Staying Focused on the Mission

Can anyone identify this individual? (show picture) If I say the name Truett Cathy what comes to your mind?

Truett Cathy was the founder of Chik-Fil-A, A Believer, Someone who Got it Right!

Chick-fil-A is the largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain in the country, gives all employees Sunday off to spend with family, to relax and to express their faith if they choose to do so.

Chick -fil-A Purpose Statement:

“To Glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive impact on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.

In my time as a Director with a specific Chick-fil-A restaurant in Ohio, that was our mission also…I don’t know how it works at the other restaurants, but where I was, we taught this to all our team members and managers and constantly reviewed and renewed this mission statement…we even took it the next step and frequently asked everyone to provide examples of how they or others were doing that.

The Chick-fil-A mission is so important to them that each franchise is to hold to that same mission.

Also important to them are their guiding principles...I want to share with you just two of the basic guiding principles upon which Truett Cathy successfully built the Chick-fil-A chain.

PUT PRINCIPLES AND PEOPLE AHEAD OF PROFITS “I’d like to be remembered as one who kept my priorities in the right order. We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed.”

CLOSED ON SUNDAY “I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday. Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.”

Chick-fil-A is the only major fast-food restaurant chain to be closed on Sundays, one of the busiest days of the week in the restaurant business. Chick-fil-A continues to lead the industry with individual stores generating more revenue in 6 days than others do in seven.

Would you agree with me that Truett Cathy “got it”?

What is the “it”?

“Getting It” is knowing what is important and allowing that to make a difference in what you do.

How would you complete this phrase “What matters most to me is…

Now before you answer that let me challenge you with this question…how important is it for us to get that right?

See how you complete that phrase of what matters most will determine the trajectory of your life and future…

Your solution to what matters most identifies your priorities and pursuits…your priorities are easily identifiable by where you spend your time, your energies, your resources.

Is landing a great job and making a boat-load of money the most important thing to you? What if that pursuit cost you your marriage or family? Is it worth it?

What do your children see as the most important pursuit of life? What are the priorities of your home? Is it sports? Money? Entertainment? Education?

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with those pursuits but let’s consider what Jesus said about them for just a moment…

Matthew 16:26 (NASB95)

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

In other words, if those pursuits caused you to sacrifice a relationship with God, are they worth it?

Other important questions to challenge our thinking here this morning…

How do you decide what should matter most? What principles do you use to determine what priorities you should have?

How do we as a church decide what should matter most? What principles are we going to use to determine the priorities we share as a corporate body?

We are pausing our study of 1 Peter for a few weeks to lay out for you a vision for Open Door Bible Church…the elders have spent much time praying over this, searching the Scriptures, and believe this is God’s Vision for us.

Purpose for this series:

To communicate who we are as a church and where we believe God wants us to go.

To encourage you to be an active participant in what God is going to do in us, through us, with us, and for us.

To equip you with the confidence that you belong here!

I want to call your attention to the brochure you should all have received…explain graphic!

From this point forward we want to encourage you to memorize our mission…we are going to talk about that here this morning… you are going to hear me say it over and over and over again…then I want to encourage you to get to know our Key Principles…these are what guide us to do what we do…they are represented in the graphic…we will be sharing these in the following weeks...

Glorify God

Proclaim Christ

Biblically Obedient

Relationship Focused

Our key steps are what we believe will propel us toward maturity in Christ, build up the church, and give us a testimony to the world. We want to encourage you to identify where you are in the process, we will walk through them together throughout this series...

Love - God and others.

Gather - faithfully for worship, fellowship, and mutual encouragement.

Grow - by learning and applying the Word of God, centered in the Good News of Jesus Christ, and by serving one another faithfully and selflessly.

Go - make disciples by intentionally reaching out to others.

Then for the next few Sunday evenings, beginning tonight from 5 to 7…we will be gathering around the table in a fellowship meal as well as talking about the practical ways we believe we can live out God’s mission for us…will you join us at the TABLES?

So for today we want to make sure we understand our mission...

Building Lives To Know and Live for Jesus Christ!

Say it with me! Get to know that…we want to Love it, learn it, live it!

So what we want to do here is break down this statement biblically to show us just what we are supposed to be doing...

Building...

The word “building” is often used figuratively in Scripture to refer to creating a spiritual community…it is also used to conceptualize the process of spiritual growth as building a structure.

We Cannot Build Unless Jesus Builds First…Matthew 16:18

Turn with me to Matthew 16:18 ““I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

“I will build My church”

The word for church here is the word “ekklesia”…it springs from the word meaning called out assembly…it was often used to simply describe an assembly of people…it is used 114 times in the NT and 90 of those are a reference to a local assembly (church)…but here Jesus uses it in a universal sense…Jesus was not only going to build a local assembly but a universal church composed of all who make the same confession as Peter did…Jesus is the Messiah.

What makes this assembly unique is it belongs to Jesus…MY church...

Jesus breaks down all the barriers to unite people from every ethnic group, socio-economic groups, male & female, every nation…both locally and universally.

It is his church, not ours…ODBC belongs to Jesus…he has the right to do whatever he desires to do with us…it is only by God’s grace that ODBC has the history that it does, and it is only by God’s grace that ODBC continues to exist!

Jesus is the Master Builder…I will build...he is the one who begins and ends the process of building the church…we’ve already learned from our study of 1 Peter that we are living stones in that building…a spiritual house…and it is only Jesus who makes us “living stones.”

That means we cannot manufacture genuine faith…genuine believers only become genuine believers because Jesus Christ alone has saved them…it is not up to us to “save them”… only Jesus can do that...

Our job is to speak truth to them regarding who God is, who Jesus is and who man is compared to God…we are to show them that the separation that exits between them and God can only be bridged with the shed blood of Christ…we are to tell them of sin and judgment and forgiveness and redemption…we are to speak and live the gospel in vivid colors…

Even with all our efforts to walk in obedience to the Scripture to win them over, Jesus is the only one who can bring them across the line into His kingdom!

Jesus implies that He is going to be the one who calls out a group of people who will be a gathered community of his followers and He will help them grow.

So what this means for us is that there must be a dependence upon Jesus for all that we do…

Prayer ought to be imbedded in every thing we do

Scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith and practice.

Jesus receives all the praise for any blessing he chooses to bestow upon us!

Any numerical growth we experience will be credited to Jesus bringing them to us.

That doesn’t negate our responsibility to reach as many people as we can…it simply means we will do our part and entrust the results to His plan and pleasure!

We Must Be Careful to Build Upon the Foundation of Jesus…1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Turn with me…1 Cor 3:10-11 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Not going to spend a whole lot of time here but I wanted you to see this text...

As an apostle, Paul was a foundational pillar of Jesus’ program to build the church…that’s what he said in “I laid a foundation”… he clearly taught salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone…no other foundation can be laid than Jesus Christ…it is that same foundation that we build on now and will continue to build upon.

Churches today want to build on a celebrity preacher, a special method, their musicality and style of worship, a specific doctrine they feel is important…any foundation other than Christ is weak and invites God’s removal of them!

The foundation of the building is the most important part…if by our own efforts we attempt to build on anything other than Christ and him crucified we risk God’s judgment upon us and being disqualified for His service.

You can rest assured that the leadership of ODBC is committed to Christ and the message of the gospel…we are committed to teaching His word without compromise!

Summary Statement — We are constantly “under construction” and all “our” plans are subject to Jesus as Our Master Builder.

Building Lives…Matthew 28:18-20

Turn with me to Matthew 28:18-20…READ

Because Jesus has all the authority…He has the right to give us our mission…it is on his authority that we speak truth to the world.

Our mission is to be a disciple making church!

The command in this text is to “make disciples”… “going, baptizing, and teaching” are all participles with the force of commands…here’s what it means...

“While you are going about your day to day operations, you are to make disciples through the avenues of baptizing them and teaching them...

The question before us is…what is a disciple?

A disciple is more than just being a convert. A disciple attached himself to a teacher, identified with him, learned from him, and lived with him. He learned not only by listening, but by doing…think of an apprentice.

A disciple is one who believes on Jesus Christ, is baptized, and continues to learn the truths of the faith, being focused on obeying them. He/she is then able to go out and win others and teach them…the PUPIL BECOMES THE TEACHER!

That was the pattern of the NT church…2 Timothy 2:1-2 “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Going — “while you’re going” … assumes participation from every believer, not just a select few.

Not just something the pastor/elders are to be doing…every believer is to be a disciple maker.

“in your everyday life”…how are the decisions you make impacting your effectiveness as a disciple maker to your children, to your friends, to your co-workers, to your family, your neighbors...

Baptizing — rite of initiation … all who are followers of Christ are identified as such through baptism.

The Scripture speaks nothing to the believer/disciple who is not baptized…doesn’t mean you are not saved…it is a step of obedience for the follower of Christ.

For those who are not yet baptized…you need to take that step of obedience and be publicly identified as a follower of Christ…(say a brief word about why we do not baptize infants)

For those do not see the need for baptism…can you really claim to be a disciple if you are not willing to obey the command to be baptized?

Teaching them to obey — receiving instruction of truth from the Scripture for the purpose of obedience to that truth.

This is the heart of disciple making…not only must people hear the gospel, but they must also be challenged to make a decision regarding the gospel…then those who have accepted the gospel message must then be taught and lovingly nurtured in the whole counsel of God.

Summary Statement: To be effective disciple makers we must be people who are Biblically Obedient and Relationship Focused with a willingness to engage with others where they are right now!

Building Lives to Know…Colossians 1:28-29; Ephesians 4:11-16

Col 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

Regardless of where our culture goes, we will never shy away from Proclaiming Christ!

They need to know how to grow.

Admonishing — carries the idea of confronting with the intent of changing one’s attitudes and actions…here it speaks to the task of calling to mind a correct course of action…it should be our desire for disciples to know what God says and when correction is needed they take the appropriate steps to change.

Ephesians 4:22-24 outlines a pattern of growth for the believer is to put off the old corrupted way of doing things, changing how we think about those things, and then putting on the righteous alternative to those things.

Teaching — is the orderly presentation of Christian truth so his disciples know how to grow.

Our methods are to employ both confronting and instructing for the purpose of presenting everyone complete in Christ.

Complete = mature, fully grown, adults

We cannot rest until all believers that God has entrusted to us live up to what God expects.

We must have the desire to see all believers maturing in Christ.

We will draw upon the power of Christ to work in and through us regardless of the difficulty.

Striving — was used of athletes who painfully pursued athletic glory...

Power — energy, working used twice here…literally “striving according to his working which mightily works within me”…Paul is stressing the inner strength to accomplish this task is supplied by God.

Until the Lord returns for us, we will have seasons of blessings and seasons of hardships…sometimes those seasons of hardship may be brutal, but we all have the same power working within us to weather the storms…Let us remain faithful.

They need to know what growth looks like!

Ephesians 4:11-16 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

This is a universal task for every believer…which means none of us can be content to sit on the sidelines and let others do all the work...

Briefly notice these things with me...

God gave the church pastors and teachers to work alongside you to equip you to do the work…not do the work for you.

If you are called a saint, you are expected to be fully engaged in the work of building up the body of Christ.

Your work does not end when you think you’ve done enough. It ends when all the saints attain unity of faith and knowledge of Jesus...

That happens perfectly only when Jesus comes again…therefore it is an endeavor every believer pursues until Jesus comes!

We all share the same goal of helping each other mature in Christ

Our maturity in Christ is to be measured by our ability to speak the truth in love and live by it!

Living by it means we are...

Theologically anchored — not tossed around by waves of doctrine

Spiritually alert — able to recognize attempts to draw you away from the truth.

Please hear me carefully...

If our lives are so busy pursuing worldly allurements that we neglect full engagement in ministry to others, we are failing to do our part in the growth and maturation of the body.

Not saying we can’t enjoy them…but does our pursuit of those things cause us to sacrifice our time and treasures that could be better used to further God’s kingdom?

There are many needs within the walls of ODBC for ministry volunteers and leaders…do you have a ministry to others that you take ownership in?

There are also many needs within our communities that need to be impacted by the truth of the gospel!

Summary Statement: As we mature in Christ, our roots go deeper causing us to Proclaim Christ to every generation with greater clarity and stronger devotion!

Building Lives to Know and Live…Galatians 2:20.

Gal 2:20 ““I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

When we trust in Christ as our Savior, we die to self…we die to all our attempts to appease God and be right with him on our own. We are united with him in his crucifixion…we share in his death, burial, and resurrection.

Our death to self ends the enthronement of our self…it is no longer about what I want…it is no longer I who live…I no longer live according to my own strength...

Christ lives in me…through the presence of the Holy Spirit, Christ himself takes up residence in our hearts…yet he does not operate automatically…we live by faith…we are living our new life by faith in the Son of God...

This is a radical transformation…the “I” that lived under the law was dead under the law…that “I” no longer lives…but the way “I live” now is by faith that transforms every aspect of who “I really am” because it is Christ who is now in me!

It’s all about developing a pattern of thinking and behaving in ways that reflect the newness of life in us.

Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Summary Statement: Effective disciple makers are not expected to live perfect lives, just transformed lives!

What changes need to happen in your life to communicate the transformation your faith in Jesus Christ has brought?

Building Lives to Know and Live for Jesus Christ…2 Corinthians 5:9-15

We live for Jesus Knowing He Will Evaluate Us

Read 2 Cor 5:9-13.

It is no longer about me pleasing me…it is always focused on pleasing God… Glorifying God with all we have...whether dead or alive we seek to live for his pleasure knowing that one day we will stand before him face to face!

One day we will all be evaluated by our Master.

We need to have such an awe of our Savior that the thought of standing before Him persuades us to ensure our lives are focused on His pleasure, not man’s.

We live for Jesus Because We Love Him

2 Cor 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

His love in dying for us, controls us…it hems us in and keeps us within our boundaries.

The fact that Christ died our death keeps us from living for ourselves!

Summary Statement: Our highest priority is to Glorify God and the more we reflect Jesus Christ in our thinking and behavior, the brighter our light shines for Him.

Lesson for Life — Stay Focused on the Mission

ODBC will exist as long as Jesus wants us to exist. Therefore, it is imperative we faithfully keep moving forward in His plan for us until He is finished with us.

Jesus calls us all to be engaged in the disciple making process. Therefore, every one of us needs to be encouraged and expected to be an integral part of that process.

Nothing we do will be about increasing the fame and popularity of ODBC. Therefore, everything we do will be done for God’s praise and pleasure!

How will you plan to take ownership of the ministry your Savior has equipped you to accomplish?