Thank you for joining us this morning to learn and grow in your walk or search for God. Our prayers are with you and our fellowship is freely given in the name of Jesus Christ.
Today, we continue our series on “Who are we?” with the final question, “What are we to do?”. My hope is that you will hear what God is trying to tell you today and you will respond to His call in your life.
I want to touch on the following “to do” items: Evangelism, Discipleship, Missions, and Giving. To start with, let us look at a Scripture that covers all four of the “to do” items.
Matthew 28: 18-20 NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 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,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
When you accept the gift of grace from God, are baptized and the Holy Spirit indwells in you, then you are ready for what Jesus says in this passage. Go and do the same thing to all people in the world. This is evangelism, discipleship, missions and giving in action – your action!
Dr. Bruce Milne states in his book, “Dynamic Diversity”, that all Christian congregations, everywhere, are called to be just that – bridging-places, centers of reconciliation, where all the major diversities that separate human beings are overcome through the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit. [1]
Acts 1:6-9 NIV
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Witnessing happens wherever you are, at home or afar! Jesus is clear when He says Jerusalem (Home) and then Judea and Samaria (Jews and Gentiles) and finally the ends of the earth (overseas).
Romans 10: 16-18 NIV
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Luis Palau, in his booklet “God at the Center” states: Evangelism is not an option in the Christian life. Whether by preaching or praying, travelling around the globe or speaking to those next door, we should all have a part in winning the world to Jesus Christ. [2]
Again, clearly showing that the purpose of Christians is to share the Gospel message to the whole world. You are called to do your part wherever you hear God calling you to – at home or abroad!
Promise keepers gives this list of elements required for the Discipleship process to see change in a person: Capture their heart, renew their mind, and engage his hands. Put another way: Ignite the heart, equip the mind and impact the hands. [3]
Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The direction is for all Christians to disciple new Christians. We are a family and the older members are to teach the younger ones. Just like a family, many times the older ones learn from the younger ones too. Let’s help each other grow in our relationship to Christ.
From Baptist World Alliance’s “Message” we get this comment on missions.
“Declare that God gives spiritual gifts to believers who are called to live a life of worship, service and mission. These gifts are discerned and confirmed by the believing community together.
Know that in the Great Commission, every believer, empowered by God, is called to be a missionary, learning and sharing more of Christ that the world might believe;” [4]
We all have gifts from God! We are to use them to build each other up in our walk with Jesus and to reach out to those who do not yet know who Jesus is or His wonderful love.
John 15:12-17 NIV
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
17 This is my command: Love each other.
I found this statement written without an author but I like what it says: “The Gospel does not change, but how we reach people with it does.” We need to adapt to each new cultural and societal model so we can effectively reach those who do not know Christ as Savior.
Shannon Youell, from CBWC Church Planting, stated in her article last week:
With our theme of “Join us on mission in your neighbourhood” and our new engagement cards in hand, we handed out copious amounts of candy, CBWC pens and lip balms (very popular by the way!) and fielded all sorts of questions and remarks. Unremarkably, most of the questions had nothing to do with what we were promoting. In fact, many who stopped at our booth couldn’t quite make the connection between “mission” and “in your neighbourhood.” One man peering at our banner argued that “it’s not mission if it’s not in another country.”
This was surprising to me, in as much as Jesus called us to be on mission both where we live, in our city, in our nation and to all the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). I wonder how it is that many see missions as only in a foreign land, far away from where we are. My cynical side says it’s because when mission is seen as far away, we can stay comfortably home and support others to go–which, of course, we should be supporting! But using it as an opt-out to be a minister right here of Christ’s work of reconciling man to God and to one another, is a travesty. [5]
She continues:
Mostly, what MissionsFest revealed to us is that there is still so much work to do as leaders. We must disciple others to understand the calling of Jesus to join Him at His work of delivering justice, mercy, hope, grace, salvation, and love to those whom these things have not yet been realized. To remind us that right next door to us—whether next door means our homes, our seat on our commute, our work place or where we hang out—there are people who are lost in the lost-ness of identity without Christ. Wherever we are, we are the one to help them find God.
God is a missionary God and He sends. He sent Abraham on mission. He sent the prophets. He sent John. He sent Jesus. He sent the disciples. He sent Paul. He sent Barnabas. He sends you and He sends me. On mission. In our neighbourhoods. [6]
1 Peter 4:7-10 NIV
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
Recently I came across this sage advice from Ann Voskamp:
“True, people may be angry, GIVE THEM love ANYWAY.
People may not like your way, GIVE THEM kindness ANYWAY.
People may be divisive, GIVE THEM dignity ANYWAY.
People may be indifferent, GIVE THEM genuine attention ANYWAY.
People may build fences, GIVE THEM a gate ANYWAY.
People may disagree with you,
GIVE THEM space at the table ANYWAY.” [7]
Galatians 6:9, 10 NIV
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Thank you for walking with me on the path to see “Who We Are!”
We started with “Where are your roots?” and looked at the ordinance of Communion. Next, we looked at “What do you believe?” and the ordinance of Baptism. Third week, we looked at “Do you belong?” and the purpose for membership. Today we finished with “What are we to do?” and the focus of missions, discipleship, giving and evangelism.
My hope is that through this past four weeks, you have discovered more of how to be a Christian and walk in this world. Being challenged in your faith is always a growing experience and God wants us all to grow closer to Him.
Leave a Reply