New Life! - 2 Kings 22

New Life!
October 7, 2012
2 Kings 22

Introduction

• How many of us have gone through dry spells in our walk with God?
• This nation once was a nation founded upon God's Word
• The Puritans came here because of a lack of freedom of religion in England at that time
• As the years have progressed this nation has lost sight of God
• Today, there are restrictions on prayer, restrictions on where the Bible may be mentioned, we have forgotten our roots as a nation
• It is time to go back to where we came from
• It is time to turn back to God
• Today we are going to look at the story of King Josiah of Judah
• This is a strory of revival

Reading

• 2 Kings 23:25
• How would you like this as your epitaph!

Josiah's history

• Josiah's dad was Amon
• Amon was a wicked king
• He set up idols and worshipped Baal, and worshipped the stars
• Today many of us may feel it is nothing to look at our horoscopes, but people who do this are  saying that the zodiac stars have power over our lives, and it is an abomination to God to worship the stars
• Anyway, Amon died, at the hand of assassins, and Josiah became king
• Josiah was 8 years old when he became king.
• His mother was Jedidah and must have had a big religious influence on him
• She would have been the regent during Josiah';s early years
• When Josiah turned 18, he takes up his responsibilities as king
• He first of all starts to work on God's house v.3-7
• This then leads to the high priest discovering the Book of the Law
• Up till this time, they did not know God';s will, they did not know his laws
• The scribe Shaphan reads the book of the Law to Josiah
• He reads about the covenenant this people had made with God
• He reads about the special relationship they have, as Gods chosen people
• He reads about the blessings God promises for obedience, but he also reads the consequences of turning against God and being disobedient to God's law
• Josiah repents
• Verse 11
• He seeks to know God's words for them, as a nation and as individuals, at this juncture of their history
• And he is repentant

Revival

• Revival starts with repentance
• We sometimes say it starts with prayer, because so many moves of God started with a group that was praying.  But at the heart of these prayer movements, was repentance
• Ultimately, revival starts with repentance
• Individual, church-wide and national repentance
• The repentance means that we change our ways and turn to God
• This nation needs God, we know that
• We desire this nation to turn its heart back to its Maker, from the president on down
• But ultimately, revival starts at home
• Revival starts inside of ourselves
• When our nation is not experiencing a close walk with God, it is because it is living in disobedience to God
• When our church is not being fruitful, it is because it is not right with God in some way. We have been sent out to bear much fruit, God's purpose is that we have an impact on our community.  If we are not, there is a problem.
• And when we seem to be harvesting punishment in our personal life, it is because we need to repent and turn to God with all our heart. 
• God disciplines those he loves (Hebrews 12).  Not out of vindictiveness, but as an encoragement to us, to get back into line
 

Conclusion

• God's blessing is there, waiting for us
• It does not mean that we won't go through hard times, but God is watching over us and he desires a close walk with him
• God will bless us with peace, and we will bear fruit, if we are right with God, in the place he wants us to be
• Jesus says, my peace I give to you. If we live in anxiety, there is a reason for it. 
• The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
• God's intention is that these fruits be evident in our church, and in every aspect of our lives
• These fruits will be visible in our relationships with each other, within our families, with others in our community
• The way to revival starts with repentance
• Next week we will continue to study the subject of revival
• My heart is that we be a church of on-fire, Spirit-filled Christians who are bringing in the lost as part of the great harvest before Jesus returns
• During this next week, let's do some soul-searching and see where we need to repent and change in our personal life.

A cup of water - Mat 25:31-46

A cup of water!

September 30, 2012

Matt 25:31-46

Introduction

• During the last weeks we have been looking at God's love for us, and his compassion
• God loves us so much more than we can imagine!
• He watches over us, he takes care of us
• He leads us, shows us the way to go
• He gives us opportunities to make choices, to strengthen our character and our walk with Him
• When we fall down and we turn back to him, he extends mercy, he forgives us, and helps us back up
• What is important to God, is that we allow Jesus to live in us and work through us
• Today we are going to examine an aspect of our lives that is crucial to our eternity

Background

• Right near the end of Jesus' ministry, the messages he gave his disciples were increasingly sober and serious
• He knew his time was short, and there were things they needed to hear
• In Matthew 25 he speaks the parable of the 10 virgins, a warning to the church that we need to be alive and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us, not letting him lie dormant
• He gives us the parable of the talents, where we are told to exercise the giftings God has given us, once again, don't allow these things to be inactive, but use them for the Kingdom
• And now he teaches the disciples about the last judgment, in the parable of the sheep and the goats

Reading

• Matthew 25:31-46

A chronology

• Time is short. As I have warned, war is imminent in the Middle East
• There are many signs that Jesus' return is nearby.
• When Jesus returns as the reigning Messiah, the dead in Christ, and the saints who are alive, will receive their spirit body and rise to meet him in the clouds
• This is commonly known as the rapture
• At this point, Christians will receive their reward for their walk with God, and the fruits borne in their lives
• 1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
• 2 Cor 5:10 When Jesus returns, we receive a reward for how we have conducted our Christian walk, and we will be invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb
• Rev 19:6-10 - the wedding supper
• This marks the beginning of 1000 years of Jesus' reign - Rev 20:4
• At the end of this time, known as the Milenneum, we have what is known as the Last Judgment
• Rev 20:11-15
• Our lives are recorded in books, and it is on the basis of the actions in our lives that judgment will be given

The sheep and the goats

• Matthew 25
• Jesus in this parable is not giving a chronology of the various judgments we just looked at
• In this passage he is telling his disciples what he will be looking at, when looking at the deeds that have been done
• He is telling his disciples, that our actions toward others are important
• He is saying we need to be looking out for each others needs
• Last week I told a little about the need for prison ministry
• People in prison need the gospel. They need it, they are open to it, all they need is someone to take it to them
• Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
• But there are other prisoners who are not behind bars but they might as well be
• Here I am talking about those in slavery to addiction
• This too is a prison
• Jesus is telling us in this passage, that we ought to be feeding the hungry, giving something to drink for the thirsty, if they are homeless that we invite them in, if they lack clothing that we provide for them, and in short that we answer them at their point of need.
• Jesus did exactly this.
• He dealt with people in compassion, he healed the sick at their point of need, and he set the prisoners free - those in prison to the enemy's clutches
• As Christians, we are being judged as to how well we are being a channel for Jesus continuing his work of setting the prisoners free.
• This is why God has given Dianne and me a call to help the broken of this society find freedom, so they can rise to the call God has on their lives

Conclusion

• God is working in this church
• At the start of the year, His message to us was just one word, change
• Change is coming, on an individual level and at a church level
• Remember the message from this sermon, that Jesus lives in you and he wants to continue his work through you, reaching others
• It is like Jesus said in John 7, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him"
• Here he is referring to the Holy Spirit who was yet to come on the day of Pentecost, accompanied by the sound of a mighty wind, and the appearance of cloven tongues of flame, and showed his presence by people speaking in tongues
• If we would like to be filled with the Holy Spirit, or if we would like to be prayed for to be filled again, please raise your hands and come forward at the end of the service
• If anyone has not yet received Jesus as their personal savior, and would like this awesome, incredible relationship, and would like to be forgiven of their past, please come forward
• Rev 22:17 "The Spirit and the bride say Come. And let him who hears say Come. Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life!

Me, an Ambassador? - 2 Cor 5:20

Me, An Ambassador?
September 23, 2012
2 Corinthians 5:20

Introduction

• A couple of weeks ago, an ambassador was in the news
• Ambassador Christopher Stevens, US ambassador to Libya
• There was a mortar attack on his vehicle, and then his body was dragged through the streets of Benghazi, apparently orchestrated by Al Quaeda
• Not all ambassadors have this kind of experience.
• I once knew the US Vice Consul to the Cameroon, he had a relatively peaceful time, and later served this country, in the Canadian Consulate
• Today we will take a look at what it means to be an ambassador, and how relevant this is to us, as Christians

Reading

• 2 Cor 5:17-21

What does an ambassador look like?

• Am ambassador is a citizen of the country he represents
• Phil 3:20
• Being a citizen of another country means that there are activities he cannot engage in, in his host country
• For example, he cannot fight in the host country's army, or vote in its elections
• In the same way, we, as citizens of a heavenly Kingdom, cannot become enmeshed in this society's way of doing things
• We stand ready to fight the Lord's battles in spiritual warfare, we don't fight with the enemy's tactics
• Am ambassador represents his country
• 2 Cor 5:20
• As God's represenatives on earth, we must be aware of how God feels about things, what he would have us do in situations
• We must be able to answer questions about our native country, encouraging people to find out more
• At an embassy or consulate there is usually a person whose brief is to present the nation's positive trade advantages to enquirers from the host country, encouraging the building of relationships
• In the same way, we stand ready to give our testimony, and show the benefits of relationship with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
• An ambassador has to be trustworthy and reliable
• Proverbs 13:17
• If an ambassador were untrustworthy, he would soon be recalled. 
• A person in such a position must be absolutely trusted to present an accurate picture of what his nation belives, does, and is like
• God trusts us to be good representatives of his Kingdom
• He expects us to be examples to those around us
• They should see the difference just by looking at us, the same as light is different from darkness
• The words that come out of our mouth should reflect God's look on things, not what seems right to our carnal mind.
• Am ambassador obeys the laws of the country he represents
• Acts 5:19-20
• Luke 20:25
• As ambassador, one is answerable ultimately to the nation he represents.  He should obey the laws of his host country as far as that is possible, but if there is a conflict in what to do, the ambassador's home country laws take precedence
• In our everyday lives, we live among people of a different alleigance.
• We obey the laws of our physical country
• But where there is a difference between what the world expects and what God would have us do, God rules!
• An ambassador's foreign residency is temporary
• 2 Cor 5:2
• Heb 11:8-10
• The ambassador's stay in his host country is temporary, though it could last many years
• Ultimately, he will be called home
• In the same way, our stay in this present evil world, is only temporary
• There will come a day when we will be called home, to be with Jesus, forever
• We will put off this physical body and will be clothed afresh with our spiritual body, eternal, incorruptible, spititual and glorious
• This is how it is described in 1 Cor 15:35-44

Conclusion

• As Christians, people who follow Christ, we are his ambassadors
• We are his ambassadors to the people around us
• We are a city set on a hill which cannot be hidden
• An ambassador is true to his government's policies, and he faithfully presents this to the people around him, in a foreign country
• He is a faithful representative, and one day he will be recalled to the country of his citizenship, where he will hear, Well done, thou faithful servant.

A Compassionate God! - John 3:16

A Compassionate God!
September 9, 2012
John 3:16
 
Introduction

-          A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about the Father’s love for us

-          I was asking the Lord what he would have me speak about today, and the answer was love.  As I continued speaking and listening the focus came to be particularly on God’s compassion
-          So this morning we are speaking about God’s revelation of himself as a compassionate God!
-          Today we will look at just a few examples of God’s compassion

God’s compassion as humanity’s Savior

-          His love for us as sinful people, to give us a chance to get back to Him

-          When Adam and Eve sinned they set in motion a train of events they had no idea of
-          Their nature was changed, so that their natural tendency was to hate God and rebel against him
-          They saw it worked out in their firstborn son Cain, who murdered his brother in a fit of anger
-          All humanity has inherited this nature which Paul describes to us
-          Romans 8:7
-          This is why it is so hard for us to be obedient, why distractions pull us away, time and time again
-          It is what theologians call the Depravity of Man, our inability to bring ourselves into a relationship with God
-          Paul talks of the battle he endures day by day in Romans 6
-          Romans 6:21-25
-          It is through Jesus that we can be saved from destruction
-          It was through God’s compassion that he sent Jesus to be a sacrifice for us
-          John 3:16 God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whomever believes in his should not perish but have everlasting life
-          Eph 2:8-9 God’s compassion gives us His mercy, not what we deserve

God’s compassion as Israel’s Husband

-          Ezekiel 16:1-34

-          Israel searches for love in all the places it can’t find it, only God can satisfy this hunger
-          He loves Israel, washed her, cleaned her, married her, waited for her, allows her to experience the results of her sins, but finally he reconciles with her (verse 60)
-          He waits for his chosen people to repent and turn to him, just as he allows us to make choices and experience the results of our ways
-          But when we turn to him he cleanses us and reconciles us to him
-          Isa 1:18
-          We need to be praying for Israel during these critical times
-          Iran has developed its nuclear program to a critical level
-          It is constantly telling the Arab world how it hates Israel and wants to wipe it off the map
-          Israel is at the point where they will have to initiate a strike against Iran, in order to protect themselves from a nuclear armed Iran
-          We need to pray for Israel in this time of their distress
-          Psalm 122:6
-          These are critical times
-          Time to make sure we are right with God, and doing the work he called us to (Luke 12:43)

God’s compassion as our personal Comforter

-          John 14:15-16

-          His love in showing himself as our comforter
-          He provides the Holy Spirit as another Comforter
-          Jesus was the first comforter
-          He and the Father are one, and as we read in the gospels how Jesus looks and the crowds and is moved by compassion, he is showing what God is like
-          The Holy Spirit too is moved with compassion for us
-          We so often stray from the narrow way and he is moved with a longing to draw us back
-          This compassion is so much deeper than anything we know
-          The Bible often speaks of bowels of mercy, it is speaking of the same quality of God
-          The bowels signify a deepset feeling of compassion, you feel it in your stomack, deep down, a yearning to intervene and help
-          God also shows his compassion for us through providing for healing in the atonement
-          1 Pet 2:24, Isa 53:5
-          He showed his compassion in loving us even before we turned to him
-          1 Jn 4:19
-          His love in never walking away from us, though we walk away from him
-          Mat 28:19-20, Heb 13:5, Josh 1:5
-          He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, and to be our friend, just as Jesus is our friend

Conclusion

-          So God shows himself to be a God of compassion for us

-          How do we respond to this? 
-          In a couple of weeks we will examine how we respond to a God of compassion
-          But if you have not yet experienced this God of compassion, and you want to make sure that you are right with him, please come forward after the offering has been taken up and make sure that you will be going to the right place, when you die.

The Father Loves You! - John 14:23

The Father Loves You!

August 26, 2012
John 14:23

Introduction

• David Simmons, who used to be a cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, tells about his childhood home. His father, a military man, was extremely demanding, rarely saying a kind word, always pushing him with harsh criticism to do better. When Dave was a little boy, his dad gave him a bicycle, unassembled, with the command that he put it together. After Dave struggled to the point of tears with the difficult instructions and many parts, his father said, "I knew you couldn't do it." Then he assembled it for him. When Dave played football in high school, his father was unrelenting in his criticisms. "Most boys got butterflies in the stomach before the game; I got them afterwards. Facing my father was more stressful than facing any opposing team." By the time he entered college, Dave hated his father and his harsh discipline. He chose to play football at the University of Georgia because its campus was further from home than any school that offered him a scholarship.
• Despite the hateful feelings he had for his father, Dave began to build a bridge to his dad. Christ had come into his life during college years, and it was God's love that made him turn to his father. During visits home he stimulated conversation with him and listened with interest to what his father had to say. He learned for the first time what his grandfather had been like--a tough lumberjack known for his quick temper. Once he destroyed a pickup truck with a sledgehammer because it wouldn't start, and he often beat his son. This new awareness affected Dave dramatically. "Knowing about my father's upbringing not only made me more sympathetic for him, but it helped me see that, under the circumstances, he might have done much worse. By the time he died, I can honestly say we were friends." - Charles Sell, Unfinished Business, Multnomah, 1989, p. 171ff.
• I wonder how many of us have similar stories to tell.
• I know I do
• The experience we had with our physical dad often impacts the relationship we have with our heavenly dad
• It can cause us to have a picture of the Father which is remote, distant, maybe even unapproachable.
• Jesus seems so much closer
• Today we are going to take a look at how the Father loves us

The Father pursues us

• John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who has sent me draws him …”
• This means that for us to accept Jesus, for us to receive healing and transformation from him, means that the Father first initiated this relationship
• 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us”
• The Father initiates our love relationship with God.
• Sometimes we think that it was our choice, and yes, it was our choice to accept God’s love for us
• But the desire to accept God’s love, in itself comes from God
• Romans 2:4 “… the goodness of God leads you to repentance” KJV
• The NIV says “God’s kindness leads you to repentance”
• What does this mean in practical terms?
• The Father cares so much about us that he overwhelms us with his love
• I think overwhelming is the only word to describe God’s love for us
• His love blows me away, it is incomprehensible to me
• He is involved in our life from A to Z, he watches over us, he waits for the perfect time to introduce his Son to us
• We have messed up so much, so often that you would think he would have given up on us long ago
• But he doesn’t give up, he pursues us unrelentingly
• He waits for the perfect moment to invite us to have a relationship with him
• Often it is when we or others have brought us to the deepest point of our lives
• Then he sends someone to show us the love of God, and introduces us to Jesus
• It is the Father’s love that draws us to him
• Hosea 11:4 “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.”
• This is figurative language, but it gives a picture of a Father who is sensitive, loving, doing good, restoring what has been broken by the pains of life, coming down to our level to nurture us like a little child

The Father is close

• In the Old Testament we often read about the way the Holy Spirit would affect people
• The words used are often “the Spirit of the Lord came upon them” or “the Spirit of God rested upon them”
• In Psalm 139 we recognize that God is omni-present – he is everywhere
• Psalm 139:7-10 “Where can I go from your Spirit …”
• But in the New Testament, the Father becomes incredibly close to us
• John 14:10 – Jesus and the Father are one, inseparable, while still retaining their personal identity
• John 14:23 – if we love Jesus, we will live the way he taught, and we will become like him
• The Father and Jesus will then come and make their home with us
• They are Spirit, and they dwell in that part of us which is spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
• How close is that! The Father loves us so much that he comes to dwell right inside us!
• It’s like a little child snuggling up close to us as a parent. Some of my most precious memories have been when my grand-daughter Kelilah nestled up close to me on the couch, when my other grand-daughter Jenna placed her hand in mine as we went for a walk when she was little
• The Father gets so close to us that nothing can separate us
• The Father loves us so much!

Conclusion

• This Father who loves us so much, sent Jesus, with whom he was one, to come as a human baby, and ultimately die so that we could be forgiven and have a close relationship with him
• This father desires to be close to everyone of us
• There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. - Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13.

Ministry

• If you would like prayer today to restore the closeness of the relationship with your heavenly Father as he desires for you, please come forward for prayer.
• Or if you have other things for which you would like prayer, please feel free to come forward as well

Why is it so hard to let it go? Matt 18:21-35

Why is it so hard to let it go?

August 19, 2012
Matthew 18:21-35

Introduction

• Have you ever had someone who really hurt you?
• Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before.
• But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. "Don't you remember it?" her friend asked. "No," came Barton's reply, "I distinctly remember forgetting it." - Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness, Multnomah Press, 1985.
• Some things we can take in our stride, are relatively easy to deal with
• Other things that happen go deeper, to the core of our being
• Sometimes we find it hard to let it go
• I use that phrase, letting it go, because as Christians we know the standard is that we must forgive
• If asked if we have forgiven so and so, we will say yes, I have forgiven them
• But then we often add, but I will never forget what he did to me
• It is this aspect of letting it go, that I want to discuss this morning

Reading

• Matthew 18:21-35

Why the parable?

• Peter wanted to have a standard as to how often he should forgive a particular brother
• How many of us have people who repeatedly hurt us in the same manner
• One we can forgive. The second time is harder, the third time we are thinking, this person doesn’t really care, and we start to build a scorecard for this person
• Peter was thinking he had it covered, if he forgave his brother 7 times
• Jesus’ response is that it is way more, astronomically more
• Seventy times seven, is 490 times
• There are few people whom I have had to forgive so many times
• Jesus intentionally gave an huge number, because he doesn’t want us to keep a scorecard

Forgiveness is a state of mind

• We sometimes think that forgiveness is an action that we take
• And yes, it is an action
• But things have to go beyond just the words, I forgive you
• Forgiveness comes from the heart
• What things stand in the way of forgiveness
• 1. Entitlement
  • we may feel that it would be unfair if this person were to get away with murder, hopefully not literally
  • we are entitled to have a peaceful copacetic life, including our relationship with this person(means agreeable, all right, alright, satisfactory, ducky, fine, good, hunky-dory, jake [slang], OK (or okay), palatable
  • we may feel because he said or did something hurtful, I am entitled to his asking for forgiveness
  • but forgiveness is a state of heart (verse 35)
  • We are not entitled to anything except separation from God
  • It is by grace alone, that we may be forgiven
  • We can’t earn it, it is God’s free gift, through Jesus
• 2. Pride
  • pride comes from having an exalted view of ourselves
  • pride was Satan’s downfall
  • he got an idea that he was stronger and better than God
  • But God set him right in that idea, he knows God is in charge, and Jesus said even the demons believe and tremble!
  • When we have a big head, thinking we know it all, and we have it right, and the other person has it wrong, that’s the time to dial down our attitude
  • Col 3:12-15
  • We have been called to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient
  • Let peace reign in our hearts!
• 3. Our desire to get even
  • “The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair.
  • She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, "There, there. She didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that hurts." He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.
  • As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she asked, "What happened?"
  • The little boy replied, "She knows now." - [source: www.preachingtoday.com]
  • We by nature want to get even
  • But Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:38-39 to turn the other cheek.
  • This means we do not retaliate in kind
  • Rom 12:17-21 – Instead, bless your enemy, overcome evil by doing good to him
• 4. Forgetting how much God has forgiven us
  • Sometimes we forget the depths from which we have come, and now think of ourselves a better than the other
  • When we forget what Jesus has done for us, we may find it hard to forgive another
  • We can become blasé about our relationship with Jesus
  • God no longer is vibrant and alive in our life
  • We take our own forgiveness for granted, and so don’t see a need to forgive someone else, as we ourselves have been forgiven.
  • This servant in Matthew 18, forgot where he had come from
  • He did not recognize that he previously was in a worse state than his friend
  • And so he exacts vengeance, and wants his pound of flesh
  • Jesus’ big point was, if we don’t forgive the other person, from our heart, he won’t forgive us.
  • Matt 6:14-15 – if we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us

Conclusion

• General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive and I never forget." To which Wesley replied, "Then, Sir, I hope you never sin." - Unknown.
• Are we someone who finds it hard to forgive?
• We need to learn to forgive completely, from the heart
• Sometimes it is hard to squeeze the words out
• But until we forgive from the heart, we are still under judgment
• Let peace be in your family
• Let peace reign in your relationships
• Let peace be in this house.

Our Church Mission! - Mark 16:20

Our Church Mission!

July 29, 2012

Mark 16:20

Introduction

-         Last week we looked at the church in the sense that there is one church, not many

-         The church is not a building, but is composed of many members, Jesus being the head of the body

-         But why did Jesus start a church?

-         If he came to die for our sins so we could go to heaven and be with him forever, why did he say he was going to build his church?

-         What is the purpose for a church?

-         Today we will look at the mission the church as a whole has, and perhaps hint a little more particularly at what Grace Fellowship’s role could be here in Susanville

Jesus sends out the disciples

-         John 20:21 – As the Father has sent me, I am sending you

-         This harks back to the place where Jesus outlines his mission statement

-         Let’s read it – Luke 4:18

-         In order to accomplish his mission, Jeus had to be anointed with the Holy Spirit

-         When a person is anointed, we ask the Holy Spirit to empower the person to do the task to which they have been called

-         Here in John 20, the disciples have  been given their mission, to do the same things that Jesus did

-         But then in Acts 1:8 they are told to wait till they are empowered by the Holy Spirit so they can accomplish the task they have been given

-         Don’t go out unprepared

-         God calls, prepares, empowers and then works through us

-         The mission field to which the disciples have been called is everywhere around us

-         Matt 28:19-20

-         This is known as the Great Commission

-         The disciples are sent out to make disciples of all nations

What does it mean to make a disciple?

-         A disciple is a student, one who learns at the feet of the master

-         Jesus here is setting the example

-         He is a teacher, a rabbi, who is teaching students, the disciples

-         But these disciples were not just here to learn Bible knowledge

-         They were here because Jesus was different, and they wanted to be like him

-         In the days of Jesus, rabbis would select young men to follow them and learn from them

-         They would be learning how the rabbi thinks, how he acts

-         The expression they had was to walk in the dust of the rabbi

-         “A talmid or disciple, did not follow a rabbi as a student. They desired to gain the rabbi's knowledge, but for a greater goal-they wanted to become like the rabbi himself.

-         A talmid followed the rabbi everywhere-every day, and every hour of the day-often without knowing or asking where the rabbi was going.

-         The talmidim rarely left his rabbi's side for fear that he would miss a teachable moment.

-         He watched the rabbi's every move, noting how he acted and thought about a variety of situations.

-         Talmidim or disciples, trusted their rabbi completely.

-         They were eager to hear the rabbi's teachings and they worked passionately to incorporate the rabbi's actions and words into their lives.

-         The disciple's deepest desire was to follow his rabbi so closely that he would start to think and act like the rabbi himself." -Ray VanderLaan- http://www.followtherabbi.com/

-         A disciple is one who follows so closely behind Jesus, that he is covered by the dust of the rabbi

-         This goes way beyond just leading someone into the Sinner’s prayer

-         Our goal in missions, is to reach people with the gospel message, but them lead them into a relationship with the Shepherd of our souls

-         Jesus example is that he taught his disciples

-         This took time, 3 ½ years in fact

-         But at the time he left, they were ready

-         And so he sent them out to continue his work

-         John14:12 – anyone who has faith in me will do the things I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

-         All they needed now was the anointing, the empowering to do the task to which they had been called.

So what is our mission as Grace Fellowship?

-         Next week we look at this in more detail, but our task is to reach the community around us

-         That is the commission we have been given

-         But just as the disciples were prepared before being sent out, the church is a place where people are prepared for their place in the great commission

-         We don’t have Jesus walking and teaching us in the same way that the disciples did, following in the dust of the rabbi

-         But we have the words of Jesus, in this Book, the Bible

-         And Jesus still teaches us through people whom the Holy Spirit has anointed for that purpose

-         Remember, God calls, prepares, empowers and then works through us

-         The purpose of this church is to prepare the saints for works of service (Eph 4:12)

-         What greater service can we give, than to lead someone out of the kingdom of darkness, into Jesus glorious light!

-         And be God’s instruments to grow and prepare that person so they can now go back and rescue others from hell!

-         Next week we will flesh this out more and get down into some ideas as to how we can reach our community

Conclusion

-         So what is our mission as a church?

-         We are here to be prepared by Jesus to continue the work that he started, and then to be instruments in preparing these people so they can be workers in the same harvest!