June 25, 2023
What in the world is going on??
PART 6 – MISSION FOCUS
Recap:
- 1) Competing Ideologies. Introduced by the serpent in the Garden.
“Did God really say…? YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE!”
Step 1, Maintain unfettered relationship- “Of every tree in the garden you may freely eat, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which is in the midst of the garden, you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat thereof, you will surely die”
Epic failure on man’s part!
Step 2, Restore that which was lost – But better!
Luk 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Col_1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
- 2) Competing Agendas.
John 3:13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
John 3:21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
vs
John 10:7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
- 3) Competing Methodology.
Fellowship, obedience, love between God and man vs EVERYTHING ELSE! “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32
Mat 22:37 Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Act 4:10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
Act 4:11 This is the ‘STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED BY YOU BUILDERS, WHICH HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE.’
Act 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- 4) Timetable (schedule)
We also discussed how God has a schedule associated with His plan for redemption and restoration.
This is one area where the enemy has no competing skill or authority: He can only react and respond to God’s schedule as God orchestrates and brings His will to pass.
We discussed that Israel is God’s focal point in His timetable of historic events, past, present, and future.
- 5) Above all, God is in control!
Now we’re going to get to the nitty gritty: How this plays out in our individual and corporate walk with the Lord!
Mission Focus–
Exactly what is our mission as Christians who advocate a Biblical Worldview?
STANDING ORDERS FOR EVERY BELIEVER!
- I. Be Salt and Light – Matthew 5:13-16
- II. Occupy until Jesus comes- Luke 19:13
- III. Be Ambassadors for Christ – 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
- IV. Fulfill the Great Commission – Matthew 28:18-20
- Effects all areas of our lives: Personal, Corporate (body), Civil, Economical, Relational…
- 1. Salt and Light:
Mat 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
Mat 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
- 2. Occupy until Jesus comes:
Luk 19:12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
Luk 19:13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business (occupy) till I come.’
- 3. Be Ambassadors for Christ:
2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2Co 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
2Co 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
- 4. Fulfill the Great Commission:
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Today’s focus: Salt and Light:
Salt both preserves and flavors.
Light obviously illuminates the darkness and shows the hidden dangers that would otherwise be obscured.
Mat 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“Loses its Flavor”
moraino. – mo-rah’ee-no From G3474; to become insipid (adjective- lacking flavor or lacking vigor or interest, i/e., tasteless, boring); See Revelation 3:14-22. figuratively to make (passively act) as a simpleton (foolish or gullible person, someone lacking common sense or wisdom): – become fool, make foolish, lose savour.
Mat 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Common sense at work here…
If a light is hidden, it doesn’t shine into darkness! It doesn’t light the house, nor does it shine forth to glorify our Father in heaven!
Here’s the thing: Jesus said “You ARE salt” and “You ARE light”! He didn’t say “Become salt and light” or “If you work real hard you might get to be salt and light”; No, He said you ARE salt and light!
What makes us salt and light? “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.
City on a hill….. Still a city when the lights are off, but the effectiveness is non-existent….
Recent events and interaction with salt and light:
TARGET controversy. Marketing “sexualization of children”. Conservative boycott. Moving of offensive displays to the back of some stores and viewed by many as a “win”, discuss…
Gender Mania
From Helpful Professor.com: How Many Genders Are There?
“There are at least 80 ways to describe gender. That’s not to say there are 80 different genders, but there are at least 80 different cultural terms to describe gender constructs.“
Not a Biblical worldview! This is mass confusion designed to separate mankind from our Creator. How do we know?
Mat 19:4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,’
Love vs affirm…
Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
Do we want to be a part of this process or merely a by-stander?
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven!
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