What Does True Mission/Ministry Look Like? Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: April 25, 2013

Date Preached: April 28, 2013

Where Preached: OPBC (AM)

Sermon Details:

Series Title: The Five Functions of the Church

Sermon Title: What Does True Mission/Ministry Look Like?

Sermon Text: Hebrews 12:1-2 [NLT]

Introduction:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

This morning I am going to continue this sermon series on the FIVE (5) functions of the church: So far, Ben and I have brought the 1st 3 functions to you over the past 3 weeks…

3 weeks ago we looked at TRUE worship & what it looks like & we learned that TRUE WORSHIP is a direct reflection of our personal and corporate response to Jesus & that is fleshed out by living a godly life!

In other words, our True Worship of God is a direct reflection of the way we live our lives from Mon-Sat…

It is NOT about just coming to our service on Sunday! We should come together on Sunday to express thanks & gratitude to God for what He has done for us…

Then 2 weeks ago we learned about the 2nd function of the church…and it is discipleship! Discipleship is the act of believers learning & growing in the teachings of Jesus! In other words, discipleship is US as believers maturing in their faith!

What we learned was that discipleship is NOT focused on what we can learn, but its function IS about what God can do THRU us when we learn…

We learned that True Discipleship is about knowing our Enemy, Satan!

We learned that True Discipleship is about ‘equipping ourselves for spiritual warfare… for those spiritual battles we WILL face!

Finally, True Discipleship is about knowing and USING THE power source at our disposal - Jesus Christ!

Then last week Ben preached to you out of John 4 & the story of the woman at the well. Ben did a great job in laying out the story of the woman at the well & how Jesus was the picture of True Evangelism in the story!

In True Evangelism we must first look past the darkness in the lives of those God places in our path! We must see them thru the eyes of Jesus!

Secondly, True Evangelism is when we focus on reconciliation and forgiveness, NOT judgment or condemnation!

Finally, True Evangelism is about obedience! Jesus called us ALL to evangelize and make disciples! This is exactly the life Jesus led, a life of making disciples! What are we doing to make more disciples in the Kingdom?

Today we are going to learn about True Mission/Ministry! What is the function of Missions/ Ministry within the context of the church? What is True Evangelism?

Well let’s look at BOTH words this morning: First there is the word, missions which is where we tell others about Jesus, where we tell others about the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It is where we can TALK the TALK!

But when we look at the word ministry it is MORE than words… it is actions! To DO ministry for Christ you must start by showing the love of God to those in your life and those you come into contact with…

In other words, this is where the rubber meets the road (so to speak) this is where believers are called to SHOW the love of Christ (not just tell it) == this means a life lived in service to Him!

BOTH aspects of this are part of the equation. We must talk the talk by telling others about Jesus! But we must also walk the walk through showing others the love of Jesus that has rescued us!

Both sides of the coin are vital, both are important, both are DEFINITELY necessary, but what MOST of us overlook here is that BOTH are required actions on behalf of the believers!

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “…[b]ut you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus calls His followers to be witnesses OF Him and His teachings! The general definition of a witness is someone who can give evidence (either formally OR informally) regarding a particular matter after they see or hear something.