Sunday 20th September 2015
Today we continue celebrating the centenary of the Elim Pentecostal church with our series looking at what we believe. We come to the Great Commission. Our foundational statement is:
The Commission: We believe that the Gospel embraces the needs of the whole man and that the Church is therefore commissioned to preach the Gospel to the world and to fulfil a ministry of healing and deliverance to the spiritual and physical needs of mankind.
We will deal with this in two parts. I will speak about part one and pastor Phil will speak on the Great Compassion of the Great Commission later.
Matthew 28: 16-20: Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 1:7-8: He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
1. The Sin of Omission:
We all have a dislike for the word evangelism. We are not all evangelists. To be fair, we have made this something we think is beyond us. We may not have a five-fold ministry calling on or lives to be an evangelist (Eph. 4:11-13), but we all have a responsibility as witnesses.
We witness is someone who has a story to tell. Our common story is that we were lost and now are found, sinners now saved, lives now changed.
There are two main purposes for the global Church and local church on this earth:
we come together for worship, and,
to be witnesses in the world.
Both of these are vital and both have several sub-categories. Worship, for instance, includes singing, hearing and applying a sermon, lifestyle choices, avoiding sin, living for God and so on.
Witness involves evangelism, talking about our story, living a changed life, being salt and being light.
Matthew 5: 13-16: 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
We have to have action so people will glorify God. They will only know our actions are from God if we tell them. We do social action but not in a vacuum. We should always proceed our actions with, "Because we are Christians, we do this and that..."
Do you ever feel like the Church is being trampled under foot? could it be it is because we have lost our saltiness! How can this happen? Salt is a strong agitator in cooking. It brings out food's flavours. Can such a thing be made un-salty? It can by adding innocuous white powder. Eventually the salt just isn't salt anymore.
Salt in ancient times was used as a preservative, purifier, and a seasoning. The symbolism to the Church cannot be mistaken. When we live the same as the world we have lost our right to speak, our saltiness has gone.
Phil will be speaking about the Great Compassion, as important as social action is, it is not valuable unless it is accompanied by words.
It has been said, and often quoted, that St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words." A fine pithy saying. an unhelpful one in today's culture in the UK. We also thin he never spoke the gospel. some quick facts about him:
- Born: Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but nicknamed Francesco by his dad.
- Wealthy: his father was a wealthy silk merchant. Francis lacked nothing!
- He was a high spirited young man, a party animal; we might say today.
- He fought as a soldier, going to war in 1204.
- He has a vision of God from God during war as a solider and returns to Assisi.
- He goes begging with the poor, even though he is wealthy, during a pilgrimage to Rome.
- He chose poverty over wealth and rejected his rights to his father's money.
- He became a street preacher.
- Out of his preaching came three holy orders.
- As a witness to Assisi he set up the first ever known nativity scenes using real animals and people to help people reflect on the lowly station of Jesus' birth.
- He was a renegade within the Catholic church in his life time. (I don't normally recommend wikipedia but as an overview this article is not too bad: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi).
Everyone in Assisi knew his previous life and his knew life. So when we latch onto the one pity phrase, "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary us words," we have to consider what that looked like. A totally, radically changed life that spoke volumes to his friends. Also a life that still included street preaching, and miracles too.
It was never an excuse for silence. Especially if our lives are un-salty. It was a challenge to Godly living.
We have to admit our shame. Our shame that we do not follow Jesus as closely as we should; our shame of the gospel. We have to celebrate the power of God's love that has set us free!
Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
2. The Desire for Permission:
In the midst of Jesus' last words in Matthew's gospel we have the elven disciples being commissioned. They know Jesus is risen. they have seen Him and eaten with him. They have had conversations with him. It is a momentous moment and Matthew wants his readers and us to understand the significance of wha is being said buy putting it last. These are the last orders. There would not be any change to this mission from here on in. It is a watershed moment.
In the middle of this we read these words: When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.(17).
They worshipped Him. Awesome! Proclaiming who He is, eagerly waiting what was next. But some doubted. even in the 11 disciples who were left, some doubted. This isn't just Thomas; this is some of them.
At that point they had not been baptised in the Holy Spirit, so we might say they lacked power to believe, but in the middle of the group is Jesus! We might think, 'How can they doubt?"
Perhaps they were waiting for a sign. But Jesus is there!
Sometimes we want a sign before we will witness. It is great to pray. Prayer is vital. In prayer we beseech the Lord for our nation, our city, our community, our church. we get before Him and cry out for renewal and revival. That is why 24/7 prayer is so important. prayer is happening all over the city and it is our responsibility.
Some things we don't need to pray about. Somethings we don't seek permission for because we are commissioned. We might say things can depend upon God;s timing. some things do. Like when and whom to marry, the job we are looking for, the next business opportunity. Commissioned things do not depend upon timing for God has ordained them for all times!
2 Timothy 4: 1-3: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
In season and out of season. which means there are things that need to be done all the time. Logical or not. Popular or not. Sensible or not.
When do we seek permission? We pray prayers like we are un-commissioned! We say things like: "Lord, if it's your will, then let them ask me about my faith," or "Lord, if its's your will give me an opportunity to witness."
It's so hard because we think we will be rejected, laughed at, lose jobs and so on. Maybe we will! But there is something we need to remember:
WE ARE NOT ALONE!
20b: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
We are not just sent. We are accompanied! On a mission with permission!
That means sometimes we are going to get it right. It means sometimes we are going to get it wrong. It does mean we have to create the opportunity too, sometimes.
True story: occasionally in a local coffee shop I will pay for others coffee without telling them and leave. it is not often, but regular enough for the staff to know. The first time I did it they thought I was nuts. Recently after an event here Barbie and I went in to grab a few minutes together. I was suited and booted. As we were leaving, we ad the most British of moments, when someone else was trying to leave too and we awkwardly got in each others way.
I said, "after you."
This guys says, "No, after you. Your tie is much nicer than mine."
"Not really," I said, "You have scrubbed up well. After you."
He says, "No, you first, and you look like you're well off, you can pay for mine while you're there!"
"OK," I said, and went first.
Now I know this all sounds very un-British and a bit random. Barbie nows what's coming next. The lady at the counter knows what's coming next. The guy in the suit has no idea. He's now chatting with his friend.
To the girl at the counter I say, "Ours and that man's too." He was already on it. It was not expensive but they had definitely had more than a coffee each.
I say goodbye and leave.
He goes to pay. We hear him saying, "He did what?"
There's a commotion from inside the coffee shop.
it was then I realised this was going to be more than just an act of kindness, so I quickly grabbed my business card from my trusty man-bag.
He runs out of the shop and chases after us. I spin around, his hand is outstretched to shake mine. You would think I had given him a million pounds. His smile is broad. Effusive in his thanks. No one has ever done anything like that. So kind. What a great guy! It was then he noticed as we were shaking hands I had slipped him my business card. He looks at it and looks at me. I smile and say, "One day you're going to need me for more than lunch. Be sure to call. God loves you." He smiles, thanks me, and we walk on.
At the risk of sounding too spiritual and you all thinking, "Keith, that's a great story but it was obviously God's timing," Let me tell you a secret? I have randomly been paying for coffee's for about three years. I have been creating the opportunity and also befriending the staff at the coffee shop. So much so, that last year the whole staff and their kids came to the Pantomime as my guests and they have been asking me since March can they come to this year's.
I do not know when it is God's timing or just me being salty.
Friendship evangelism is a process and it's harder for me because the vast majority of people I know are Christians. So I have to work hard at it.
3. The Commissioned:
Commissioned to be Attractive
We can talk about commission as something that is ordered by another, so a work of art can be commissioned.
We are God's commissioned work of art in the world:
Ephesians 2:10: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (NKJV)
Commissioned with Authority
In one sense we are commissioned in the same way you can have commissioned army officers. Those in the army whose rank is confirmed by a government document! we have our government document, it's called the Bible! As such we carry authority.
several times in the NT we are referred to as soldiers (Philippians 2:5; 2 Timothy 2:3-4; Philemon 2).
Commissioned as Ready
In engineering or building there comes a point of commissioning. This is defined as: Process by which an equipment, facility, or plant (which is installed, or is complete or near completion) is tested to verify if it functions according to its design objectives or specifications. (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/commissioning.html#ixzz3ltc0G3kN0)
Tested to verify that it functions according to its design! something that is commissioned passes the test!
1 Peter 1: 6-7: In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
You are more ready thank you think and know more than you think you know. You're ready to witness, saved to witness, commissioned to witness.
Commissioned as Ambassadors:
We represent Jesus and His message to the world.
2 Corinthians 5: 18-20a: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
An ambassador works on behalf of one nation in another; but their embassy is counted as home nation soil. we carry the message and we carry our home nation, heaven, with us too.
Wrapping this Up:
I have on my office wall a few posters, clips and quotes to remind me each day what my life is about.
One such thing is from a young Rwandan man who was being forced by his tribe to renounce Christ or face death. He refused and was executed on the spot. Apparently a copy of this prayer was found on him:
I’m part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, lavish wealth, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognised, or praised, or rewarded. I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labour by Holy Spirit power.
My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is Heaven. My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary. I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognising me. My colours will be clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment