Message Scripture Text: John 13:31-35, I John 4:12

Transcription

1 Series: Vital Signs: Belong, Grow, Serve Message Title: Ordinary Life, Gospel Intentionality By: Neil Silverberg Message Scripture Text: John 13:31-35, I John 4:12 We are in a series called Vital Signs: Belong, Grow, Serve and we are looking at what makes churches healthy. It s really a review of our vision and values that guide us as a church. We spent two weeks looking at community what it means to belong to the people of God. Then, we talked for the last two weeks about discipleship: I started it talking about the call to "grow up" into salvation. Mark followed it up last week dealing with the call to each one of us to "make disciples". Now, we turn our attention for the next three or four weeks to the word "Serve". I want to talk about a specific type of serving: "Serving the Mission" (being on mission together). This first installment is called, "Ordinary Life, Gospel Intentionality". Here's an important question church leader asks: How do most leaders today evaluate the health of their church? Most of the time, it is by examining what is going on "inside the walls. They look at things like attendance, monies, meetings, and programs. I'm not suggesting that there isn't any validity to that. Church health is certainly determined by things like the health of our corporate meetings and our house churches. But the working premise of these messages is that ultimately the health of a church is not determined by what goes on inside the walls, but the effect that church is having "outside the walls". After all, that's where Jesus lived his life folks outside the city. Jesus just didn't visit sinners; he lived among them, walked among them, ate with them and drank with them. I want us to come away from this part of the series asking certain questions like, "How do we relate to the fact that most modern Christians have no unbelieving friends and have been told that if they want to be holy, they shouldn't?" How does that relate to the One who said He was the "friend of sinners?" Let me share two stories with you from Tim Chester s and Steve Timmis s collaborative work, Total Church. Al and Lyssa met when they both volunteered in a local thrift store. Al had grown up in a non-christian home and was indifferent to Christianity. But when Lyssa invited him to a games night in their home, he readily agreed. It was Al s first introduction to our Christian community. He came a few times, attended church on one occasion, and then stopped. A year or so later someone bumped into Al and invited him along. He became a regular at the games night. He started joining in with other things we were doing as community. He had long since stopped being just Lyssa s friend he had got to know us all. He started asking questions, attending church, and coming to Bible studies. Six months later he was baptized. Total Church p.60 For six months Fiona had been trying to get one of her housemates to come to church. Luke was reluctant to come to a new church meeting, but he got involved in the community in other ways going to the movies, watching football in the pub, sharing meals jogging, and mountain biking. When eventually he first came to a meeting, Fiona wasn t even there. But he already knew 90 percent of the church. What he

2 experienced was not all that different from what he had done with them before except that they sang some songs and studied the Bible. Luke is now a Christian. Total Church p.65 What do both these stories illustrate? For me, they illustrate two things: First, that being on mission occurs in the normal course of our lives. In other words, as we go to work, and cut our lawns, and go to the store we are able to advance God's kingdom. That's because God uses ordinary life as a conduit for evangelism. We don't have to stop life and step out and do something extraordinary to do evangelism. So often when we think of evangelism we think of events like knocking on doors, doing crusades, passing out tracts. Those events are valid in their place, but most of us are not going to knock on doors, do crusades, or even pass out tracts. What is our place in this? We might say it this way: "ordinary life with Gospel intentionality equals kingdom advancement." The second thing that these stories illustrate and that I really want to focus on in this message is that evangelism is not a solo act. That's what I first learned evangelism is. When I first read: "You shall be witnesses", I started my individual career for God. Is there anything wrong with individuals sharing their faith? Of course not! We have examples in Scripture of individuals doing that. Jesus sat down at a well with a woman. Philip, the evangelist, joined himself to the Ethiopian eunuch's chariot and shared with him. We all have been given the privilege of sharing the Gospel, and we should take advantage of every opportunity presented to share it. But there is a problem with this view of evangelism: it views evangelism only as an action taken by individuals rather that what it really is a "community project". While as individuals we should take advantage of every opportunity to share the Word, the most powerful way of advancing the kingdom is when believers not only share the message, but demonstrate that the kingdom has come by the way they live their lives. Jim Peterson, in his excellent book Evangelism as a Lifestyle, points out that evangelism occurs when two things happen: Proclamation and Affirmation. Proclamation means that the Gospel "Word" is central to evangelism. Affirmation means the Gospel "Community" is central to evangelism. Proclamation Proclamation: the Gospel is a "Word" that people must hear. One of the most popular quotes today is purported to come from Francis of Assisi who said, "Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words." As a medieval sound bite it sounds good, but it s not scriptural. But it is popular today because a kind of evangelism is being promoted that minimizes proclamation. People talk about living the Gospel rather than talking about it. I get what their saying; it s fruitless to talk about the Gospel if our lives are a denial of it. But the answer is not a nonverbal Gospel for the simple reason that the Gospel is good news, a proclamation of the greatest news ever heard. When Jesus began his ministry in Galilee he started as a herald proclaiming, "The kingdom of God is at hand." God has ordained that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ." When an angel appeared to the Italian centurion Cornelius, he couldn't give him the message. Rather, he told him that he should send for Peter who would speak words to him that he and his family might be saved. As long as we are in this world, God will use human beings to proclaim the Gospel in order to save people. Affirmation If proclamation means the Gospel word is central to evangelism, affirmation means the Gospel "community" is also central to evangelism. That means that people need to see the Gospel affirmed through lifestyle. It means that when

3 people come into contact with the Church in any form and fashion they "should" see the reality of the Gospel. And that is not just because they attend our meetings, but specifically because they view our relationships (community). Jesus says as much in John 13. He just predicted his betrayal at the Passover Meal. His betrayer immediately went out into the night to betray Him. For Jesus, this moment when He is about to go out into his passion is the hour of glorification. Jesus reminds them immediately on the heels of this that He was leaving. Now he gives them new responsibilities. Before they are preachers, apostles or evangelists, they are called to be lovers! He gives them a new command. Not the old command to "love your neighbor as yourself" but now to "love one another as I have loved you." What is the purpose of this command? Does he want us to love one another just so we might be blessed? No. Don Carson says it this way: "The new command is not only the obligation of the new community to respond to the God who has loved them and set them free by the offering of his Son. Neither is it merely their response to his gracious choice of them as his people. It is a privilege, which when rightly lived out, proclaims the true God before a watching world. That is why Jesus ends his injunction with the words: All men will know you are my disciples if you love one another. " Tim Chester in his book Total Church in commenting on what God uses ultimately to further the Gospel says: "Not our doctrinal orthodoxy, as important as that is. Not our ingenious strategizing, as fascinating as that is. Not our commitment to preaching, as vital as that is. Not our innovative approach to planting, as radical as that may be. It is our cross-love for each other that proclaims the truth of the Gospel to a watching and skeptical world. Our love for one another, to the extent that it imitates and conforms to the cross love of Jesus for us, is evangelistic." I think there are two things we can draw from Jesus' words (by this shall all men know). First, we have to learn to be real, to be genuine, authentic, to actually love people. I learned evangelism probably the way many of you did: to pounce on people whenever you could. I invited people for dinner and did not think I needed to know the person. I just delivered the message. The person was not important, just the message. I didn't know anything about what Paul said to the Thessalonians: "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become dear to us" (I Thess. 2:8) I thought about this when I was talking to a neighbors' son last year. He is an elder in a church in town and his father lives in my subdivision. I asked the son how he came to know the Lord and he told me his story. He and his wife lived in an apartment and were near divorce (their relationship with each other had deteriorated). About that time, a woman who also lived in their apartment invited them over to cook for them. They responded and she began inviting them frequently to eat with her. Initially, she didn't share anything with them but just kept loving them and cooking for them. One day when they were eating together she asked if they would mind if she read some of the Bible to them. Soon, they were not only eating together, but studying and learning the Gospel. They were saved, their marriage was salvaged and he is an elder in a church in town. I wonder what would have happened if instead of loving on them over many months, she had immediately witnessed to them and invited them to church? I believe that one of the reasons they responded is that she took the time to love them and care about them. In a word, she affirmed the Gospel through love and earned the right to proclaim it. The second thing and the main thing we draw from Jesus' words is Christian community is a vital part of Christian mission. Mission takes place as people see our love for one another. We need to be communities of love. We need to be "seen" as communities of love.

4 Perhaps one reason we have been powerless to convince the world is the world does not see our love. Evangelism is a community project. One of the ways we evangelize is by introducing people to our network of relationships. In this model, everyone has an important place. "The Three Strands of Relationships" includes building relationship, sharing the gospel and introducing to community. Some people don't think quickly on their feet and can't clearly share the Gospel message, but they are good at being welcoming and warm. Others know how to build deep relationships with new people. Some people are great at hospitality while others are really good at initiating gospel conversations. Others are good at confronting heart issues. In this way, evangelism becomes a community project. So it might work that Loretta engages someone and introduces him to her network of friends. Paul then begins to build a relationship with that person for six months. Then, at the end of that time, I sit down with that person and take him through an evangelistic Bible study ending with me telling him, "You ought to be baptized." Paul actually baptizes him and he was brought to Christ by a team. This is how an entire community can evangelize. The pressure is off to have to be everything. What does all of this mean? Could it be Ordinary People Doing Ordinary Things with Gospel Intentionality? It might be helping someone at the office, going to the movies, going out to eat. What is needed is a commitment to building relationships, modeling the faith, and learning to talk about the gospel in a natural way. But the ordinary is only a vehicle for mission if there is gospel intentionality. We must be committed to living and proclaiming the gospel. The gospel is a message and so for mission to take place, we must share the word with people. A commitment to mission through community only works if the priority of the Gospel is a strong value in that community. But we also need to be committed to exposing people to Christian community. It affects the way you think. Suppose next Thursday a woman in the church is going to a movie with two other Christian friends. If she is committed to "ordinary life with gospel intentionality" she thinks of a woman at work who has just gone through a painful divorce. So she determines to invite her to go to the movies with her and her friends. The good thing is, the pressure is off to feel like you have to take her through the Roman Road during the previews. Maybe one of the women is really good at starting Gospel conversations. The woman who invited her is very warm and inviting and the other sister is great at being a friend. ##### Ed Rosen has provided some suggested questions for you to use in your House Church to foster a beneficial group discussion. 1. How do most church leaders evaluate the health of their churches? How should they? 2. How many unbelieving friends do you have? a. If you don t have any, how does that relate to the One who said He was the friend of sinners? b. If you don t have any, how do you plan on rectifying this situation? 3. What is the biggest hang up(s) that you have about being involved in evangelism? 4. Explain how being on mission occurs in the normal course of our lives? 5. Evangelism is best carried out: as a solo act or as a community project? Explain.

5 6. Neil said that Jim Peterson, in his excellent book Evangelism as a Lifestyle, points out that evangelism occurs when two things happen: Proclamation and Affirmation. a. How is the Gospel affirmed through lifestyle? b. How does the lifestyle of the redeemed community demonstrate the reality of the Gospel? c. In what way is The New Commandment in John 13:34-34 different from the Old Commandment in Leviticus 19:18? d. How does the New Commandment affirm or demonstrate the Gospel? 7. Using Neil s illustration of The Three Strands of Relationships, explain how the mission functions as a community project? 8. What are some of the ways Ordinary People Doing Ordinary Things With Gospel Intentionality can take place?