SPEAKER_00: Well, good morning, OneChurts.
SPEAKER_00: How are we doing today?
SPEAKER_00: We're doing okay on Labor Day weekend.
SPEAKER_00: It is great to see you all this morning if we haven't had the opportunity to meet yet.
SPEAKER_00: My name is Luke, and I have the privilege of serving as our missions pastor here at OneChurch.
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say welcome to everybody here in the room.
SPEAKER_00: I would imagine our online audience is a little bit bigger on Labor Day weekend.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you are on vacation here at the Lake House or the Beach House.
SPEAKER_00: If that's you, uh drop us a comment.
SPEAKER_00: We are all jealous of you.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but we're glad that you have joined us this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Um, OneChurch Family, can we clap our hands and welcome anybody who's joining us online, wherever they are, all around the world?
SPEAKER_00: I'm so thankful to live in the time that we do uh that people can join church even when they're on vacation.
SPEAKER_00: What a gift that it is.
SPEAKER_00: I hope that you have enjoyed your Labor Day weekend thus far.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, more importantly, college football weekend is back.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_00: That's exciting, that's something to celebrate, and uh what an honor it is to be in the house of the Lord with you.
SPEAKER_00: This morning, like I said, my name is Luke, and I have the privilege of serving as our missions pastor today, and I am fired up to bring God's word to us today.
SPEAKER_00: The title of this message, if you are a note taker, is Living Life on Mission.
SPEAKER_00: Living Life on Mission.
SPEAKER_00: When Pastor Blake came to me and said, Hey, I'd like for you to preach on missions because you're the missions pastor, I thought, wow, you are creative.
SPEAKER_00: That was awesome.
SPEAKER_00: But I uh I would love to do it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm honored and thankful for the opportunity to do it.
SPEAKER_00: Um if you've been around one church for any time at all, but especially within the past four weeks, uh, you have probably heard over and over us talk about our mission and our vision.
SPEAKER_00: And every single year we take time in um August, September to actually dive into, take a deep dive back to the basics, back to why do we exist as a church?
SPEAKER_00: And the reason we do that uh is simply this we believe that vision leaks.
SPEAKER_00: What I mean by that is if you don't talk about the things that are important to you, they don't stay at the forefront of your mind, they slowly begin to slip to the back of your mind, and sometimes they are forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: And we don't want to forget, as a church, as we gather together on a Sunday morning, as we meet in growth groups throughout the week, as we go out into our schools and into our workforces and into our neighborhoods, we don't want to forget the mission.
SPEAKER_00: We don't want to forget why God has called us to live on this earth, the challenges that He's given us to go and to live.
SPEAKER_00: The challenge at one church, but not specifically one church.
SPEAKER_00: The challenge for every single believer and follower of Jesus is the same.
SPEAKER_00: Whether you attend here, whether you move across the world, the challenge is the same and the mission is the same.
SPEAKER_00: And the mission, the way we say it around here, is we exist to passionately love God and to intentionally love people.
SPEAKER_00: To passionately love God and to intentionally love people, that is the entire purpose.
SPEAKER_00: But the way we do that, we've broken it down, is to know God, to grow deep, and to go love.
SPEAKER_00: We talk about evangelism and discipleship and missions, and so if you've been around church at all, our church specifically, you've probably heard those words.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and if you haven't, then you have not listened very well for the past four weeks, because that's all that Pastor Blake has preached, is those exact words.
SPEAKER_00: But today, um we're actually gonna take it a little bit further, and um, something that you may not be quite as familiar with as to know God, to grow deep, and to go love is hey, how do we really accomplish that?
SPEAKER_00: Um as a church, we have eight core values that we kind of weigh everything through as we're making decisions, as we're processing what goes on the calendar, as we process a Sunday morning service and grow groups, there are really eight things that are the most important to us.
SPEAKER_00: And uh we talk about them around the table at staff meetings and want to make sure that as a church we understand what those are.
SPEAKER_00: And the um cool thing about values is when they're done right, uh, you need to talk about them because if you don't, vision leaks.
SPEAKER_00: But hopefully these are things that you catch without ever having been taught.
SPEAKER_00: But we want to come back to these words, and so they're actually eight sayings that were on the bumper, and so pop quiz.
SPEAKER_00: What did those video bumpers say?
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_00: Uh we're not actually gonna do a quiz.
SPEAKER_00: We'll see who paid attention maybe later on your way out the door.
SPEAKER_00: But I want to talk about our eight core values as a church.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you're taking notes, I'd encourage you now's an awesome time to do that.
SPEAKER_00: Number one is Jesus first.
SPEAKER_00: Will y'all say that with me?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus first.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the truth: nothing matters that we do if it's not about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Um, every single time we gather together, it is to glorify the name of Jesus, it is to remember the sacrifice of Jesus, it is to exemplify the love of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And everything we do, we eagerly pray and we seek God first.
SPEAKER_00: The most important thing that has ever happened throughout history is that the Son of God, Jesus, left heaven and he came to earth.
SPEAKER_00: He lived a perfect, sinless life, and he died the death that you and I deserve to be raised three days later so that we could have life and life to the full.
SPEAKER_00: And so everything we do is about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He is first priority.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why I love that here at One Church we take communion every single week.
SPEAKER_00: Because it's a reminder of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You see, the most important thing that you can remember today is not a singular word that I preach this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not the lyrics to a song.
SPEAKER_00: The most important thing that you can remember as we leave today is that Jesus left heaven and came to earth to die and be raised again for you.
SPEAKER_00: It's the most important thing.
SPEAKER_00: And everything we do, it is all about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Number two is whatever it takes.
SPEAKER_00: We serve with humility and teachability.
SPEAKER_00: And here's one of the things is we will do whatever it takes to advance the gospel forward.
SPEAKER_00: When it comes to people knowing Jesus, we will serve with humility and we will serve with teachability.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I love about being on staff here is that the words, that's not my job, doesn't exist.
SPEAKER_00: That is in no one's vernacular.
SPEAKER_00: If I asked Brian Talbot back there, who's doing sound, to go up and teaching kids because there was nobody else that could do it, he'd say yes, because he said, Whatever it takes for the kingdom of God to move forward.
SPEAKER_00: You need somebody to screw up toilets, whatever it takes.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever it takes, not just because we want to have a cool place and cool things, because we want people to know Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I've heard it said that as followers of Jesus, when there's a need that arises, we should have our hand the highest, our head the lowest, and our heart right before God.
SPEAKER_00: One church, that's who you are.
SPEAKER_00: You're people who serve and who do whatever it takes so that the gospel of Jesus will move forward.
SPEAKER_00: Number three is to live generously, and we joyfully sacrifice our time and our resources.
SPEAKER_00: The key word there being joyfully.
SPEAKER_00: We joyfully, willingly give of our time, of our resources, of our finances, because Jesus first gave to us.
SPEAKER_00: And this is something that you do so well already.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of those things, hey, we're talking about values that you already do.
SPEAKER_00: Um, one of the feedback that we get from people who are new to the church is, hey, you know you're missing a part of a church service?
SPEAKER_00: You don't ever like pass buckets or ask for money.
SPEAKER_00: And that's because we don't have to.
SPEAKER_00: Um, we have people that show up and they say, I've been here for six months and I don't even know how to tithe or to give money, and would be happy to tell you if you want to know.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but we don't have to ask because you as a church live such generous lives.
SPEAKER_00: You give, and not just to one church, but I hear stories all the time of, hey, I met a family who was in need, and so you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Our grow group adopted that family.
SPEAKER_00: And we bought their kids back to school supplies, and we've taken them meals, and we've helped fix their car.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because we want people to know Jesus and we live generous lives.
SPEAKER_00: Number four is to set the table.
SPEAKER_00: We give our best to prepare the house so people feel right at home.
SPEAKER_00: Something Pastor Blake always says is I want this church to feel like a living room.
SPEAKER_00: When you can walk in, you can kick your shoes off, and you can just enjoy it.
SPEAKER_00: I want it to feel like family.
SPEAKER_00: And for a home to be prepared, it takes effort and it takes work.
SPEAKER_00: And so every time you walk in here on a Sunday morning, there's communion that's prepared, the seatbacks, the cards are lined up all nice in front of you, and there's pens available if you want to take notes.
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't just happen that way.
SPEAKER_00: We have middle school boys that meet in this room on Sunday nights.
SPEAKER_00: Those pens are exploding and springs are everywhere, but there are people that show up every week and they serve and they set the table well so that when you come in you feel right at home.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to think about the details.
SPEAKER_00: And there's coffee that's made, and everything, all the details are ironed out.
SPEAKER_00: There's a team of staff and volunteers that keep our 77 acres looking beautiful.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Not so we have a beautiful property, so that when people come in, they feel at home.
SPEAKER_00: They feel welcome, they feel invited, and they can encounter Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Number five is we're better together.
SPEAKER_00: You say that with me, better together.
SPEAKER_00: Better together.
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Blake preached John 17 uh in week one of this series.
SPEAKER_00: And we believe that when we are unified, our efforts are multiplied, and God is most glorified.
SPEAKER_00: And in John 17, Jesus is praying in six different times before he dies.
SPEAKER_00: He prays, May they be one.
SPEAKER_00: May they be one, may they be one, may they be unified.
SPEAKER_00: And we believe that when we work together, we can advance the gospel forward.
SPEAKER_00: It's that old saying that if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.
SPEAKER_00: God has gifted each of us uniquely.
SPEAKER_00: He's given us unique talents and abilities and gifts, and when we come together, we make a huge impact, way bigger than we could on our own.
SPEAKER_00: Number six is try new things.
SPEAKER_00: We embrace change and we live by grace.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone thankful for grace this morning?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER_00: Uh we try new things, and this really comes down to innovation.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and something that we say regularly is that the message of the gospel never changes.
SPEAKER_00: But the methods sometimes do.
SPEAKER_00: The methods in which you use to reach people that are far from God sometimes look a little different.
SPEAKER_00: The message that Jesus gave his life for you and for me, that's the most important.
SPEAKER_00: But the way we communicate that, we can get creative and we can reach different people.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and we can also try new things within a church service.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, example of that.
SPEAKER_00: We said, hey, we've outgrown two services, we need to go to three.
SPEAKER_00: Let's try 8 a.m., 9 30, and 11 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: And you know how many people showed up to 8 a.m.?
SPEAKER_00: None.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody, like maybe a hundred.
SPEAKER_00: And it was like, well, this is not working.
SPEAKER_00: We tried it, tried something new, and we embraced change and we live by grace.
SPEAKER_00: So we moved it back, uh, and hundreds of people come to the 8:30.
SPEAKER_00: It's crazy what a 30-minute difference does.
SPEAKER_00: But we change, we embrace change, we live by grace.
SPEAKER_00: Number seven is believe the best.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and we listen first by leading with questions and fighting for connection.
SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, this comes down to conflict.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and we want to be really clear that amongst the body of believers and Christians, there is still conflict.
SPEAKER_00: There are still times when you might butt heads with other believers because we're all humans and we have opinions and we have things, and something that Pastor Blake says regularly is I would rather lose the argument to you than lose you to the argument.
SPEAKER_00: I'd rather lose the argument.
SPEAKER_00: Like I might be right, but that doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00: I'd rather lose the argument than lose you, and that means I'm gonna fight for the relationship.
SPEAKER_00: And if you have hurt me, or if I have hurt you, I want to come with questions and ask, hey, how did you get there?
SPEAKER_00: What did you mean when you did this?
SPEAKER_00: When you said that, rather than you did, you did, you did, and beaten people down.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that this is something that we as a church are learning in and we're growing in, and I'm so thankful for because healthy biblical conflict resolution is a really good thing.
SPEAKER_00: And so we believe the best.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna fight for connection, and I'm gonna ask questions, I'm gonna learn.
SPEAKER_00: And number eight is to help people dance.
SPEAKER_00: We celebrate big, we empower people, and we have crazy fun.
SPEAKER_00: Did you know walking with Jesus is actually really fun?
SPEAKER_00: It's a blast when we get to serve, and we get to love, and we get to turn this sanctuary into a prom for kids and adults with special needs on October 3rd.
SPEAKER_00: It is so fun to walk with Jesus and to serve and to be a part of what God is doing here on earth.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why I love when we look at our DNA, that everyone matters.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we have eight values.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we talk about knowing God, growing deep, and going love, is because every single individual on the planet was created in the image of God.
SPEAKER_00: And you and I have a call on our lives to love everyone, every day, everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to passionately love God and intentionally love people, to know God, to grow deep and to go love.
SPEAKER_00: And while we've gotten pretty creative in like coming up with words that rhyme in English, uh we can't take any credit for that.
SPEAKER_00: It's actually the very words of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: If you have your Bibles, you can open them up to Mark chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: If not, they'll be right there on the screen for you, starting in verse 28.
SPEAKER_00: They say this.
SPEAKER_00: One of the teachers of the law came and he heard them debating.
SPEAKER_00: Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the most important?
SPEAKER_00: The most important one, answered Jesus, is this.
SPEAKER_00: And he quotes Deuteronomy 6.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
SPEAKER_00: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
SPEAKER_00: And the second is this love your neighbor as yourself.
SPEAKER_00: There is no commandment greater than these.
SPEAKER_00: Passionately love God and intentionally love people.
SPEAKER_00: That is why we are here on earth.
SPEAKER_00: And this scripture is often referred to as the great commandment.
SPEAKER_00: The great commandment is simply this to go and to love God and to love his people.
SPEAKER_00: Because if we can't get those things right, we are missing the entire point.
SPEAKER_00: We're missing everything if we can't get our relationship with God and our relationship with people right.
SPEAKER_00: And a scripture that Pastor Blake has quoted regularly throughout this series from Mark chapter 8, verse 36, and it says, What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul?
SPEAKER_00: What good is it to gain your whole world, to have everything this world could offer, yet lose your soul?
SPEAKER_00: You hear stories all the time of men and women who have everything that the world could offer.
SPEAKER_00: They're chasing down the pleasures of this world and they're fighting for whatever makes them feel good and doing whatever they want, yet they still find themselves unsatisfied and unfulfilled.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but for those of us in the room who are in Christ, I would imagine that your story is probably the same.
SPEAKER_00: I know mine is.
SPEAKER_00: I spent years of my life pursuing the things of this world and trying to do whatever I could to find purpose and to find meaning and to find joy.
SPEAKER_00: But I found myself still unsatisfied.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody in the room ever been there chasing things and can't find it?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, me too.
SPEAKER_00: Well, in the 1700s, uh, there was a man named Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that a fun name?
SPEAKER_00: You guys want to say it?
SPEAKER_00: Ludwig von Zinzendorf.
SPEAKER_00: What an awesome name.
SPEAKER_00: And he's one of those guys who had everything the world could offer.
SPEAKER_00: He was a wealthy young man who'd grown up on his family estate in Southeast Germany, and he could write a check and never think about the money again.
SPEAKER_00: Wouldn't that be nice?
SPEAKER_00: Like he's just like, yeah, I got no problem.
SPEAKER_00: I can buy whatever I want, I can have whatever I want, I can do whatever I want.
SPEAKER_00: But the problem was, as he was pursuing the things of the world and he was chasing down all that it had to offer, he found himself wondering, what is the point of life?
SPEAKER_00: I don't really understand.
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm doing all these things, but I'm still not satisfied.
SPEAKER_00: You see, he also had grown up in church, Ludwig had, and he spent a lot of time reading the Bible, spent a lot of time praying.
SPEAKER_00: He was proficient in theology.
SPEAKER_00: He could use all of the big words.
SPEAKER_00: He could talk the talk, but he had never had an encounter with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And it reminded me of the quote that Pastor Blake shared a couple weeks ago that you can know the scriptures without knowing the author.
SPEAKER_00: That was the story of Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf.
SPEAKER_00: He knew the scriptures, he had everything that the world could offer, but he still wasn't satisfied.
SPEAKER_00: But then he had an encounter with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody in the room had an encounter with Jesus that changed your life?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, amen.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, me too.
SPEAKER_00: For me, I woke up one Sunday morning after a night of making bad decisions, and I was laying in bed going, Wow, I'm looking for it again.
SPEAKER_00: I've chased it and I can't seem to find the feeling.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna chase it again and again and again, and I can't seem to be satisfied.
SPEAKER_00: For Count Ludwig, it was a little bit different of an encounter that changed his life.
SPEAKER_00: You see, in 1720, he had a radical encounter with Christ at an art museum of all places.
SPEAKER_00: He was walking around an art museum with friends admiring these beautiful paintings and these pictures that people had poured their entire lives into, and he stopped to look at an image by an artist of the name of Domenico Fetti, that it was called Eke Homo, and here is a picture that changed his life.
SPEAKER_00: You see, it's an image of Jesus, a portray of Jesus, excuse me, with a crown of thorns on his head.
SPEAKER_00: You can't see it very well, but his hands are tied.
SPEAKER_00: There's a rope that's hanging down, and underneath it is an inscription that you probably can't see from that far away.
SPEAKER_00: But if you could, you couldn't read it anyways, because it's in Latin.
SPEAKER_00: But here is what it says.
SPEAKER_00: All this I have suffered for you.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what will you do for me?
SPEAKER_00: This picture of Jesus all of this, the crown of thorns and the cross and the beatings and the blood that's poured out.
SPEAKER_00: All of this I have done for you.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what have you done for me?
SPEAKER_00: Or what will you do for me?
SPEAKER_00: And this question stopped, Count Ludwig, in his tracks, and he's quoted as responding in this way.
SPEAKER_00: I have loved him for a long time, but I have never actually done anything for him.
SPEAKER_00: From now on, I will do whatever he leads me to do.
SPEAKER_00: I've loved him, but I've never actually done anything for him.
SPEAKER_00: From now on, I will do whatever it is that he leads me to do.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about those of us in the room who have prayed a similar prayer and said yes to the call of God.
SPEAKER_00: You're charged, you're excited.
SPEAKER_00: And then how many of you know it doesn't always look like you thought it would look?
SPEAKER_00: There's some questions, there's some answers, there's some things that God asks you to do that might be outside your comfort zone, but that are always worth it.
SPEAKER_00: You see, two years later, Ludwig was back at his family estates in Southeast Germany.
SPEAKER_00: And he was living his life, going on about his day, when he received a knock on his door from a man whose name was Christian David.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Ludwig, I have heard that you will say yes to the call of God.
SPEAKER_00: That's your reputation.
SPEAKER_00: And so I have a question for you.
SPEAKER_00: I know of ten Moravian refugees who need a place to live.
SPEAKER_00: Will you open up your home to have ten Moravian refugees come and live in your house?
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you, but I probably I don't know, God, I don't know about that one.
SPEAKER_00: But Count Ludwig said, hey, I think this is an opportunity from God.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Yes.
SPEAKER_00: And so in December of 2022, 10 Moravian refugees enter into his family estate in Southeast Germany and began to live and they began to study the Word of God.
SPEAKER_00: And between 1722 and 1726, that number jumped from 10 refugees to 300 refugees who were living on the family estate in Southeast Germany.
SPEAKER_00: It word traveled and said, Hey, there is a place where you can come, you can find refuge, you can be filled, you are safe, and hundreds of people came to be a part of this place.
SPEAKER_00: And that estate in Germany became known as Hernhut, which translates into the Lord's Watch.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord's Watch.
SPEAKER_00: And this is the place where all of these Moravian refugees came to find refuge.
SPEAKER_00: That was 1726.
SPEAKER_00: A year later, in 1727, one of the men who had been living on the land went up to Count Ludwig and he said something along the lines of Hey, we have all come here and we have found refuge.
SPEAKER_00: And we have found safety, but I think it's time that we leave and we go make a difference.
SPEAKER_00: We have come and we have received what we need.
SPEAKER_00: I think it's time that we go and we take the gospel forward.
SPEAKER_00: And so in 1727, all 300 of the men and women on this Hernhut land signed an agreement that said, we are dedicating our lives to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And we've come and we've received.
SPEAKER_00: Now it is time to go and to serve and to take the gospel forward.
SPEAKER_00: And what came next was one of the greatest missionary movements that the world has ever seen.
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't studied the Moravian missionary movement, I'd encourage you to go home and spend some time doing it.
SPEAKER_00: But things like people left Germany on a boat with all of their belongings in a casket.
SPEAKER_00: Because they said, you know what, wherever I go, I'm taking the gospel, I'm gonna die there.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not coming back.
SPEAKER_00: This is a place.
SPEAKER_00: Hernhut became not just a place that they came to, but a place that they were sent from.
SPEAKER_00: They came, they received, they were found safety, and they were taught God's word and under sound doctrine, but then they were sent out to make a difference in the world.
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest missionary movements ever.
SPEAKER_00: And it all started with one man, Count Ludwig von Zinzendorf, who said yes.
SPEAKER_00: God, whatever it is that you are asking me to do, the answer is yes.
SPEAKER_00: He was bold enough.
SPEAKER_00: And this morning, as we're closing a series talking about everyone, every day, everywhere, my prayer is that those of us here who are believers and followers of Jesus would say yes.
SPEAKER_00: And we recognize that one church is not just a place that we come to, but it is a place that we are sent from.
SPEAKER_00: That the mission field is not in a room on a Sunday morning as though that is a part of it, but as we come and as we find freedom and truth and safety and we receive the Spirit of God, we go out and we take the word of God and his message with us everywhere we go with everyone every day, everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: I said the question I want us to wrestle with this morning is am I just attending church or am I daily living on mission?
SPEAKER_00: Am I just attending church?
SPEAKER_00: Or am I daily living on mission?
SPEAKER_00: I don't say that to shame us, but to challenge us and to wrestle with.
SPEAKER_00: What am I doing outside the walls of the church?
SPEAKER_00: Who am I loving?
SPEAKER_00: Who has God placed in front of me?
SPEAKER_00: Because that is the mission is to love God and to love his people.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Jesus was clear about his mission in Luke chapter 19, verse 10.
SPEAKER_00: He says this for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
SPEAKER_00: That's why Jesus came from heaven to earth to seek and save the lost, and he was unapologetic about it.
SPEAKER_00: Everywhere he went, everything he did was in order that the lost would be sought after and they would be saved.
SPEAKER_00: That's why he spent time with the people that he did.
SPEAKER_00: That's why he did what he did.
SPEAKER_00: That's why he healed, not for the sake of healing, but for people coming to know him, for the lost being sought after and the lost being saved.
SPEAKER_00: He went after those that the world rejected.
SPEAKER_00: He hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors and those that the world would consider too far gone.
SPEAKER_00: See, he didn't just do that in the synagogues or at church.
SPEAKER_00: But every day, everywhere, he saw everyone as an opportunity to love.
SPEAKER_00: And that was his mission.
SPEAKER_00: And some for some unexplainable reason, God has entrusted that mission to you and I.
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand it.
SPEAKER_00: If I'm God and I'm looking down at me, I'm not trusting me.
SPEAKER_00: But God somehow sees fit that we partner with him in the mission, not that we are the ones who are saving the lost.
SPEAKER_00: Only God can do that.
SPEAKER_00: But God has called us, he has equipped us and invited us into the mission to go into love, to passionately love God, to intentionally love people.
SPEAKER_00: Look at me, or look at with me, excuse me, the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 28, his last words in the book, starting in verse 18.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, and here's the command.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
SPEAKER_00: And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.
SPEAKER_00: These words of Jesus are often referred to as the Great Commission.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: You want to know, hey, why am I on earth?
SPEAKER_00: Passionately love God, intentionally love people, go and make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: That is the point of everything that we do.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone, every day, everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: And one church, I want to encourage you that you already do this so well.
SPEAKER_00: Every single week when we sit around the table on Tuesdays at our staff meeting, we spend an hour that most of the businessmen and women in the room would think is so unproductive.
SPEAKER_00: If you sat around that first hour of the table, you're like, where is this going?
SPEAKER_00: And it is an hour where we sit and we talk about changed lives.
SPEAKER_00: All we do is celebrate what God is doing in and through you.
SPEAKER_00: The way that you love people, the way that you serve, the way that God has transformed hearts and it's changing minds and it's changing lives, the way that God is moving through the power of the gospel because of people who are living on mission.
SPEAKER_00: And a couple of those stories I would love to share.
SPEAKER_00: Even just this morning, I heard from a guy that he said, hey, uh part of the reason we started to come to church here is because we were at this festival at Trilleth, and there were people from one church who were there serving food and drinks, just inviting people to church.
SPEAKER_00: They were living on mission at a festival, a music festival over somewhere on the other side of town.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it looks like to live on mission, going outside the walls of the church to serve.
SPEAKER_00: Or the fact that there are thousands of meals every single year that are cooked and delivered to families who are in need within our church.
SPEAKER_00: When somebody's in the hospital, when a mom's given birth, when there's need, we've got a team that says, hey, we'll jump up, we'll serve, we'll cook, and we'll drop off food.
SPEAKER_00: Four times a year, there are uh about 40 women, most of whom don't attend our church, that show up here on a Saturday morning and they sit in that cafe and they drink coffee, and there are people who are loving on them while their oil is getting changed for free.
SPEAKER_00: It's single moms, it's widows, it's wives of deployed military that don't come to church on a Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_00: But you better believe on a Saturday morning they're experiencing the love of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Because there are men and women who are willing to say yes to the call that God has placed on their lives.
SPEAKER_00: There's even a couple in our church, they're sitting in the room, who said, We want to help the church meet each other's needs.
SPEAKER_00: In Acts chapter 2, the church helps serve one another.
SPEAKER_00: And they said, Hey, what if we created an app?
SPEAKER_00: What if we created an app where uh people could come in and say, hey, I need some help moving furniture, and then somebody from the church that they may not even know can say, Hey, I can help.
SPEAKER_00: You need to help changing a light fixture, I can do that.
SPEAKER_00: Because we want to live on mission.
SPEAKER_00: That's actually what they call the app on mission.
SPEAKER_00: That they're we're creating opportunities.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to pile it right now.
SPEAKER_00: If it works, you'll hear about it again later.
SPEAKER_00: But these are just a few of literally hundreds of examples of how you, one church, are living on mission.
SPEAKER_00: The way that you're serving, the way that you're loving, the way that you are making a difference, the way that you give irrationally, it is unbelievable.
SPEAKER_00: And from the outside looking in, people ask the question, like, why would you do it?
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't make any sense.
SPEAKER_00: Why would you give money and time and resources?
SPEAKER_00: Why would you change oil for free?
SPEAKER_00: Um, and the answer comes from 1 John chapter 4, starting in verse 19, and they simply says this: We love because he first loved us.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus first.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.
SPEAKER_00: For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
SPEAKER_00: And he has given us this command.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus first.
SPEAKER_00: He came, he bled, he died, he rose again, he loved us.
SPEAKER_00: And so now our responsibility, the call on our lives is to go and make disciples and to love the people that God has placed around us.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone, every day, everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone simply means that nobody's invisible.
SPEAKER_00: They all count.
SPEAKER_00: The neighbor across the street, the homeless man or woman on the side of the road that you're tempted to avoid.
SPEAKER_00: The person sitting next to you at the football game, the person in the cubicle next to you, they all matter to God.
SPEAKER_00: Every day means being on mission isn't just about Sunday mornings at church.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Tuesday morning at the office is just as important as Sunday morning to live on mission.
SPEAKER_00: And everywhere means it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00: You're in the gym, you're at the coffee shop, you're in the office, you're at the dinner table.
SPEAKER_00: It does not matter where you go.
SPEAKER_00: Everywhere is a mission that God has called us to.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, will we open our eyes?
SPEAKER_00: Are we too busy, wrapped up in our own worlds, that we miss the people and the places and the things that God has placed right in front of us?
SPEAKER_00: Are we willing to be men and women who say yes?
SPEAKER_00: You see, you don't have to be sent across the world and serve as a missionary to say yes and be on mission for God, though he might ask you to.
SPEAKER_00: You simply have to be willing to say yes.
SPEAKER_00: God, whatever it is, whoever, wherever, whenever, the answer is yes.
SPEAKER_00: So tomorrow morning when you wake up and you're going wherever you go, you're not just going to work, although it's Labor Day, so you might not.
SPEAKER_00: You're not just going to, you're being sent to work.
SPEAKER_00: You're not just going to the classroom, you're being sent by God with a purpose.
SPEAKER_00: Because you carry the spirit of the living God inside of you, and your responsibility, your call is to share his love with those around you.
SPEAKER_00: So this week, One Church, my prayer is that we would say yes to everyone, every day, everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: Including the 2.33 billion people who are food insecure.
SPEAKER_00: And Pastor Kevin shared a little bit about Convoy of Hopes one day to feed the world.
SPEAKER_00: And if you came prepared to be a part of that, we would love to invite you to do that.
SPEAKER_00: But if you didn't, that's okay.
SPEAKER_00: There's not pressure.
SPEAKER_00: This is not an emotional manipulation.
SPEAKER_00: But if you came prepared and you want to be a part of that, that's one way that you can serve on mission.
SPEAKER_00: Other things we can do to serve on mission is knock on a neighbor's door and get to know their name.
SPEAKER_00: Or simply make a meal, make bake cookies.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody's sad when somebody shows up at the door with cookies.
SPEAKER_00: Give them cookies and tell them about the love of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Would we be men and women this week who make the name of Jesus great by saying, Yes, I will be on mission with everyone, every day, everywhere.
SPEAKER_00: As we prepare to close, can I ask you to just stand for a moment as we enter into a time of response and a time of worship?
SPEAKER_00: I believe that there are a couple reasons sometimes we don't live on mission.
SPEAKER_00: Number one is what Pastor Blake preached last week, that we're uh too busy and distracted to notice what's going on.
SPEAKER_00: Um but for me, sometimes the reason I'm not living on mission is because there's some unrepentant sin in my heart.
SPEAKER_00: Not that you can't sin and still serve God, but sometimes there's an unrepentant sin that I'm struggling with that I haven't let go of and I haven't allowed God to heal.
SPEAKER_00: And in order to really live on mission, I have to say, God, I need you to get rid of this.
SPEAKER_00: I need to repent of this sin.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe today, some of us need to get on our face before the Lord and repent and say, God, I'm sorry for the things that I've let get in the way.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe some of us need to just say, Lord, I've been distracted.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna respond with yes.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you're in the room and you can't say yes to uh being on mission with Jesus because he's not the Lord of your life.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you want to say yes to following Jesus and jump on board with this mission, we got a station in the back, you said yes.
SPEAKER_00: Love to talk with you about what that looks like.
SPEAKER_00: In a moment, we're gonna sing a song.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe you need to pray with somebody, there's people all around the room.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need to raise your hands and worship, maybe you need to sit down and say, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: Today is the day.
SPEAKER_00: God, whatever it is, whoever, wherever, my answer will be yes.
SPEAKER_00: So, Lord Jesus, we come before you this morning grateful that we can only say yes because you said yes first.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for saying yes to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: For laying down your life.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, may we be known as men and women who say yes.
SPEAKER_00: God, you can have it all.
SPEAKER_00: May we live our lives on mission.
SPEAKER_00: It's in your name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.