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Mission Tahlequah report back. June 19, 2022

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Every Mission trip is different and this one was especially special. This one had so many unique stories that it is going to take all of us quite some time to process all that God did in and through us.

Thank you so much for all who contributed in finances to enable others to go. It was such an incredible blessing to see the Lord provide as He always does.

We began the mission by driving up to an overlook over the city and prayed together for the city and the people that we would be meeting during the week. As we were sitting there, the Lord took me to 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”

As we prayed over the city of Tahlequah, I felt the impact of years of lies spoken over these people. Lies of manipulation and fear, promising them wealth and prosperity, but never delivering. Lies of centuries of belief in ancestral worship.

As I was praying about this, I was reminded of Isaiah 59:14, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”

Truth has been removed from the public square in Tahlequah and in America. We must remember that truth is a person. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). As missionaries we are representatives of the truth.

The Lord sent us with a commission as verse 17 says. We came to the city and region around Tahlequah with an authority to proclaim the truth of God’s word, Commissioned by God.

We spread the fragrance of the aroma of Christ as we knocked on doors and met people in the streets. Some people were drawn to us. Drawn into conversation, like Robert who was sitting in his hot car in the middle of the day. He had just moved from California and has been told “you can live here as long as you like, but you will never belong.” It was a joy to be able to share with him the hope of eternal life and connect him with a local church family who would love him and treat him like family.

Then there were others who closed the door and hid behind the blinds of the windows.

We walked out verse 14 and had the joy of seeing lives impacted for eternity.

I asked the mission team to answer two questions on our final evening debrief; what did God show you this week? And what are you going to commit to doing moving forward?

Our son Joshua has many challenges in life, including autism, a brain injury from epilepsy and prolonged seizures in Kindergarten, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, etc. He really has intense struggles that I cannot relate to. On several occasions he was pushed way beyond his comfort zone and had some very tough moments.

When it was Joshua’s time to answer, he said the following: “God showed me that when I feel anxious, I am able to push through and keep going” I cannot tell you how much of a miracle that is. Then he said, “I commit to being a bold witness for God to introduce people to the Kingdom of God”. 

That was the best Father’s Day gift I could have received!

God sent us to a nation within a nation, the people of the Cherokee. I love the different people groups God has created. I love seeing different aspects of Gods character and nature as we fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ who have a different culture.

I was blessed to sit down to lunch with Tommy Flute. He began telling me how ten years ago the Lord set him free from twenty-five years of alcohol addiction. He is now a worship leader in his Church. He is one of only 1900 people who speak Cherokee as a first language.

In the early 1800’s a Cherokee man Sequoyah, developed the Cherokee syllabary a form of script consisting of 86 symbols that became the “alphabet” for the Cherokee people. The first book translated was the New Testament which became the first book for reading and study in the school system. As a result of keeping the Bible as their foundation, the Cherokee advanced far beyond other native American tribes. It is a powerful testimony to the life transforming – nation transforming, power of the Word of God.

I pray that we as a nation of many nations would once more place the Word of God as our foundation.

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Sermon, Sunday November 14, 2021 – The Local Mission of the Church

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If you are a believer in Jesus, you are his representative in your workplace, neighborhood and community. The city in which we live is our mission field. The church has been strategically placed by Jesus to impact the community that surrounds it.  

Philip was a faithful apostle and missionary who had followed the command of Jesus and went to Samaria to proclaim the Gospel. As a result of his work, there was a powerful move of God and the region was receiving Christ Jesus as Lord.

But, right at the height of what seemed to be a very successful mission, an angel sent from God  re-directs Philip and sends him to the desert (Acts 8:26).

We can learn four things from this account in Acts chapter 8.

1: Philip obeyed immediately.

Philip was experiencing the joys of ministry success, the Holy Spirit was moving, they even called in the big-name preachers, Peter, and John (Acts 8:14).  It would be understandable that he would want to stay there, but that was not God’s plan for him. God directed him to go south to the desert.

Philip could have had a dozen excuses, but he obeyed without hesitation.  When the opportunity comes for us to share the Good News with our co-worker or neighbor, are we prepared to go without hesitation? God directed Philip to the right person at the right time.

2: Philip listened to the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:29).

This is fundamental Christianity. Being a child of God, we must wait on the Lord for direction; where to go and who to speak to. Who has the Holy Spirit prepared in advance for me to share the Gospel with?

3: Philip listened to the Ethiopian official (Acts 8:30).

As Philip ran alongside the chariot, he waited patiently and listened to what the man was reading.

The challenge that we often face is that we don’t listen to people and as a result we miss the mark in evangelism, because we aren’t paying attention to their personal situation and struggles.

Are you listening to the questions that people are asking?

4: Philip then asked a question (Acts 8:30).

Once Philip understood the situation, he was able to ask the penetrating question. One of the most important skills one needs to develop in life, is asking questions.

Questions not only show the person that we care about them, it also is a way to move the conversation towards eternal matters.

Probing questions unlock the heart. People will respond to questions and open their lives to you if you take the time to ask questions. Again, this is where listening to the Holy Spirit becomes so vital. He will give you the questions to ask, questions that will unlock the soul for the Gospel.

The question Philip asked opened the way for the man to hear the Gospel (Acts 8:31). The Ethiopian official was reading from Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the suffering servant, pointing to the ministry of Jesus. Verse 35 is the moment Philip had been waiting for; “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” Acts 8:35.

Isn’t this story a wonderful reminder of the amazing grace and goodness of God to reach out to the “one”. This man goes to Jerusalem to worship God, where the church is growing and thriving. Tragically he missed the greatest news of all of history.

But God pursued him, sending his best evangelist to run after him.

God still pursues the lost. And he is sending you and me to run after them.

Do you remember when God pursued you?

As Philip explained the prophecy to him, the Ethiopian began to understand the Gospel because the Spirit of God was opening his mind to God’s truth. It is not enough for the lost sinner to desire salvation; he must also understand God’s plan of salvation. It is the heart that understands the Word that eventually bears fruit, the heart that has been prepared by the Spirit of God (Romans 10:17).

The Ethiopian believed on Jesus Christ and was born again. So real was his experience that he insisted on stopping the caravan and be baptized immediately. He wanted everybody to know what the Lord had done for him. The Ethiopian was testifying to Philip and all of his travel companions. He was an important man, and you can be sure that his attendants were paying close attention. Baptism is a witness and a declaration. History tells us that the church in Ethiopia today finds its roots in this encounter.

The Gospel changes lives, the Gospel changes nations.

If you have become a follower of Jesus, you are called to be the light in the World. To shine the light of Jesus wherever God has placed you.

I have heard people say when asked about a person’s salvation, “Its none of my business”. If we are not concerned about a person’s relationship with Jesus, it means that we truly don’t believe the Gospel. We don’t believe that if you don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord, you will spend eternity separated from God in Hell. That is the tragic reality.

Sharing the Gospel is a discipline, it needs to be prioritized in our lives. Sadly, we are so focused on temporal things that we don’t prioritize the eternal things in life.

Just like Philip was sent to one person with the Good News. To whom is God sending you?

Begin today to pray for your one.

Begin listening to the Holy Spirit.

Begin listening to the person.

Begin asking questions.

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Sermon, Sunday November 7 2021 – The Global Mission of the Church

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The mission of the church is a foundational pillar of the church. Now this may sound obvious, but so many churches do not have missions and evangelism as one of their foundational pillars. For many churches, the mission of the church, the outward focus of the church, is lost in the mire of the programs of the church.

Jesus left the church with a mission, we call it the Great Commission, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Any church that focuses purely inward on fellowship and comfort of community, without looking beyond their four walls has already ceased to exist as a church. They may have many people coming to attend and enjoy the fellowship and worship music and programs, but by definition, they are not the church.

The global population today is almost eight billion and there are seventeen thousand four hundred and ten people groups as defined by missiologists. Of these people groups, there are seven thousand three hundred and ninety-eight that are defined as unreached.

An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance.

The original Joshua Project editorial committee selected the criteria less than or equal to 2% Evangelical Christians and less than or equal to 5% Professing Christians.

“We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a vision of a just and gentle world. The quality of a whole culture may be changed when two percent of its people have a new vision.” – Robert Bellah, Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University,

At this moment in history, it is estimated that there are over 3 billion people who have never heard the Gospel message.

As Jesus was teaching on the mount of Olives in Matthew 24, his disciples asked him this question, “… Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3.

Over the next ten verses, Jesus lists a series of global events that he calls birth pangs, and this is not the answer to the question that the disciples asked. But then in verse 14, Jesus gives the disciples the answer to their question, “… This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14.

Before Jesus comes, the Gospel will be proclaimed to all the remaining seven thousand three hundred and ninety-eight-people groups. There is a lot of work to be done.

Acts 1:8 is the verse that every missionary knows well, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus is speaking to his disciples’ moments before he ascends into heaven. They were expecting him to establish his earthly kingdom, but Jesus takes their focus off the desire for the kingdom of heaven to come now and directs them to the work to be done. He tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit will enable them to be witnesses or evangelists, to go in ever widening circles from Jerusalem all the way to the ends of the earth.

The proclamation of the Gospel must start at home, in the church, in our city, but then we are all to be part of taking the message further and further as the Holy Spirit gives power. This is the design and purpose for the church that Jesus instituted.

In Revelation 19, we read about the great celebration for the ages, the marriage supper of the Lamb. At this feast there will be people from every people group in the world. John saw this earlier in Revelation 7:9, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb”.

John saw people from every ethnic group, every people group in Heaven. This is encouraging for us, we can have absolute faith that the Great Commission will be completed.

There is good news, globally there are an estimated 50,000 people who become Christ-followers every day. And there are 3,500 churches are being planted every week around the world.

There has also been a radical shift in the geography of the evangelical church, it is no longer a western church. For every one new Christ-follower in the US and Europe there are sixteen in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

While America has the resources to mobilize the most people, the majority of missionaries going to the hardest to reach nations, come from these rising missionary nations. These missionaries have incredible faith and are entering countries where they could lose their lives for proclaiming the Good News. The world of missions is changing, and God is at work to reach the least reached peoples of the world.  

Many ministries have used three simple words to focus the attention of believers on the task of the great commission; Pray – Give – Go.

Pray – You can join thousands in praying for the persecuted church by using the Open Doors app that can be found on www.opendoorsusa.org, or you can join a local prayer meeting or start one to begin praying for the unreached peoples.

Give – Give to the churches global mission offering or find an organization that is sending missionaries to the unreached and send them a gift.

Go – The nations are coming to our cities, right now there are thousands of people from closed countries who are emigrating to the United States, we as a church have an unprecedented opportunity to share the Gospel with people groups who have never heard the Gospel.

How will you respond to the Great Commission today?

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Sermon, Sunday August 22, 2021 – The Church as a Community

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Why do people join a church?

Today there is much confusion regarding the church. What is the church, is it a building, is it a community, how many people constitute a church?

The church is the gathering of followers of Jesus, locally and globally. We join for the purpose of worship, encouragement, spiritual growth and serving together towards the Great Commission.  

The church is not a club or a social construct of the Western culture.

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul implores the church in Ephesus to be all that they are called to be.

The root Greek word for the church is “Ekkaléō”, which means to call out. Paul writes in verse 1, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called”. The church is a group of people who have been called out of darkness into light. A group of people, set apart for the Lord to serve him, being on mission for Jesus.

The church is the Body of Christ. This image emphasizes that the church is the center and focal point of Christ’s activity now, just as was his physical body during his time on earth (1 Corinthians 12:27).Christ is the head of the Body (Colossians 1:18). As the body of Christ, we are interconnected and we need each other.

Verse 3-6 focus on the unity of the church, Paul writes in verse 3, “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” And then he continues to list 7 aspects of our unity; one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-5).

Notice that we don’t create unity, we have unity because of the Holy Spirit. Our role is to preserve the unity. Unity assumes that we are actually committed followers of Jesus, carrying the same vision and the same mission. It is possible for people to be members of a church that are not actually part of the Body of Christ. Many churches have people on their membership roles who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:31-46).

True church growth is the result of the members of the church being obedient to Christ. Programs don’t grow the church, every member being obedient to the will of God grows the church. The greatest need we have in our communities and world is the church to be the church, in the true sense of the word. We need to return to the principles of the early church in the New Testament.

In our reading today in v11, we see the gifts of ministry that Jesus has given to the church, “

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers”. Why did Jesus give these gifts to the church? We see the answer in verse 12, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”.   

God’s plan to reach people with the gospel is not primarily evangelists or apologists. God’s plan to reach people with the gospel is the church. You are the plan God has in mind to change the world!

In addition to these five gifts, God has given spiritual gifts to every Christian as we see in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. The church will be rich when every member is using their spiritual gifts. Tony Merida writes, “Every member should grow up and use a towel, not wear a bib. They should not be immature consumers but eager servants.”

As the body, the church is edified, or built up by the exercising of the gifts, the church grows spiritually. Individuals grow in their walk with the Lord and the church displays evidence of spiritual health. In Ephesians 4 we see 4 evidences of spiritual health in the church.

  1. Christlikeness: Pastors and teachers equip the church members by teaching and explaining the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). As we grow together in the Word of God, we become more like our Lord and Savior
  2. Stability: The maturing Christian is not tossed about by every religious novelty that comes along. There are many false teachers and if we are not careful, we get caught up in a false way of thinking that does not line up with the Word of God. The maturing believer recognizes false doctrine and stays clear of it. Are your feet secure on the firm foundation of the Word of God?
  3. Truth joined with love: (Ephesians 4:15). It has been said that “truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy.” It is a mark of maturity when we can share the truth with our fellow Christians and do it in love (Proverbs 27:6).
  4. Co-operation: (Ephesians 4:16). We realize that, as members of the one body, we belong to each other, we affect each other, and we need each other. Each believer, no matter how, extroverted, or introverted, rich, or poor, educated, or uneducated, has a ministry to other believers. In the Body of Christ when one person is in pain, we are all affected, that person is not functioning as God intended. Every person has an important role to play within the church. This is why the isolation many suffered during the lockdown has revealed how much we need to be in fellowship as the church. An isolated Christian cannot minister to others, nor can others minister to him or her, and it is impossible for the gifts to be ministered either way. A virtual church is not the church at all.

Are you ready to step into healthy church community? Exercising your God given gifts for the building up of the church. We need you!

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Sermon Sunday June 27, 2021 – The Power of the Holy Spirit

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Acts 1:1-12

Have you ever struggled to complete a project in your home or on your computer, all the time not knowing that you had a tool or program that would have made your task so much easier?

Sometimes, in the church we attempt to do great programs and missional activity, but we do not utilize the one person who has the power to accomplish more than we could ever imagine. We ignore the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is way more than a handy tool, He is the power and the source of all fruit that we can expect as a church. In fact, without the Holy Spirit, there is no church.

It was on the mount of Olives that Jesus promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to baptize them with power. It was on this mountain where Jesus ascended into heaven as we read in Acts 1.

The book of the Acts of the Apostles is the account of the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the early church. This is the introduction to the church age, the same age in which we live. The time between when Jesus ascended into Heaven and the time he is coming back.

The church is the Body of Christ, the physical manifestation of the presence of Jesus on the earth and we have a job to do, we have a mission. Jesus’ life on earth was just the beginning.

Luke continues in verse 3 to emphasize the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. During the time after the resurrection of Jesus, there were a lot of rumors spread by the religious leaders that Jesus had not in fact risen. Luke just like the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 makes it clear that Jesus gave many proofs of his life. This is the foundation of the message we have; Jesus is alive! If Jesus is not alive the church would not exist. The resurrection was the primary message of the first church, and it should be our primary message today.

Before he ascended, Jesus told his disciples to wait for the promise that he had spoken about in John 14:16-17. Even though they were eyewitnesses to the greatest events in all of History, they were not equipped for the task that lay ahead of them. The Holy Spirit is the indispensable equipment that the child of God and the Church has.  It is imperative to remember that we don’t get to use the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit uses us.

Jesus goes on to say in verse 5, “…for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized withthe Holy Spirit not many days from now.” The tense of the verb “baptized” is a passive voice, which indicates that being filled with the Holy Spirit is a divine activity and comes about as we yield control of our lives to the power and lordship of Christ. This takes place as we yield control of our lives to Him daily. This is a spirit filled life and this is a life lived with Jesus as Lord.

Sadly, too many Christians live lives that do not require the power of the Holy Spirit. Living a passive Christian life does not require us to lean into God in desperation for His power. We as followers of Jesus have to be about the work of Kingdom, and in order to do that we need the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about and began asking about the plans to overthrow the Roman authorities. Jesus doesn’t rebuke them for their misunderstanding, but simply states, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:7-8.

Jesus takes their focus off the desire for an earthly kingdom and directs them to the work that needs to be done. The Holy Spirit will enable them to be witnesses to go in ever widening circles from Jerusalem all the way to the ends of the earth.

Jesus explains that the power of the church does not come from programs, leaders, buildings, or political influence, the power of the church to do the work that we have been commissioned to do comes from the Holy Spirit (see Zechariah 4:6). Ordinary people are able to do extraordinary things because of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is the power to do the work, to be witnesses of the Gospel. That is the primary call on the church. The church must be outward focused, Jesus commanded it to be so.

Any church that focuses purely inward on fellowship and comfort of community, without looking beyond their four walls has already ceased to exist as a church. They may have many people coming to attend and enjoy the fellowship and worship music and programs, but they are not the body of Christ.

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes on them, they will receive power and will be witnesses. You cannot be a witness to something you have not experienced. Do you have a testimony of your life being impacted by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? You are a witness.

In the church we have turned evangelism into an academic pursuit. We can get trained into the mindset that people are simply targets and we must get through our presentation. If we do that, we miss out on the beauty and joy of the relationship and seeing that people are not targets, they are brothers and sisters that you haven’t gotten to know yet.

Right after Jesus gives this incredible task, verse 9 tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven.

As the disciples were looking up, two angels stood beside them and made an incredible promise that Jesus would return. Are you expecting his return?

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Sermon Sunday May 2, 2021 – Mountain Top Experiences part 2

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Exodus 3:1-15

Can you remember a time when God really revealed himself to you? When you felt God directing your path and giving you a commission? Do you know what it means to follow him and listen to his leading and direction?

In Exodus chapter 3, we read about the call of an 80-year-old fugitive by the name of Moses. Moses had known the heights of the power of the king of Egypt. He was raised and educated in pharaoh’s household, he had power and recognition, but in a fit of rage killed and Egyptian and had to flee Egypt.

Moses spent 40 years in the land of Midian, serving as a shepherd for his father-in-law. He was a broken man, willing to live out his days in insignificance. But God called him, God appointed him, and God commissioned him because God had prepared him.

God speaks to Moses from a burning bush on mount Horeb, also known as mount Sinai, the place where he would later receive the Ten Commandments. This is one of the most holy of mountains in the Bible.  

Moses is routinely tending his sheep and suddenly, he sees a bush that is on fire. This bush is on fire, but it seems as though the the bush is not being consumed.  As Moses turns aside, God begins to speak to him.  

We should always be looking for the supernatural in the mundane. We often miss the call of God because we are so busy going about our routines that we miss the burning bush, the sign of the supernatural (Psalm 19:1-2).

As God called him, Moses responded by saying “Here I am” (Exodus 3:4). When God calls you, how do you respond? Do you respond with, “here I am”, or do you pretend not to hear?

God warns Moses not to come too close and to take off his shoes (Exodus 3:5). Moses was humbled and worshipped God in wonder, this is the true beginning of Christian service. God uses people who humble themselves before Him.

God repeats an important message to Moses (Exodus 3:7 & 9). God sees the suffering of His people. This is such a wonderful encouragement. In the last verse of chapter 2 we read, “God saw the people of Israel, and God knew”. If you ever feel that your actions, your works, your struggles are unseen, be assured that our Father in Heaven sees. This is one of the foundational promises of the Bible.  

“I have seen … I have heard their cry … I know … I have come down!” What a message of grace! You might be crying out to God and wondering if He hears or sees. Nothing is outside of the sight of God; this is a promise you can be sure of. God is the God who sees and the God who delivers His people.

God called Moses to be the one to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt and Moses is understandably resistant. He was not expecting the assignment and he would rather not sign up for this mission. God had called Moses to a seemingly impossible task.

We must always remember that God is never going to call us to do something that we can do in our own strength. God wants to display His glory and power through us. We see this in verse 8, “and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians”

God invited Moses to be a part of what He was about to do. God doesn’t need us, He invites us to be a part of what He already plans to do.

As Moses begins to resist God’s call, God gives him that incredible Bible promise, “But I will be with you…” The inadequacy of Moses is countered by the promise of the power of the almighty God. Remember, however inadequate you may feel, you and God are always the majority.

As Moses considers this, it leads to his next problem,who is the God of Abraham?

The Egyptians worshipped many gods, and the God of Abraham would be just one among many. God responds in verse 14, “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Up to this point in the Bible, God has been called in Hebrew, “Elohim”, meaning God. But now God says, “I am WHO I am.” The words “I am” are interchanged with the Hebrew name, “Yahweh”. God said at the end of verse 14, “I AM has sent me to you”

From this time onwards God is known by this statement, “I am Yahweh”. A name that means so much and is so holy that most Hebrew people would be afraid to even whisper it.  God said to Moses, I am Yahweh.

God said to Moses and He says to us, I am wherever you are, and I always will be.

What a promise for Moses as he considered the call of God on his life. This applies to all Christians. Every person who has given their life to the Lordship of Jesus has a mission and a calling. It may be to your workplace, your neighborhood, childcare ministry, youth ministry, across the states or to another nation. God’s name is Yahweh, I AM with you.

Moses kept on making excuses, denying the call of God. Have you ever made excuses when God calls you? We say things like, I am too old, I am poor, I am uneducated, I don’t speak well, I am too shy, I am too sickly, I am…, I am…, I am….

Notice how we focus on ourselves when we make excuses, and God emphatically responds, I AM WHO I am.

We need to repent of the excuses and submit ourselves to the perfect plan of God for our lives. What is God calling you to do today?

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Sermon Sunday September 22, Healthy Church Part 5

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Acts 1:1-14

In the first chapter of Acts, we read the last words that Jesus spoke on the earth before he ascended into heaven. Jesus was preparing the disciples, he told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit, which was the power that they would need to be the church.

The church cannot be the church without us recognizing and responding to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can hold meetings and run programs, but we cannot be the church without the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 1:8 we read, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit so that the church would have the power to do what Jesus called them to do. The Holy Spirit is given to the church to be the church and to proclaim the good news.

A healthy church is like a railroad track.  The two tracks of the church are: Evangelism and Discipleship. These two tracks run parallel and continuously in order for the church to be what God has called it to be.

The first component of the church is Discipleship.

Discipleship is the walking out of the Christian life with a community of believers. It involves instruction and the study of God’s word, but more importantly, it involves a walking together in community, encouraging each other as we all pursue becoming more like Christ.

Andrew Davis in his book, “Revitalize”, uses the acronym K.F.C.A.

Knowledge: More than just head knowledge, the church matures as we study and feed on God’s word. Discipleship occurs as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us by the power of the Word of God applied to our lives. When Jesus was tempted in Matthew 4, he quoted scripture when he was tempted. How can we expect to stand against the attacks of the enemy unless we know the Word.

Faith: Having a strong sense and firm belief that the promises of God’s Word are true. An active reliance on Christ and trusting that God really does speak to us. Growing in faith pleases God as we read in Hebrews 11:6.

Character: Character is who we are when we are alone before God.Our life before making Jesus Lord must be different to our life today. Our decision making is no longer selfish, our language is different, we are more generous, and we care for the broken and the hurting. Our character is transformed as we become more like Christ.

Action: Mature Christians do what God tells them to do (see John 14:15). Mature followers of Jesus are on mission for Christ, daily walking out their salvation (see Ephesians 4:16).

Andrew Davis wrote, “I believe Scripture shows that biblical knowledge feeds faith, faith transforms character, and out of a transformed character, we walk in newness of life.”

Discipleship is not getting together once a week, studying a book written by a Christian author and drinking coffee. That is good, but true discipleship is activation, leading to a church on mission. True discipleship challenges and transforms us to be a people of action, doing what God has called us to do.  

The second component of the church is evangelism. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

If the purpose of our Lord was to seek and save the Lost, why would we as his representatives, those who call him Lord, not have the same passion.

As Jesus instructed his disciples in Acts 1:8, we are also to go to our neighbors, our city, our nation and to the ends of the earth. As people empowered by the Holy Spirit, we have all we need to do the work God calls us to do (see Ephesians 1:3).

The church exists to bring glory to God, and the greatest example of the Glory of God is the salvation of sinners as they put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

The world around us is a mess and desperate for hope. Everyone we meet is an eternal soul, and they will either spend eternity in heaven, or in hell, eternally separated from God.  

Frequently, you will hear that there are many different ways to get to heaven, however there is no other religion or system of faith that has a living savior. Jesus is the resurrected Lord and only He can save (See John 14:6).

We as a church must be focused on evangelism, sharing the good news of the Jesus Christ from our homes to the ends of the earth. It is such a blessing that we have so many people at Grace Point who understand this. This past summer we had individuals and teams that went to seven different nations, while at the same time we have outreaches to Ruskin Heights, Warford elementary and right here in our neighborhood.

Evangelism, like discipleship, is a primary component of the church, and like two railroad tracks they are tied together. The tie that holds these two components together is the Gospel message, God’s plan of salvation (See 1 Corinthians 15:1-5).

This Gospel message is the most important message we have, and it holds the church together in discipleship and mission.

Just like railroad tracks, which are only useful if each track is perfectly parallel and that they continue together. If the one track veers off or is longer than the other, the railroad track is of no use. So, it is with the healthy church, discipleship and evangelism must run parallel and continuously, held together by the Good news of Jesus Christ.

The progress of the Gospel is the evangelism track

The progress in the Gospel is the discipleship track.

But you can only participate in either of these if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

As a follower of Jesus are you participating in both discipleship and evangelism?

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Sermon May 19, 2019 The Mission of the Church

 

Acts 1:1-8

The mission of the church is a foundational pillar of the church. The mission of the church, the outward focus of the church is lost in the mire of the programs of the church. In reading God’s word, I am convinced that the church that does not focus on missions and evangelism is being disobedient to the call of God.

The book of the Acts of the Apostles is the account of the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the early church. This is the introduction to the church age, the time between when Jesus ascended into Heaven and when he is coming back.

In Acts 1:4 Jesus says, “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father…”

Jesus told them that even though they were eyewitnesses to the greatest events in all of history, they were unprepared for the task that lay ahead of them. Jesus told them not to do anything until they had received power. The Holy Spirit is the indispensable in the life of every believer if we are going to be in any way effective in the work that God has called us to. But sadly, too many Christians live lives that do not require the power of the Holy Spirit. Lives of mediocrity and passivity, lives that do not force us to lean into God in desperation for His power.

Jesus says in verse 5, “…but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now”. The tense of the verb “baptized” is in the passive voice, which indicates that being filled with the Holy Spirit is a divine activity and comes about as we yield control of our lives to the power and lordship of Christ.

The Disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about, and we cannot blame them, how could they possibly know what Jesus was talking about. Jesus was instituting the church age and commissioning the church to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The work of the church is unfinished, there are still 3.15 billion people who have never heard the name of Jesus, that is over 41 % of the world’s population. We as followers of Jesus have to be about the work of Kingdom, and in order to do that we need the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Acts 1:8 is the verse that every missionary knows so well, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus takes their focus off their desire for an earthly kingdom and says that there is work to be done. The Holy Spirit will enable them to be witnesses – evangelists, to go in ever widening circles from their home in Jerusalem all the way to the ends of the earth.

The Gospel must start at home, in the church, in our city, but then we are all to be part of taking the message further and further as the Holy Spirit gives power and direction.

This is the church, this is the design and purpose for the church that Jesus instituted.

Any church that focuses purely inward on fellowship and comfort of community, without looking beyond their four walls has already ceased to exist as a church.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will be the source of power to be witnesses. A witness is someone who testifies to what they have seen and experienced. Every Christian has had an encounter with the living God, every Christian has the power and the testimony to be a witness. But you cannot be a witness to something you have not experienced. When I hear people saying that they cannot witness, I question whether or not they have had a life changing encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. This doesn’t mean that everyone has the gift of evangelism, but every believer is called to be a witness to their personal experience with Jesus.

In the church we have turned evangelism into an academic pursuit. We do a lot of training, but very little doing. I am not against being well prepared, but we can get trained into the mindset that people are simply targets and we must get through our presentation. When we do that, we miss out on the beauty and joy of the relationship and seeing that people are not targets, they are just brothers and sisters that the Holy Spirit is inviting into a life changing encounter with Jesus.

Another concern people have is that they struggle to articulate the Gospel, the Good News.

The Gospel begins with knowing what we have been saved from. We are eternal beings, and there are only two destinations, eternal separation from God in hell, or eternal joy and peace in the presence of God in heaven. At the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, man turned his back on God and sin entered the world. Sin has resulted in a break in relationship, a separation between God and man and all mankind suffers because of this separation (Romans 3:23).

But because of his great love for us, God has provided a way for man to be made right in His sight.

All we must do is accept this free gift from God, Romans 6:23 says; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The Bible says that there is no other way to be saved. It is only by accepting the offer of salvation and making Jesus Christ Lord of your life.

That is the Gospel message, this is the foundation for us as Christians and we need to be able to articulate it. As Jesus instructed the disciples, it starts here at home, and then out to the nations, this is the calling on all of us as a part of the church.

Dr. Oswald Smith said, “the light that shines farthest will shine the brightest at home.”

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Sermon September 9, 2018 Re-Up part 4 – Evangelism

 Evangelism, the mission of the church.

Luke 24:36-53

At the end of Luke’s Gospel, we read how Jesus revealed himself to select groups of people. Firstly, to the women who went to the tomb and found it empty, then Jesus met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. At the end of the chapter 24 Jesus appears in the room where the eleven disciples were meeting.  The disciples must have been terrified, they had seen Jesus die, and now he simply appears in the middle of the room.

Jesus begins to give them multiple proofs of his physical resurrection. He invites them to touch him and see that he is really in human form and not a spirit being. They were still struggling to comprehend what was happening when Jesus asks them for something to eat, and he eats the fish in front of them to prove his resurrection.

Jesus’ resurrection from death opens the way for all who trust in him to follow him in a resurrection like his when he returns. This is important because it shows that our ultimate hope is not just for our souls to go to heaven, but for our physical bodies to be raised to new life like Jesus’ was (see 1 John 3:1-2).

Jesus continues in verse 44 to show them that the Old Testament was not simply a record of history or a collection of stories and poetry, but rather the entire Old Testament points towards Jesus. In verse 45 we read, “he opened their minds to understand the scriptures”.  This simple statement has profound implications, up till now the disciples had heard the teachings of Jesus, but they really struggled to understand the implications of what they were witnessing. Jesus gave them supernatural understanding of the Word of God. Jesus gave them a gift.

True understanding of the Bible is a gift from God. As Christians we have the Holy Spirit in us, not only to guide and counsel but also to understand the Bible (John 16:13). The Bible is the supernatural word of God and before you open the pages pray for understanding through the Holy Spirit (pray Psalm 119:18).

Jesus explained that his death and resurrection was the necessary process by which people can be restored to a right relationship with God. Jesus gave them the Great Commission, and then told them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for a mysterious power to do the work he was telling them to do. Jesus ascended into heaven with the promise that he would send the helper, the comforter, the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

As we go out to share the Gospel, we must never try to go out in our own strength, we must never go without relying on the Holy Spirit for direction, for wisdom and for power. It is the Holy Spirit who takes our weak words and transforms them into life changing authority.

The disciples did not know what exactly Jesus was talking about, but as we know in the second chapter of the book of Acts, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were given the power to do what Jesus had instructed them to do.

As Jesus ascended into heaven he blessed the disciples. What a blessing that must have been, the disciples were a truly privileged group of men who had personally witnessed the greatest moments in all of history. But privilege always brings responsibility, they were to be witnesses of all that Jesus had said and done, Acts 1:8 reads, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

A witness is somebody who accurately reports what he or she has seen and heard. The disciples were witnesses, the word witness is used in one way or another twenty-nine times in the Book of Acts. As Christians, we are not judges or prosecuting attorneys sent to condemn the world, we are witnesses who point to Jesus Christ and tell lost sinners how to be saved. The Greek word for witness is “Martys”, which is where we get the word Martyr.

To be a witness for Christ will cost you something, it may cost you your reputation, or a promotion, in many parts of the world it will cost you your life. But the very act of sharing the Gospel is valuing the message and the person you are speaking to, more than your own comfort and preferences. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. To value the Gospel more than our own lives, to value Jesus more than our own comfort. After all, didn’t Jesus value you more than his own comfort? Didn’t Jesus value you more than his own life?

As the church, we are a people who gather to worship, sing, pray and study God’s word. But with all those activities of the gathering of the body of Christ, what is the primary goal of the church? Worship, fellowship and praise are important and necessary, but all of these will continue on for eternity when we get to heaven. However, we will never be able to share the Gospel with the lost when life on this earth is over. It is and always has been the primary role of the church, to be the salt and light in the world, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.   John McArthur

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The 4 Pillars of the Church – Part IV March 5, 2017

Joshua 21:43 to Joshua 22:9

If you are in business, you probably know the terms “mission statement” and “vision statement”.

A mission statement is the practical steps or short term goals, that we commit to do on a daily or weekly basis in order to fulfill the vision of the organization.

For the church, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is our vision statement, it does not change and it guides our decision making towards short term goals of our mission statement. As a church grows and the community around the church changes, it is not uncommon for the church mission statement to change to reflect the growth of the church. However, the vision statement never changes.

As the church, here at Grace Point our mission is to equip the saints for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4). A healthy church always looks beyond the four walls of the church.

But as individuals it is beneficial to have a personal mission statement. Do you have a mission statement? Have you stopped and written down some commitments that you would serve as a guide for your daily decision making?

From time to time I have written a personal mission statement. Usually I take some time on New Year’s Day to pray and write down a personal mission statement in a bullet point format, and these points help me to stay on track for the year ahead.

The Children of Israel had a mission. Their mission was to conquer and take possession of the Promised Land.

Joshua their leader had taken the directives of Moses and led the nation well, and as the nation obeyed God, He was faithful and blessed them with the land.

Looking at Joshua 21:43 to 22:9 we see that this was a good day in the history of the nation of Israel, all the battles were over and they occupied all the cities in the Promised land. This was a day of celebration. Notice verse 45; “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.”

As we read in chapter 22, Joshua calls together the forty thousand warriors from the 2 ½ tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. These were true heroes, looking back to Numbers 32, Moses had allowed them to inhabit the territory on the eastern side of the Jordan, but with one condition, that they help the rest of the nation fight and claim the Promised Land. They remained faithful to the cause of claiming the promised land for 7 ½ years. For 7 ½ years they left their families, their homes and livestock and fought on a mission on behalf of the rest of the tribes of Israel.

Why were they so loyal to their fellow Israelites? It wasn’t because of national allegiance, it was because they were loyal to the Lord God. It was His mission they were carrying out and they were fighting to glorify His name. This too should be the motivation for our lives (see Colossians 3:23).

Now their mission is over and Joshua sends them off with rewards and great wealth for their efforts. As he sends them he issues a warning in verse 5. This short charge that Joshua gave to these men was because Joshua was fearful that they would become separated from the rest of the tribes and drift away from the Lord God. Joshua knew that they would be tempted to fall into complacency and forget all that God had done for them. This is an all too common occurrence in the history of the nation of Israel, the history of other nations and even the church. Whenever the victory is secured and the promised land, whatever that might be, is achieved, we forget the mission and the purpose of God. We forget the faithfulness of God, the miracles of provision and direction.

Why has God placed Grace Point here on this hill in Kansas City, what is our mission?

As we step in obedience to the call of God on this church, the specific mission that God has for us in South Kansas City, we will be amazed how he blesses us with people who will be called to the mission of God here. Some will give six months to the mission, some will give a few years, others will give their whole lives. But we must understand that Jesus is the builder and not us (Matthew 16:18).

A legacy to live for will be a church that; reaches the lost, disciples and equips the saints and sends out the workers. If we focus on that God will take care of the rest.

But what about your personal mission?

Your personal mission is living your life with a very clear purpose and passion, being who God made you to be.

Having a personal mission keeps you accountable to God for every day that He gives you.

If you want a starting point to define your own mission – start with Luke 10:27: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Then look at how God has gifted you; what are your passions? How has God wired you?

It doesn’t mean that everything God calls you to will be comfortable or easy, most of the time it won’t be. But because he loves you so much, he is stretching you so that you make the very most of the days that he has given you.

Use your mission statement as a filter and when opportunities come your way, use the mission God has given you to see if that is what He would have you do. Our lives can so quickly become filled with doing good things, that we lose sight of the best that God has for us. This applies to the church as well, we can be so busy doing things, that we forget our primary calling as a church. A good mission statement is a filter.

Jesus is our perfect example of living a life on mission, he finished what he set out to do (see John 17:4).

Our goal for life must be that when Jesus returns, he will say; “Well done good and faithful servant, you completed the mission I gave you.”