We Go: Empowered to Lead

We Go: Empowered to Lead

INTRODUCTION — THE CHURCH AS LEADERS

Our series is all about what it looks like to live a missional life.

Today, we talk about leadership.

Within Second City, and within our broader family of Every Nation churches, we recognize what Paul describes in Ephesians 4:11:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers...”

We often refer to these as the five-fold ministry gifts. Each has a particular task:

Apostle — establish and send
Helps the Church remember that we are a people sent into God’s world.

Prophet — discern and speak
Helps the Church hear God clearly and confront false allegiances.

Evangelist — proclaim and gather
Announces Jesus and continually turns the Church outward toward those who do not yet know him.

Pastor/Shepherd — tend and unite
Helps the Church live as one reconciled family.

Teacher — form and ground
Helps the Church understand the Gospel and mature in discernment so we are no longer “tossed to and fro” by every new idea.

But here’s what is important: Ephesians 4 is not simply an organizational chart.

Paul isn’t trying to figure out how to scale a rapidly growing religious movement. He wasn’t sitting there thinking, This movement is really scaling. We should probably establish some job descriptions.

This is not merely Paul’s organizational chart for how to run a growing church. These ministries come directly out of the larger vision of Ephesians—the vocation and calling of the Church.

And that is very different from how we often think about leadership today.

When we hear leader, we tend to think:

CEO.
President.
Pastor.
Politician.
The person at the top.

And because we have seen leadership abused so many times, we can easily associate leadership with power, ego, ambition, control, even narcissism.But biblical leadership starts somewhere completely different.

Leadership exists for the sake of other people.

Look at what comes immediately after Ephesians 4:11:

“...to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
—Ephesians 4:12

The leaders equip the Church so that the Church can lead the world.

And when I say lead the world, I don’t mean control the world.

I don’t mean Christian domination.

I don’t mean imposing Christian behavior on people who do not believe in Jesus.

I mean that God has created a people whose life together is meant to show the world who God is, what God is doing, and where history is going.

At the heart of worship, mission, unity and holiness, then, we discover in Ephesians the vocation of the church. The church, united and holy, is designed to demonstrate to the hostile watching world that the God revealed in Jesus is the true God, the creator, redeemer, lover and glory of the whole world. 

N.T. Wright

As much as the church as on organization has its leadership structure, the focus today is that the church herself - all of us - are leaders - that we lead the rest of the world into the saving knowledge of Jesus

So how do we lead the world by empowering everyone we meet with the Gospel?

1. Know our calling

2. Know what good looks like

3. Know that we’re not alone

1: KNOW OUR CALLING

The Church is called to be a Spirit-formed people who know God’s redemptive purpose, embody the life of Jesus’ kingdom, and bear its fruit in the world—so that the world can see what life under the lordship of Christ looks like.

That is more precise than simply “the Church is called to lead.” We lead by embodying and extending the reign of Jesus.

Colossians 1:9–14 gives us the precise language

Paul prays:

“…that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power… for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

I want to break this down into two principles: the will of God from the beginning of time, and this new Gospel reality that we have been made worthy to represent.

First, God’s Will: 

God's original goal was never to remove humanity from earth and relocate humanity into heaven.

The goal was: God with humanity > Heaven with earth > Creation filled with God's presence.

Sin - humanity’s pride and rebellion and our eventual separation from God’s presence - entered the picture. In Jesus, God’s original design is now restored.

So when we lead with the Gospel, as God’s people, we need to remember that we’re not just peddling a Golden Ticket to heaven wherein “one day we will leave all this behind”. No, we lead with the message that God is moving right here, right now.

Living in a manner worthy of our calling means this is our premise for living, for hoping. Through the Word, we rewire our minds, and through Spirit-led character formation, we form new habits and overhaul our motivations and desires. We need to consistently push against a salvation story that ends with people escaping earth. 

Creation is God's good world, terribly corrupted but intended to be rescued and renewed rather than discarded.

And we see in scripture, the story from Exodus to the formation of the Gentile churches has continually been moving to a full restoration of goodness.

Secondly, what is this “manner” Paul is talking about:

For many ancient Jews, the Temple was the concentrated earthly sign and sacred meeting point of the heaven-and-earth reality God intended for creation. 

The Temple is a microcosm because God ultimately intends the whole cosmos to become his dwelling. A microcosm is a small-scale representation of something larger.

Psalm 78:69:

“He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.”

So the Temple was never saying: “God intends to live forever in this small building.”

It was saying: “This is what God intends eventually to do with creation.”

In the same way, as the New Temple, the Church is not called to keep God's goodness and power confined within our congregation. God's plan for Israel and His people has always been to serve as a representation of His broader purpose for all humanity.

This perspective on the vocation of the church finds its origins in Exodus, specifically the vision of a royal priesthood in Exodus 19:6, and is further developed through the prophetic words of Isaiah 40–55. 

There, we see that Israel's calling and their deliverance from exile were intended for a specific purpose: that the God of both creation and covenant would be exalted across the globe—a recurring truth woven throughout the Psalms, as seen in Psalm 67.

Ezekiel 47 is also powerful, and theological imagery of the Church's leadership. The temple and the river of life in Ezekiel 47 are symbolic images or typological prophecies pointing to the New Testament church and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The water begins at the sanctuary threshold. It becomes progressively deeper as it moves outward. It enters barren places. It reaches the Dead Sea. What was dead becomes alive. Trees flourish along its banks. Their fruit provides food and their leaves provide healing.

So in short, this is the “manner” Paul is talking about.

In Jesus, we become the Temple through which the restored presence of God produces restored creation.

Ephesians 2:21–22:

“In him the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

The Church is called to become the place from which the life of God's coming world flows into the wounded places of the present world.

Now what? Because of our calling to know God’s vision of redemption, embody it together, and bring its fruit into the world, our task is to…

2: KNOW WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE

Living a missional life is not easy. We are continuously challenged by the realities of the world - both the history of humanity and what we see in the news…and perhaps what we also see in the mirror.

So let me encourage you today: God designed this world to be good. What did He think of it in Genesis? That it was good.

The “good” in the good news is God's creation finally brought to its proper end under the lordship of Jesus. 

Back to Ephesians 1:3-10:

He “lavished upon us the riches of His grace” to redeem us and cleanse us from our sins. And this purpose which he set forth in Christ is the mystery of His plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.

Do you see that?

The purpose that He set in motion through Christ, in Christ is to restore goodness where it was lost.

And therefore:

We lead with a vision of redemption by showing the world what life looks like when things begin moving toward their proper end in Christ: when enemies become family, power becomes service, greed becomes generosity, falsehood becomes truth, exploitation gives way to dignity, broken relationships are repaired, holiness replaces dehumanizing desire, every person discovers vocation, and God's presence becomes visible in a reconciled people.

This premise gets us beyond the maxim: “Christians should do good things.”

It says something much larger:

The Church knows where God says the world is going.

And because we know where it is going, we can recognize what is broken, articulate what good looks like, and begin living that future now.

Ephesians 2:4-10:

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

And crucially, Ephesians 2:10's “good works” are outward-facing. We are God's poiēma—his artwork—created so that the surrounding world can begin to see the effects of God's renewed creation. 

God's people become “poems” for their communities. We lead by showing people what the world looks like when Jesus is Lord.

This is holiness: Holiness is not separation for separation's sake. It is being distinct in our manner of walking because of our vocation.

God sets apart a people so the world can see what life under God looks like. The gospel announces that Jesus is Lord over all of that.

Consequently, the good news announces not merely forgiveness but a new world beginning in Christ.

So what does good look like:

Good government seeks justice rather than domination.

Good business creates real human flourishing rather than treating people merely as inputs for profit.

Good education pursues wisdom and truth rather than simply credentialing people for economic productivity.

Good art reveals beauty and truth rather than simply manipulating attention.

Good relationships move from rivalry and exploitation toward covenant, forgiveness, faithfulness and love.

Good communities move from segregation, hostility and suspicion toward reconciliation and belonging.

These are not the gospel itself. Jesus Christ crucified and risen is the gospel. But these are what life begins to look like when the gospel takes root.

That distinction is important.

BUT: The Church cannot lead the world somewhere she herself is unwilling to go.

Therefore, “good” has to begin inside

Ephesians 1–3:

This is what God has done. This is who you now are.

Ephesians 4–6:

Now become, together, the people that this Gospel has created.

The Gospel moves inside-out. Before the Church announces God's redeemed world to the world, she is called to become a community in which that redeemed world is already beginning to appear.

Not perfectly. But genuinely

So: Holiness isn't hiding from the world. Holiness is giving the world something different to see.

God sets the Church apart not merely to keep us from what is bad, but to show the world what is good. Holiness means God's redemption starts becoming visible in the life we share together. 

Before we ask what the Gospel means for politics, economics, business, education, justice or culture, we should be able to point to a community where hostility is becoming reconciliation, power is becoming service, greed is becoming generosity, falsehood is becoming truth, and selfishness is becoming sacrificial love.

That's why the Church is both promise and protest. 

We are a promise because our life together gives the world a preview of the new creation God has promised. And we are a protest because that same life refuses to accept the distorted patterns of the present world as normal or inevitable.

 Holiness is the Church saying with her life: This is what the world looks like when Jesus is Lord. Before we can show the world what good looks like, good has to become visible among us.

God partakes in the beauty of goodness. 

One of my favorite authors:

Well, God does not need food. God does not need shelter. God does not participate in the satisfaction of these kinds of demands that the world makes on the rest of us. But God can participate in beauty. Even in the creation of the tabernacle in Exodus, the assumption is that beauty is meaningful to God. And it’s something that he conceives, that he wishes to see, that he celebrates the fact of people being able to make real in the world and so on. God knows beauty. And God enjoys beauty. And he plants the world full of it. We live in his Eden, in a sense.

Marilynne Robinson

3: KNOW THAT YOU’RE NOT ALONE

So we understand our vocation. We recognize the vision of restored goodness. But one final truth remains essential:

This life was never intended for isolation. Our unity is not merely something necessary so that we can accomplish the mission. Our unity is part of the mission. The very nature of how the Gospel permeates our reality is to call forth a people as a collective.

This is the heart of Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:

“I therefore…urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 

Community is not simply a helpful resource. It’s not a nice-to-have when it’s convenient.

Every aspect of our mission—embodying God’s dwelling, demonstrating redemption, and extending the life of the future kingdom into the present—requires a unified people.

From Ephesians 4 to 6, Paul is building the case that being Spirit-field as one united body of Christ is the only way we can stand against what we’re really up against.

Ephesians 6:

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

The people outside the church are not the enemy.

Political opponents are not the enemy.
Cultural opponents are not the enemy.
People who disagree with Christianity are not the enemy.

The enemy is what Paul calls the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil.

That matters profoundly for a church called to lead the world with the gospel. We do not lead by conquering people. We stand against the powers that deform people.

The evidence of the new humanity is not that Christians never rupture relationships. It is that the gospel gives us a radically different way of repairing them.

CLOSING

So, Church:

Know your calling. Know what good looks like. And know you are not alone.

We are Christ’s body, God’s dwelling by the Spirit, His promise and protest in this age.

When every part functions properly—apostles sending, prophets discerning, evangelists proclaiming, pastors tending, teachers forming, and all the saints extending the Gospel—the world witnesses what it desperately lacks:

a people distinct but not divided,
holy but not hidden,
powerful but not dominating,
united not by sameness,
but by the lordship of Jesus and our shared mission.

This is the empowered leadership of the Church.

This is how We Go.

We Go: Faith - Great Expectations

We Go: Faith - Great Expectations

Focus Statement: To have great faith is to have great expectations of what God can do when we go out in faith to the lost.

Setting the Scene:

We are continuing our “We Go” series today and focusing on the subject of faith, or what it means to “go in faith.” Naturally, if we are to “go” we want to go in great faith but first it is apt to consider what faith is in the first place! So today we are going to look at what faith is, what it means to have great vs. little faith, what it looks like to apply that, and consider examples from scripture and Christian history that demonstrate going out in the mission field in faith.

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

In the context of this verse, assurance is knowing things that are yet to happen and conviction is knowing things or drawing conclusions based on things that have already happened. For the Christian, it is an all-in-bet of our eternity on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To place our faith in Christ is ostensibly to bet our souls on Him, but it’s not a foolhardy gamble, but rather a decision based on conviction and assurance.

For example, if you could bet $10 billion that Lebron James could make an open layup you might think twice - that’s too much money that none of us have even if it is a high-probability event. But, if you could make that same bet and give Lebron 100 chances in an open gym at the prime of his career, you would be silly not to take it. I would! I have assurance (a looking forward to) that Lebron can make that shot. I have conviction (a conclusion made on past events) that he’s the GOAT and he’s gonna drop at least one in the bread basket, though I haven’t seen it happen yet in that specific scenario.

That is how I view my faith in Christ, though the stakes are much higher. It is because of the facts:

Fact: Jesus Christ was a historical figure who lived 2,000 years ago.

Fact: Jesus Christ died on a cross and was buried in a tomb.

Fact: The tomb of Jesus Christ was found to be empty.

Fact: Over 500 people claimed to have seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion. Many of those people were brutally murdered for holding to that claim, though tempted to escape pain and death with a simple renouncement of it.

Fact: The body of Jesus Christ has never been unearthed.

You don’t need faith to believe those things - they have been verified by a mountain of historical, scholarly, and biblical evidence. Where faith steps in is within the most important question every person needs to answer: Why was the tomb of Jesus Christ empty?

The Christian’s conviction is that Jesus did not simply faint on the cross, though He was beaten beyond recognition and pronounced dead (and stabbed) by a Roman soldier who was trained in the art of death. Jesus did not then wake up in a tomb, roll a boulder out of the way, fight off more soldiers, somehow heal to the point of recognition, and then reveal Himself to 500 people. That’s not a good bet.

The Christian’s conviction is not that the disciples, who were so afraid that they ran away during Jesus’ trial and execution, suddenly gathered courage and strength to steal His body and then die horrible deaths based on a lie that Christ resurrected. That’s not a good bet.

Our conviction is that the tomb of Jesus Christ was empty because what Jesus said about Himself is true - He is God and He rose again from the dead to defeat death for all who believe in His saving power. There is no other explanation that makes sense, that is what we bet our eternity on.

That is our faith. It is the first step of faith that every Christian makes.

But What is Great Faith?

In Matthew 8 we read two stories in which Jesus comments on someone’s faith - the faith of the Roman Centurion and the faith of His very own disciples. One is great, one is little.

Matthew 8:5-13

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 8:23-27

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

What was the difference between these faiths? The answer lies in how both subjects reacted to Jesus. The centurion recognized who Jesus was and what Jesus could do. Thus, his reaction to Jesus offering to come to his home was that Jesus didn’t need to do that; Jesus had authority over the ailment of the centurion’s servant, so he simply asked Jesus to say the word and his servant would be healed. The disciples, on the other hand, did not understand who Jesus was and thus reacted in great amazement that Jesus had authority over the wind and the waves. Their expectations were far lesser than that of the centurion.

But we as Christians cannot simply choose how we react to Jesus. It is something we develop through experience, practice, and increasing our understanding of the God we serve.

For example, when you sit down in a chair you are not constantly surprised that it holds your weight, that it does what it’s supposed to do. You understand what a chair is and what it does and very likely, you’ve had a lot of experience sitting in chairs. Thus, when you approach a chair you don’t hold your breath and pensively sit down in it. Through your life experience, you know it is something that can be trusted! In a similar but far more profound way, when Jesus moves in our lives we should be appropriately amazed at His power and goodness, but not surprised that He, the God of the Universe, can move in such powerful ways.

What Does Great Faith Look Like Practically?

Hebrews 11:8-12

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

Martin Luther captures the bold nature of Abraham’s faith when he said, 

“This is the glory of faith, namely, not to know where you are going, what you are doing, what you are suffering, and, after taking everything captive – perception and understanding, strength and will – to follow the bare voice of God. Abraham was prepared to take God at his word because he knew it was a word of unrivaled authority, immense power, and complete reliability.”

When we “go” to our family, neighborhood, city, and the nations, we can have great faith and great expectation that God will do wondrous things through that calling - just like Abraham and Sarah demonstrated.

Boniface in the 8th century was called to Germany where paganism ran rampant. He and his companions went and chopped down a tree called “Thor’s Oak” that was dedicated to the God of Thunder. Despite curses and threats of Thor’s wrath, the tree came down and the pagans were dealt a humbling blow, leading many to repentance and faith in Christ.

Wolfi and Ali Eckleben felt called to London from South Africa to establish a church and Bible school. One year later they had a handful of participants, no school, and a return ticket home. Every logical reason from the world was telling them to return back to South Africa, but they had been called by God, so they tore up their tickets home and pressed on. Their ministry eventually expanded to over a thousand graduates from their Bible school in the first decade, fifty vocational ministers sent out from London, six additional church plants, and they played crucial roles in planting churches in over 6 other countries.

But with great faith and expectation, sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned or hoped for…

In 2016 the Pals family was weeks away from uprooting their family of five from their home in America to join a Christian mission in Japan. Jamison, the father, had prayed, waited, and worked for years, seeking an opportunity to serve in Japan. His wife, Kathryne, had waited faithfully along with him, enduring the delivery of a third child and cancer surgery during their preparations to begin service. They had just finished raising support and were on their way to Colorado for their last required training before Japan — finally. They hoped for a long tenure of service. Sitting in traffic, a semi-truck crashed into their car and Jamison, Kathryne, Ezra, Violet, and Calvin were killed.

What do we do with this? The Pals family had great faith and expectation that they would be used to reach Japan. But just weeks before they were to set foot in that country, their lives were ended. 

However, in the aftermath of this great loss, their great faith and expectation was not in vain. Brett Rayl, a pastor in Nagoya, Japan wrote this in a blog 10 years after the event:

The Pals family did not pass from this world unnoticed. Their story deeply impacted many, and God has used it to establish a legacy of ministry over the past decade. New missionaries were motivated and mobilized after hearing their story. Many mission-goers and mission-senders have been blessed reading the thoughtful reflections on missions that Jamison wrote on their blog, “Joy of Japan.” The blog has been translated into Japanese, inspiring believers from other cultures. A new ministry for church planting and revitalization — the Joy of Japan Center for Church Planting and Development — was founded in Japan in their honor. The center serves to train new church planters and strengthen existing pastors across Japan.

What was the Pals’ faith in? What was their great expectation? They no doubt wanted to be physically on the mission field in Japan, but their greater faith was gaining more of Christ by responding to His call. Jamison captures this in a “second proposal” that he wrote to Kathryne, inviting her to pursue missions in Japan together,

Kathryne, I am asking you to go with me. Let’s go . . . or at least let us do everything in our power to go. The Lord may see fit to keep us here, but if he does not, let’s go. It may cost us much, but would you have it any other way? Whatever we lose will be worth it if we gain more of Christ.

It did cost them much. Some might argue that they lost it all, their family’s lives. But was it worth it? Did they gain more of Christ? Absolutely. And then some. To die was to gain, they are in glory now and the Joy of Japan has expanded far past what they likely ever dreamed it would.

There is a thing about faith that Christians like me are too quick to forget. I opened this sermon by describing a Christian’s first act of faith, a total all-in bet of our souls into the hands of the savior. Yet I fall into the trap of thinking that type of faith is reserved for my salvation, and everything else I do is up to my power and perseverance. 

In reality, the same faith that we have when we come to Christ is the same faith we ought to have when we do anything else, the same faith we need to implement when we go.

It’s not up to us how our lives will turn out or who we will help turn to Christ. That’s God’s territory. There is a great relief in realizing that as we go in faith to the lost, we can put every effort and every encounter at the foot of the cross – an all-in bet to the one who is in charge of the fruit of our labor. 

So should we go? Is it worth it? Samuel Rutherford writes,

How soon will some few years pass away, and then when the day is ended, and this life’s lease expired, what have men of the world’s glory, but dreams and thoughts? O happy soul forevermore, who can rightly compare this life with that long-lasting life to come, and can balance the weighty glory of the one with the light golden vanity of the other.

Brett Rayle continues in his blog about the Pals family,

Meanwhile, [God] has reminded me that amid the mystery there are “precious and very great promises” we do get to know (2 Peter 1:4), and he rejoices to proclaim them to us through his word. He delivers new mercies every morning that demonstrate his steadfast love and faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23); he assures us that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). But the details of our particular sufferings and his particular mercies are not for us to choose. In the mystery, I am both kindly invited and firmly reminded to take God at his word — to trust.

And I’ll add: to have faith. To have a great expectation that God will move, that He will change us and those around us if we simply respond to the call to go, and go.

Go and Be Changed.

Mark 5:21-34

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

What was it about the woman that caused power to go out of Jesus? Why did He recognize that she touched Him when everyone around Him was pressing in on all sides? The difference is that the woman came to Jesus with an expectation to be changed, and changed she was. No one else in this story received power from Jesus, yet the woman did because she came in faith and expectation.

My challenge to you is this – if you have not yet placed your faith in Christ, do you want to be changed? If you do, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

If you have placed your faith in Christ already, respond to His call to go. Don’t just mindlessly bump into Jesus throughout your walk, but instead approach him in every instance, every day, and proverbially touch even just his garment with that great faith, that great expectation that you will be changed and in so doing, others around you will as well.

That should be our faith, that should be our assurance, that should be our conviction. So let’s go, place every effort in the hands of Jesus our Savior, and watch as we and the nations are changed in His name.

We Go: Church Planting - Go With Purpose

We Go: Church Planting - Go With Purpose 

What happens when disciples are made?

We plant churches

• Jesus is Building His Church

• The Launchpad for Mission

• The Result of Mission

Jesus is Building His Church

‭‭Acts‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.”

The text above is just one example of how apostolic mission started in the church and resulted in new churches. 

As the church at Antioch gathered together for worship, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 

The work involved apostolic preachers going from island to island, city to city, ethnos to ethnos, preaching the gospel, strengthening disciples, empowering leaders, and establishing churches. 

Everywhere they went, new churches emerged.

Jesus is building his church

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Jesus asked his disciples the most important discipleship question: "Who do you say that I am?" 

It didn't matter who the experts and influencers said he was. 

Jesus only cared who his disciples said he was. 

When Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus blessed him and renamed him "The Rock." 

He then changed the subject to the church. 

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

If Jesus is building his church and we want to be part of his mission, then when we go, new churches should be established and existing churches should be strengthened. 

Knowing that Jesus is building his church removes pressure from those who go. 

Our job is to preach the gospel and make disciples. 

Jesus then takes those disciples and builds his church. 

So, if the church is small or large, don't fret; just keep preaching the gospel and making disciples, trusting that Jesus will build his church.

Any Bible teaching, Christ-centered church of which you have ever been a part has never been eternal (meaning it always existed), but each one started in some seed form when there was nothing but a small group of people committed to preaching the gospel, making disciples and building God’s church.

The Launchpad for Mission

The local church is a launchpad for mission.

Barnabas and Saul were not self-sent. 

They didn't go on their own. 

The scripture says that after fasting and prayer, the Antioch leaders laid their hands on them and sent them off. 

The text continues: "So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus." 

Barnabas and Saul were sent by the church and by the Holy Spirit. 

This dual sending resulted in a new church planted in almost every city and town they visited.

To be a mission-sending church, there must be a willingness to send those who are called. 

Too many church leaders are reluctant to send their modern versions of Barnabas and Saul, fearing a leadership shortage. 

Other churches have no vision beyond their local community.

Neither scenario is acceptable. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭42‬-‭44‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”

This also changes how everyday believers view how they live.  

Most detach their life transitions and environment from the purposes of God.  

God does not.  

**If God is the one who has truly called you to leave one thing, it is for a sending into his (not our self-derived) Kingdom purposes in the next.  

You are and your family are to be arrows in the hand of the Lord. 

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭127‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

Do not just leave a place arbitrarily.

Have a sense of being sent by the Holy Spirit and the church into your next Kingdom post.  

This means you ask the question: 

What is God sending me to do to help establish and strengthen his church?

There are all sorts of reasons people initiate life transition on their own.  

Yet instead of just leaving a place because of boredom, difficulty, disconnection, disappointment, a desire to be closer to blood family, the search for ease or simple economic opportunity, understand that when we seek Jesus, if God is truly the one saying to go, he is sending us with his Kingdom purpose. 

And if God does not say to go, we stay and understand that we’ve been sent to our present job, city and church for his Kingdom purposes there.   

But if God does send you elsewhere, it is to be by the Holy Spirit, through and as a part of his family, the church. 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭31‬-‭35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.””

This elevates our sense of purpose and fulfillment in the places we are and those which we are called to go.  

When the Holy Spirit speaks, our only option is to do what he says to do and to send who he says to send. 

*When churches send those who are called on mission, more leaders emerge locally to take their place.

The Result of Mission

Local churches are the result of mission.

When Barnabas and Saul (a.k.a. Paul) went on mission, they planted churches wherever they went. 

They made new converts and new communities. 

In Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and throughout Asia Minor, Barnabas, Saul, and other apostolic leaders preached the gospel and started new churches. 

They didn't plant and forget but regularly circled back to strengthen the new churches. 

Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭36‬, ‭41‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

Apostolic mission in Acts included preaching the gospel, strengthening disciples, empowering leaders, and establishing new church communities.

Increasingly, many modern mission organizations are beginning to recognize the need to plant churches along with preaching the gospel and serving the communities.

Acts 29’s position statement on the Great Commission states:

“The church is at the center of the Great Commission. Church planting is simply what missionaries do as they faithfully proclaim the gospel and make disciples.  Our goal in proclaiming the gospel and making disciples is healthy church formation.  Any effort in missions ought to be connected to the goal of reproducing local bodies of believers through the declaration and demonstration of the gospel.”

The Gospel Coalition’s essay on the mission of the church says:

“Evangelism, discipleship, church planting - that's what the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to do, and these should be the goals of all mission work.”

Every Nation agrees that church planting is at the core of global mission, describing itself as "a global family of churches that exists to honor God by establishing Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, socially responsible churches and campus ministries in every nation."

It is difficult to overstate the church's importance in God's mission. 

It is central to his kingdom and how he carries out his divine purposes. 

He has guided it through the centuries as the primary vehicle of making himself known among the nations.

Jesus promised to build his church so the gates of hell could not prevail against it. 

Paul said it was the pillar and support of the truth. 

I Timothy 3:14-15

“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

Paul would also say that God's manifold wisdom would be made known through the church. 

Ephesians 3:8-10

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”

Therefore, our purpose in missions is to make disciples in the local church and send them to make new disciples and new church communities.

We Go: Discipleship - Go Make Disciples

We Go: Discipleship - Go Make Disciples  

Focus: Jesus came to make disciples of every people group on earth reconciling them to the worship of the one true God through the cross. 

• What do we do when the lost are found through the gospel?

• We make disciples.  

• Making Disciples

• Making Jesus Known Amongst the Nations

• Monotheism Matters

Making Disciples

We go to make disciples.

This is why we go on mission - to make disciples. 

The Great Commission is a call to go and tell people about the love of God and to show people the power of God. 

Each gospel account ends with a version of what Christians call the Great Commission.

In Mark, Jesus said, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel" and expect supernatural signs and wonders. 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“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. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]”

"Go and make disciples" is a mandate for every believer in every nation for all time. 

Preaching the gospel is part of the Great Commission, but not all of it. 

Responding to the gospel is a first step in a lifelong discipleship journey.

Jesus alone saves lost people, but he delegates discipleship to humans. 

Discipleship is not a course, a class, or a program. 

It is a relationship on three levels: a relationship with Jesus, with other believers, and with people far from Jesus. 

In the Bible relational discipleship was always a group activity.

Making Jesus Known Amongst the Nations

We go to all nations.

This is where we go on mission - to all nations. 

All of the Great Commission accounts include 1) a call to go on a mission, 2) a message to take to the nations, and 3) the promise of supernatural Holy Spirit empowerment.

In Luke, he told the disciples to go on mission, but not until they were "clothed with power from on high".

‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭45‬-‭49‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Yes, we make disciples locally, but also globally. 

We go to our neighbors, to our campuses, and to our cities. 

We also go to the nations - not just those that are open to the gospel but also those that are hostile.

The Great Commission is a call to make disciples in all nations. 

Today, when we think of nations, we think of flags representing a nation - states and maps representing geographic boundaries. 

But the word that Matthew uses for "nations" is the Greek word "ethnos," which is a body of persons united by kinship, culture, and shared traditions. 

It is related to the English word ethnicity. 

When Jesus called his disciples to go to all nations, he called them not only to specific geographic regions but also to different ethnolinguistic groups of people.

Monotheism Matters

We go exalting the one true God with his Word and the promise of his presence.

This is how we go on mission - with God’s truth and a promise of his presence. 

Jesus' strategy for his global mission is discipleship. 

Matthew's is the most famous of the four Great Commission accounts and has a similar three-fold focus of mission, message and the promise of Holy Spirit empowerment.

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."

Discipleship comes with a message found in God’s word, breathed out by the Holy Spirit.  

Discipleship begins with teaching people the truth about the one true Creator God - and in doing so to obey all that he has commanded. 

Amongst a pluralistic and relativistic global society, the message of the singular worship of Yahweh, the one true God of the Jews, who is revealed fully in the person of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, is of utmost importance.  

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭48‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name. “The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’ “You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel. “For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”

It is not enough to just be spiritual.  

God is looking for those who will worship him and him alone in Spirit and in truth (John 4). 

The power of the Holy Spirit through the administration of spiritual gifts, signs and wonders testify to the person and truth of Jesus’ own life, miracles, death, burial and resurrection found in his Word. 

*Discipleship means that we learn how to put God’s word into practice.  

It means that you embrace your new identity in Christ, cultivating your relationship with God, and the world through his eyes.  

It means that you learn how to be a godly family member, neighbor, co-worker and citizen, speaking and doing all things to the glory of Jesus.  

It means that you engage new patterns of how you use your time, talents and resources for God’s kingdom ends.  

It means that you embrace your new community, the church, and commit to being an active participant in the family of God.

In doing so you find the strength and grace to live as a disciple.  

God is calling people to something greater than a TiK-Tok spirituality, where they give no more than a passing emotional thought to what they approve or disapprove based on their most recent amusement, dopamine hit and the violent roar of the masses.  

So, what are some of the ways in which we need to learn to put God’s word into practice - in our present climate and applying his word to present issues?

Though not an exhaustive list, here are some examples that bold men and women of God have addressed in love:

We are to worship the Creator not created things. 

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

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Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “Lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.”

All other presentations of deities come in the name of a god but represent a different person or entity with a different character representing demons, not God. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

““Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”

In Scripture and in history, many who go to the nations on mission with such a message are met with persecution, prison, and sometimes death. 

Suffering and sacrifice are part of the mission mandate. 

But Jesus calls us to go anyway. 

While Jesus never promised that the mission would be easy, he did promise his presence to those who go. 

"I am with you always, to the end of the age." 

What a promise! 

When we go on mission, he promises to go with us no matter where we go or what we face as we do.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

But Jesus did die for a purpose.  

Jesus is God in the flesh who came to live perfectly for us, take the punishment on the cross that we deserve for our rebellion against his life-giving commands and rise three days later according to his promise for the forgiveness of our sins.  

As we turn away from man-made philosophies, demonic ideologies and rebellious living, we can not only be reconciled with God through faith in Christ’s finished work, but have the guaranteed hope of eternal life in him as he restores creation and makes all things new!

We Go: Evangelism - Go In Love

We Go: Evangelism - Go In Love 

Focus: We go because while people are lost and in desperate need of a savior - Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  

• People are Lost

• People Need a Savior

• Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost 

People are Lost

We go because people are lost 

We will start by examining two instances in which Jesus revealed both his mission and his motives.  

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

-Jesus speaking to Nicodemus

‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Mission and motive both matter. 

It is possible to have a pure motive but a paltry mission. 

Likewise, it is possible to have a compelling mission and a compromised motive. 

Luke 19:10 captures the divine mission of Jesus: to seek and to save the lost.

John 3:16 captures his motive: love.

Luke 19 contains the story of the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus, who sought to see Jesus. 

Zaccheaus was not only a tax collector; he was the chief tax collector. 

In that culture, it was bad enough to be a tax collector, but being the chief tax collector was doubly bad. 

Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 

This was a shocking statement to many of his Jewish followers who assumed all tax collectors, especially the chief, were far from God. 

But Jesus is speaking kindly to Zaccchaeus, even inviting himself to his house. 

The disciples and the onlookers were appalled, because they didn't really understand Jesus' mission to seek and save the lost. 

If anyone was lost, it was the chief tax collector.

We see the same misunderstanding of Jesus' mission when the religious elite complained, saying, 

about Jesus’ activities:

"This man [Jesus] receives sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:1-2).

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Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

John 3 contains the story of Nicodemus, a respected religious leader who did not seem lost, but in reality was just as lost as the chief taxman. 

As Jesus interacted with Nicodemus, the motive for seeking and saving the lost was clearly stated: For God so loved the world, that he sent his Son. 

Whether a person is seemingly godly or ungodly, Jesus loves them and seeks to save them.

It is true that gospel stories present Jesus as a friend of the poor and oppressed. 

But the story of Zacchaeus shows that Jesus was also a friend of rich oppressors. 

In Luke's gospel, Jesus is not one who vindicates the poor and condemns the rich, but one who brings good news to all who are lost!

Without Jesus, all people are lost. 

"Amazing Grace," the still popular hymn written in 1772 by Englishman John Newton, poignantly describes the human condition as wretched, blind, and lost. 

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me / I once was lost, but now am found / Was blind, but now I see." 

Newton was certainly a lost, blind, and truly wretched human - the captain of a slave ship - until he encountered the transformative grace of God during a violent storm while at sea.

He eventually became an ardent abolitionist, prolific hymn writer, and ordained gospel minister. 

Like Newton, all humans are morally wretched, spiritually blind, and eternally lost. 

But God loves wretched, blind and lost people, so much that he sent Jesus to seek and save them.

“If I had a thousand lives, China should have them. No! Not China, but Christ. Can we do too much for Him? Can we do enough for such a precious Savior?!!”

-Hudson Taylor

People Need a Savior

We go because lost people need a savior. 

Lost people need a savior - whether they realize it or not. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

The fact that the divine solution to the universal human condition was for Jesus to seek and to save the lost implies that lost people will not seek God and cannot save themselves. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

The prophet Isaiah described human lostness and divine salvation: 

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Salvation does not happen because lost humans figure out a way to deal with sin and iniquity. 

Salvation is available because our Savior has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 

Salvation happens because our Savior was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 

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Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

Lost people need Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost 

We go because Jesus seeks and saves lost people.  

Jesus told three parables to explain his love for lost people. 

First, there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep and lost one. 

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Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV

“So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”‬‬

He left the 99 to seek and save his lost sheep. 

When he returned home with his previously lost sheep, he threw a party with his friends to celebrate. 

The second parable was about a woman who lost a valuable coin. 

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Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

She stopped everything she was doing to seek and search for her lost coin.

The third and longer parable was about a father and his two sons. 

The younger son took an early inheritance, squandered it, and decided to return home, unsure how his father would react. 

Would he forgive and welcome his lost son or reject him as the young man had rejected his father and family? 

The surprising end of the story is a picture of the love of God for the lost. 

‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

The shepherd seeking his lost sheep, the woman searching for her lost coin, and the father running toward his lost son are poignant metaphors of Jesus seeking and saving the lost people who may or may not be seeking him. 

In fact, many are doing the opposite of seeking him. 

They are running and hiding from him. 

But he seeks them anyway.

The motivation of love is central to our evangelism and mission activity. 

As J.I. Packer said in his book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God,

“It must never be forgotten that the enterprise required of us in evangelism is the enterprise of love: an enterprise that springs from a genuine interest in those whom we seek to win and a genuine care for their well-being.  If love prompts and rules our evangelistic work, we shall approach other people in a different spirit.  And this spirit of friendship and concern will shine through all that we say to them.”

Jesus left glory in eternity to humble himself in love on a rescue mission for lost humanity.  

Having suffered the same temptations that we experience, Jesus endured and exemplified love for the Father by living sinlessly, dying sacrificially for us on the cross to pay for our wrongdoing and three days later rose from the dead that we might have the opportunity for eternal life.  

As we repent of our sins and turn to Jesus, we who were once lost are not only forgiven, but given the opportunity to join the rescue mission of Jesus to see lost family members, co-workers, neighbors and friends experience the life transforming love of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Wherever we are in our journey, let us respond appropriately in faith and obedience to that call from God today.  

We Go: Sacrifice - Go No Matter the Cost

 We Go: Sacrifice - Go No Matter the Cost 

Imagine that your introduction to the faith came with these words. 

Acts‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.””

This is the message that Christ spoke to Ananias before he prayed for Paul to have the scales removed from his eyes after blinding Paul on the road to Damascus.  

This is how the apostle Paul was introduced to Christ and Paul stood throughout his life, despite intense suffering, because of the truth that is found in Jesus.  

It gives us a picture of the lives we should be ready to lead in Jesus.  

Focus: Jesus sacrificed everything to save our lives - it is now our call, joy and hope of eternal reward to follow him in doing the same. 

• Called To Sacrifice

• Why We Sacrifice

• What We Sacrifice

• Jesus - the Ultimate Sacrifice

Called to Sacrifice

When following God, we are called to count the cost.  

Philippians 2:17

“Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.”

II Timothy 4:6

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”

Acts 20:22-24

“And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 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.”

II Corinthians 1:8-9

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

Just as God calls people to go, God also calls people to stay in the place and in the relationships which he has assigned you.  

Both require sacrifice and a sense of sacrifice to be and do all he’s required you to do there.  

God’s highest is not to get a word to go when he’s called you to stay. 

You need to obey God, whatever His desire.  

Challenges don’t mean you need a word to go.  

The call also gives you the grace and ability to sacrifice and stay. 

***The call may not be about a new place but how you are living in that place where you’ve always been.  

Luke 14:27-33

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

“The missionary must seek nothing for himself, no seat of honor or hope of fame. You must be content to suffer, to die, and to be forgotten.” -Nikolas Von Zinzendorf

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬-‭38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.””

Why We Sacrifice

When following God, we are called to count it all joy, the things that we suffer for Christ’s name sake.  

This is the way 

Whether we like it or not, suffering is often the furnace through which God forges the image of Christ in and through us.  

James 1:2-4

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

What We Sacrifice 

When following God, we are called to be willing to sacrifice everything for Christ’s eternal glory and what God determines to be good.  

Matthew 5:11-12

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Hebrews 11:6

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

I Corinthians 9:24-27

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.””

What is the “one thing” that Jesus would put his finger on your life?   

Jesus - the Ultimate Sacrifice

When following God, we are to point people to the one who made the ultimate sacrifice - Jesus Christ. 

*Jesus doesn’t call us to do anything that he hasn’t in some form already done himself.  

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭11‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

It is through the sinless life of Jesus, and his sacrifice at the cross to pay the penalty for our rebellion against God that we have the opportunity for forgiveness, reconciliation with God and eternal life in him.  

As we repent of our sins and selfish living, putting our faith in Jesus’ triumphant resurrection, we too are called to live a life of sacrifice that was modeled by our Lord and savior, looking forward to our eternal reward in him. ‭‭

John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”