Tyler Lynde: Okay, let's turn in our Bibles, if we could, to 2 Corinthians, 5, verse 17,.
Tyler Lynde: And we'll get started here this morning.
Tyler Lynde: Over the last 10 weeks, we've studied some very important truths, haven't we?
Tyler Lynde: We've been looking at this book called Gospel-Centered Community.
Tyler Lynde: We learned about the theology of community, which is that God made us for community.
Tyler Lynde: Sin destroys community.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus redeems us for community, and in community, both sides of that.
Tyler Lynde: We looked at how community shapes our understanding of what Christ has done for us, along with applying it to our lives.
Tyler Lynde: We also considered how the gospel works to form and transform our experience of community.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: And then we spent some weeks talking about different characteristics of biblical community, including joy, humility, honesty and grace.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: A Community on Mission.
Tyler Lynde: So let's look at 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 17 through 21.
Tyler Lynde: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
Tyler Lynde: The old has passed away.
Tyler Lynde: Behold, the new has come.
Tyler Lynde: All this is from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is.
Tyler Lynde: In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself.
Tyler Lynde: In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Tyler Lynde: Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
Tyler Lynde: We implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God For our sake.
Tyler Lynde: He made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: And, Father, we pray for those around the world today who don't find themselves in places where they can freely gather.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: We pray, we give you the thanks In Jesus' name.
Tyler Lynde: We pray, Amen, Amen.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Now, that's not his given name, but that's the name that was given to him.
Tyler Lynde: Does that make sense?
Tyler Lynde: So he was a larger than life character.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: I was a little scared but anyway.
Tyler Lynde: But I loved my grandpa, my brother and I.
Tyler Lynde: He always referred to us as the boys.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: It was pretty much smoke signals, right.
Tyler Lynde: And so we never knew fully when he was going to show up.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: There's a rock and there's a pipe there that's in the rock and water comes out.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Again, I don't know the full source of it, but I know it's pure and really good.
Tyler Lynde: And so we pulled over there to get some water and my grandfather looked at me and he said son, open the glove compartment.
Tyler Lynde: So you know you don't.
Tyler Lynde: First of all, you never said no to my grandfather At least I didn't, right.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So two dogs like that that were trained but not well-trained.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So there's a Folgers can full of water and a Folgers can full of some kind of dry dog food.
Tyler Lynde: Back then they didn't do all the specialty type foods with the allergies.
Tyler Lynde: I don't know what's happened since then, but anyway, don't get me started.
Tyler Lynde: So that's a rabbit trail.
Tyler Lynde: We won't go down there, but anyway.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: And so my grandfather asked me to open the glove compartment.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Do you guys remember government cheese?
Tyler Lynde: It kind of is like in the shape of Velveeta, but it was really good.
Tyler Lynde: I don't know what it was about, that government cheese, but it was really good.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So that's what was in his glove compartment.
Tyler Lynde: Then he pulls his knife off of his side and he hands it to me.
Tyler Lynde: And this knife was well used and well traveled.
Tyler Lynde: I'm not sure when the last time it got cleaned, but it wasn't today, if that makes sense.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So I'm doing that and you know I hand it over to him quickly.
Tyler Lynde: You know I didn't want him to think I was dilly-dallying, right.
Tyler Lynde: So I handed over to him and he goes you eat it.
Tyler Lynde: And this is a saying.
Tyler Lynde: I haven't heard this saying in a long time, but my grandpa said it'll grow hair on your chest.
Tyler Lynde: Remember that saying I don't know.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: It was pretty good.
Tyler Lynde: So, anyway, I could go on for hours and hours telling you stories about my grandpa, Timberjack Joe.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So he was speaking very loudly about how God had intersected and changed his life.
Tyler Lynde: And at the end of his conversation he says to my grandpa, are you ready to be a believer?
Tyler Lynde: And my grandpa says nope.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: I'm sure it wasn't very long, but as an eight-year-old kid it seemed like a very long hill.
Tyler Lynde: And about halfway up I looked at my grandpa and I said grandpa, don't you want to go to heaven with me?
Tyler Lynde: And he said, yes, I do, son.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: He was born again.
Tyler Lynde: Now I'm not here to take the credit for that.
Tyler Lynde: There was a whole community of people who had been witnessing to my grandfather for a long time.
Tyler Lynde: God had been intervening through a community of believers that were on mission.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Are you ready for that?
Tyler Lynde: All right, so let's look at three common misconceptions about missions and missionaries.
Tyler Lynde: These are ways that people tend to view missions and view missionaries, but they aren't.
Tyler Lynde: It's not that they're completely wrong, but they're not fully thought out or fully spoken.
Tyler Lynde: So let's look at them.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Is that a definition for missionaries?
Tyler Lynde: Yes, it is, but it's not a full definition for missions right.
Tyler Lynde: Number two to but it's not a full definition for missions right.
Tyler Lynde: Number two to reach non-Christians with the gospel message.
Tyler Lynde: We need special programs and targeted evangelistic activities.
Tyler Lynde: Is that fully true?
Tyler Lynde: Not necessarily.
Tyler Lynde: Is it a truth?
Tyler Lynde: That can be.
Tyler Lynde: Is it something that can work?
Tyler Lynde: Absolutely, it can work and God can use those things.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Number three some people are gifted by God as evangelists to win people to Christ.
Tyler Lynde: Others are gifted to serve the church and focus entirely on discipleship.
Tyler Lynde: Again, that sounds really nice and almost like Christian in the way that it's said, and is it partially true?
Tyler Lynde: It is partially true, but it's not just evangelists who are called to be witnesses and to be missionaries, right?
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: That was the driving force behind Paul's ministry.
Tyler Lynde: He was a missionary at heart and he continually, wherever he was, he was on mission with God.
Tyler Lynde: He makes it clear here that he's doing so as an extension of God's mission, which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: It's God's mission and we get to be, we get to participate in it.
Tyler Lynde: It's God's work, it's God's mission that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: He also indicates that those who are truly followers of Jesus Christ must be on mission together.
Tyler Lynde: So we're going to break this down together this morning.
Tyler Lynde: Number one you can't be a church on mission if your members aren't born again.
Tyler Lynde: Just let that sink in for a minute.
Tyler Lynde: You can't be a church on mission if your church members aren't born again.
Tyler Lynde: One of the proofs of true conversion is what?
Tyler Lynde: How do you know if a person is truly born again?
Tyler Lynde: It's a radically changed life.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Today is your day.
Tyler Lynde: Don't miss the opportunity.
Tyler Lynde: Paul says here again, in this passage therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new.
Tyler Lynde: What Creation?
Tyler Lynde: The old has passed away.
Tyler Lynde: Behold, the new has come.
Tyler Lynde: That's good news.
Tyler Lynde: These verses are written to all believers, but remember, he starts out with anyone.
Tyler Lynde: He makes it individualistic, because it's not just a church that can be saved.
Tyler Lynde: We as individuals must be saved.
Tyler Lynde: It's not just a family that is saved.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you know that every generation within that family must be saved?
Tyler Lynde: It's an individual faith that, then, is to be spread collectively.
Tyler Lynde: Right?
Tyler Lynde: We can't experience being a missional church if our members aren't Christians.
Tyler Lynde: In other words, it's not enough to just mentally assent to something.
Tyler Lynde: Yes, I believe that Jesus came to this earth.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: I believe that he's one of many gods.
Tyler Lynde: These are all things that people believe and hold on to, but they're not enough.
Tyler Lynde: It's not enough to just mentally agree with something.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Amen.
Tyler Lynde: Those who were thieves before should steal no more.
Tyler Lynde: Those who were involved in adultery before should no longer be involved in sexual sin.
Tyler Lynde: Those who you could name any sin that you want to place in that category, Fill in the blank.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: I'm a brand new person, a new creation, a new creature.
Tyler Lynde: This is like a dog changing into a cat.
Tyler Lynde: This is I.
Tyler Lynde: Once was lost and now I'm found.
Tyler Lynde: This is a complete polar opposite of what we once were.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Here's my question How's that working for you?
Tyler Lynde: Not well.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you know that?
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: This is the spirit of God that transforms us, and we can't make it happen on our own.
Tyler Lynde: Here's good news Ready, True.
Tyler Lynde: Change can happen because Jesus made a way for us to be made right with God.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus made a way for you and I to be made right with God.
Tyler Lynde: Paul goes on in the passage in 2 Corinthians to say all this is from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself.
Tyler Lynde: What does that word reconcile mean?
Tyler Lynde: You see it repeated like six times in this passage.
Tyler Lynde: What does it mean to be reconciled to somebody, To what To be drawn back to right?
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: So what is required in order for reconciliation to happen?
Tyler Lynde: Forgiveness, Forgiveness.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: That's amazing to me.
Tyler Lynde: See, sin separates us from God, but through Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled.
Tyler Lynde: All of us, from Adam forward, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Tyler Lynde: This is the truth.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: But it doesn't stop there.
Tyler Lynde: But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: By taking God's wrath upon himself, Jesus made peace with God by the blood of his cross.
Tyler Lynde: He was then what, Raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, proving his authority over death, hell and the grave.
Tyler Lynde: He and my question is does that still give you goosebumps?
Tyler Lynde: Does it still enthrall you that God would care this much about you and I?
Tyler Lynde: Or has it become just a part of our Christian lingo, a part of our Christian language, a part of our celebration?
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: You see, we are offered this free gift of salvation that is the costliest gift ever purchased, Is the costliest gift ever purchased.
Tyler Lynde: So next in the passage we see that Christians are all called, all called to the ministry of reconciliation.
Tyler Lynde: Paul says and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
Tyler Lynde: Paul says and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ.
Tyler Lynde: God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.
Tyler Lynde: Powerful words.
Tyler Lynde: We have received this great gift of reconciliation and guess what we get to do now?
Tyler Lynde: God tags us and says you're it?
Tyler Lynde: Guess what we get to do now?
Tyler Lynde: God tags us and says you're it?
Tyler Lynde: We get to represent the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our daily lives, with everyone that we encounter.
Tyler Lynde: We get to be a part of the reconciliation project and process that God is involved with.
Tyler Lynde: He's calling us to daily live in that place.
Tyler Lynde: We are called to the ministry of reconciliation.
Tyler Lynde: This is not a ministry that is exclusive to those found in Ephesians, chapter 4.
Tyler Lynde: It's not the job of evangelists, pastors, prophets, teachers to do this work alone.
Tyler Lynde: What are we supposed to do To equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
Tyler Lynde: Why are we doing this sermon series?
Tyler Lynde: To equip you to do what God has called you to do.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: Not necessarily anything wrong with that, but guess what?
Tyler Lynde: You're all equipped.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Ministers of reconciliation share a message of reconciliation from God to those who are lost.
Tyler Lynde: Paul says that we are entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: God's given us the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ to proclaim in this earth.
Tyler Lynde: Why is the United States in the condition it's in?
Tyler Lynde: In my opinion, because the church has remained silent.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: How in the world do we blame political parties for the condition of our nation?
Tyler Lynde: Condition of the nation rises and falls upon the people, the people of God in that nation.
Tyler Lynde: We have a chance to make a difference.
Tyler Lynde: We have a chance to see this nation come back to its foundation.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Do you remember who first shared the truth with you?
Tyler Lynde: Aren't you glad that they embraced this mindset?
Tyler Lynde: Aren't you glad that they chose to be missionaries?
Tyler Lynde: I just want to thank my mom, person who's probably watching this morning.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: I don't know if you have young people in your house that ask questions, but I asked a lot.
Tyler Lynde: I wanted to know everything.
Tyler Lynde: I asked a lot of questions as a kid and one of the questions I was asking my mom was about Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: And she looked at me and said Tyler, do you want to believe, Do you want to put your faith in Jesus?
Tyler Lynde: And I said yes, and we prayed together in that bathroom.
Tyler Lynde: And I'm not saying that's for everyone, Obviously everybody's story is a little different.
Tyler Lynde: But for me, man, that began a complete.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So I'm not saying that.
Tyler Lynde: But I don't have the testimony of some people, although I've got lots of sin that I could talk about.
Tyler Lynde: So I'm not saying that.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Those kind of testimonies that keep you on the edge of your seat when you're listening to them.
Tyler Lynde: Right, and I was complaining to the Lord one time about that.
Tyler Lynde: You ever complained to the Lord?
Tyler Lynde: You read the book of Psalms?
Tyler Lynde: It's okay.
Tyler Lynde: Complain to the Lord, you read the book of Psalms, it's okay.
Tyler Lynde: You can do that.
Tyler Lynde: Just be ready for him to fix it.
Tyler Lynde: He's going to correct it, right, and here's what the Lord said to me.
Tyler Lynde: You know you could be thankful that I kept you from all of that stuff.
Tyler Lynde: That's a testimony, Isn't it?
Tyler Lynde: We've been given this great privilege of sharing the greatest thing that's ever happened in our life with everyone else.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: How many of you talked about the weather this week with anybody?
Tyler Lynde: It is the most, I'd say.
Tyler Lynde: Probably hands down is the most common topic of conversation, right?
Tyler Lynde: By the way, I've already checked it's going to be 95 and humid this week.
Tyler Lynde: So it's a great missional opportunity, right?
Tyler Lynde: Because we can say I'm so thankful I'm not going to hell.
Tyler Lynde: Sorry, that was not in my notes, Mark.
Tyler Lynde: We'll talk about it on Tuesday.
Tyler Lynde: I'm going to ask forgiveness now for bringing that up.
Tyler Lynde: Oh my gosh.
Tyler Lynde: But yeah, we have this privilege.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: We're far from it.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: He didn't understand what it meant to be persecuted for righteousness sake.
Tyler Lynde: Oh my gosh.
Tyler Lynde: The words are important, but so is the life.
Tyler Lynde: The imagery here is beautiful.
Tyler Lynde: Think about it.
Tyler Lynde: You see God calling us to himself and sending us out to work for him.
Tyler Lynde: We are ambassadors of heaven declaring a message, God's message, to the world.
Tyler Lynde: What is this message?
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: This is the message that we proclaim.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: He says we implore you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God For our sake.
Tyler Lynde: He made him to Do you hear the seriousness of Paul's tone.
Tyler Lynde: Implore them, beg them, plead with them, reason with them.
Tyler Lynde: This is not like a lifestyle suggestion, like you should only eat meat or you only eat carbs.
Tyler Lynde: Is there a diet where you can only eat carbs?
Tyler Lynde: Actually, I've been on that diet before.
Tyler Lynde: It's called life.
Tyler Lynde: It's not a lifestyle suggestion.
Tyler Lynde: You guys realize this is eternity we're dealing with.
Tyler Lynde: This is life and death.
Tyler Lynde: This is forever right.
Tyler Lynde: Think about that.
Tyler Lynde: So the seriousness of Paul's tone.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: And then he goes on to just reiterate help us to understand that we need to share the gospel with people.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus paid the price so that we could be saved.
Tyler Lynde: So let's go back now into our misconceptions and let's reread these, and then we're going to add to them, Right?
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: Is that fully true?
Tyler Lynde: No, here's the fullness of it.
Tyler Lynde: All Christians are missionaries.
Tyler Lynde: If you're a believer this morning, say I'm a missionary.
Tyler Lynde: Okay, Lord, you heard him.
Tyler Lynde: And it's true.
Tyler Lynde: Each and every one of us are called to be missionaries.
Tyler Lynde: Being part of God's family means we are all sent to others with the good news of salvation from sin and death.
Tyler Lynde: That is part of our identity as the family of God.
Tyler Lynde: This is part of who we are.
Tyler Lynde: It's part of our DNA.
Tyler Lynde: It's in us.
Tyler Lynde: It should be so much a part of us that we can't help but participate in it.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: But we're all called to share the gospel with our neighbors.
Tyler Lynde: Number two to reach non-Christians with the gospel message, we need special programs and targeted evangelistic activities.
Tyler Lynde: Again, not wrong.
Tyler Lynde: There's a time and place for special events and strategies.
Tyler Lynde: However, scripture and history make it clear that God intends to reach non-Christians through the normal activity of the church.
Tyler Lynde: Can we say normal activity and put it in the same sentence as church.
Tyler Lynde: Yes, the normal activity of the church, the early church in the book of Acts, chapter two.
Tyler Lynde: What kinds of normal activities were they involved with?
Tyler Lynde: What did they do together?
Tyler Lynde: Cookouts, yeah, they had they.
Tyler Lynde: They worshiped, they prayed together, they fellowship together, they took the Lord's supper together.
Tyler Lynde: And they also what they shared all of their belongings with each other.
Tyler Lynde: Would you want to be a part of a community like that?
Tyler Lynde: Yeah, it was in the natural rhythms of life.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: But they also met in homes.
Tyler Lynde: You know what they learned when they met in homes?
Tyler Lynde: They learned how a husband should treat his wife.
Tyler Lynde: They learned how Christian parents train their children.
Tyler Lynde: They learned how people have disagreements and work through those things to come to a place of peace.
Tyler Lynde: You know what the Lord did with the early church.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: That was a revival.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: That's what made the difference, made the difference.
Tyler Lynde: You know, one of the things that you need to know this morning.
Tyler Lynde: Just this is off my notes, but a whole community being on mission looks like this.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: So the person that you're providing the freezer meal to, are they blessed by that?
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: They hear the good news about how somebody in our church provided this meal for us.
Tyler Lynde: Why would they do something like that?
Tyler Lynde: Well, because we're a part of a family.
Tyler Lynde: We have a spiritual family.
Tyler Lynde: You understand what I'm saying here.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: Wouldn't it be awesome to be known in this community as the church that we can't live without?
Tyler Lynde: My greatest fear, and Derek and I talk about this a lot.
Tyler Lynde: What if our church disappeared in a day and the community never noticed?
Tyler Lynde: What if you disappeared from your neighborhood and the community never noticed?
Tyler Lynde: What if you disappeared from your house and the people in your house never noticed?
Tyler Lynde: That's a deeper problem for another day, right?
Tyler Lynde: The third thing misconception is that some people are gifted by God as evangelists to win people to Christ.
Tyler Lynde: Others are gifted to serve the church and focus entirely on discipleship.
Tyler Lynde: The answer is that the fuller truth is no gift or personality type is exempt from the mission of God through the church.
Tyler Lynde: There is diversity in our gifts and roles, but unity in our calling.
Tyler Lynde: Some of you have a natural gift for hospitality.
Tyler Lynde: Use that as a means for evangelism, for reaching people.
Tyler Lynde: Some of you have a natural gift for giving gifts.
Tyler Lynde: Use that as a means for evangelism, right?
Tyler Lynde: So we want to be a church.
Tyler Lynde: Tcc wants to be a church full of people that live on mission together.
Tyler Lynde: Are you in agreement with that?
Tyler Lynde: Are you with me?
Tyler Lynde: All right, you don't even have to be with me, you can just be with the Lord.
Tyler Lynde: Are you with Jesus on this?
Tyler Lynde: Yeah, it's his mission that he's calling us to.
Tyler Lynde: So what does that look like?
Tyler Lynde: Number one living on mission in relationships.
Tyler Lynde: Here's a question that I asked our elder team this week.
Tyler Lynde: But I asked myself first, does each of us have genuine friendships with non-Christians?
Tyler Lynde: How many of us could say honestly, honestly, that we have a genuine?
Tyler Lynde: Now, here's how I want to define it.
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: But do we have any non-Christians in our lives that would call us a friend of theirs?
Tyler Lynde: And if not, why not?
Tyler Lynde: 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?
Tyler Lynde: It's like what is it?
Tyler Lynde: Eight, seven degrees of what's the Kevin Bacon state?
Tyler Lynde: Yeah, six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.
Tyler Lynde: I don't know.
Tyler Lynde: I don't know the whole thing, but anyway, it's like we're close to a lot of people that, like you can name a person, you could probably get there in six degrees.
Tyler Lynde: Right, how about with the lost?
Tyler Lynde: How many degrees away are we from anybody who doesn't know Jesus?
Tyler Lynde: How about with the lost?
Tyler Lynde: How many degrees away are we from anybody who doesn't know Jesus?
Tyler Lynde: Does our church create space to engage those people together?
Tyler Lynde: Do our community groups welcome outsiders?
Tyler Lynde: Do our ongoing house churches, community groups, do they live on mission together?
Tyler Lynde: Are they looking for opportunities to serve and give them themselves to people who don't yet know Jesus?
Tyler Lynde: Do we know each other's non-Christian friends?
Tyler Lynde: Well, no, I couldn't bring them around then They'd ruin it.
Tyler Lynde: Well, that's the truth.
Tyler Lynde: We need to deal with that.
Tyler Lynde: Right, so we need to live on mission in relationships.
Tyler Lynde: Second, we need to live on mission in prayer.
Tyler Lynde: Are we praying for specific non-christians in our lives and neighborhood?
Tyler Lynde: I have a prayer app that I use, called prayer mate, and one of the things that I have that comes up each day is one of my neighbor's names pops up for me to pray for them.
Tyler Lynde: To pray for them, but really to pray for me.
Tyler Lynde: To pray for me that I'll have the boldness and the courage to represent Christ to them in some kind of way today.
Tyler Lynde: You know how many times that has stopped me from blowing the horn when I wanted to blow the horn, or from giving somebody a look that I wanted to give them, or whatever.
Tyler Lynde: The case is right.
Tyler Lynde: Are we praying for people to be saved?
Tyler Lynde: Are our prayers focused primarily on our own needs and problems, or are we praying for conviction of sin and conversion of unbelievers?
Tyler Lynde: Friends, this should be normal for us.
Tyler Lynde: This is not outside.
Tyler Lynde: I'm not teaching you something this morning that is like radical or far outside of what should be norm.
Tyler Lynde: This is the norm.
Tyler Lynde: This should be the way that we live our lives as believers.
Tyler Lynde: Third, we should live on mission in our attitude and speech.
Tyler Lynde: Let's not.
Tyler Lynde: Can we just skip this one?
Tyler Lynde: Third, we should live on mission in our attitude and speech.
Tyler Lynde: Let's not.
Tyler Lynde: Can we just skip this one?
Tyler Lynde: Is our language accessible to outsiders or do our conversations tend to be sprinkled with Christian lingo?
Tyler Lynde: Are you covered with the precious blood of Jesus?
Tyler Lynde: Yes, we are, but how many of you know an unbeliever hearing that is going to think what kind of crazy people are these Right?
Tyler Lynde: Do we have inside jokes just amongst ourselves that nobody from the outside could ever understand?
Tyler Lynde: They're always going to be outsiders, or church references that only make sense to our tribe.
Tyler Lynde: Are we thinking about what we speak and how we speak it?
Tyler Lynde: Do we speak positively of our city and nation and those who don't know Christ?
Tyler Lynde: I could name a few names and just ask ourselves the question what kind of words have we spoken recently about these people?
Tyler Lynde: Do we display humility by not taking ourselves too seriously, admitting our weaknesses and not being defensive or rude toward our critics?
Tyler Lynde: Are unbelievers glad to know us, even if they don't believe?
Tyler Lynde: The gospel man this is, this is.
Tyler Lynde: I should have given this message to Mark.
Tyler Lynde: He could have done this with a smile.
Tyler Lynde: The problem is he's already living it.
Tyler Lynde: He's a great example to all of us, and I could name a thousand.
Tyler Lynde: You know there's not a thousand people here.
Tyler Lynde: That's hyperbole, Preachers, hyperbole right.
Tyler Lynde: Third or fourth.
Tyler Lynde: Fourth, we should live on mission in activity and presence.
Tyler Lynde: Do we gather in a place that non-Christians find hospitable and welcoming.
Tyler Lynde: We've done everything we can with this pig to put some lipstick on it, haven't we?
Tyler Lynde: If you guys remember those of you who were here when we first moved in there was, I cannot believe the change that has occurred within this facility over the years, and we thank God for it.
Tyler Lynde: Are we actively engaging the neighborhood in which we gather or do we just drop in, study the Bible and head out again?
Tyler Lynde: Do outsiders see us working for the good of the neighborhood or only furthering the needs of our own group?
Tyler Lynde: So, now that we're in this place of maybe feeling a little bit convicted this morning I know that I am and I have been how do we deal with this?
Tyler Lynde: How do we apply the gospel to these kinds of areas in our life, Our lack of being a community on mission?
Tyler Lynde: It's very simple.
Tyler Lynde: It's three words Repent, believe and act.
Tyler Lynde: What sin do we need to repent of?
Tyler Lynde: Just think about that within your own mind and heart.
Tyler Lynde: What sin is it that you need to repent of when it comes to being on mission or maybe not being on mission?
Tyler Lynde: Believe what grace do we need to ask for and accept from God?
Tyler Lynde: Remember, we cannot change on our own.
Tyler Lynde: We must put our faith and hope and trust in a living God who, by the power of His Holy Spirit, gives His grace to make changes in us that we cannot make in ourselves, and act.
Tyler Lynde: What practical action do we need to take?
Tyler Lynde: I talked about praying for my neighbors.
Tyler Lynde: The thing that started me praying for my neighbors is when I called one of them a drug addict.
Tyler Lynde: Yes, I did.
Tyler Lynde: They were being mean to me and to my family and I felt like I should just let them know that I was aware that they were doing drugs.
Tyler Lynde: And I heard the words coming out of my mouth and immediately my heart sunk because I knew that in that moment in time I had taken away the power of the gospel, I had damaged it.
Tyler Lynde: And so you know what I did.
Tyler Lynde: Immediately I said to this person I am so sorry, that is wrong.
Tyler Lynde: What I just said to you is wrong.
Tyler Lynde: I don't care if it's true or not or how I feel about you.
Tyler Lynde: I should never have said those words and I am sorry and I ask you to forgive me and, to the best of my ability, I'm not going to do anything like that again.
Tyler Lynde: I mean, God forbid.
Tyler Lynde: I hope that I could refrain from that kind of thing.
Tyler Lynde: What I'm saying to you is, guys, I don't care where you find yourself today, in what position, in what failure you consider yourself, there's room.
Tyler Lynde: There's room for grace, there's room for change.
Tyler Lynde: And now, since that day, I have done everything within my power and ability, by God's grace, to try to be an example and shine a light.
Tyler Lynde: And yes, there's been a couple more apologies along the way.
Tyler Lynde: An apology is one of the greatest witnessing tools ever made.
Tyler Lynde: We have something to be really excited about, More exciting than winning the lottery free groceries for a year, whatever you want to list.
Tyler Lynde: We have something to be really excited about.
Tyler Lynde: And yet this life that we live wants to beat us down and put us in a position where all we're thinking about is what Ourselves.
Tyler Lynde: This is a church on mission, and I want to encourage you.
Tyler Lynde: We've got a serve day coming up.
Tyler Lynde: That's just one way that we can use the gifts that God's given us to express the love of Jesus to people who don't know him yet.
Tyler Lynde: All right, just in time, would you stand with me?
Tyler Lynde: We're gonna pray and then we're gonna actually ask.
Tyler Lynde: Talk about serving on mission.
Tyler Lynde: We're gonna ask the Tanzania team they're leaving this week to go on a mission trip to Tanzania, and so we're gonna ask them to come and we're gonna pray over them and bless them on their way.
Tyler Lynde: They're coming, we're going to pray over them and bless them on their way.
Tyler Lynde: Let's just follow this three-step process, right?
Tyler Lynde: Let's take a minute just between you and God, and myself and God, and let's repent.
Tyler Lynde: If there are things this morning that you recognize that are keeping you from shining the light of Jesus in your actions and in your words, let's repent of that.
Tyler Lynde: Father.
Tyler Lynde: We take a moment now and we acknowledge to you our need.
Tyler Lynde: We will never change unless we acknowledge that we need help.
Tyler Lynde: And so, Father, I pray for myself and for many here.
Tyler Lynde: No-transcript.
Tyler Lynde: I just want to say to the parents in the room your greatest gospel opportunity is with your kids.
Tyler Lynde: Don't forget, this is not a transactional deal with them.
Tyler Lynde: It's not like you signed up and so they get the benefit they need to know Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: So don't think it's a small thing for you to shine the light of Jesus within the four walls of your home to your kids and your grandkids.
Tyler Lynde: Start there.
Tyler Lynde: So, Lord, we now ask for the gift of grace.
Tyler Lynde: Lord, we open our arms to you and our hearts and we ask that you would fill us with your faith.
Tyler Lynde: Help us to believe, Lord God, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that we can't help but share it with all of those that are around us.
Tyler Lynde: Help us, Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: We pray all of those that are around us.
Tyler Lynde: Help us, Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: We pray.
Tyler Lynde: And, Father, I also ask that you give us creative ideas, thoughts that we can combine as a community together, but also for us individually.
Tyler Lynde: Give us insight and inspiration.
Tyler Lynde: Show us, give us divine opportunities and doors that would open up for us Even this week.
Tyler Lynde: Lord God, I pray that it would be the testimony of this church that many lives were changed because of the sharing of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: Thank you for empowering us, Lord.
Tyler Lynde: We pray, like the early church did, for boldness and courage to speak in the name of Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: Fill us with your spirit and enable us to do this in Jesus' name, Amen.