Daily Archives: February 28, 2011

Being a Church on Mission

How Are You Seasoning Those Around You?

Matthew 5:13-16 – “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

To be the salt of earth and the light of the world we must develop an understanding of what does it mean to be a Church on Mission – Being a church on mission means that we are intentional and deliberate about reaching others for Christ. It means we are missionaries without ever leaving our zip code. It means we do missions right where God has planted us—in our community, on the job, with family, at school or wherever you find people who are not churched or may be unsaved and have a need for a personal encounter with Christ.

 Notice two words in our definition:

1. We are intentional – We purpose in our heart to reach our community for Christ. This does not happen by accident, it must be a lifestyle that establishes in each of us a desire to those around us to come into a personal encounter with a living God.
2. We are deliberate – We watch for opportunities to share our faith with others. We watch for opportunities to be Christ to another. We might be Christ incarnate to others. Someone has said that we should preach all of the time and some times we use words.
3. We do so without ever leaving our zip code. This does not mean that we do not go on foreign mission trips; it simply means that we recognize our mission field is where we have a sphere of influence.

 Notice that word program is not used. This is not about establishing another program in the church but rather it is about a lifestyle of passionately displaying the life of Christ so that others can experience His love and touch of grace.

The core values of being on mission:

Every believer is a missionary and every believer is a minister.  In the NT we do not see a biblical distinction between evangelism and missions. In fact the word mission or missions is never used in the NT. We are called to share the message of hope to all we encounter that are open to hear the message.

2 Timothy 4: 5 –As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

 Acts 10:42 – And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

Colossians 4:6 – Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Mark 16:15 – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

We need to build relationships because in building relationships with others they will be more open to hear the message of Christ’s love.  Spend time getting to know others so that trust will grow. Think about how you came to know Christ. Was it not from a personal encounter with someone who loved you enough to share Christ?

We need to love exceptionally because in evangelism our actions speak as loud as our words. Maybe you have become aware of some hardship or a project your neighbor or co-worker is facing. Is there some way that you and your family may help in these things? Jesus knew how our actions speak as loud as our message, so he teaches us to “let our light shine before other men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

We need to proclaim courageously as this kind of evangelism is different than proclamation evangelism, so you may not share the gospel the first time you meet. But, be sensitive to the Spirit’s work and if he opens the door, don’t wait too long before you lead the conversation to spiritual things and to the good news about Jesus Christ.

We must talk their language by speaking in their vernacular.

• The missional church avoids ‘tribal’ language, stylized prayer language, unnecessary evangelical pious ‘jargon’, and archaic language that seeks to set a ‘spritual tone.’
•  The missional church avoids ‘we-them’ language, disdainful jokes that mock people of different politics and beliefs, and dismissive, disrespectful comments about those who differ with us.
•  The missional church avoids ever talking as if non-believing people are not present. If you speak and discourse as if your whole neighborhood is present (not just scattered Christians), eventually more and more of your neighborhood will find their way in or be invited. Unless all of the above is the outflow of a truly humble-bold gospel-changed heart, it is all just ‘marketing’ and ‘spin.’

 We must practice Christian unity as much as possible on the local level. Today it is much more illuminating and helpful for a church to define itself over against the world’s values and the non-Christian culture rather than against other believers. It is very important that we not spend our time bashing and criticizing other kinds of churches. While we must align ourselves to denominations that share our distinctives, at the local level we must cooperate and reach out to and support other congregations and churches in our local area.

Characteristics of missional churches – Minfred Minatrea studied a number of missional churches. He defined missional churches as “Reproducing communities of authentic disciples, being equipped as missionaries sent by God, to live and proclaim his kingdom in their world.” He noted nine practices that they have in common (with my explanatory phrases in parentheses):

1. Having a high threshold for membership (high expectations for believers).
2. Being real, not real religious (being transparent, authentic, with one foot in “the world.”).
3. Teaching to obey rather than to know (a practical faith).
4.  Rewriting worship every week (Creative, participatory Sunday morning services).
5. Living apostolically (each believer as a missionary).
6. Expecting to change the world (aggressively engaged in transforming communities).
7. Ordering actions according to purpose. (Ruthless aligning of resources with mission) .
8. Measuring growth by capacity to release rather than retain. (Not megachurches but multiplying churches).
9. Placing kingdom concerns first (in contrast to denomination first. Thus, cooperation with other churches).

CONFRONTATIONAL vs. PRAYER EVANGELISM

Confrontational Evangelism has followed this sequence:

1. First knock on a door to meet a stranger.
2. You have no credibility because you look just like other religious groups who use this approach.
3. You intentionally patronize with a spiritual “one-upmanship,” i.e. “I have something you need,” or “your life is not right,” etc.

As you can imagine, the confrontational approach is threatening to the average believer, let alone the average resident who has faced too many of these situations before. As a result, only a small number of believers participate in evangelistic ministry, a ministry that is meant for all.
Prayer Evangelism follows the pattern of Luke 10:5-9:

1. Speak peace – give blessing.
2. Remain in the house – establish a relationship.
3. Heal the sick – discover felt needs and pray for them.
4. Proclaim the Kingdom of God is near – invite them to receive Christ.

Sermon on The Mount

How is Your Righteousness?

Throughout Jesus’ ministry here on earth He dealt with those who were religious but failed to have a personal relationship with Him. Our study today is one of those cases.

 Matthew 5:17-20 – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The first thing we see in this passage is that Jesus did not come to abolish the law. In verse 17 Jesus says “Do not think that I have come to abolish or destroy the law or the prophets” To understand this passage we must understand the meaning of “abolish.” The word “abolish or destroy” means to deny their authority or to set people free from the obligation to obey them.

Instead of abolishing the law He came to fulfill the law – This means he came to complete the design of the law; to fulfill what was predicted; to accomplish what was intended in them. Additionally, the word “fulfill” can mean “to teach.” The law of Moses contained many sacrifices and rites which were designed to shadow forth the Messiah. These were fulfilled when he came and offered himself a sacrifice to God. Romans 3:31 states “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

A review of the Old Testament reveals that there were two sets of law:

1. The moral law was that law established in the Ten Commandments and other vital laws that taught believers how they should act and honor God in their lives. In essence, Jesus did not destroy the moral law but He came to fulfill this law as He, through His death gave the power to overcome the very reason the law had been established and that was to overcome sin. He came to fulfill the moral law which means to establish, illustrate, and explain its highest meaning, both by my life and doctrine.
2. The second set of laws established in the Old Testament was the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law looked to the day of the coming Messiah. The ceremonial law set forth a series of acts that the Jew was to participate in to have their sins forgiven. But in the New Testament Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross took the place of the ceremonial so that we no longer have to bring bulls, goals or birds into church to be offered as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sin. In Eph. 2:14-16 Paul defines this when he said For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

 The problem with the ceremonial law was that it powerless to do anything about the sin in our life. That is why the veil between the Holy Place and the Holies of Holies was torn into two pieces because upon His death there was no need for the sacrifices of the Old Testament.

 The Jews believed that the words of Jesus were contrary to the religion and faith of his followers, who assert, that the Law of Moses was being abolished. The rule which Christ came to establish exactly agreed with the scriptures of the Old Testament, here called the law and the prophets. The prophets were commentators upon the law, and both together made up that rule of faith and practice which Christ found upon the throne in the Jewish church, and here he keeps it on the throne.

Our Righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. The Pharisees of the day believed that they had a corner on the law and that they had some unique ability to establish the law but they themselves could not keep the very law they instituted.

All of the law will be fulfilled.

The righteousness of the Pharisees exposed – Jesus in this passage points out that the righteousness of the believer must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisses. To understand the issues the Pharisees had one must turn to Matthew 23. It is here that Jesus exposes who the Pharisee really was.

1. The Pharisees did not practice what he preached. They expected everyone else to obey the law but they themselves were filled with excuses. (Matt. 23:2-3). Once again this speaks to the idea of being authentic and real. In other words we will not ask anyone to do anything that we ourselves are not willing to do. The Pharisees were critical and judgmental but they refuse to obey their own preaching.
2. The Pharisees burdened the people with rules and regulations that they themselves could keep. (Matt. 23:4). Rather than preaching liberty and life they actually add chains and bonds to their converts. In other words, they are always adding to what it takes to be a believer thereby complicating the process and making conversion works based rather than grace based. (Matt. 23:13-15) The Pharisees were critical and judgmental of others who attempted to keep the law according to God’s purposes and His plans. You could never be good enough. It was easier to set a law than to deal with the issues of the heart.
3. The Pharisees were more concerned about their outward appearance but inwardly they were cold and dead. All of their deeds were to be done to be seen by others. They make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love they place of honor at the feasts and the best seats in the synagogues. They love being greeted in the marketplace and they love the idea that they are known as a rabbi. They kept the outside clean but inwardly they were filled with dead men’s bones and all sorts of evil. (Matt. 23:5-7 & Matt 23:25- 28). They would dress the part and act the part but they were not close to God at all. It was an act. They were hypocrites. Hypocrites were those who were play actors. They wore masks to hide their true character and true intent.
4. The Pharisees aimed to gain the praise of men rather than the applause of God. They tithed regularly but they neglected justice, mercy and faithfulness. (Matt. 23:23-24). The Pharisees priorities were out of order. They worshipped the temple more than the God of the Temple. When you accomplish things for God do you do gain a reaction from people or do you do them for God. There is a difference.

What about you today? Are you exhibiting Pharisaical attitudes? If so ask for God’s forgiveness and He will restore you to right thinking.