria, and finally would reach the ends of the world with the greatest message in the world. Where is your discipleship and evangelism taking place? We will often times give to great causes to fulfil a satisfaction within ourselves. We will go out of the Country on mission trips, we will give to compassion, we give to the Lottie moon offering, and the list goes on and on. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of that, however we were given great direction from the Lord on where we should start. We are going to break this up into 3 area, Our homes, Our communities, and Our world.
Our Homes
Our Homes
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus was specific that his disciples needed to start in their homes and in their neighborhoods. Jesus did not want his disciples to lose sight of the most important people in the disciples lives and that was their families. We are given the same commandment from Jesus to start in our homes. So why don’t we? Why is it easier to be a witness anywhere but home? There is no easy answer to this question but it is one that Jesus prepared the disciples for. Luke 4:24
24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Jesus understood that the people that know us the best would have the hardest time accepting the Word of God from us. But why is this? It is because the see us at our worst. The people in our families and in our closest friend groups see us when life is not perfect and we are not all dressed up and prettied up. We also have a tendency to put ourselves under some unrealistic expectation. After we are saved we believe that we then have to be perfect in every way and at least if we cannot be perfect we should look perfect. This throws a wall up immediately between us and those we are intended to reach first. They see us and they say there is something unrealistic and fake about that person. What if instead of saying we have to look perfect and act perfect we truly took the word of God to heart. What if people could see that Our God loves us so much that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
What if they were to see that in our weakness God is made stronger
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The people closest to us are the hardest to reach because they see us at our worst. We magnify this problem when we fail to live the gospel of grace both in our life with Christ and how we treat others. Jesus understood and wanted the disciples to understand that those who we are with on a daily basis would be the hardest to reach. They are the ones that will require that we live what we preach. That we follow through and that we live Faith with Action. Jesus was specific on starting in the home because He knew this would force a lifestyle of true pure faith.
After the dedication of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally the boy replied, “That pastor said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I want to stay with you guys!”
Jesus desires that we reach our homes with the Gospel. We must start in our homes and on our streets. The people closest to us should know that we are God’s and that we believe what we are saying. They must see us living in true obedience loving others as ourselves. We cannot move forward in our faith until we are reaching our homes. Evangelism and Discipleship start at home. As we reach those closest to us and it causes a true life of faith we will begin to branch out. This will not happen because we stop loving and reaching those closest to us but because we have reached so many so close to us that we have to expand in order to reach anyone else. Think of it like an expanding balloon. Jesus told us to reach our homes but not to stop there we must reach our communities.
Our Communities
Our Communities
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Communities depend on strong families. We cannot have a strong community if we do not have strong homes in those communities. Jesus commands us to reach our communities and not simply keep things for ourselves. Reaching our community should get a little easier. There is just as much commitment in reaching the community but lets be honest most of them will not be in our homes or see us every day. The community should be changed by our living in it. A church that is on fire should be a church that is reaching its community. I’m not talking about making everything perfect in that community because that just is not going to happen but I am talking about reaching people with the Gospel of Christ as imperfect ambassadors of the gospel of grace. So what does a church that is reaching the community look like?
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
In this scripture when it talks about breaking of bread and prayers it is not speaking about the “Lord’s Supper” It is talking about eating together. It is literally talking about dinner. The early church created community by spending time together. They had events that they all go together for and encouraged each other.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
The early church kept each other accountable to living the life Jesus had called them too. Our community is changed when the believers live it in their homes and get so on fire for what God has that they want everyone around them to know the message. Churches that have members that are on fire for living like Christ in their homes reach their communities. Communities are changed by larger groups of people living on fire getting together because they have to keep reaching others and each of them have done their job reaching their homes or at least have done everything they can to present the gospel there. How does a church reach the community? They take care of the needs of the community they are in
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The church is truly a place of true living worship where we all bring what we can together to reach those in need. We offer celebrate recovery, we feed those who are hungry, we have programs for families that cannot afford other options. Churches that take the gospel seriously reach those in need. But Jesus did not tell his disciples to stop there He made the command that they reach the world.
Our World
Our World
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus continued to drive the disciples and wanted them to live lives that reached their homes, their communities, but ultimately reached the world. How can we reach the world? The concept Jesus was speaking of was a multiplying concept. Jesus wanted his disciples to reach their homes and begin a ripple effect. Jesus understood the power of small movements. The greatest waves can be caused by the smallest of winds that push other winds that combine and move their power to move the sea. Mountains have exploded when a little bit of Magma makes its way up the chambers of the mountain and begin to build steam and pressure. Jesus understood these concepts. Luke 17:5-6
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
When a small group of people put their faith squarely on Jesus and understand what it is that he is calling us to live in our homes and at our offices and in our grocery stores. We will in fact move mountains. The world will be changed when we take things seriously at home. Until then we cannot dream of changing the world. But we do, we get it backwards. We gratify the desire to feel like we are doing something by giving to missions overseas or going on a mission trip, all while we are missing the point at home. We must get serious about changing our homes and neighbors and co-workers. We must get serious about being a community of true believers being equipped to reach the world with the Gospel of Christ. We must begin living every day on mission. We can change the world by starting at home and by living every day true to our calling in Christ. We must get back to basic blocking and tackling. You will see 2 teams tonight compete for the superbowl or maybe you wont but either way those 2 teams did not get there because they bought superbowl tickets at the begininng of the year. The two teams understood that every game they had to execute and every game would lead them to the playoffs. They did not live as if they were already there but they lived every game as the most important game. We must live every day as it is the most important day.