Where do we go from here?

Opening Prayer - The message. Laura, Rae Ann’s dad, those who’ve recently lost loved ones…logozzo family linda, crumley family lynn....others. school (end of year)…families difficulties costs etc....help us today to have a renewed heart to carry your message to others.

So the question is, “Where do we go from here?” The last few weeks we’ve been walking through the account of Christ moving towards the cross. Easter we celebrated and remembered the account of His return to life. Last week we looked at how He was with those who were having difficulty with this reality change…a change of perspective of what life really is. Of what death really is…and what Jesus really did for them.

Last week we saw Mary called by name, the two friends on the road to Emmaus taught by Jesus himself so they could believe, the disciples saw His hands and feet…after he entered the room without opening a door or window, and Jesus met Peter where he was…much as He did three years prior....and Peter, while eating breakfast with Jesus on the shore was reminded of the power of repentance and his ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other…even though He was an imperfect man.

Now, before going back to the Father, Jesus has given the disciples instructions and … they are asked to wait in Jerusalem for an important gift from God. A gift that will define the church.

And enveloping these instructions, however, is a huge goal. Reach the world with this news. That God sent His son…who died for our sin (as a savior), and then came back to life, taking away the punishment of sin…spiritual death (separation from God), and that this is for those who believe in Him and choose to side with Him and His mission.

This is Truth. This is the biggest and most important message ever spoken to anyone. This message outdoes anything we could dream of.

That’s the message they are to carry...

SLIDE

Acts 1:8 (CSB)

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you,

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

You will be my witnesses. If Jesus were speaking to us…that means carry and share the testimony of who I am, why I’ve come, what happened on the cross, and that I’m alive. Matthew records this as we commonly know it....the great commission. Go and make disciples…and I am with you always.

That’s the message we take to those around us. Its the message we live out. It’s the message we talk about as well.

Truth is a tough subject right now.

We’re seeing a real life battle over what truth is in the news right now with a specific social media platform. We’re seeing more and more people, groups, some inside our government, claiming that they have authority of what is truthful and what is not.

And the things considered.....

What is the truth about life, about relationships, about creation, about death, about what true happiness is or about what true peace is. Truth is a tough subject. And we see a battle going on around us. Different organizations and groups and political factions and people claiming that they have the truth about life…that they understand what everything means. It’s tough to navigate these waters…especially if you have no foundation from which to work.

This, I think, was the main goal of the message Jesus was sending with these guys…and to be sure, not just the 12, but the more than a hundred plus that were already in the wider group. Now…yes, we’re talking about an old account…almost 2000 years old… but if it is truth…it is the message we will be carrying this week…the message that we will be living with this week both as individuals and as a church family.

Now…we can ask the same question all the time. Where do we go from here? I think the answer will always be, foundationally, the same. People need saved, and that we have a savior.

From that…the Holy Spirit guides....simply because the ways and attitudes and dreams of humanity will always be lacking or opposed to God’s mission to recreate all of creation…us included.

Here we are…post-covid. We went from a church meeting online…to a church family meeting together when we could…Day Care ministry restarted......to a church family who added a Bible study…then two Bible studies…then three Bible studies....and three staff members…now looking for one more. Added a ministry for moms....a ministry for men....children’s and youth ministry kept going in different forms. We’re now looking at groups attached to Sunday morning. All groups that are doing life together. We are reaching out through Bridge Point with the basics of life…food/daily needs. Through Grief Share. Sending people to Mexico on mission....taking care of missionaries local and global. Donuts to the local school around here.... God is good…all the time…and all the time…God is good. He is moving us forward. Step by step. It’s not about doing more…it’s simply about following His Spirit to do the things His Spirit is calling us to do. Why? Not so we can feel good about ourselves as a church family…that very well might be a secondary outcome…but we do this to share the good news…just like Jesus asked his disciples to do long ago.

BTW - We have around $150…looking for 50+ more. Mary Ann’s gave us a huge discount so we don’t need as much. (love offering plate in the lobby as you go out the doors) … But we do need some drivers/deliverers on Wednesday morning …early....picking those donuts up at 7AM! But you’ll be heros! We have the school at multi-county, Walker, Faircrest, South, and the Bus garage. So 5 people would be great!!! I might not need 5 because some from the other churches might be there too. This is a way to serve…to share blessing. We’ve been blessed so we can bless others. That’s what we do.

On the end of your pews, there’s about 4-5 per row…and we have extras too. These are places and ways in which you can continue to serve or maybe serve in a new way. These are both ministries within the church family…and those that would be reaching out.

You will be my witnesses…that’s who we are. We’re witnesses. Please look through these things. Take this home and consider what God might have you do. Also…pray for these ministries. As I’ve said before…we know that God is giving us plans for ministry…the other side of that coin is that there’s an enemy who will do what he can to disrupt things in our own lives and in the lives of others to hinder ministry.

But remember the words of Jesus…this is my church and the gates of hades…the gates of death…the gates of hell....will not overcome my forward movement. Meaning…Jesus is on offense…and we’re with Him…following His spirit.

Pray over this…pray where God might use you. Pray for others who are thinking. Pray that we hear God’s spirit talking to and through our hearts.

Ok…back to the message we are carrying...

If Jesus came to die for the sins of the world…and make a way for those who believe in Him…and who invite Him to become Lord of their lives…if that is true…then what is our mission? What are we a witness of?

I would say with confidence that this same message from long ago is our same message today.

Now…culture changes all the time doesn’t it? I mean these disciples are going out into a world very much like our own. There were wars and scirmishes…albeit not many because they are still in the latter years of the Peace of Rome…when Rome ruled everything…and Rome ruled through laws. The definition of life was all over the place then as well. There were religions then who thought that life happened in a certain way. The definitions of relationships and marriage, culturally, were pretty broad…meaning not what God calls us to and blesses…marriage between a man and a women. There were cultural definitions of what community was and how to live among neighbors. There were always morphing ideas of morality and ethics and personal growth and success. Just like us...

And here we have the disciples…with the truth of everything, Jesus (the way the truth and the life), there they are with this message about Jesus…ready to take Him to the world. And I would include Paul here as well. Tell the world about Him. Why? Because He came and died and rose for the world…as a savior.

Now here’s the distinction. You might say, well it was probably easier for them because lots of people were religious. Maybe…but here’s the difference. In all the places that Paul and eventually the rest of the disciples went, there were street preachers preaching their view of life. There were philosophers and academics and leaders all saying they had the best definitions of life and the best 10 steps to be a better you.

What did the disciples have? What do we have? That there’s one God. Jesus is His son and claimed to be one with God. And that Jesus died for their sin…and that without Him, one cannot be saved. Wait....what???

I turned that last phrase around just a bit. Usually we say…you need Jesus to be saved.... Sometimes its good to turn the sentence around and say the same thing in a different way. Here....this is the different message the disciples had…without Jesus…you will not be saved.

Saved from what? Eternal and complete separation from God. The Bible calls this Hell. That’s why Jesus calls himself a savior. There’s something to be saved from.

The question isn’t just is there an afterlife…the bigger question is…if there is one…where will you spend it?

Messages. We have a lot of messages in the world today. Lots of people claim to have the meaning of life…the purpose of living…where we’re going afterward…and on and on. Lots of messages…sometimes confusing...

An MIT linguistics professor was lecturing his class, “In the English language, “ he said, “a double negative forms a positive. However, in some languages, a double negative remains negative. But there isn’t a single language, not one, in which a double positive can express a negative.”

A student from the back of the room replied, “Yeah, right.”

We have lots of languages and backgrounds and cultures and so on…It can get confusing in how to say what so people understand what we’re saying…but it does come down to this.

There’s one God. One Jesus. One way back to a relationship with God…and that’s through Christ. And anyone who doesn’t welcome that relationship with Christ, will not be with God for eternity.

That’s a tough message! In a way it simplifies everything about life…but it also says, “You have a choice to make…and its the most important choice you will ever make. Who’s side are you on?”

It’s a tough message.

But its the one the disciples are called to go out with…among the cultures, street preachers of different religions, among the philosophers who were trying to grasp life without God or with other gods, among the politicians who were saying their way or their laws were best, among the academics…some of whom were saying that they had found the truth in life.

The disciples, eventually, including Paul…looked at this message and their audience as a challenge. And they were confident. Their confidence came from knowing what is true about life.

But here’s what happened...

The went. They talked. They debated and argued....with respect and gentleness…but never letting go of the truth. That Jesus is God…and our savior…and that people needed saved.

You see if they were just the next best thing…their message would just stand right along all of those other messages.

But these guys went…truly sent by Jesus…to share their experience and what they’ve found to be true.

A young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” The manager replied, “Your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.” So it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that they create a thirst for the Gospel.

Is the truth you carry able to make other people think about wanting what you have? Do you live like you really believe?

Here’s a short thing to think about.

Ok…so we see Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry. At the beginning of His first sermon He says…Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.

What’s the message that He sends His disciples with?

Repent for forgiveness. Join the right team…but it takes repentance. Believe in Jesus but remember this requires repentance.

It’s a big church word that simply means realize there is in your life right now sins that are against God and His ways…and in many ways they oppose God’s mission. Repentance is waving the white flag saying I give up. Its no longer about me. It is all about what God says.

That’s tough. We all have this idea that there is right and wrong. We all have an idea that there are decisions and ways of life that are best and ways that are not.

And sometimes we evaluate our spiritual life on whether or not we are good enough.

God…gives us a hint to whether we’re good enough…in 10 ways. Jesus summarized it to 2 ways…but if we go back to the 10…lets just look at a few…and we’re going to use what Jesus says is the standard…the real way to look at the 10 commandments.

Lying

Theft

Hate

Steal

God’s Name in Vain

If this is all we had…and we’re standing before God…and this was His standard…would we be guilty or innocent?

Heaven or Hell?

SLIDE

Romans 3:22–25 CSB

22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

In the Old Testament…not following God’s law, in many circumstances was punishable by death.

How many of us have sinned against God?

How many of us need a savior?

How many of your friends and family and neighbors and coworkers or classmates need Jesus? All of them.

What’s our mission? To go…and be a witness of what is true about this life and eternity.

Sometimes we get stuck though don’t we? We fight for this life. We want the best of this life…and so we do things and say things and make decisions that make this life the best…and sometimes its at the detriment of people seeing in us…the path to an eternity with God. We’re so much more focused on the here and now that we forget about the hereafter.

Paul says that God’s moral law…how to live day in and day out…is there so we know what sin is. In fact Paul called the Law…the 10 Commandments....His schoolteacher or guide....It will show where our heart is weak. Jesus, in so many ways as you read through the Gospels…shows us how a life, lived by the 10 commandments should look. And then He asks us to do it…offering us mercy and grace because we, in all reality can’t…But He still asks us to...

Why? Because the picture of our life to others shows this....Us trying to do our best to look like Christ....and when we can’t…what a repentant heart looks like when we realize our sin.

Data from many researchers shows something to be true. Many non-Christians will say....yeah but there’s no difference between how people live Christians and non-Christians. And sadly…that’s often the truth.

C. S. Lewis said this…Aim at Heaven, and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth, and you’ll get neither.

Jesus said it this way…

Matthew 6:21 CSB

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And like it....

Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 CSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

We are to look, talk, act, differently than the world around us. Believe differently than the world around us. And when we can’t or we intentionally sin…we’re to look like those who are apologetic…repentant…sorrowful because of our sin…Because we know we’re letting Jesus down....and also grateful for God’s mercy and grace. Humble…and grateful.

This is the message we carry…and the message we need.

All have sinned…but Jesus died for us all.

Therefore all need a savior.

Do you need a savior? Do people around you need a savior?

God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus for you. For me.

He sent His son to die…to take the punishment for you and for me.

Read 2 Corinthians 4 ....Since we have this ministry....what ministry? We carry the good news in us…We are sent as the disciples were sent. We are to help other people know that Jesus is real…and that we all need Him. Sin is real…and we need His forgiveness…that’s why He’s called a savior. Without Him....you will not be saved. But with Him, we’ll have eternity with the Father in Heaven Amen!?

Response - Prayer people…me....upfront....baptism…membership..

Prayer - Ukraine, Donuts, Ministries (new people serving), those families who have recently lost family members.