Mandate

Setup

- We started a new series…

- I was listening to a podcast…

- NY walkers… what does this mean for our spiritual lives?

- Something is shaping the person that you are becoming

- “Formation is not a spiritual thing, it is a human thing” – comer

“Philosopher James K. A. Smith reminds us that it is not just religions that disciple—our culture disciples us. According to Smith every structure of a culture carries a worldview and a form of teaching that “shape and constitute our identities by forming our most fundamental desires and our most basic attunement to the world [be aware of anything attaching your heart strings to this world]….

They prime us to approach the world in a certain way, to value certain things, to aim for certain goals, to pursue certain dreams … to be a certain kind of person.”

Seam: So there is no ignoring the reality that everyone is a disciple or student of something or someone. EVERYONE is being shaped and influenced.

- Paul tells us that we have to be intentional about the person that we are becoming… to become like Jesus does not occur by accident.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed (your pattern, cadence, values) to this world (family, culture, etc.), but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Seam: Lets be honest, this is not easy! It is difficult, bc the teachings of Jesus are counter *culture* and counter *flesh*…

Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himselfand take up his cross and follow me.

o Comer: “Following Jesus is something you DO”… not simply feel or believe!

- 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

o But that is not what we want.

o “Rabbi Shmuley Boteach… notes that in the West we now have “a generation whose principal desire is to feel [God] rather than worship Him.”

- To follow Jesus is not easy.

- God has given us 3 clear resources: His Word, His Spirit, and His Church.

- All of these play a role in strengthening, equipping, and encouraging us in our walk…

Seam: So the purpose of the church is not to entertain you, but to equip you! That is the primary mandate of the local church. Your maturity, your equipping, and your transformation to look like Christ – not just know about Christ… but to LOOK LIKE HIM!

- Disclaimer: I get it! I understand, the church is broken in many ways. Can we get past that? We agree! But Christ is committed to her and so should we. So please don’t sit there and dismiss everything I say because you can point out flaws!

- “This temptation presents itself today. We can sit and watch the Twitter feed, critiquing the methods, models, and ministries of others; from the comfort of our couches we can speculate on how it could be done better. We can devise all kinds of theories, read all the right books, engage in online debate, blog our opinions, yet the whole time be disconnected from actually having skin in the game. Even when our heart is for God’s kingdom, if we are not careful we can find ourselves critiquing from the sidelines of God’s activity within history. There is a world of difference between pundits and prophets.” Mark Sayers

What is the purpose or mandate of the local church? Slides

- Individual Mandate: Matthew 28:18-20 (obedience vs learning)

o Ask yourself: “Am I making disciples?” Am I teaching people to obey and follow Jesus?!

o I think this is where things can look different for different people…

o Marketplace, education system, mother, father, the arts, mission work, politics

o Your individual mandate cannot influence the church mandate!

o If so, we “pervert” the purpose of the church (= alter from its original course, design)

- Church Mandate: Ephesians 4:11-16

o Different church models - Give examples, very contextual, external factors influence the method, but not the mission (Iran vs America).

o We cannot be more in love with the method than we are with the mission.

o No prescribed model or method in the NT, only a mandate.

o Methods will change, the mandate will not

o 3 marks of a church: (doesn’t mean it’s a healthy church)

§ Church Government

§ Administration of Sacraments (communion and baptism)

§ Equipping of saints

o Eph 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ*, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

§ The church does not replace ministry, it equips you for ministry.

§ It equips you to fulfill Mt 28:18-20

o The mandate of the local church is to EQUIP through:

Preparation MaturityStabilityThere is a level of maturity that only occurs within the context of a church body

I will be bold enough to say that your growth is limited to your commitment to a local bodyWatch what happens in your life when you prioritize this relationship

Psalm 92:12-13 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.13 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. *** Flourish – sprout, cause new growth

o Find your tribe and commit

§ Not about perfection, but rather direction

· The Result: Acts 2:42-47

o Acts 2:42-47 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together andbreaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

o If the Gospel isn’t getting into the homes as well as our gatherings – we are missing it!

o This is where we get our core values

o Core values = personal guide

Vision:

· Find a home

o Equip people for ministry – 5 fold mentality

o House of prayer – King David!

o Hub for community / hybrid

· Expand our online presence

o Blockbuster in a Netflix age

o Certified Host Homes

o Online equipping courses

· Cultivate Stronger community

o Need your help!

o Explain – build with the future in mind

o Ability to roll into home churches

· Missional

o Our Missional strategy is you - we will not replace your ministry

o Local – discipleship

o Market place ministry - coffee shop, micro economy

o International – partner with nations, plant a church