The Need for a New Perspective

I'd like to speak to you this morning where doing this little series on the road to true riches. This morning I'd like to spend a few minutes just sharing my heart with you from the word about our need for an expanded perspective. We're going to look at several passages. A Colossians 1 is one of them. Brian McLaren in one of his books has written this. This is what he considers to be the mission of the church. Listen to these words. To be and make disciples of Jesus Christ in authentic community for the good of the world. What's unique about that mission statement are those last few words for the good of the world. One of the things I think, Brian McLaren, I don't agree with everything he says and believes, but he's a part of what's called the emerging church or the emergent church movement.

There's a lot of things they say are a little crazy, but it's always fun to read these guys because basically they're kind of reacting against what's been going on in the church the last couple of few decades in the church growth movement and some of the things are quite inciting. What this statement is emphasizing is the fact that Christians are not the end users of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not all about me and very clearly that has been the emphasis in the American, the Western church for some time, that the gospel is all about me. It's about what I get out of it. I'd like to show you a diagram that emphasizes this. You can see in this diagram, this is really the way most Christians that you talk to view the church.

In this diagram, you can see that my largest concern is me. It's my soul, my personal growth, my personal destiny in heaven, my maturity, the rewards that I'm looking forward to. This is how we often present the gospel to people, simply about your need and your need to receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior. And occasionally, after winning people in this way to Christ through really personal self-interest, and then they come to church and the church begins to entice them into carrying a little bit more about the church. And finally, they spring it on them that actually were engaged in a mission to the world. And all they thought they were getting into was a personal improvement plan. This will do wonders for your personal life and change you and change your destiny.

And then they come to find out that what they have entered into is something so much larger than that. And so we shouldn't be surprised that people who are one to Christ by self-interest, in the sense that we often present the gospel in this way, start asking and keep on asking throughout their Christian life what's in it for me. This is why churches often are really become gatherings of people who are self-interested. They gather for self-interest. They're constantly treating the church as a purveyor of the Christian goods, the stuff that I need. And so they shop. We have constant church shopping and trading up. You can trade up from one church to another. You start to have a certain need in your life.

This church doesn't offer it, but there's another church down the street that does offer this ministry. And so why not? Why not trade up the way you trade up your car? You know, you started out with a little BMW. You started having kids. You have to get you a minivan. And then you get past the minivan stage and you want a big sedan and then finally you're back to the sports car when you get to about 65 or 70. You know how that is. And people like that with the church. The church is something far different than that. It's far different than you finding a place that's going to meet your needs. God is in charge of meeting your needs, but the gospel is so much bigger than that. It's sometimes it can be like pushing a rope to convince churches, people in the church that they have a mission to the world.

Most Christians don't even conceive of the gospel in that way. They simply equate the gospel with personal salvation of their individual souls and they have a very narrow view. And all I do like to do this morning is kind of take you by the lapels and shake you a little bit and say, think about this a second. Think about what it is that God's actually called you to and what the gospel really is. Sometimes converts feel like victims of a bait and switch plan. They come to Christ and all of a sudden all these things begin to be poured out upon them. All these new responsibilities, all these new appeals to be engaged in the work of the gospel around the world to lay down their lives for Christ. Now Jesus didn't do it the way we do it.

He didn't preach the gospel the way we often do. Jesus preached the gospel this way in Luke 14. He turns to the crowd that's following him and says, if you want to be my disciple, you have to hate your father, mother, sister, brother, your own life and take up your cross and follow me. That's the gospel. The good news is that God has saved you for a grand purpose, a huge purpose. And what we want to look at today is a little different view than this and it's found all over the New Testament. But really, I want to ask you this, is your view of Jesus too small, your view of his person and his work and his plan and his purpose? And I just want to look at a few verses, a few passages. First, I want to impress, impress upon our hearts, the fact that Jesus has expansive authority, much greater authority than we think about.

If you look at this very, very familiar passage in Matthew chapter 28, it says in verse 16, but the 11 disciples, of course, this is after the resurrection, Jesus has instructed his disciples that he would meet them at a certain location and so we have the account of this in the close of the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 28 verse 16, but the 11 disciples proceeded to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And they saw him, they worshiped him, but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and upon earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the 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 commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

This expression of the authority of Jesus Christ after the resurrection, some people are confused by this because we believe in the deity of Christ, we believe in the eternal Godhood of the Son that he has been God from all eternity. So why is it so significant that he has received authority? He's always had authority, right? But remember, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant and he became a real human being. And it is as a man, as a human being, that all authority has been given to him in heaven and upon earth. That's an amazing scope that Jesus has authority over all the nations. There is no location under heaven where Jesus is not the authority, where he does not have absolute authority.

And so when he sends us into all the world, to all the nations, he can do that because he has all authority as the resurrected Christ, because he is the one who went to the cross and took our place and died upon the cross and was resurrected. And in that resurrection, Paul says in Romans that he was declared to be Son of God, was manifested who he was. Because of that authority that he has over all flesh, he sends us into the world with the gospel, not to westernize non-western countries, but to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the earth, every place upon the earth. The gospel is to go out and he has the authority to send us. There is no place that we could ever go where Jesus Christ does not have authority.

And we go there in his name, that is in his authority. And notice what we are to do. We are to preach the gospel in a way that people come if they respond in faith to the gospel. They come to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. That picture of immersion is a powerful picture because all that you were before is immersed. Everything that you were. A second place, look at Colossians chapter 1. His expansive redemption, the incredible expanse of the crosswork of Jesus Christ is portrayed for us in Colossians chapter 1, really a powerful way. Listen to this, as I read through this passage, beginning in verse 13 of Colossians chapter 1, let the Spirit of God take the Word of God and really penetrate your heart with these words.

We have not the magnitude of the work of Jesus Christ as Paul portrays it here to this church at Colossae. He says, for he rescued us, that is, God the Father rescued 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. He is the image of the invisible God, the first born, the prototacos, which means he is the one who has authority over all of creation. There is no higher authority over creation. Jesus Christ is the first born of all creation for by him. This is why he is the first born of all creation. Now, let me just say this. This is a passage that Jehovah's Witnesses sometimes will go to to try to convince you that Jesus Christ is a part of creation.

That is exactly the opposite of what the text is teaching. If you notice the following verses, prototacos, first born means he is the one who has authority. He is the chief and authority over all creation and then he gives you the reason why. Why does Jesus have authority over all creation? For by him all things were created, both in heavens and on earth, visible and invisible where the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. You see that? It says that Jesus Christ is the personal creator of all things, everything in heaven, everything on earth. That is everything that exists in all the universe. And he says it's both visible and invisible.

There is nothing that is invisible to you that Jesus Christ is not created. And he says it doesn't matter what sphere of or realm of authority they have, whether they are thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities. In other words, it doesn't matter what sphere of authority they find themselves in. He has created them. He has created personal being, is existence to Jesus Christ, God the Son, all things have been created through him and for him. So look at that passage, verse 16. It says that everything was created by him, through him and for him. That's pretty comprehensive, isn't it? And here he begins with his great authority is the authority of the creator himself. But then notice what it says.

He is before. He has preeminence over all things and in him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body of the church and he is the beginning, the first born from the dead so that he himself will come to have first place in everything for it was. And quite literally what this says, all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him. I have to understand in this context why that's such a powerful statement. All the fullness was pleased to dwell in him. These teachers that were coming into the church at Colosse, the false teaching that they brought was centered around this issue of what they called the fullness. What they referred to as the fullness, this was a technical term to them. The fullness was all of the gods.

It was the highest God and all the emanations from that God. That was the fullness. And what they were teaching is that Jesus is down the ladder quite a ways. He's a lower kind of God. But there are many gods above him. And Paul says this fullness that they refer to, the fullness of the Godhead, the fullness of the Father, Son, and Spirit, the fullness of the very essence of God is pleased to dwell in him. He is the fullness of God. So he is the creator and he is full deity. And he says in verse 20 and then all of that to say this and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace to the blood of his cross through him I say whether things on earth or things in heaven. Now notice what he's doing here.

He's saying that Jesus Christ is the one who has brought everything in the universe back into its proper relationship with Almighty God. Jesus is the reconciler. Now reconciliation, all of you that are married know about reconciliation because you know about alienation. Alienation is when, and you know, that's a basis for divorce in some states. Alienation of affection. Alienation means there is this big. There is a mountain between you and the other person. There is this distance that has taken place because someone has offended. Maybe both of you have offended each other and so there is this alienation that takes place, a distance between two persons. Well that's the way the universe, that's the way the creation has, that's what it has fallen into, according to the book of Genesis and all that follows it.

The effect of the fall, the effect of Adam's rebellion as the head of the race has caused the entire creation to be alienated from God, at enmity with God, a rebellious territory. And now Jesus Christ came into this world, became one of us, God sent him in the likeness of sinful flesh so that he could reconcile this alienated creation back to the creator. And so he has reconciled all things and he is referring in the context, everything he's mentioned. All that he has created was alienated from him through the fall because he had created Adam to be a regent under him overall of creation. When Adam was plunged into this rebellion, when he took this action of rebelling against God, the whole creation was plunged under the condemnation of God.

And Jesus Christ is the reconciler. You see the work of Christ is not just to get you out of the mess you're in. It's not just to forgive your personal sins. It is to do something on such a grand scale that Paul reaches for words to describe the expansiveness of the work of Jesus Christ. He is the reconciler. And notice this, and then he comes to them personally, and he says in verse 21, and although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engage in evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his flesh, in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him wholly and blameless and beyond reproach. If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established instead fast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, why can we proclaim the gospel anywhere?

Because the work of Jesus Christ is so big and so expansive, there is no place under heaven where you cannot preach the gospel. This is a reconciler, and the work of reconciliation on the cross is fit for every person you will ever meet. And he says, and of which I, which I, Paul was made a minister. Now notice this, as he goes on to apply this reality, that the one who has reconciled us is a reconciler of all things, the entire universe, the earth itself, that was plunged under a curse, and we still feel the effects of that curse. Romans chapter 8 says, we are still experiencing the effects, the groaning of creation because of the fall, but it has been reconciled through the work of Jesus Christ.

It has been put in its proper relationship with the living God. And now God says to the Father, says to the Son, sit here at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool, until your reign is apparent and manifest to all. Then notice how he applies us to their lives. He says, he goes on in verse 25, of this church, I was made a minister according to the stewardship, not the church at Colossi, but that church of Jesus Christ, the entire church of Jesus Christ. I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefits, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the Word of God. That is the mystery which has been hidden from ages past and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints, to whom God will to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

You know what our hope of glory is? Christ has come. Christ has come among us. Christ has become one of us, and he's gone to the cross, and he has done a work that guarantees that gives us this greatest assurance. He is the hope of glory, that we are going to see the Savior of the world save the world. The Savior who is so expansive in his work and authority is going to complete this good work, and Paul says a little further down in verse 28, we proclaim him, we can go anywhere and proclaim him. Paul wanted to go further than he went. The furthest reaches that he could, Paul kept pushing out and pushing out because he knew that Jesus Christ had authority overall. And notice this, we proclaim him, which means we proclaim him with authority.

Because this Christ that we proclaim has all authority in heaven and upon earth, and we admonish every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that we may present every man complete in Christ, and for this purpose also a labor striving according to his power, which might work in me. He goes on in the next chapter and continues to apply this glorious truth, that we need to understand that the salvation, the redemption that Jesus Christ has accomplished is so much greater, so far beyond us, it affects the entire universe, and we are a part of the effects of that redemption that Jesus has accomplished. And then notice third, in Ephesians chapter 1, the expansive purpose that God has in Jesus Christ.

God has a greater purpose than us planning a little church and seeing it grow and be self-sustaining and have all the things that local churches have. He has a far greater purpose and plan that he wants us to be a part of. And notice this, Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 7. All rights of the Ephesians, in him, that is in Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us. He gave to us an abundance, and then get this, in all wisdom and insight, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intention which he purposed in Christ. You get that? That God has unveiled to us through his word and through the proclamation of the gospel.

He has unveiled to us this mystery of his will, which is according to his kind intention which he purposed in Christ, and here is the goal of his will. Here is the in-gold. What is it that God is going to achieve? Where is all of this headed? What is God's destination? Where is he going with all of this? Well, listen to what he says, with a view too. In other words, this is the target. This is our destination. This is the destination of the work of God. With a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of times. That is when it's all completed, when the purpose and plan of God comes to complete fruition, he says, this is what will be suitable for that day. What kind of day will we live in when God completes His work of salvation in us?

You know, there's a lot of things now that we experience that we won't experience then. Let's think about this this morning that God has called us. Jesus said to His disciples, you've heard it said, you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I said to you, you should love your enemies. Well, when can you obey that only now? If you don't obey that a commandment now, you'll never get to obey it in heaven, right? And He's called you to love your enemies. But on that day, when the fullness of time comes, when this administration, this dispensation that is suitable to the fullness of times, that time when God in the person of Jesus Christ leads His redeemed, He says, it's going to be like this.

What is suitable for the fullness of time? The summing up or the heading up of all things in Christ, things in heavens, in the heavens and things on earth. And Him also, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined, and quite literally, you could translate that, we have become this inheritance. He has made us an inheritance that He's giving to His Son, having been predestined according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of Your salvation, being believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who was given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

And for this reason, Paul says, I too, having heard of the faith in your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers. And notice what he prays for. What would Paul pray for you? What would he pray for you? How would he pray for this church? How would he pray for any church in the United States? A church is like us where we are. How would he pray for us? Here's how he would pray for us. At the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory may give to you, how would you fill in the blank? What would be a great demonstration of God's grace in your life, that he would give to you what? What big thing do you want in life?

Maybe it's a material thing, maybe it's an accomplishment, maybe it's a relationship. What would you want him to give you? Well, listen to the Apostle Paul, as he writes, under the influence of the Spirit, that he may give you a Spirit of wisdom and a revelation in the knowledge of him. The greatest gift that God could give you today, according to Paul's priorities, is that God would give you a Spirit of wisdom and a revelation in the knowledge of him so that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know, so that you will know what, so that you will know what, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling. What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe?

See those three things? He says, I pray that God would give you a Spirit of wisdom, that he would so work on your insides on the inner man, that you would come to have wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him so that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. You will know what is the hope of his calling, that is what he has in store for you. Wouldn't it be something, if this next year you were dominated by something other than your present situation, or what you hope will happen in a few days or a few months or a few years? Wouldn't it be something if you begin to be dominated by the hope of his calling? That is, what is it that God has promised you? What is it that he has prepared for you?

Why did he call you? Why did he bring you to himself? What does he have in store for you? Paul says, I want your eyes to be open so that you will know what is the hope of his calling? What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints? What is your inheritance? And then, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power towards us who believe? The power that he has available to you as he brings you to this culmination so that you will experience and possess the hope of glory. And then notice this, he begins to describe these things, this hope of your calling, the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of his power. He describes it this way.

He said, these are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might, which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Now you understand, when you hear those words in verse 20, that he brought this, he manifested this great power when he raised Jesus from the dead and he seated him at his right hand. You think it was because he was tired that the father seated him at his right hand? You know, after all he had done this great work on the cross, he suffered for our sins. You think that this is what God did, he gave him a seat and he said, son, just sit down and rest a little while. No, that's not it, isn't it? You understand when he says that he seated him at his right hand, he is saying that he gave him a place of preeminent authority and power.

He has all authority in all power, and notice this, he gave him this place in the heavenly places at the right hand of the father, the place of authority far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. These are all terms that the Jews used in the intertestamental period to refer to different rankings of spirit beings. There were some spirit beings that were super powerful, and then there was a pecking order and there were some who had less authority and some less and some less than that. And Paul says, it doesn't matter what realm of authority you refer to, Jesus has authority over every sphere of authority in existence, not only on the face of the earth, but in heaven. And he says in every name that is named, what does he mean by that?

Every name that has authority, every proclamation of authority, anyone who says, I come to you in the name of, in the authority of Jesus Christ as authority over, every authority you can name or imagine. And not only in this age, but also in the age to come. We enter into the age to come, under the reign of Jesus Christ, Christ is going to have authority throughout all eternity, and then notice this, and he put, the father put all things in subjection under his feet. God put all things in subjection under his feet. And in a description, here we have this Jesus who died for you, your personal Savior, the Jesus that you know so well that you talk to continually, the Jesus that you tell your deepest secrets to, that Jesus that you feel so close to has all authority in heaven on earth and there is no authority that is not under his authority.

And notice why he did this, why did he give him all this power and dominion and authority? Well, notice why. He says, he gave him all of this and he gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. He did all of this so that Jesus Christ to accomplish his work, his call through the church of Jesus Christ and he describes the church, the body, as the fullness of him who fills all things in all ways. And if you just substituted the word control or rules over for the word fills, influence. The spirit, he says, he is the fullness of him who influences all things in all ways. Not Jesus Christ has been made of the head of everything for the benefit of the church.

It is for the benefit of the church. You see in verse 22, the very last phrase, to the church, that expression means for the benefit of the church. Now, why is that so important? It's important because when we discover what it is that God has called us to do, it should make us shake in our boots. What God has done in saving us and making us a part of the church is to make us a part of this grand work that he is up to. That is expressed in several ways. For example, in John 12, 47, Jesus said, I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world, to save the world, to save the world, to save the world, not to save every individual in the world, but to save the world. Or notice this, John 4.42, these are the Samaritans who heard the testimony of the woman at the well, and then they went to talk to Jesus, and they heard Jesus, and they saw Jesus, and they said, we're no longer dependent upon your testimony.

We have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one is indeed the Savior of the world. He's the Savior of the world. As John the Apostle says in 1 John 4, we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now that's pretty expansive, isn't it? That's a pretty big commission that Jesus has. Jesus is the ultimate apostle. He's called the Apostle. Why is he the Apostle? Well the Apostle means the one who is sent, the one who is sent with the authority of the sinner. Jesus was sent into the world to be the Savior of the world. I'd like you to think about the condition of the world right now. As reading an article in New York Times this morning about a little town in Swazilana, village in Swazilana, Africa, South Africa, Southern Africa, the town, the average age in 2000 was 55, the average lifespan is 55.

Today it's 34, and a few years it's going to be 30. It's not that there are, and the thing is, there are hardly any 34-year-olds. There are some 80-year-olds, and there are little children. But HIV and AIDS has wiped out the entire center of these people, and this is just one little picture of what's going on in a vast, vast area. I mean thousands upon thousands, millions of orphans. We have terrorism going on all over the world. We're experiencing the effects of it in so many ways. We have a world in chaos. I read an article this morning about the intentions of the biggest corporations in America to market our little bitty, small children to make them consumers. That's their goal for your little children.

They want your toddlers to be consumers. We live in a world that's upside down and really messed up, really messed up. There is a multi-billion-dollar pornography industry in the United States, the largest corporations in America profit from it. There's a worldwide sex slave trade that is in the billions of dollars, five-year-olds, seven-year-olds, nine-year-olds. I told you about Avina Flesher who went to India, and their mission was to go and witness to some brothel owners. These older ladies, they actually weren't ladies. They were men, but they were transvestites that controlled these brothels. One of them came to Christ, and so they had this idea. They were going to go there and bombard them with the gospel.

Avina, when she got there, she spent four hours in one of these places, and she wrote home. I got this email, and she said, literally, I don't think I could stay here another hour. It is so overwhelming. All I could do was convulsively weep at what I saw. These little girls, small children, we live in a sin-curseed world. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 1 that the reason there is so much sin in the world is because of the wrath of God against man's rebellion. Paul says that what God has done in humanity because of their sin and their rebellion against him and them continually pushing against his restraints is he pulls back their restraints and man becomes more sinful. The more sinful man becomes, Paul says, the greater the indication of the manifestation of the wrath of God against a rebellious race.

We live in a world that looks absolutely, completely hopeless. How will you ever redeem such a world only through? A great redeemer. We need somebody big enough, powerful enough, wise enough, able enough to save the world. And that's exactly what Jesus came into the world to do. He's going to save the world. And we are servants of the Savior of the world. You have been recruited. You have been brought into the organization, the organism, the very body that Jesus Christ has created in order to accomplish His purposes in the world. What an assignment we have. We have a leader, the head of this body whose job is to save the world. And we are a part of the body of Christ. There's a lot of metaphors in the Bible for the church.

The church is a holy place, it's a temple, it's a vineyard, it's a building project. There's a ton of them. The image of the church is being the body of Christ, that metaphor. If it says nothing else, it says this, that there is nothing that we do as a church of Jesus Christ, as members of the church of Christ that we do individually and separate from the other members of the body, it is absolutely impossible for you, any member of your body to do anything whatsoever apart from the other members of the body. That's Paul's whole argument, 1 Corinthians 12. Is that my hand can't say to my eye, I have no need of you, because there is no member of my body that can function in and of itself, we must function as a body.

And we are the body of Christ. And we, as the body of Christ, have been called into this massive and glorious work of Jesus Christ. Here is a radically different way of looking at the church. This is an alternative to the other way of seeing myself as a primary consumer of the benefits of the grace of God. And what this diagram shows is, is that Jesus comes with a saving love for the world. He is on a mission. He is an apostle sent from God to save the world. And he creates the church as a missional community to join him in this work, in his mission of saving the world. And what I am is one member, and what you are is one member in this church that is engaged in taking Christ to the world. What do you think Jesus meant when he said on the day of judgment when he judges the sheep and the goats in regards to where you are in your eschatology?

The fact is the principle that is taught here is so clear. Jesus said that he rewards this group, and he judges this group, it is because when he was thirsty, they gave him a drink, and he was hungry, they fed him. When he was in prison, they visited him. And both groups say, when did we do that? And Jesus said, when you have done it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you've done it under me, I'm convinced that Jesus is using it. This is not the only place in the Bible in the New Testament that this expression is using this way. The Jesus is referring to the fact that the last Adam, the second man, the one who has come to be one of us, the one who has taken on our humanity, has a connection with all human beings in such a way that when we take, and the motivation is we do it in the name of Jesus Christ, whenever we as the people of God, the church of Jesus Christ, reach out and give a cup of cold water, or to feed the hungry, or visit those who are imprisoned.

Jesus says, you've done it unto me. That's quite a connection. When Paul says that God sent his son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, so that we could be made that righteousness of God in him, that connection with humanity means that we need to see ourselves as the instrument of Jesus Christ in his work of saving the world. And when we see ourselves in this way, we understand that we are a missional community and that we are engaged in the work of Jesus Christ in the world. We are the presence of Jesus Christ in the world. Wherever we are in the world, we are the presence of Jesus Christ. And he has invited me to be a part. He has called me into this community of experiences saving love and participate in his life among the people of God.

This missional perspective changes everything in the way we view ourselves, in the way we view the church of Jesus Christ. It eliminates a lot of dichotomies that we often make. We think of evangelism and social action, witnessing and mercy, ministry of mercy. The fact is both of those things, whether we proclaim or whether we demonstrate the gospel in our actions, St. Francis said, be a witness for Jesus Christ and when it's necessary use words. That's probably a message we need to hear more because we emphasize words so much that often there's no demonstration of the gospel in the way we live. We are so much like the world in our values, the way we go about life, that how can they see the gospel in us?

These are significant things to demonstrate the gospel through mercy. And when those who believe what we proclaim come to Christ and become a part of us, they join us in the work. And those who don't, those who reject it, guess what Jesus said to do? He said to love your enemies, said to do good to those who persecute you. You think that was some kind of a dispensational gap that lasted for five years and we're not supposed to do that? That He's called us to love our enemies. He's called us to demonstrate the spirit of Christ and all we have to do is to read the way, see the way Jesus Christ dealt with people in this world. You know one of the most poignant passages in all of Iowa. They get in Mark 10, it's the mark account where the rich young ruler comes to Jesus.

I don't know if you've ever noticed it. It's the only, it's in three places in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But it's only in Mark that it just says this one little thing when the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says that Jesus loved him, that Jesus loved him. Isn't that amazing? Jesus loved him, Jesus felt affection for him. The Greek word philato is used there, that Jesus had affection come out of his heart towards this man like a brother. Is that something? He rejects Jesus. Sometimes we shape the gospel in a way, it sounds like that God is an accountant, a businessman, instead of who he is, the Savior of the world. It also eliminates distinctions between ministry and mission.

They are both the same thing, what we do in the church and what we do as we go outside the church with the gospel. It's the same thing, it is the manifestation of the life of Jesus Christ. It's doing the work of Christ in this world. In fact, think about this, in 2 Peter 1, it says that we ought to develop certain virtues in our life as followers of Jesus Christ, right? You know what I'm talking about? I better have you turn there. So you remember, turn to 2 Peter 1, just a second. 1 Peter 1, notice this. Notice in verse 5, now for this very reason, applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence. In your moral excellence, supply knowledge. In your knowledge, supply self-control, in your self-control, supply perseverance.

In your perseverance, godliness, in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness love, for if these qualities are yours and are increasing continually, they render you neither, notice useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know that you could become less damaging to the world that Jesus is going to save if you would just become more like Jesus if you would put on these characteristics? Do you know that you would be less damaging in your relationships? If you were to put on these qualities that Peter says we are to add to our faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love, not only can we be used as instruments of salvation in the hands of Jesus Christ as we live and proclaim the gospel, but we can actually do less damage to the world that Jesus Christ came to say.

This perspective also eliminates terms like missionary admission because everybody here is a missionary if you are a follower of Christ and every place you go is a mission field. It may be on a church staff that your mission, your mission field may be in a very unlikely place, maybe in a factory, maybe on a playground, but you are a missionary and you are sent by Jesus Christ. You are a part of this great work of the church of Jesus Christ, of bringing Christ into the situation. I read a book recently that has such impact in my life, it's called The Art of Pastoring ministry without all the rules and a very interesting title, but basically David Hansen writing his book, boils all of pastoral ministry down to this, is the ministry of the word, is the ministry of prayer, is the ministry of friendship, it's the ministry of leadership and it's the ministry of the sacraments as he put it.

In essence, what he argues for in this book is what God's call pastors to do is to bring Christ into the situation, not because they're Christ, but simply because as they come Christ working in them, they're simply bringing Christ into the situation, you know what that's what he's called you to do too. Every friendship you have is an opportunity for you to fulfill your calling as a missionary for Jesus Christ. This also transforms us in a very powerful way. When we understand this truth and the magnitude of the work of the gospel and the work of the church and who we are as a part of the church, it transforms consumers into stewards. I've used the word materialism a lot lately and I realize it's not materialism so much as consumerism.

You know, consumers are produced by something. Consumers are the product of something, they're the product of those who market things. They want to transform us into consumers. I read this article today about them wanting to make consumers out of five-year-olds that just shudder what an amazing thing, what an untapped market out there. It's upon millions of dollars to be made by simply transforming five-year-olds into driven consumers of our product. When we see the true nature of the church, it will transform us from being consumers into being stewards of God's grace. It may cost you more money, by the way. You may end up spending a lot more money than you spend now as consumers of this world's it may be that God calls you as a member of the church to engage in some work that's going to be very costly to you.

A lot more costly than your lifestyle right now. That could happen or it may cause you to spend a whole lot less. But the nature of your attitudes and your acquisitions and your activities and your pursuits are going to radically change. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31, all of you know this passage, and basically what Paul is saying is, you know, every single thing you engage in as a believer of Jesus Christ should be done in order to bring glory to God. Eating, drinking, participating in life, do it for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. In fact, one book back, look at 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 12, listen to this. Paul was revealed to them. I'm sorry, chapter 2, verse 12, Paul says, I mean, Peter says this, he says, beloved in verse 11, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul, against the soul.

Fleshly lusts, let me tell you what fleshly lusts are. Fleshly lusts are those things that rise up in you when commercials actually work, you know. It's amazing. Isn't it powerful? That powerful thing that rises up, James describes it as it's like it comes from deep down inside of you and it comes up and it takes control of you. And he says, I want to urge you, my brothers and sisters, as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts. Aliens and strangers, by the way, being an alien and a stranger in the world, you know what the alternative is, is to be a tourist. A tourist is a person who's on this trip in order simply to enjoy all the sights and to have some, have you heard, have you ever seen these, these advertisements for experience packages?

You heard that expression, an experience package. You want to experience what it's like to be a cowboy. For $5,000, you can have a cowboy experience package. And they will give you the right clothes, the right horse, it's probably more and that's more like 10 grand. You can have a cowboy experience. You're going to have an outback experience in Australia. You can go and see what it's like to live like an aborigini for 10 grand. They'll sell you an experience package. See, that's what tourists do, but you're not tourists. You're traveling through, you're headed for a destination. Yeah, it's true that sometimes on this trip you need to spend a lot of money in order to have what you need in order to continue on the trip.

It's like in warfare, there are some men who sacrifice, but what they have to do is drive, they have to fly billion dollar airplanes in order for the war effort. And other men are down on the ground with nothing but the bare necessities of life. I don't know what God's called you to, but it doesn't matter because you're aliens and strangers. You're not tourists. And then notice what he says, he says, keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles. Demonstrate the true character of Christ as you add these qualities as he talks about in 2 Peter to your life. Why? So that, in the thing in which they slander you as evil doers, they may be because of your good deeds as they observe them, as they look at them right before their eyes, glorify God in the day of visitation.

I believe what he's talking about here is not the day of judgment, but the day when God comes to them and uses the influence of your life to bring them to himself, the way we live as aliens and strangers in this world. And then it also, in this whole process, we come to understand that we are aliens and strangers on a mission together as the people of God. Now, I'm called to help you and you're called to help me. We can't function independently of each other. We are the body of Christ and we need each other to accomplish this work. Marian has chosen, Marian Bell has chosen to go to Uganda and to live in those circumstances and to invest herself and her resources in this way. Well, you know what, she needs us.

She needs you to pray for her to be a partner with her in every kind of way. The same is true of all of you. We need to understand that, that we are aliens and strangers and we are on a mission and we are engaged in the most important work in all the universe. We're engaged in the work of saving the world. I don't, I'm not talking about social action, although social action certainly is a part of the life of the church. I'm not talking about post-millennialism, I'm talking about the fact of being in sync with the Savior of the world as He accomplishes His task. God is going to save this world and He is saving people today. He is, there are, I forget the statistics now, I had it in my hand, I forgot.

It is unbelievable, the number of people that are turning to Christ in Africa and India and China. The Savior is on the job, He's doing His work and we're a part of that. That's why we exist. That's why we have this relationship as the people of God. It's why we have, we are a constituted as a church of Jesus Christ because we are engaged in this work. God has called us to this. When I was reading this morning in Mark 10, when Jesus, it says, and Jesus loved Him, it says this. He says, Jesus, gazed into His face, that's the Greek word, bleppo, He gazed into His face and He loved Him. You know what? God wants you to look into some faces and to love some people and to realize that you know the Savior of the world.

You know the Savior of the world. Are you ever scared when somebody comes to you and their situation is so bad? It's totally unredeemable. They're so messed up. You know all they're going to do is hit you up and cost you money and cost you agony and you'll never be able to do anything in their life that's going to change them. Please don't forget that you know the Savior of the world who changes people. It was Howard Hendricks who said, if you're going to be engaged in the work of discipleship. You have to have an incurable conviction that God changes people. God changes people. And there is a hundred testimonies to that sitting in this room this morning. Let me read you the words of a song. It's called, if we are the body, let me read the chorus to you.

But if we are the body, why aren't his arms reaching out? Why aren't his hands healing? Why aren't his words teaching? And if we are the body, why aren't his feet going? Why is his love not showing them there is a way if we are the body? One of the verses says this, and it's just an image of a man coming into a local church. This is a traveler as far away from home. He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row. The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances are better out on the road. God's called us to be a welcoming church because we serve a welcoming God. We love sinners because God loves sinners. Don't tell me you can't love the sinner and hate the sin because you do it to yourself all the time.

Let's stand together as the people of God. I hope God will impress upon your heart this week who you are and what it is we are up to as the people of God that this is such a massive work. So much more important than building a little 12,000 square foot building in nights and although I hope we are able to do that and I think that could be a very much a tool of our work as the people of God. But this is so much bigger, isn't it? The goal that God has for us is so great and so massive and so glorious and he's invited us into it. Jesus said, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, whatever you lose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

He said this first to Peter, then to the other apostles and by application to every single person who has the gospel of Jesus Christ in their possession. If you have the gospel of Jesus Christ in your possession, you have the keys to the kingdom of heaven and that's what we possess as the people of God. Let's pray. Our Father, we come to you now as your people, as the family of God. You have united us in Christ. You've made us brothers and sisters. Father, you have given us a commission that is so great and so massive and so glorious that it boggles our minds and yet the resources you have given us and this is why Paul prayed for us that you would give us a spirit of wisdom and knowledge so that our eyes could be open.

We could see the great resources that you have implanted in us so that we could be a part of this great work that you were up to in the world. Father, we pray that we'd stop looking at people in the way that we do and we would begin to look at them through the lens of Jesus Christ and through the blood of Christ and through the cross of Christ. We pray that you would give us that perspective and help us to be engaged in this work. I thank you for those who are actively engaged in the work of Jesus Christ in this world. Thank you for these young people that are working to raise money that in the name of Jesus Christ they could give gifts to these children. I pray God you'd bless those efforts.

I pray you'd bless the efforts of every believer as we engage in this work for the glory of Jesus Christ. As we leave here today, Father, we pray you'd allow us to leave rejoicing in the greatness of your blessing and the greatness of the assignment that you have given us. For it's in your name and the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that we ask these things because we want him to be glorified. Amen. Amen. Lord bless you.