WHO ARE WE? - PART 1 - OUR MISSION
Matthew 22:35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
INTRO: I am excited this morning to begin this new series in which we will examine the Mission, Vision, Values, and Purpose of Metro Grace Community Church. It is extremely important to the life and vitality of this church body for us to understand who we are as a church.
We have a Mission to fulfill that was given to us by God. We have a Vision of what type church we will be both now and in the future. We have Core Values that shape who we are and everything we do as a church. These values are non-negotiable. We believe in them so strongly that we would be willing to lay our lives on the line for these values. We also have a Purpose for existing as a church here in this community. Understanding these things helps us maintain focus and direction in everything we do. If you ever wonder why we make certain decisions or do things a certain way here at Metro Grace, look to the Mission, Vision, Values, or Purpose, because these things drive everything we do.
God gives us these things because He has a very defined idea of what He wants us to be as a church. Some of these, such as the principles found in Our Purpose, are applicable to every church. For example, I believe that every church shares the same purpose. But, some of these, such as Our Mission, Vision, and Core Values, are specific for this church and this specific place and time.
This morning we will begin this series by examining the specific Mission for this church and the Biblical principles which are exemplified in Our Mission:
OUR MISSION: LOVE GOD - LOVE PEOPLE - MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I. LOVE GOD
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Jesus teaches us here that we are to love God, “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” What does that mean? How can we love God like this? Let’s take a look at the 3 ways Jesus taught us to love God:
With all your “Heart” (emotions)
(Football Game)
Psalm 110:1 Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Acknowledge that Yahweh is God. He made us, and we are His —
His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.
Our worship and love for God should include our emotions. When I think of all that God has done for me, it produces within me joy and excitement! And it should do the same in you as well!
B. With all your “Soul” (will/person)
To love the Lord with “all your soul” means to demonstrate your love for God through your obedience and by submitting your will to His will.
1 Samuel 15:22 Then Samuel said: Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams
Obedience and submission to God’s will in your life is the true mark of a person in love with the Lord!
Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.
We demonstrate our love for God through our obedience!
C. With all your “Mind” (intellect/thoughts)
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.
God wants us to love Him with our entire being: emotionally, intellectually, in our thoughts, our will, in our actions, in who we are as a person, every aspect of our life dedicated to serving and honoring Him as a demonstration of our Him!
II. LOVE PEOPLE
39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
This verse of Scripture brings to mind two questions: 1) who is our neighbor?; and, 2) how do we love our neighbor as yourself?
(The Parable of the Good Samaritan)
Luke 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”30 Jesus took up the question and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day[l] he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
So we see from the Scripture that our neighbor can be anyone we come into contact with, but especially those who are in need of our help.
How can we “love our neighbor as ourselves?”
Understand that people are the most important thing to God.
John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
B. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
Matt 7:12 Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them—this is the Law and the Prophets.
If we want to be treated with kindness - treat others with kindness.
If we want to be treated with respect - treat others with respect.
If we want to have a friend - we have to be a friend to others.
If we want to receive grace - we must be willing to share grace.
If we want to receive forgiveness - we must offer forgiveness.
III. MAKE A DIFFERENCE
40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
We believe that by Loving God and Loving People as the Bible teaches us to do we can make a difference in our community! Why? Because the world around us is looking for something REAL. When they see us sincerely loving God with all our being, and the difference it makes in our life - they will take notice! When they see us sincerely loving and accepting each other and the people of our community unconditionally - they will take notice! Not only will they take notice, but they will be hungry for what you have in Christ! It will open up doors of opportunity for us to share Christ with the thousands of lost and hurting people in our area! People will pour into our worship gatherings by the hundreds seeking to get what we’ve already got!
You might be thinking that can’t happen. Well, not only can it happen, but it’s already happened in the past. Look at this example of what was happening in the early church:
Acts 2:41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. 43 Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.
Take notice of that last sentence, “every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.” Here we see the church loving God and loving people, and God added to them multiple new believers EVERYDAY! In fact, the early church which began with around 120 people, was growing so fast the church grew to over 48,000 in the first 10 years of it’s existence!
Not only CAN God do the same thing here, but I believe it’s His desire to do so! He’s simply looking for a church who will love Him with all their being and love people the way He loves people! Why not us? That’s the question we all need to answer this morning. Do you want to make a difference? Then it’s simple: Love God with all you heart, soul, and mind. Love people unconditionally and sacrificially as God loves them. Then watch God make a difference through this local church!
CONC: LOVE GOD - LOVE PEOPLE - MAKE A DIFFERENCE. It sounds simple, but it’s very powerful and profound. Before we close this morning, I want to ask you two questions:
How well are you loving God? Are you truly loving Him with all you heart, all your soul, and all your mind? Is there any area in your life that is not pleasing to God? Is there any part of your life you haven’t surrendered to Christ? If so, right now is the time to deal with it. Ask God to forgive you and to help you commit your all to Him.
How well are you loving people? Are you loving people unconditionally and sacrificially like God? Do you love everyone regardless of who they are, or what the might have done, or the color of their skin? To fail to love everyone as Christ loves them is sin. If you struggle in this area, today would be the perfect time to ask God to forgive you and give you a heart of love like His.
If we will Love God and Love People as we should - then we will make a difference in our families and in our community!
This morning there may be someone here who has never received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. I want to share with you God’s plan of salvation.
(Share ABC’s of Salvation)
