What you were called to…
Jude 1:17-23
This past week I had the privilege to attend our Foursquare National Convention in Houston. For me personally it was great time of renewal and reaffirmation. If you remember correctly we were supposed to begin our “Foundations” series today. Well on the last night of the convention, it became very apparent to me that God was saying wait just one week.
He was saying wait, because over the course of the past month God, has been reminding me of “Our Call”, and even the direction we as a church body are to walk in.
Jude 17-23 (NLT)
But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. 18 They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. 19 These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them. 20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. 22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
I chose this passage today, because I feel like within these verses lie the very call that God has placed on this church body from it’s early days, and that this call is still very apparent today!
1. To Train Up
Jude 1:20 (NLT)
But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit
Upon entering full time ministry as your senior pastor, the first thing I did was throw up. Second was seek God’s wisdom and direction for the church.
A. Personal Growth
2 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
Listen to what this passage is saying: We have what we need through Christ, now we need to increase in Him.
8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
When we neglect this important first step, we are worthless, mouth-breathers who are adding to the noise pollution of this world. So we are purposed in encouraging spiritual growth through God’s Word, Worship and Prayer.
B. Each Other
Faith Fellowship Mission Statement
It is our mission to serve God by bringing people into a relationship of worship with Jesus that is passionate and genuine allowing them to grow in fellowship, maturity, ministry and a lifestyle of evangelism.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-22(NLT)
Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.
We are here to encourage one another, and to serve and serve with one another!
Doing Church as a Team!
C. The Next Generation
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NLT)
And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 8Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
We must be pouring into our children and youth! I am standing here today as proof that when someone invests in youth for the sake of God’s Kingdom alone, God’s Church endures. We are a bridge! We must pass the baton!
2. To Be Transformed
A. In Heart and Mind
Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
When we allow this transformation we will begin to live and see the way God sees things.
B. Against Tradition
Galatians 2:15-16 (NLT)
You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ—and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.”
Silly, but Real Laws
Nebraska
- If a child burps during a church service in Omaha, his or her parents may be arrested.
Illinois
- In Chicago, it is illegal to fish in one’s pajamas.
Maine
- In Waterville, it is illegal to blow one’s nose in public.
Massachusetts
- It is illegal to wear a goatee without a license.
- State legislation forbids dueling with water pistols.
- In Boston, it is illegal to take a bath unless one has been ordered by a physician to do so.
Florida
- Unmarried women who parachute on Sundays may be jailed.
Nevada
- It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway.
- In Eureka, men who wear moustaches are forbidden from kissing women.
There is a spirit of traditionalism in the church today that is nothing but counter effective to God’s Kingdom. I can tell you that my generation alone comes with a real sense of cynicism, and the ways of the past will not reach them.
It’s time for the church to stop trying to be so legalistic, and start acting out of a heart that wants to see Jesus’ name proclaimed!
Luke 5 – Paralyzed Man on a mat through the roof!
It is time to start recognizing that God is not confined to a certain style of Worship, Preaching, Study, Evangelism and Outreach!
C. With God’s Promise
Hebrews 11:1 (ASV)
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.
Faith – Hope of God’s Promise – Evidence of what is not yet seen
“A leap of faith and then exhale, feel the movement in the details.”
- from Andy Hunter’s Stars
God has given us the promise that He will see us and His works through.
3. To Turn Outward
My Personal Journal Entry 4/29/08
“I’ve decided that the goal in ministry is not to try and condemn the world, or try and make it as close to perfect as possible because it is already a lost cause. This world is fading into its own temperance, and my inhabitance here is only temporary. Rather, my perspective should be one of a rescue mission of mercy. I am here to help coordinate and work with others to try and pull as many as we can from the sinking ship. We cannot save the world, but we can help its inhabitants find salvation.”
Jude 1:22-23 (NLT)
22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
“If the church was no longer here, would the people or community miss us or even realize that we were gone?”
Our first step is spiritual growth, but God is saying not to sit around and get fat on Him, but to be turned outward!
ILL. Meeting with Joe Gosha – Grapevine’s Call
Vision of Spotlights Being moved!
A. Friends and Family
Romans 15:2-3 (NIV)
Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
It’s time to reach people where they are at through the relationships we’ve already established. – Small Groups (Common Interests)
B. Community
Colossians 4:5-6 (NIV)
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Start off small – Interact with those around you in a Christ-like fashion
Dream Big – How can I build relationships within our community? What are the needs that I can meet?
C. Global
Mark 16:15-16 (NLT)
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.
Not everyone is called to the foreign mission field, but we are all Christ’s ambassadors.
Understand, these are things that the church has been called to, but are also still called to!
-Prayer
