Church
Mission
Part 10 – What is Your Story?
Pastor
Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON TIMELINE
·
Introduction
o
Step One: Where do we Begin?
o
The Disciples
o Go and ‘Make’ Disciples
o Get Your Nets
o When, Where & How to Fish
o When is When?
o Where is Where?
o But How?
o What is Your Story?
INTRODUCTION
Today is Sunday. May 21st,
2023
We began looking at the mission of disciples in early
March. What exactly are those who claim to be followers of Christ supposed to
be doing while we are here?
·
Does Jesus truly become
our Lord and Master if we are not His servants?
·
If we are followers of Jesus, are we mere bystanders
or part of the corporation?
·
If we are saved, are we
couch-Christians waiting to die and go to heaven, or are we Christian soldiers
on the front lines ministering to the lost?
These are important questions
in the life of a believer, because if you do not understand what is required of
you, then how can you truly serve?
What did we learn from Genesis and Exodus?
Disobedience to the Lord
is no joke, and there will be a response from God.
Firstly, sin is met with
DISCIPLINE (the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior
/a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.)
·
This is NOT punishment…
Genesis 3:9-11 “Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he
said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; so I hid.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
God did not ask this question because He did
not know. Rather, to meet sin with discipline and CORRECT a behavior.
This would have been the time Adam should
confess, instead, he laid blame on the woman.
So, when someone sins,
God gives them the opportunity to confess to Him, and they will receive, not
just forgiveness, but discipline, and a correction. If no confession is made,
discipline does not correct the sinner’s path, THEN comes PUNISHMENT.
Adam, refusing to
confess of his sin against God, must now receive a covering until that sin can
be removed from him.
Genesis 3:21
“Then Yahweh God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed
them.”
Which is why there was
animal sacrifice throughout the Old testament. It was a covering, symbolic and
ceremonially representative of the sacrifice Jesus would make to remove sin at
the cross. Until then, man would only receive a covering.
What else came after
Adam refused to confess to God and discipline failed to correct Adam’s path?
PUNISHMENT.
Genesis 3:21-24 “Then Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us to know good and evil; and now, lest he
send forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live
forever”— therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to
cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at
the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword
which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”
From Genesis, the very beginning, Yahweh has made it very clear to man.
Obedience brings benefits, bounty and blessings from the Kingdom.
Disobedience will first bring correction through discipline, then punishment
through wrath.
Until you come to your senses and confess you are sinful and in need of
Jesus, you will have a period of Grace, saving you from the coming wrath and
punishment reserved for all those who reject the Living God.
So the question is asked again.
Does
Jesus truly become our Lord and Master if we are not His servants?
If you have confessed and repented and accepted Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, isn’t it time you started behaving like a disciple?
SCRIPTURE READING (Legacy Standard Bible)
Luke 5:4
“And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the
deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
TODAY’S MESSAGE
I.
LUKE 5 AND MATTHEW 28 – THE BEGINNING AND THE END
a.
You are called
i.
In Luke 5 the Lord called Simon, James, John and
Zebedee
1.
Zebedee?
2.
Matthew 4:21
tells us Zebedee is James and John’s father
3.
James
and John immediately left their father to follow Jesus. The promptness of their
obedience to Jesus’ call may indicate that Zebedee and his sons were already
familiar with Jesus’ ministry and that Zebedee fully approved of his sons’
calling. In those days, following a rabbi and learning from him was an honor,
and it would have reflected well on Zebedee and his family.
ii.
In Matthew 28 the Lord called the “disciples” for a
specific purpose
iii.
You
too, are called!
1.
“You
did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would abide…” John 15:16a
2.
“And
we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
b.
You are given when and where…here and now
i.
“But
God has chosen the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base (or lowly) things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may abolish the things that are, so that no flesh may boast before God. But by His doing you
are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom
from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE
LORD.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-31
ii.
By
Him, His calling, His equipping, His conforming, His transforming, we become
greater than we were because of HIS Spirit, HIS works, because of HIM.
1.
Isaiah 64:8
“But now, O Yahweh, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.”
2.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says Yahweh, “Let not a wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not
the mighty man boast in his might; let not a rich man boast in his riches, but
let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am
Yahweh who shows lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I
delight in these things,” declares Yahweh.”
c.
You have your command (Matthew 28) What are you waiting for?
i.
The
Lord called the disciples, told them where to meet Him, gave them the Great
Commission, which is for all disciples.
1.
MAKE disciple of all nations
2.
Baptize
them
3.
Teach
them to obey all I commanded you
ii.
What
are you waiting for?
II.
WE ARE ALL SAINTS, PRIESTS AND MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL
a.
Once you are saved, your receive a promotion to Saint
i.
1 Corinthians 1:2b “…those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with
all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord
and ours:”
ii.
Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,”
1.
If
you belong to Christ, you ARE a Saint!
b.
As Priests, we need to serve the High Priest, Jesus Christ our Lord and
Savior
i.
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN
FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION,
so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you
are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED
MERCY.”
ii.
Revelation 1:5-6 “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us
from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His
God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.”
1.
If
you belong to Christ, you ARE a Priest!
c.
Matthew 28 is our life mission
i.
We
go where He calls us, when He calls us, and obey His command to make disciples in
the WAY He has called us!
1.
Sometimes
we use the natural gifts He endowed us with at birth
a.
Artist
b.
Musician
c.
Poet
d.
Public
Speaker
2.
Sometimes
we will be endowed with gifts from the Holy Spirit
a.
Administration
b.
Evangelism
c.
Giving
(time, things, money)
d.
Healing
e.
Helps
f.
Hospitality
g.
Leadership
h.
Teaching
3.
Sometimes
through Spiritual Fruits
a.
Love
(1 Corinthians 13)
i.
Patience
ii.
Kindness
iii.
Humility
iv.
Selflessness
v.
Forgiveness
vi.
Protecting
others
b.
Joy
c.
Peace
ii.
Remember
we saw God endow His people in Exodus with craftsmanship abilities as well!
iii.
If
He is calling you to something specific, He WILL endow you and you WILL accomplish
what He has called you to do!
III.
WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
a.
Why Paul is a perfect example to us
i.
He
opposed Christianity working to imprison men and women believers
1.
Some
were even executed by his command
ii.
One
day Paul heard the Lord’s call (Damascus Road)
1.
The
lord gave Him the when and where
2.
Paul
obeyed
iii.
He
confessed his sin, repented of it (no longer condemned, imprisoned or had
believer’s executed,) and served his Lord and Master Jesus by sharing the
gospel.
b.
Once Saved, Paul used himself as the example
i.
He
shared his flaws, weaknesses, failures and mistakes
ii.
He
explained how the Lord forgave him, and made him a NEW creation in Christ
Jesus, and the old had passed away
iii.
He
shared about his struggles and difficulties with the flesh and new spirit
iv.
And
he encouraged others in their struggles because Paul knew, the Lord was
sufficient in all seasons.
c.
We can do the same!
i.
We
can share about who we were to show others we understand, and are empathetic to
their struggles, because we had our own.
ii.
We
can talk about how God had erased, not the past events or what happened, but
how we view them, the pain and suffering they caused in us.
iii.
He
can change our perspective, allow us to see the BIG PICTURE, and empower us not
only to get past our own struggles, but be there for the encouraging of others
so that they too can be freed from the bondage of their sin!
The
Lord will Make a Way for us to Serve Him
CONCLUSION
Once we understand that
the Lord is calling us, here and now, we can begin exploring the ways in which
we can serve Him!
There are more ways than
one imagines, such as sharing about the Lord at work, school, with friends,
neighbors, even--especially with strangers.
We will begin next week
with real life examples and ways we can share Jesus effectively with others
without being on over-zealous noob who steam-rollers people and beats them over
the head with the gospel.
Next
week: There are many ways to serve the Lord
NEXT WEEK
Part 11 – There are many ways to serve the Lord
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