New Purpose
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The Story of the Lifesaving Station (Thomas Wedel, “Ecumenical Review,” October, 1953, paraphrased in Heaven Bound Living, Knofel Stanton, Standard, 1989, pp. 99-101)
On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew.
Some members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as sort of a club.
Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in this club’s decorations, and there was a miniature lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held.
About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities, since they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.
As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.
Being in Christ means that we have a new Purpose in this world. We are a part of a Lifesaving Station (Church) in this world with a message.
2 Cor 5:18-20 - Paul talks about His mission as the Apostle to the Gentiles and we can see our mission in a similar way. Paul is showing the legitimacy of his ministry to them against the false teachers/apostles that are pulling the church in Corinth away from Paul.
New Ministry (18)
New Ministry (18)
2 Corinthians 5:18 (ESV)
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
Paul’s Ministry
Ministry - the role or position of serving—‘ministry, task.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 460. Print.)
“διακονία (diakonia). n. fem. ministry, service. Refers to a ministry or service; either waiting on others or a ministry in the church. (Clark, Ron, and Dougald McLaurin III. “Duty.” Ed. Douglas Mangum et al. Lexham Theological Wordbook 2014: n. pag. Print. Lexham Bible Reference Series.)
Paul is saying that he was given the role/ministry of serving others for the purpose of reconciliation of others to God.\
Acts 20:24 (ESV)
24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Paul ministry was the gospel of Christ. He dedicated his life to the service of others with the goal of reconciliation of them to God.
Reconciliation - to reestablish proper friendly interpersonal relations after these have been disrupted or broken—‘to reconcile, to make things right with one another, reconciliation.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 501. Print.)
Church’s Ministry
Like Paul, the church is to serve others for the sake of the Gospel.
We are called to serve.
Mark 10:42–45 (ESV)
42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus set the example of serving others with his Life and Death. Read John 13:1-17 about Jesus setting the example of washing the disciples feet and teaching them to do likewise.
Matthew 5:13–16 (ESV)
13 “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. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 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.
Salt and Light are used to show that what we do will impact others we serve. The goal of our service is that others will glorify God. (16)
New Message (19)
New Message (19)
2 Corinthians 5:19 (ESV)
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Paul’s Ministry
Paul Just said he was placed in the service of others for the sake of their reconciliation to God. He is now saying that he was given a clear message to proclaim as he serves.
Message - (derivative of λέγωa ‘to say,’ 33.69): that which has been stated or said, with primary focus upon the content of the communication—‘word, saying, message, statement, question.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 399. Print.)
The Message is, “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them...”
Entrusted - to bring about an arrangement; fix, establish, set. as he established among us the word of reconciliation (=entrusted to us … ; cp. Ps 104:27 ἔθετο ἐν αὐτοῖς τ. λόγους) 2 Cor 5:19. (Arndt, William et al. A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature 2000: 1004. Print.)
Paul saw his ministry to serve others with the message of the Gospel that was entrusted to him for faithful deliverance to others for reconciliation.
The Church’s Message
We as a church have the same Gospel message to the world around us.
The Message is, “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them...”
Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)
19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Go and make disciples of Jesus through the message of the Gospel.
Teach them to observe (Live out) what Jesus commands.
New Minister (20)
New Minister (20)
2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Ambassador - (derivative of πρεσβεία ‘representative,’ 37.87) to function as a representative of a ruling authority—‘to be a representative of, to be an ambassador of’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 481. Print.)
“In the Roman Empire, there were two kinds of provinces: senatorial provinces and imperial provinces. The senatorial provinces were made up of people who were peaceful and not at war with Rome. They had surrendered and submitted. But the imperial provinces were not peaceful; they were dangerous because they would rebel against Rome if they could. It was necessary for Rome to send ambassadors to the imperial provinces to make sure that rebellion did not break out.
Since Christians in this world are the ambassadors of Christ, this means that the world is in rebellion against God. This world is an “imperial province” as far as God is concerned. He has sent His ambassadors into the world to declare peace, not war. “Be ye reconciled to God!” We represent Jesus Christ (John 20:21; 2 Cor. 4:5). If sinners reject us and our message, it is Jesus Christ who is actually rejected. What a great privilege it is to be heaven’s ambassadors to the rebellious sinners of this world!
God has not declared war on the world; at the cross He declared peace. But one day, He will declare war; and then it will be too late for those who have rejected the Saviour (2 Thes. 1:3–10). Satan is seeking to tear everything apart in this world, but Christ and His church are involved in the ministry of reconciliation, bringing things back together again, and back to God.
Ministry is not easy. If we are to succeed, we must be motivated by the fear of the Lord, the love of Christ, and the commission that He has given to us. What a privilege it is to serve Him! (Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996. Print.)
Paul’s Ministry
Paul sees himself as a representative of Christ in this world with a message of the Gospel.
Ephesians 6:19–20 (ESV)
19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Romans 1:1–2 (ESV)
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Paul saw his life as a representative of christ as well as what he says.
Church’s Ministry
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
witness - one who affirms or attests, testifier, witness, of anyone who can or should testify to anything.; In this sense, above all, of Jesus’ disciples as the witnesses of his life, death, and resurrection: you will be my witnesses Ac 1:8; (Arndt, William et al. A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature 2000: 619–620. Print.)
We are to be representatives of Christ (Christlike/godly living) and testify to the message of the Gospel (Proclaim the gospel).
Conclusion
Conclusion
We are in Christ and, like Paul, are given the ministry and message of reconciliation. We are representatives of Christ in this world.
1 Corinthians 3:5–9 (ESV)
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
We are all working together to reach others for Christ. Some plant seeds, some cultivate, some water, but God brings the growth. We need to be faithful in our witness.
Benediction
Benediction
Picnic
Do not park on the East side of the Church next week.
those being baptized, please meet up front for instruction.
Romans 16:25–27 (ESV)
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.