Engage (Compassion, From Careless To Caremore) Series

ENGAGE – Compassion

From Careless To Caremore

Jesus (your Savior King) spoke the following words in what many refer to as His inaugural address on the mountainside by the Sea of Galilee.

Letting people know who they could be and who they really are in Him.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16

Prayer

OKAY SO – we are in the final weeks of our series…"Becoming the church He intended'

AND B/S – as I stand before you this morning (9-22-2019)…

I want you to know that there is nothing that I desire more than for we who meet at 3210 Proffit Road to become the Church and the people that HE (the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace) intends for us to be.

YES – I sooo want that for us.

BECAUSE – countless people’s eternities are in jeopardy if we do not.

GET IT?

AND – what we have been discussing as we’ve been wrapping up this series is that the church that Jesus intended is made up of people who are living their lives on MISSION…

(seeking the lost, making disciples and showing compassion)

AND – here is the diagram that we use at The Grove summarize the path to that life.

A life lived on Mission…

- Begins with BELONG (belonging to Christ through faith repentance, confession and baptism… AND – belonging to His church through church membership)

- Deepens with GROW (committing to those 6 SG growth habits)

- Expresses itself within in the Body with SERVE

- AND… Unleashes the Spirit and Power of God with ENGAGE (when we actually become the light of the world and the salt of the earth through acts of compassion and the sharing of the Good News)

UNDERSTAND – ENGAGE is about His church being the light of the world and the salt of the earth… OR - we could put it this way… ENGAGE – is all about Jesus-followers making a positive difference in His world. IT’S - about leaving the 4 walls of this building and making our community a better place.

NOW UNDERSTAND - what we do in here, in this building is great, essential and important.

LISTEN - according to God’s Word… BELONG – GROW – SERVE… are vital to you living your life on mission

BUT – if that is all we do… if we do not leave this place and ENGAGE this our community through acts of compassion and the sharing of His Gospel… we are for the most part just wasting our time… and are nothing more than self-centered, internally focused Jesus-club.

OKAY – let’s do this…

ENGAGE – Compassion (from careless to caremore)

NOW – there are just 2 points in your notes that we are going to unpack.

#1 – God has always called His people to Compassion (to Caremore)

#2 – Moving from careless to caremore

I. God Has Always Called His People To Compassion

UNDERSTAND – God has always wanted His people to make His world a better place. To show compassion, to caremore.

I MEAN – right there in the very beginning you have the call of Abraham, where see God making it very clear that it was His intent for His people to have a positive impact on the world he created.

The Lord said to Abram: I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing… and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. – Genesis 12:2,3

QUESTION - who will be blessed through His people?

AND – as we move on from Genesis, we quickly see that God has a special place in His heart for those who live on the edges and margins of society – and that He has a plan for His people to minister to those broken people.

IN FACT – there are nearly 400 biblical passages demonstrating God’s concern for orphans, widows, prisoners, foreigners, the homeless, the poor, the sick, the hungry and the disabled.

YEAH – if God says something 400 times, I think it is pretty safe to assume that whatever that something is – it matters deeply to Him.