Demonstration of the Gospel
Be The Church • Sermon • Submitted
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INTRO
INTRO
WELCOME & RELEASE
WELCOME & RELEASE
Good morning CrossPointe, kids can be released
Adults, turn with me to
CURRENT SERIES
CURRENT SERIES
Last week we started a new four week series called “Be The Church”
This is something we say at the end of every service here at CrossPointe. It is the final commissioning as you are sent out into the your communities to display to glorious truth of Jesus.
The Church is...
the body of jesus here on earth to display the glory of God in a dark and lost world.
a spiritual work of God
the church displays the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:10)
Not against flesh and blood
Foundation - Prayer (Dependence on God)
Because the church is spiritual - we must begin in prayer
In this spiritual battle, the god of this world, Satan, has blinded the eyes of unbelievers from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
Pick 2-3 people
Pray for them
Intercede
Depend on God
SERMON INTRO
SERMON INTRO
Now what...
As we are praying for these people, and trusting God to work… does God invite us to participate in some way.
YES - and this is what I want to talk about today...
PRAY
PRAY
Let’s pray and dive in
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Before Christmas we walked through Jesus’ sermon on the mount. In that sermon we heard the familiar words I want to remind us of again.
“YOUR ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD...”
“YOUR ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD...”
“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.
Matthew 5:
You are a light
City on a hill - have you ever looked at the night sky and seen the horizon illuminated...
Lamp on a stand
Let your light shine before others - what does this mean…?
See your good works
Give glory to your father who is in heaven.
“WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN JARS OF CLAY...”
“WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN JARS OF CLAY...”
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
This light we have is not from us - it is from God
The world says...
You are amazing, perfect just the way you are
Let yourself shine, be free, you got this...
Love yourself,
The Bible says...
You are a clay jar
Made of earth, created, not divine
You sinned and are separated from God
What is in us is darkness but we call this light.
Burnt ashes of who we were created to be yet we call it beauty
We feel empty inside yet try to convince others and ourselves we are full as we hide behind our smiles.
We are jars of clay
But that is not all we are
God is the light in you.
God restores
not longer separated from God
no longer a shell of who we were created to be but we are a new creation
God indwells
The darkness is overrun by the light of God
God indwells believers and we are no longer empty and alone.
You must be less, more see through, more transparent.
We stand up
Behold - see what God has done
As you live your life of obedience before others - they will see your good works.
Thus, as you do good works before others - people will give glory to God who is in heaven
They see what you do...
And glorify God - not you.
OBEDIENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
OBEDIENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
How will you “let your light shine” before the people you are praying for?
Some ideas:
Hospitality (dinner, coffee)
Friendship
Shared experiences
Hand-written note
What will fuel your good works?
Danger - what fuels your good works.
THE FUEL OF GOOD WORKS
THE FUEL OF GOOD WORKS
ILLUSTRATION
ILLUSTRATION
What fuels our “good works” is as important as the good works themselves.
Imagine you’ve just gotten a brand new car. Maybe it’s brand new, maybe it’s just new to you but you are super excited. You have this roadtrip planned, the playlist ready but you just have to fill up first.
You pull in to the gas station, full of excitement and go to put gas in your car. You know you shouldn’t put the green diesel in your new car and you can’t afford the premium so without thinking you grab the black handle and fill up up your tank. You hope back in the car and off you go.
All State Insurance says, “after you start the engine, then catastrophic failure of the injection pump, the injectors, and finally the whole engine will likely occur. Nobody really can tell you when that will happen. But it is not a long time or distance.”
The same is true of our own hearts - the fuel that motivates our actions of good works can lead to an increased spiritual health or catastrophic burnout and failure.
WRONG FUEL #1 - SELF-PROMOTION
WRONG FUEL #1 - SELF-PROMOTION
Motivation
Impress others
Be noticed by others
Good works are not motivated by the other person’s well-being but how you are perceived by others
Consequence
You are a slave to the opinions of others
You are a puppet whose hands and feet and pulled by the will and opinions of others.
Pretend
Response
Repent - acknowledge and name your motivations
WRONG FUEL #2 - EARN GOD’S LOVE (Unbelief)
WRONG FUEL #2 - EARN GOD’S LOVE (Unbelief)
Motivation
You see recognize that God is holy and you have fallen short
In recognizing the distance you assume that you can do better, be better - maybe not the best, but good enough, by some standard, somewhere.
It’s kinda like the joke of two hunters in the woods - they see a mama grizzly coming toward them, angry, and ready to protect her cubs. The one hunter starts to panics and asks “What should we do?” But sees that his friend has taken running shoes out of his bag and is lacing them up. “What are you doing he exclaims?” “Well, I figure I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.”
We do the same thing with God
I may not be perfect but I just have to be better than you.
Consequence
Here’s the problem - God demands perfection and anything short of that and we will be consumed.
We strive and strive but when is good - good enough?
People make a religion out of “good works”
Compare ourselves to others constantly
We can’t be too happy at the success of others because that just puts more pressure on us
We encourage mediocrity in others so we don’t have to be bothered trying too hard ourselves (just look at our culture)
Perform
Response
Repent
Don’t diminish the holiness of God to appease your own guilt.
WRONG FUEL #2 - SELF
WRONG FUEL #3 - REPAY GOD (With Belief)
WRONG FUEL #3 - REPAY GOD (With Belief)
Motivation
Look what God has done for us in dying on the cross to repay our sins.
I need to payback what I owe.
Before coming being hired at CrossPointe I worked for a missions agency evaluating, equipping, and sending church-planting around the world.
There were times when I would meet someone new and ask them why they wanted to church-plant overseas as a missionary and their answer would be something like, “I was really bad, God saved, and now I need to repay him and this was the costliest thing I could think of.”
Consequence
We live with idea of debt - we need to pay back
God is so good, it cost him so much - I’m so bad and unworthy - now I need to repay
Strive - be better, work harder, it’s never enough, I’m always falling short, he’s never pleased with me
Hide - let me pretend
Burden - we can stand beneath. It is too great, too heavy
Response
Repent
Don’t diminish God’s holiness by thinking you can repay God’s grace
RIGHT FUEL - EMPOWERED BY GOD (Believer Living By Grace)
RIGHT FUEL - EMPOWERED BY GOD (Believer Living By Grace)
Motivation
Gratefulness vs Guilt
Freedom vs Bondage
Son vsSlave
He pursued me while
Consequence
Joy
Spiritually empowered - not in your own strength
Response
Don’t become complacent or assume your motivations will always be pure.
Our hearts are fickle - walk in repentance and humility
THE GOAL OF GOOD WORKS
THE GOAL OF GOOD WORKS
GLORY TO GOD
GLORY TO GOD
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.
Matthew 5:
FUEL of our obedience is worship
What is the motivation that fuels our good works? - The glory of God
GOAL of our obedience is worship
What is the goal of our good works? - The glory of God
WE SHINE
HOW WILL YOU DEMONSTRATE THE GOSPEL TO THOSE ON YOUR LIST
Last week I had you pray about 2 or 3 people
This week I want you to consider - “How can I demonstrate the grace and mercy of the gospel through my actions?”
Each person, be specific - what will you do, when will you do it, who else could you invite, etc.
This emphasis will continue throughout the year
If you’re thinking - wow, this is a bit uncomfortable… that is a good thing.
God said to “Go and make disciples”
He didn’t say, “Come and listen, then ignore everything I’ve taught.”
As we go, Let Us Be The Church