WEBVTT 00:00:04.008 --> 00:00:08.737 Okay, let's turn in our Bibles, if we could, to 2 Corinthians, 5, verse 17,. 00:00:08.737 --> 00:00:11.445 And we'll get started here this morning. 00:00:11.445 --> 00:00:15.430 Over the last 10 weeks, we've studied some very important truths, haven't we? 00:00:15.430 --> 00:00:18.910 We've been looking at this book called Gospel-Centered Community. 00:00:18.910 --> 00:00:24.672 We learned about the theology of community, which is that God made us for community. 00:00:24.672 --> 00:00:27.167 Sin destroys community. 00:00:27.167 --> 00:00:32.811 Jesus redeems us for community, and in community, both sides of that. 00:00:32.811 --> 00:00:39.807 We looked at how community shapes our understanding of what Christ has done for us, along with applying it to our lives. 00:00:39.807 --> 00:00:46.694 We also considered how the gospel works to form and transform our experience of community. 00:00:46.694 --> 00:00:55.109 We saw how faith works through love and that our failure to love is rooted in our failure to what To believe and apply the gospel. 00:00:55.109 --> 00:01:04.772 And then we spent some weeks talking about different characteristics of biblical community, including joy, humility, honesty and grace. 00:01:04.772 --> 00:01:15.402 And today I have the privilege of bringing the last installment from this series, from chapter 9 in the book, and this is called A Community on Mission. 00:01:15.402 --> 00:01:16.625 A Community on Mission. 00:01:16.965 --> 00:01:20.492 So let's look at 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 17 through 21. 00:01:20.492 --> 00:01:25.367 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 00:01:25.367 --> 00:01:27.731 The old has passed away. 00:01:27.731 --> 00:01:29.962 Behold, the new has come. 00:01:29.962 --> 00:01:38.501 All this is from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is. 00:01:38.501 --> 00:01:40.263 In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself. 00:01:40.263 --> 00:01:51.132 In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 00:01:51.132 --> 00:01:56.777 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. 00:01:56.777 --> 00:02:04.364 We implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God For our sake. 00:02:04.364 --> 00:02:12.091 He made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:02:12.091 --> 00:02:25.711 Let's pray, Father, we are so thankful to be together today in this place, and we thank you for the privilege and opportunity of opening your word and studying the scriptures together. 00:02:25.711 --> 00:02:41.835 And, Lord, we don't take it for granted that we live in a place where there's still freedom for religion and freedom for gathering, Lord, and we pray that you continue to work in our nation to maintain freedom, Lord, God, so that we can continue to serve you the way that we desire to. 00:02:41.835 --> 00:02:48.230 And, Father, we pray for those around the world today who don't find themselves in places where they can freely gather. 00:02:48.230 --> 00:02:56.272 We ask for grace for them, for the ability for them to continue to shine the light of Jesus Christ in very dark times and dark places. 00:02:56.272 --> 00:03:09.407 And, Lord, we just ask that, as I speak these words, that they'll be enlightened by you, that they will be transformative because of the work of the Holy Spirit, Change our minds, change our hearts, change our lives. 00:03:09.407 --> 00:03:13.323 We pray, we give you the thanks In Jesus' name. 00:03:13.323 --> 00:03:15.587 We pray, Amen, Amen. 00:03:15.989 --> 00:03:26.396 So I wanted to show you a picture this morning, and this picture is really special to me because this is my grandfather, Timberjack Joe Lyons. 00:03:26.396 --> 00:03:29.944 Now, that's not his given name, but that's the name that was given to him. 00:03:29.944 --> 00:03:30.986 Does that make sense? 00:03:30.986 --> 00:03:34.502 So he was a larger than life character. 00:03:34.502 --> 00:03:51.141 I grew up in Wyoming, for those of you who don't know it, and my grandfather, whenever he showed oh, by the way, just, you're probably wondering, Little boy on the horse, that's me, yeah, I posed and then I cried that's a big horse. 00:03:51.141 --> 00:03:53.006 I was a little scared but anyway. 00:03:54.628 --> 00:03:57.473 But I loved my grandpa, my brother and I. 00:03:57.473 --> 00:03:59.784 He always referred to us as the boys. 00:03:59.784 --> 00:04:09.627 I don't know if he knew our names or not, but we were the boys, and whenever he'd show up in town, it was always there was a big deal, Because back then there were no cell phones. 00:04:09.627 --> 00:04:11.768 It was pretty much smoke signals, right. 00:04:11.768 --> 00:04:15.790 And so we never knew fully when he was going to show up. 00:04:15.790 --> 00:04:24.675 And when he did show up, my brother and I got really excited because we knew there was some kind of exploration, some kind of adventure that was going to ensue quickly. 00:04:24.675 --> 00:04:34.788 And so, whether we were hunting or fishing or doing something else that seemed pretty out of the ordinary for us in real life, we knew that it was going to be a big time. 00:04:34.848 --> 00:04:44.764 And one of those times we were driving over the Rocky Mountains and there's a place at the very top of the Rocky Mountains where water literally comes out of the side of the mountain. 00:04:44.764 --> 00:04:49.009 There's a rock and there's a pipe there that's in the rock and water comes out. 00:04:49.009 --> 00:04:58.625 And I'm telling you there's no water that I've ever tasted on this planet that is as good as the water that comes out of that hole in the rock. 00:04:58.625 --> 00:05:03.440 Again, I don't know the full source of it, but I know it's pure and really good. 00:05:03.440 --> 00:05:10.413 And so we pulled over there to get some water and my grandfather looked at me and he said son, open the glove compartment. 00:05:10.413 --> 00:05:12.365 So you know you don't. 00:05:12.365 --> 00:05:16.285 First of all, you never said no to my grandfather At least I didn't, right. 00:05:16.285 --> 00:05:22.992 So I opened up the glove box and, by the way, just to give you a little vision of this, you know the cab of this pickup truck. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:32.982 It's me and my brother and my grandfather in a one seat, you know chair, and two huge English shepherd dogs, One of them right here on the horse right. 00:05:32.982 --> 00:05:38.754 So two dogs like that that were trained but not well-trained. 00:05:38.754 --> 00:05:50.656 They were still a little bit wild, like he was, and the way that he took care of them is he had two Folgers cans underneath where our feet should have been right. 00:05:50.656 --> 00:05:55.728 So there's a Folgers can full of water and a Folgers can full of some kind of dry dog food. 00:05:55.728 --> 00:06:00.447 Back then they didn't do all the specialty type foods with the allergies. 00:06:00.447 --> 00:06:04.348 I don't know what's happened since then, but anyway, don't get me started. 00:06:04.348 --> 00:06:06.182 So that's a rabbit trail. 00:06:06.182 --> 00:06:07.947 We won't go down there, but anyway. 00:06:07.947 --> 00:06:20.749 So it was quite the experience, with the hair flowing through the cabin and the feeling of moisture on your feet as the water spills, as the dogs are trying to get a drink of water. 00:06:20.829 --> 00:06:23.242 And so my grandfather asked me to open the glove compartment. 00:06:23.242 --> 00:06:33.750 I never knew for sure what was going to happen, but I knew it was going to be something unique, so I opened the glove box and inside there's a square of government cheese. 00:06:33.750 --> 00:06:35.353 Do you guys remember government cheese? 00:06:35.353 --> 00:06:41.355 It kind of is like in the shape of Velveeta, but it was really good. 00:06:41.355 --> 00:06:44.242 I don't know what it was about, that government cheese, but it was really good. 00:06:44.242 --> 00:06:52.690 So he had one of those in there and he had a roll of antelope sausage right and a little container, a sleeve of Fig Newtons. 00:06:52.690 --> 00:06:55.487 So that's what was in his glove compartment. 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:58.990 Then he pulls his knife off of his side and he hands it to me. 00:06:58.990 --> 00:07:03.726 And this knife was well used and well traveled. 00:07:03.726 --> 00:07:07.673 I'm not sure when the last time it got cleaned, but it wasn't today, if that makes sense. 00:07:07.673 --> 00:07:18.600 So he hands that to me and he says cut off a piece of cheese and cut up a piece of the sausage and then put it between two Fig Newtons and make a sandwich. 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:22.630 So I'm doing that and you know I hand it over to him quickly. 00:07:22.630 --> 00:07:26.389 You know I didn't want him to think I was dilly-dallying, right. 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:29.870 So I handed over to him and he goes you eat it. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:33.603 And this is a saying. 00:07:33.603 --> 00:07:38.124 I haven't heard this saying in a long time, but my grandpa said it'll grow hair on your chest. 00:07:38.124 --> 00:07:40.911 Remember that saying I don't know. 00:07:40.911 --> 00:07:46.310 I don't know what that was about, but anyway, again, you didn't say no to my grandpa and so I took a big bite of that. 00:07:46.310 --> 00:07:56.154 Well, I have to be honest, I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer Lord, deliver me from sudden death that may come from eating this. 00:07:56.154 --> 00:08:02.225 Forgive me, for I know what I'm doing right, and I took a bite of that and, to be honest with you, it was pretty good. 00:08:02.225 --> 00:08:03.766 It was pretty good. 00:08:03.766 --> 00:08:09.831 So, anyway, I could go on for hours and hours telling you stories about my grandpa, Timberjack Joe. 00:08:09.872 --> 00:08:30.009 But the best story of all happened when I was eight years old, and that's when my grandfather came to town and there was a man named Bobby Walker that was in town and Bobby was an evangelist and he was at our church and he was preaching, and my grandpa would come to church when he was in town but there was no indication of his relationship with the Lord. 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:38.928 He was kind of independent and self-sufficient and all of those things, and never really showed any interest in the things of God beyond just attending church when he was in town. 00:08:38.928 --> 00:08:48.714 So I remember we went to Perkins one morning for breakfast and Bobby, as was his way, was trying to witness to the entire restaurant from our table. 00:08:48.714 --> 00:08:54.513 So he was speaking very loudly about how God had intersected and changed his life. 00:08:54.513 --> 00:08:59.511 And at the end of his conversation he says to my grandpa, are you ready to be a believer? 00:08:59.511 --> 00:09:01.106 And my grandpa says nope. 00:09:01.106 --> 00:09:09.743 And so my grandpa and I got into his truck again and we're heading back towards home and we're pulling up this hill. 00:09:09.743 --> 00:09:14.083 I'm sure it wasn't very long, but as an eight-year-old kid it seemed like a very long hill. 00:09:14.083 --> 00:09:20.083 And about halfway up I looked at my grandpa and I said grandpa, don't you want to go to heaven with me? 00:09:20.083 --> 00:09:25.474 And he said, yes, I do, son. 00:09:25.474 --> 00:09:34.470 And he pulled the truck over and he and I prayed a little prayer in the cab of his truck and my grandpa's life changed forever. 00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:36.825 He was born again. 00:09:36.825 --> 00:09:42.270 Now I'm not here to take the credit for that. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:48.024 There was a whole community of people who had been witnessing to my grandfather for a long time. 00:09:48.024 --> 00:09:52.523 God had been intervening through a community of believers that were on mission. 00:09:52.523 --> 00:10:01.130 Whenever he would come to our church, everybody would scurry around so kind to him, would pay attention to him, would love on him, would pray for him. 00:10:01.130 --> 00:10:35.288 I remember one time my grandfather came to town and he had large sores on his legs that were becoming gangrenous, yeah, and my dad asked if he could pray for him and he began to pray for him and the Lord closed the skin up underneath my dad's hands as he was praying for him so many times, in so many ways, that God was reaching out to my grandfather and I just happened to be the one in the cab of his truck on the morning that God had designed for him to become a follower of Jesus Christ. 00:10:35.288 --> 00:10:49.668 I got to enjoy being on mission with God, and that's what we're going to talk about today what it means to be a community that's on mission with God. 00:10:50.350 --> 00:10:51.072 Are you ready for that? 00:10:51.072 --> 00:10:56.610 All right, so let's look at three common misconceptions about missions and missionaries. 00:10:56.610 --> 00:11:01.365 These are ways that people tend to view missions and view missionaries, but they aren't. 00:11:01.365 --> 00:11:06.500 It's not that they're completely wrong, but they're not fully thought out or fully spoken. 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:07.263 So let's look at them. 00:11:07.302 --> 00:11:19.764 Number one the word missionary refers only only to those who are specially called by God to go to other cultures to preach the gospel, those people who go somewhere over there. 00:11:19.764 --> 00:11:22.289 Is that a definition for missionaries? 00:11:22.289 --> 00:11:25.288 Yes, it is, but it's not a full definition for missions right. 00:11:25.288 --> 00:11:26.392 Number two to but it's not a full definition for missions right. 00:11:26.392 --> 00:11:29.817 Number two to reach non-Christians with the gospel message. 00:11:29.817 --> 00:11:34.346 We need special programs and targeted evangelistic activities. 00:11:34.346 --> 00:11:36.572 Is that fully true? 00:11:36.572 --> 00:11:38.395 Not necessarily. 00:11:38.395 --> 00:11:40.019 Is it a truth? 00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:40.802 That can be. 00:11:40.802 --> 00:11:42.708 Is it something that can work? 00:11:42.708 --> 00:11:45.801 Absolutely, it can work and God can use those things. 00:11:45.801 --> 00:11:52.485 At the end of the message we're going to circle back around to these and we'll find out a more full explanation of them. 00:11:52.485 --> 00:11:57.682 Number three some people are gifted by God as evangelists to win people to Christ. 00:11:57.682 --> 00:12:02.111 Others are gifted to serve the church and focus entirely on discipleship. 00:12:02.111 --> 00:12:09.447 Again, that sounds really nice and almost like Christian in the way that it's said, and is it partially true? 00:12:09.447 --> 00:12:16.830 It is partially true, but it's not just evangelists who are called to be witnesses and to be missionaries, right? 00:12:17.652 --> 00:12:28.600 So in our passage today, Paul is conveying to the Corinthian church his personal mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are lost. 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:32.668 That was the driving force behind Paul's ministry. 00:12:32.668 --> 00:12:40.250 He was a missionary at heart and he continually, wherever he was, he was on mission with God. 00:12:40.250 --> 00:12:47.682 He makes it clear here that he's doing so as an extension of God's mission, which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 00:12:47.682 --> 00:12:54.246 How many of you know that the mission that Paul was on, and hopefully the mission that all of us are on, it's not really our mission. 00:12:54.246 --> 00:12:58.784 It's God's mission and we get to be, we get to participate in it. 00:12:58.784 --> 00:13:03.139 It's God's work, it's God's mission that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:09.720 He also indicates that those who are truly followers of Jesus Christ must be on mission together. 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:12.109 So we're going to break this down together this morning. 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:17.471 Number one you can't be a church on mission if your members aren't born again. 00:13:17.471 --> 00:13:20.287 Just let that sink in for a minute. 00:13:20.287 --> 00:13:26.332 You can't be a church on mission if your church members aren't born again. 00:13:26.332 --> 00:13:29.966 One of the proofs of true conversion is what? 00:13:29.966 --> 00:13:32.231 How do you know if a person is truly born again? 00:13:32.231 --> 00:13:35.869 It's a radically changed life. 00:13:35.869 --> 00:13:38.556 It's a radically changed life. 00:13:38.556 --> 00:13:47.543 How many of you can say honestly here this morning that since you came to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that your life has radically changed? 00:13:47.543 --> 00:13:59.304 You're scared not to raise your hand on that one right, Because that might indicate that you and, by the way, if you're here this morning and your life has not yet been radically changed today is your day. 00:13:59.304 --> 00:14:00.948 Today is your day. 00:14:00.948 --> 00:14:02.173 Don't miss the opportunity. 00:14:02.813 --> 00:14:08.046 Paul says here again, in this passage therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new. 00:14:08.046 --> 00:14:09.609 What Creation? 00:14:09.609 --> 00:14:11.812 The old has passed away. 00:14:11.812 --> 00:14:14.764 Behold, the new has come. 00:14:14.764 --> 00:14:16.447 That's good news. 00:14:17.469 --> 00:14:21.082 These verses are written to all believers, but remember, he starts out with anyone. 00:14:21.082 --> 00:14:26.014 He makes it individualistic, because it's not just a church that can be saved. 00:14:26.014 --> 00:14:28.686 We as individuals must be saved. 00:14:28.686 --> 00:14:30.850 It's not just a family that is saved. 00:14:30.850 --> 00:14:34.865 How many of you know that every generation within that family must be saved? 00:14:34.865 --> 00:14:39.261 It's an individual faith that, then, is to be spread collectively. 00:14:39.261 --> 00:14:40.903 Right? 00:14:40.903 --> 00:14:46.513 We can't experience being a missional church if our members aren't Christians. 00:14:47.335 --> 00:14:50.326 In other words, it's not enough to just mentally assent to something. 00:14:50.326 --> 00:14:52.880 Yes, I believe that Jesus came to this earth. 00:14:52.880 --> 00:15:01.908 I believe that he was a historic character, I believe that he was a great teacher, that he was a wise counselor, that he was all of these things. 00:15:01.908 --> 00:15:04.701 I believe that he's one of many gods. 00:15:04.701 --> 00:15:09.249 These are all things that people believe and hold on to, but they're not enough. 00:15:09.249 --> 00:15:13.481 It's not enough to just mentally agree with something. 00:15:14.082 --> 00:15:26.922 If we are truly saved by grace, through faith, then our thoughts, our attitudes, our motivations and our behavior should become increasingly different than what they once were. 00:15:26.922 --> 00:15:28.546 Amen. 00:15:28.546 --> 00:15:32.855 Those who were thieves before should steal no more. 00:15:32.855 --> 00:15:38.366 Those who were involved in adultery before should no longer be involved in sexual sin. 00:15:38.366 --> 00:15:44.528 Those who you could name any sin that you want to place in that category, Fill in the blank. 00:15:44.528 --> 00:15:56.269 We should be increasingly walking away from those things because we are being radically changed and transformed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:15:58.602 --> 00:16:11.208 New creation here carries with it the implication that I haven't been just made over right as a better version of myself, but in Christ I've been made into a brand new person. 00:16:11.208 --> 00:16:15.825 I'm a brand new person, a new creation, a new creature. 00:16:15.825 --> 00:16:18.653 This is like a dog changing into a cat. 00:16:18.653 --> 00:16:20.057 This is I. 00:16:20.057 --> 00:16:22.503 Once was lost and now I'm found. 00:16:22.503 --> 00:16:27.774 This is a complete polar opposite of what we once were. 00:16:30.162 --> 00:16:49.136 Now there are a lot of religions that will teach you that if you have a strong enough will, if you have drive and desire enough, if you push in, if you try hard enough, if you pray enough, if you do enough, then you can somehow cause this change to happen by your own desire and your own will. 00:16:49.136 --> 00:16:53.163 Here's my question How's that working for you? 00:16:53.163 --> 00:16:56.932 Not well. 00:16:56.932 --> 00:16:59.943 How many of you know that? 00:16:59.943 --> 00:17:13.592 It is the radical grace of God, by the work of the Holy Spirit, the same work that breathed life into the pile of mud named Adam in the garden and caused a lifeless Christ to be jolted back to life again. 00:17:13.592 --> 00:17:21.007 This is the spirit of God that transforms us, and we can't make it happen on our own. 00:17:21.007 --> 00:17:25.676 Here's good news Ready, True. 00:17:25.676 --> 00:17:30.443 Change can happen because Jesus made a way for us to be made right with God. 00:17:30.443 --> 00:17:37.693 Jesus made a way for you and I to be made right with God. 00:17:38.314 --> 00:17:45.593 Paul goes on in the passage in 2 Corinthians to say all this is from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself. 00:17:45.593 --> 00:17:47.282 What does that word reconcile mean? 00:17:47.282 --> 00:17:49.829 You see it repeated like six times in this passage. 00:17:49.829 --> 00:17:57.212 What does it mean to be reconciled to somebody, To what To be drawn back to right? 00:17:57.212 --> 00:18:00.599 What does it mean to be reconciled to somebody, To what To be drawn back to right? 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:12.531 What does it mean to not be reconciled to someone, To be separated, to be apart, to be at odds with, for there to be something that's coming between the two of you? 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:16.405 So what is required in order for reconciliation to happen? 00:18:16.405 --> 00:18:20.753 Forgiveness, Forgiveness. 00:18:20.753 --> 00:18:37.291 Did you know that Jesus himself, the son of God, took the wrath of God upon himself that we deserved, and he bore it upon himself on the cross so that we could be given the free gift of salvation. 00:18:37.291 --> 00:18:43.308 That's amazing to me. 00:18:43.308 --> 00:18:49.801 See, sin separates us from God, but through Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled. 00:18:49.801 --> 00:18:55.394 All of us, from Adam forward, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:18:55.394 --> 00:18:56.404 This is the truth. 00:18:56.404 --> 00:19:05.491 The sin stopped us from having a relationship with the Holy God, and the wages that we deserve for the sin that we've committed is what Is death. 00:19:05.491 --> 00:19:06.664 But it doesn't stop there. 00:19:06.664 --> 00:19:11.490 But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. 00:19:11.490 --> 00:19:21.567 Our Lord Jesus again came to this earth, lived a perfect life, the life that we couldn't live, and died the horrible death that we deserved. 00:19:21.567 --> 00:19:27.691 By taking God's wrath upon himself, Jesus made peace with God by the blood of his cross. 00:19:27.691 --> 00:19:35.786 He was then what, Raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, proving his authority over death, hell and the grave. 00:19:36.166 --> 00:19:37.989 He and my question is does that still give you goosebumps? 00:19:37.989 --> 00:19:53.173 Does it still enthrall you that God would care this much about you and I? 00:19:53.173 --> 00:20:00.403 Or has it become just a part of our Christian lingo, a part of our Christian language, a part of our celebration? 00:20:00.403 --> 00:20:11.574 And yet in our daily lives, we forget the impact, the power of the change that God has made a way to happen in our lives. 00:20:11.574 --> 00:20:25.090 You see, we are offered this free gift of salvation that is the costliest gift ever purchased, Is the costliest gift ever purchased. 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:33.253 So next in the passage we see that Christians are all called, all called to the ministry of reconciliation. 00:20:33.253 --> 00:20:34.907 Paul says and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 00:20:34.907 --> 00:20:38.644 Paul says and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ. 00:20:38.644 --> 00:20:43.388 God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. 00:20:43.388 --> 00:20:45.265 Powerful words. 00:20:45.265 --> 00:20:51.185 We have received this great gift of reconciliation and guess what we get to do now? 00:20:51.185 --> 00:20:51.672 God tags us and says you're it? 00:20:51.672 --> 00:20:54.217 Guess what we get to do now? 00:20:54.217 --> 00:20:59.900 God tags us and says you're it? 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:06.825 We get to represent the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our daily lives, with everyone that we encounter. 00:21:06.825 --> 00:21:11.394 We get to be a part of the reconciliation project and process that God is involved with. 00:21:11.394 --> 00:21:16.832 He's calling us to daily live in that place. 00:21:16.832 --> 00:21:22.624 We are called to the ministry of reconciliation. 00:21:23.645 --> 00:21:27.473 This is not a ministry that is exclusive to those found in Ephesians, chapter 4. 00:21:27.473 --> 00:21:33.051 It's not the job of evangelists, pastors, prophets, teachers to do this work alone. 00:21:33.051 --> 00:21:37.240 What are we supposed to do To equip the saints for the work of the ministry. 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:38.884 Why are we doing this sermon series? 00:21:38.884 --> 00:21:43.201 To equip you to do what God has called you to do. 00:21:43.201 --> 00:21:55.752 I'm commissioning you, we, as an elder team, are commissioning you to take these truths and live them, breathe them, let them be a part of your daily experience in life. 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:05.454 We've had it backwards in our minds, I think, as we have thought that we all had to do was get those who are lost to a place where a real minister could minister to them. 00:22:05.454 --> 00:22:13.653 Have you ever thought that if I could ever get this person to talk to my pastor, if I could ever, you know, find somebody that knew enough to be able to explain it to them? 00:22:13.653 --> 00:22:17.270 Not necessarily anything wrong with that, but guess what? 00:22:17.270 --> 00:22:19.487 You're all equipped. 00:22:19.487 --> 00:22:43.122 Every believer in Jesus Christ, I don't care if they've just been an hour in the Lord you're equipped to tell the story of what just happened in your life and to encourage somebody else to believe Right, Right else to believe right. 00:22:43.122 --> 00:22:45.928 Ministers of reconciliation share a message of reconciliation from God to those who are lost. 00:22:45.928 --> 00:22:48.913 Paul says that we are entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 00:22:48.913 --> 00:23:00.736 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us, Not only do we have a ministry of reconciliation, but we have a message of reconciliation. 00:23:00.736 --> 00:23:10.400 God's given us the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ to proclaim in this earth. 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:12.343 Why is the United States in the condition it's in? 00:23:12.343 --> 00:23:15.392 In my opinion, because the church has remained silent. 00:23:15.392 --> 00:23:28.093 Oh, you mean silent on politics and silent on, maybe silent when it comes to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives? 00:23:28.093 --> 00:23:34.692 How in the world do we blame political parties for the condition of our nation? 00:23:34.692 --> 00:23:42.230 Condition of the nation rises and falls upon the people, the people of God in that nation. 00:23:42.230 --> 00:23:44.688 We have a chance to make a difference. 00:23:44.688 --> 00:23:48.971 We have a chance to see this nation come back to its foundation. 00:23:48.971 --> 00:24:01.944 It will happen in the ballot box and it will happen through political means, in a lot of different ways, but the thing that's going to last for eternity is when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. 00:24:05.109 --> 00:24:07.714 Do you remember who first shared the truth with you? 00:24:07.714 --> 00:24:13.969 Aren't you glad that they embraced this mindset? 00:24:13.969 --> 00:24:18.128 Aren't you glad that they chose to be missionaries? 00:24:18.128 --> 00:24:24.390 I just want to thank my mom, person who's probably watching this morning. 00:24:24.390 --> 00:24:33.759 She was the one who took me to church and one day, in the bathroom looked at me as I was brushing my teeth because I was asking a lot of questions. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:39.609 I don't know if you have young people in your house that ask questions, but I asked a lot. 00:24:39.609 --> 00:24:41.126 I wanted to know everything. 00:24:41.126 --> 00:24:47.509 I asked a lot of questions as a kid and one of the questions I was asking my mom was about Jesus. 00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:53.126 And she looked at me and said Tyler, do you want to believe, Do you want to put your faith in Jesus? 00:24:53.126 --> 00:24:57.063 And I said yes, and we prayed together in that bathroom. 00:24:57.163 --> 00:25:01.762 And I'm not saying that's for everyone, Obviously everybody's story is a little different. 00:25:01.762 --> 00:25:06.253 But for me, man, that began a complete. 00:25:06.253 --> 00:25:13.723 And it's interesting because I've always thought you know, I don't have the testimony of some people, although I've got lots of sin that I could talk about. 00:25:13.723 --> 00:25:14.204 So I'm not saying that. 00:25:14.204 --> 00:25:16.412 But I don't have the testimony of some people, although I've got lots of sin that I could talk about. 00:25:16.412 --> 00:25:16.933 So I'm not saying that. 00:25:16.933 --> 00:25:22.476 But I don't have the testimony of some people who were in gangs and who were addicted to drugs and all of these different things and got saved. 00:25:22.476 --> 00:25:25.546 Those kind of testimonies that keep you on the edge of your seat when you're listening to them. 00:25:25.546 --> 00:25:28.884 Right, and I was complaining to the Lord one time about that. 00:25:28.884 --> 00:25:30.009 You ever complained to the Lord? 00:25:30.009 --> 00:25:30.731 You read the book of Psalms? 00:25:30.731 --> 00:25:30.972 It's okay. 00:25:30.972 --> 00:25:34.521 Complain to the Lord, you read the book of Psalms, it's okay. 00:25:34.521 --> 00:25:36.084 You can do that. 00:25:36.084 --> 00:25:37.846 Just be ready for him to fix it. 00:25:37.846 --> 00:25:43.051 He's going to correct it, right, and here's what the Lord said to me. 00:25:43.051 --> 00:25:46.576 You know you could be thankful that I kept you from all of that stuff. 00:25:46.576 --> 00:25:57.319 That's a testimony, Isn't it? 00:25:59.099 --> 00:26:01.689 We've been given this great privilege of sharing the greatest thing that's ever happened in our life with everyone else. 00:26:01.689 --> 00:26:11.372 Why is it that it's so much easier to talk about the latest movie or a favorite place to eat dinner than it is to or even the weather? 00:26:11.372 --> 00:26:15.429 How many of you talked about the weather this week with anybody? 00:26:15.429 --> 00:26:18.304 It is the most, I'd say. 00:26:18.304 --> 00:26:22.393 Probably hands down is the most common topic of conversation, right? 00:26:22.393 --> 00:26:25.869 By the way, I've already checked it's going to be 95 and humid this week. 00:26:25.869 --> 00:26:29.742 So it's a great missional opportunity, right? 00:26:29.742 --> 00:26:33.707 Because we can say I'm so thankful I'm not going to hell. 00:26:33.707 --> 00:26:40.714 Sorry, that was not in my notes, Mark. 00:26:40.714 --> 00:26:41.976 We'll talk about it on Tuesday. 00:26:41.976 --> 00:26:49.240 I'm going to ask forgiveness now for bringing that up. 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:50.821 Oh my gosh. 00:26:50.821 --> 00:26:52.944 But yeah, we have this privilege. 00:26:52.944 --> 00:27:10.253 We are called to represent God to this world in a way that we live our lives and through the words that we speak Kind of in that order, Because how many of us have known people that were loud with their words about God in their lives? 00:27:10.253 --> 00:27:14.887 We're far from it. 00:27:14.907 --> 00:27:28.250 I've told you before about the John 3.16 guy that I know that would go to all the football games and hold the huge John 3.16 sign and the camera would zoom in on him, and what they missed most of the time was every single event he went to. 00:27:28.250 --> 00:27:34.624 He got into a fight, Like a fist fight, like throwing out of the stadium, like you're not ever allowed to come back here again. 00:27:34.624 --> 00:27:39.348 He didn't understand what it meant to be persecuted for righteousness sake. 00:27:39.348 --> 00:27:41.530 Oh my gosh. 00:27:41.530 --> 00:27:44.814 The words are important, but so is the life. 00:27:44.814 --> 00:27:47.355 The imagery here is beautiful. 00:27:47.355 --> 00:27:47.977 Think about it. 00:27:47.977 --> 00:27:56.832 You see God calling us to himself and sending us out to work for him. 00:27:56.832 --> 00:27:58.380 We are ambassadors of heaven declaring a message, God's message, to the world. 00:27:58.380 --> 00:27:59.825 What is this message? 00:27:59.825 --> 00:28:11.153 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. 00:28:11.153 --> 00:28:14.443 This is the message that we proclaim. 00:28:20.472 --> 00:28:27.613 So just in case we aren't completely sure about what the message of reconciliation is, Paul goes on to give us a little snippet, kind of a summary. 00:28:27.613 --> 00:28:35.127 He says we implore you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God For our sake. 00:28:35.127 --> 00:28:38.391 He made him to Do you hear the seriousness of Paul's tone. 00:28:38.391 --> 00:28:50.932 Implore them, beg them, plead with them, reason with them. 00:28:50.932 --> 00:29:01.363 This is not like a lifestyle suggestion, like you should only eat meat or you only eat carbs. 00:29:01.363 --> 00:29:03.867 Is there a diet where you can only eat carbs? 00:29:03.867 --> 00:29:06.814 Actually, I've been on that diet before. 00:29:06.814 --> 00:29:11.286 It's called life. 00:29:11.286 --> 00:29:13.628 It's not a lifestyle suggestion. 00:29:13.628 --> 00:29:17.434 You guys realize this is eternity we're dealing with. 00:29:17.434 --> 00:29:20.146 This is life and death. 00:29:20.146 --> 00:29:22.827 This is forever right. 00:29:22.827 --> 00:29:24.585 Think about that. 00:29:24.585 --> 00:29:27.707 So the seriousness of Paul's tone. 00:29:27.707 --> 00:29:39.273 He encourages us, as ministers of reconciliation who've been given a message of reconciliation, to plead with people to be restored to right relationship with God. 00:29:39.273 --> 00:29:48.830 And then he goes on to just reiterate help us to understand that we need to share the gospel with people. 00:29:48.830 --> 00:29:53.871 Jesus paid the price so that we could be saved. 00:29:54.760 --> 00:30:00.073 So let's go back now into our misconceptions and let's reread these, and then we're going to add to them, Right? 00:30:00.073 --> 00:30:07.773 So, number one the word missionary refers only to those who are especially called by God to go to other cultures to preach the gospel. 00:30:07.773 --> 00:30:09.904 Is that fully true? 00:30:09.904 --> 00:30:12.384 No, here's the fullness of it. 00:30:12.384 --> 00:30:14.527 All Christians are missionaries. 00:30:14.527 --> 00:30:17.602 If you're a believer this morning, say I'm a missionary. 00:30:17.602 --> 00:30:21.428 Okay, Lord, you heard him. 00:30:21.428 --> 00:30:22.691 And it's true. 00:30:22.691 --> 00:30:27.346 Each and every one of us are called to be missionaries. 00:30:27.346 --> 00:30:34.425 Being part of God's family means we are all sent to others with the good news of salvation from sin and death. 00:30:34.425 --> 00:30:38.134 That is part of our identity as the family of God. 00:30:38.134 --> 00:30:40.263 This is part of who we are. 00:30:40.263 --> 00:30:41.188 It's part of our DNA. 00:30:41.188 --> 00:30:42.845 It's in us. 00:30:42.845 --> 00:30:49.551 It should be so much a part of us that we can't help but participate in it. 00:30:49.551 --> 00:31:00.991 Right, Some of us are called to share the gospel with our neighbors next door and some of us are called to share the gospel with our neighbors around the world. 00:31:00.991 --> 00:31:05.590 But we're all called to share the gospel with our neighbors. 00:31:08.502 --> 00:31:14.829 Number two to reach non-Christians with the gospel message, we need special programs and targeted evangelistic activities. 00:31:14.829 --> 00:31:15.861 Again, not wrong. 00:31:15.861 --> 00:31:20.030 There's a time and place for special events and strategies. 00:31:20.030 --> 00:31:29.005 However, scripture and history make it clear that God intends to reach non-Christians through the normal activity of the church. 00:31:29.005 --> 00:31:32.772 Can we say normal activity and put it in the same sentence as church. 00:31:32.772 --> 00:31:38.925 Yes, the normal activity of the church, the early church in the book of Acts, chapter two. 00:31:39.406 --> 00:31:41.980 What kinds of normal activities were they involved with? 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:43.544 What did they do together? 00:31:43.544 --> 00:31:47.111 Cookouts, yeah, they had they. 00:31:47.111 --> 00:31:53.633 They worshiped, they prayed together, they fellowship together, they took the Lord's supper together. 00:31:53.633 --> 00:31:58.650 And they also what they shared all of their belongings with each other. 00:31:58.650 --> 00:32:02.707 Would you want to be a part of a community like that? 00:32:02.707 --> 00:32:09.807 Yeah, it was in the natural rhythms of life. 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:15.582 You know, one of the things that they did that was very strategic is they met in large settings, like in Solomon's Porch, which was a large area outside of. 00:32:15.582 --> 00:32:18.411 The things that they did was very strategic is they met in large settings, like in Solomon's porch, which was a large, large area outside of the temple. 00:32:18.411 --> 00:32:20.314 But they also met in homes. 00:32:20.314 --> 00:32:22.968 You know what they learned when they met in homes? 00:32:22.968 --> 00:32:25.648 They learned how a husband should treat his wife. 00:32:25.648 --> 00:32:29.730 They learned how Christian parents train their children. 00:32:29.730 --> 00:32:35.525 They learned how people have disagreements and work through those things to come to a place of peace. 00:32:36.881 --> 00:32:38.567 You know what the Lord did with the early church. 00:32:38.567 --> 00:32:45.367 It says and we talk about the 3,000 that were added to them in one day that was a miraculous, just hand of God, a work of God. 00:32:45.367 --> 00:32:46.612 That was a revival. 00:32:46.612 --> 00:33:08.836 But it says afterward that, day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved, Just the natural rhythms of life meeting together, doing life together, experiencing these things together and inviting those who don't yet know Jesus to participate in that life, in that community. 00:33:08.836 --> 00:33:21.861 That's what made the difference, made the difference. 00:33:21.881 --> 00:33:24.046 You know, one of the things that you need to know this morning. 00:33:24.046 --> 00:33:27.454 Just this is off my notes, but a whole community being on mission looks like this. 00:33:27.454 --> 00:33:47.811 It looks like somebody making a freezer meal for somebody that's been in the hospital and taking that freezer meal to them, or making sure Mona, or whoever it is that's going to be the designated driver, gets that food to them, Because you know where does the word of that go from there. 00:33:47.811 --> 00:33:52.442 So the person that you're providing the freezer meal to, are they blessed by that? 00:33:52.442 --> 00:33:59.815 But when those that are taking care of them come around because they've just had surgery, whatever the case is, what do they hear? 00:33:59.815 --> 00:34:05.510 They hear the good news about how somebody in our church provided this meal for us. 00:34:05.510 --> 00:34:07.502 Why would they do something like that? 00:34:07.502 --> 00:34:10.909 Well, because we're a part of a family. 00:34:10.909 --> 00:34:13.702 We have a spiritual family. 00:34:13.702 --> 00:34:15.148 You understand what I'm saying here. 00:34:15.148 --> 00:34:27.407 What I'm saying is that the message of the gospel needs to be declared, but all of us have a part, from baking cookies, cleaning, you know I could list a thousand different things. 00:34:27.407 --> 00:34:36.266 We can all be on mission together, even if we're not all speaking the words of the gospel simultaneously, if that makes sense, right? 00:34:36.266 --> 00:34:42.889 Wouldn't it be awesome to be known in this community as the church that we can't live without? 00:34:47.581 --> 00:34:49.969 My greatest fear, and Derek and I talk about this a lot. 00:34:49.969 --> 00:34:54.690 What if our church disappeared in a day and the community never noticed? 00:34:54.690 --> 00:35:02.951 What if you disappeared from your neighborhood and the community never noticed? 00:35:02.951 --> 00:35:09.413 What if you disappeared from your house and the people in your house never noticed? 00:35:09.413 --> 00:35:13.489 That's a deeper problem for another day, right? 00:35:15.740 --> 00:35:21.172 The third thing misconception is that some people are gifted by God as evangelists to win people to Christ. 00:35:21.172 --> 00:35:25.351 Others are gifted to serve the church and focus entirely on discipleship. 00:35:25.351 --> 00:35:33.293 The answer is that the fuller truth is no gift or personality type is exempt from the mission of God through the church. 00:35:33.293 --> 00:35:38.311 There is diversity in our gifts and roles, but unity in our calling. 00:35:38.311 --> 00:35:41.789 Some of you have a natural gift for hospitality. 00:35:41.789 --> 00:35:46.119 Use that as a means for evangelism, for reaching people. 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:49.010 Some of you have a natural gift for giving gifts. 00:35:49.010 --> 00:35:53.251 Use that as a means for evangelism, right? 00:35:53.251 --> 00:35:57.326 So we want to be a church. 00:35:57.326 --> 00:36:01.380 Tcc wants to be a church full of people that live on mission together. 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:02.523 Are you in agreement with that? 00:36:02.523 --> 00:36:03.708 Are you with me? 00:36:03.708 --> 00:36:08.204 All right, you don't even have to be with me, you can just be with the Lord. 00:36:08.204 --> 00:36:09.588 Are you with Jesus on this? 00:36:09.588 --> 00:36:12.481 Yeah, it's his mission that he's calling us to. 00:36:12.481 --> 00:36:14.365 So what does that look like? 00:36:14.365 --> 00:36:18.233 Number one living on mission in relationships. 00:36:18.739 --> 00:36:21.027 Here's a question that I asked our elder team this week. 00:36:21.027 --> 00:36:27.811 But I asked myself first, does each of us have genuine friendships with non-Christians? 00:36:27.811 --> 00:36:33.137 How many of us could say honestly, honestly, that we have a genuine? 00:36:33.137 --> 00:36:35.226 Now, here's how I want to define it. 00:36:35.226 --> 00:36:45.320 They would call you a friend, right, Because we might call somebody a friend that knows us, but there's no friendship going on, right? 00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:52.230 But do we have any non-Christians in our lives that would call us a friend of theirs? 00:36:52.230 --> 00:36:55.494 And if not, why not? 00:36:55.639 --> 00:37:03.809 Have you noticed that the longer that people are Christians, the longer that they are in church life, the further away they get from anybody who doesn't know Jesus? 00:37:03.809 --> 00:37:05.532 It's like what is it? 00:37:05.532 --> 00:37:09.045