The Confident Hope of a Called Community
We continue in our series on Discovering Your Destiny. Recently we have been focusing on Discovering our calling, this morning we are going to consider what it means to be 'A Called Community'.
Dictionary.com defines the word Called as: to command or invite or request or ask to come; a summons, invitation, or bidding.
Dictionary.com defines the word Community as: a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.
The Bible teaches that when we are saved through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we become children of God. The Bible says that we are part of the family of God because God has adopted us, listen to the words of the Apostle Paul from Ephesians chapter 1:
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.
This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.
He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.
He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God has now revealed to us His mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfil His own good plan.
And this is the plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ —everything in heaven and on earth.
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.
God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.
And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you.
And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago.
The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people.
He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.
Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you.
I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honour at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.
As disciples of Jesus, we are united in Christ, together we are His church, a community with shared purpose and characteristics.
Galatians 3:26-28 says: For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
We are one in Jesus, we are a community of God’s people, God loves each of us the same, we are equal to each other.
Look at the words of Ephesians 2:19-21 So now you are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people.
You are members of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
We are not strangers or foreigners, we are His house, His church, His body and God has called us together as a community with a purpose.
God has a plan for us as His called community and God also has plans for our individual lives.
Before God created you in your mother’s womb, He had a plan and a purpose for you.
Your purpose as a disciple of Jesus is to love God and serve Him and also to love and serve others.
We are to proclaim that Jesus is Lord, to learn more about Him and to lead others to Him.
We often quote Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Do you trust God’s plan and purpose for us? Do you trust God’s plan and purpose for you? Is that trust evident in how you live your daily life? Is your life more aligned and influenced with the things of the world than with God’s plan and purpose for your life?
Is it obvious to other people that you care about following God’s plan and purpose for you?
I’m talking about something more than coming to church on a Sunday.
I’m talking about something more than raising your hands while singing a few worship songs.
I’m talking about something more than walking around with a smile on your face and occasionally dropping God into a conversation.
I’m talking about allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you, to lead me into the destiny God has for us.
Following the plan and purpose God has for you while you are alive on this planet. Making it obvious to God, making it obvious to others, making it obvious to yourself, that you are living life as born-again, sin-forgiven, spirit-filled and obedient disciple of Jesus.
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, God has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.
Do you dream of doing the good things God has planned for you?
Living as a child of the living God, allowing Him to work in you and through you to accomplish His plans and purpose requires something from us,
it requires real commitment.
All of us probably have felt the urgency to bring others into the family of God, before Jesus returns,but in the modern church there are too many people who have become content with just keeping a seat warm on a Sunday morning. Instead of being active in seeking and saving the lost, instead of being salt and light in a sinful world, we look for what the church can do for us rather than what we are called to do for others.
The great command of Matthew 28 has become the great suggestion, witnessing, evangelising, sharing the message of Jesus with others, well that’s what the Pastors are for isn’t it? Actually, no...
Jesus calls all of His disciples, all of his followers, all who say they have been saved, all who say they love Him to be actively involved in sharing the message of salvation with others.
Let me remind you of the great commission, the final command Jesus gave to us before He ascended to Heaven, in Matthew 28:18-20:
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Do you speak about how God the Father loves you?
Do you share the Love of Jesus with others?
Do you allow the Holy Spirit to use the gifts and talents that God has given you?
Are you teaching others what it is to be a follower of Christ?
What kind of picture does your life paint for the people you should be trying to lead to Jesus?
Do your friends and family look at your life and ask, what’s so great about following Jesus?
Are you proclaiming by the way you live, the way you speak, the way you act, that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour?
When was the last time you told somebody about Jesus?
When was the last time you told someone they needed to know Jesus as their Saviour?
When was the last time you invited someone to a church service?
When was the last time you realised, that you have a God given responsibility to tell others about who is supposed to be the most important person in your life?
Do you identify with what I’ve said so far?
Maybe you think I’m being a little harsh...
After all what difference can we really make in this world?
What difference can you make?
What difference can I make?
I’m only one person...
Friend, when you really believe in something, you should be willing to put your all your effort into it.
You should be totally committed to Jesus as His disciple and your life should reflect your commitment to God.
God can use everyone of us to share the truth of the Gospel. God can use you, yes even you to make a difference in this world, if you let Him.
Jesus has called us together as community to proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord. God has called me, God has called you to tell those around us the truth of the Gospel.
The Great Commission is as important today as when Jesus gave it to the first disciples. In 2017 people still need to hear about Jesus. In 2017 people still need to be saved from their sins. In 2017 people still need to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Today God has called US to reach the people.
Romans 10:11-15 reminds us: As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
“everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.” is a quote from Joel 2:32. What does to call on the name of the Lord really mean? It means repenting from our sins and turning to Jesus. It means asking God to forgive us and trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. As The Apostle Peter tells us in Acts 2:38 “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The only way to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit is to repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour so that we can receive forgiveness for our sins.
So the all people that Joel is speaking of refers specifically to every type of person in every nation, young or old, male or female who have given their lives to Jesus because “everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32).
Friends, there is an explicit and painful truth hiding in plain sight here...
If everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.
Then the opposite of this statement is also true, everyone who does not call on the Name of the Lord will not be saved.
Painful but true.
Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Without Christ, there is no hope. In Christ there is hope, there is the promised assurance of salvation to all who turn to Jesus.
There are those who do not call on the name of Jesus because they do not understand their need for Him.
Are you willing to do more for the Lord than occupy a seat in church on a Sunday morning?
Jesus didn’t die so we could feel good on a Sunday morning, He died to set the captive free, He died to bring salvation, He died to bring healing and wholeness and restoration to a fallen and sin sick world.
Jesus has commanded us to go and make disciples of all the nations. That is why it is so important we tell other people about Jesus, why it is so important we share our faith with others.
Can you do this in your own strength? No! You can do it because the Holy Spirit resides inside you! The Holy Spirit helps you to follow the will and purposes God has for you. The Holy Spirit helps you to be the person God has called you to be.
God promised a day would come when His people would be filled with His Spirit; when they were full of God, God Himself would give His people dreams and visions. At Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and Peter reminded the people of the promise of God: This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.’ (Acts 2:16-17).
When God pours Himself on us by His Spirit, He stirs up in us dreams and visions of His power, mercy, truth, holiness and greatness. When God pours Himself into us, our life is changed, our life is transformed because we are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not a promise only for the spiritual elite, the Holy Spirit is poured out on all of God’s people – men and women, young and old, if you have repented and turned to Jesus as Lord and Saviour, if you are a disciple of Jesus this promise is for you. If you are in Christ, you have been filled with the Spirit of God.
As I close, lets return to the words of Ephesians 1:18-20 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honour at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
God has called us and given us confident hope!
Jesus died for you, what will you do for Him?
Will you help build His church?
Will you share the Gospel?
Will you make a commitment this morning to make an impact in your family, with your friends?
Don’t put it off. Don’t wait any longer. Don’t wait for the Ministers to do it. Don’t wait for someone else to do it!
Make the commitment to do everything that God will enable you to do to make a difference.
This life is short don’t waste it. One day when you stand before God, He’s not going to be impressed or pleased if He asks what you did to tell others about Him and you say Lord, sometimes I went to church on a Sunday morning, I thought that was enough...
Look for the opportunity to get involved, focus on sharing Jesus with others.
Do everything you can for the Lord, take advantage of every opportunity that comes to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.
May each of us be enabled by the Holy Spirit to share the truth of the Gospel with others.
Let’s pray.
