Sermon Tone Analysis

BECOMING AN INSIDE-OUT CHURCH

*TEXT: Matthew 28:19*

*INTRODUCTION:* In his book, /Conspiracy of Kindness/, Steve Sjogren tells the story of Joe Delaney and his eight-year-old son, Jared.

As they were pitching a baseball in the backyard, Jared asked his dad, "*Dad, is there a God?*" Joe responded, "*I'm not really qualified to answer that question, son.

I only went to church a time or two when I was a kid*."

After a few more tosses of the ball, Jared ran into the house.

When he came out, he had a balloon from the circus and a filing card.

"*What are you doing?*" Joe asked.

"*I'm writing a letter to God*."

In his elementary handwriting, the boy penned, "*Dear God, if you are real and if you are there, send people who know you to Dad and me*."

He attached the card to the balloon and released it.

Two days later, Joe and Jared pulled into a church's free car wash.

Joe rolled down his window and asked, "*How much*."

"*It's free*," he was told, "*We just want to show God's love in a practical way*."

Joe asked, "*Are you guys Christian?*"

"*Yeah, we're Christians*."

"*Are you the kind of Christians who believe in God?*" "*Yes, we're /that/ kind of Christians*."

Joe smiled and said, "*I guess you're the answer to one of the strangest prayers God has ever received*".

God used a local church's car wash, not only to answer a little boy's unusual prayer, but also to lead a whole family to faith in Christ.

An act of selfless love, unsolicited kindness, undeserved help whether it is a car wash, a pecan pie or a few dollars in a time of need is all God needs to get some people's attention.

Far too many churches are not reaching people like Joe and Jared because they are more concerned about themselves than the community.

They are self-centered rather then people-centered, introverted rather than extroverted.

God wants us to be an inside-out church.

An inside-out church takes all the love, fellowship and joy of the Lord outside these walls to the /community/.

In fact, being an inside-out church is a biblical mandate:

In /The Great Commission/ in Mat.28:19, Jesus said, "*GO therefore and make disciples of all the nations*."

An inside-out church goes to the community, it doesn't wait for the community to come to it.

Jesus said to His church in Acts 1:8, "*But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth*."

An inside-out church is not simply satisfied with giving to missions that extend "*to the end of the earth*."

Rather, it also focuses on its own "*Jerusalem*," the local unsaved, unchurched community.

"*If our church burned down, would people really care?*" Are we making that kind of a difference in this community?

How can we capture the heart of our community?

From four different passages of Scripture, I want to give your four ways we can become an inside-out church.

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I.          OUR CHURCH MUST SHAKE AND SHINE FOR JESUS (Matthew 5:13-16).In this familiar passage from the sermon on the mount, Jesus uses shaking salt and shining light as metaphors of the influence Christians are to have in the culture.

!! A.        We are "the salt of the earth" (v.13).

!!! 1.      Salt serves at least three purposes:

!!!! a)      First, salt is a */preservative/*.

Before the days of refrigeration, meat was packed in layers of salt to preserve the meat until it could be consumed.

There is a storage facility in Kansas where everything from court documents to original classic film negatives are stored in a salt formation for preservation.

Our church should preserve our community, keep it from spoiling.

II.

Second, salt adds */flavor/*.

You know well that just a little shake of salt can dramatically add flavor to a dish.

It adds a little "bite" to our food.

Christians always confront worldly views.

We flavor our culture.

III.

Third, salt causes */thirst/*.

People who are exposed to excessive heat take salt tablets to increase their bodies' craving for water.

Their salt-induced thirst prevents dehydration and death.

We are to be different from those around us that others will be thirsty for our lifestyle.

!!! 2.      Jesus said we "*/are/ the salt of the earth*."

He didn't say we /might be/ salt, we /could be/ salt, or even we /can be/ salt.

He says we "*are*" salt.

You don't have to pray, "*Lord make me salty, help me to be an influence*."

You are salt.

You are an influence.

Just shake it out!

!!! 3.      Jesus also says that salt sometimes "*loses its flavor*."

Salt or sodium chloride is a very stable chemical compound.

It never really "*loses its flavor*."

However, when it becomes contaminated with dust, sand or other impurities, you can no longer taste it.

Jesus said such salt is "*good for nothing*" (We use that expression to describe a lazy person).

It might as well be "*thrown out and trampled underfoot by men*."

Some churches lose their influence for Christ.

!! B.        We are "the Light of the Word" (vv.14-16).

!!! 1.      Christians being God's "*light*" is a common biblical theme.

!!!! a)      1 John 1:5-7 says, "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." Verse 7 says, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

!!!! b)      Psa.119:105

says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."

II.

Eph.5:8

says, "*For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light*."

!!!! c)      1 Pet.2:9 says we are God's "own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

!!!! d)      Phil.2:15 says we are to be "blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."

!!! 2.      Jesus gives two example of being "*the light of the world*."

!!!! a)      First, we are to be like a lighted "*city*."

Jesus said, "*a city that is set on a hillside cannot be hidden*."

This church ought to be so inside-out that people want to know what's happening here.

The light of God's love ought to be so obvious on Monday that people ask you what happened this weekend.

!!!! b)      Second, we are to be like a "*lamp*" in someone's home.

Jesus says the obvious that no one will "*light a lamp*" and "*put it under a basket*."

It is ridiculous to light a lamp and then hide it.

The purpose of the lamp is to give "*light to all that are in the house*."

Covering it with a basket is contrary to its purpose.

!!! 3.      Jesus encourages us to "*Let your *(our) *light shine*."

When we live openly and honestly for Jesus Christ, people will see a beauty in our lives.

They'll notice our courtesy, our smiles, our gratitude, our peace, our happiness, our help, etc... They'll want to ask, "*Why are you like that?*"

When you are in a dark place, all eyes focus on the light, even if it is just a little light.

!!! 4.      When our light shines, people will "*glorify your *(our) *Father in heaven*."

We don't shine our lights for ourselves, but for the glory of God.

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II.

OUR CHURCH MUST BRING OTHERS TO JESUS /Matthew 9:9-13/

!! A.        Jesus Calls a Disciple (v.9).

!!! 1.

As Jesus was leaving the city of Capernaum, he did a strange thing.

He stepped into the "*tax office*" to speak with a man named "*Matthew*."

!!!! a)      Obviously, Matthew (also called Levi) was a tax collector or a /publican/.

He was one of the most hated members of Jewish society, a traitor to his people.

Tax collectors or /publicans/ bought their jobs from the Roman government.