Core Values: Mission & Diversity – Galatians 3:26-29
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
This morning we are going to conclude our core values series. We have been laying a foundation for New Mercy Community Church since the beginning of the year. We have defined the DNA of what God has called us to be. We have been identifying what our identity is now in our infancy, and will remain to be as grow to reach our generation for Jesus Christ.
As I’ve said before, if you were to define New Mercy in 12 words, the core values would be it—-–
1. Fervent Prayer
2. Power of the Holy Spirit
3. Relevant Evangelism
4. Diligent Equipping
5. Authentic Relationships
6. Genuine Love
7. Strong Families
8. Sound Doctrine
9. Integrity & Character
10. Inspiring Excellence
11. Passionate Worship
12. Diversity & Missions
Today we’re going to conclude the core values with two critical elements of who we are —-– Diversity and missions. Let me summarize this core value for you:
A. We believe the local church is called to reach all nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
B. Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for every tongue, tribe, and nation, we must seek to send the Gospel to un-reached peoples everywhere
C. We will overcome racial, ethnic, social, and economic barriers to reach all peoples in our community for Christ
Usually, when we think of missions we think of the Great Commission.
· But missions didn’t begin with the Great Commission. Missions began with God. It first beat in His heart before it was ever breathed as the life sustaining force into His church.
· Our God is Missions Minded. If He were not, there would be no Christian mission.
· The Gospel He has given us is a Missions Message. If it could not save every sinner, there would be no reason to take it to every nation.
· And the Great Commission is a Missions Mandate. It identifies the local church as the center for world evangelism.
· Missions are all about world evangelism. It is not about the spread of western culture or the redistribution of wealth. Spreading prosperity is a good thing, but filling bellies without winning the lost sending people to hell with a full stomach.
· Our passion and mission must be clear. It is about doing everything we can to spread the mercy of Jesus Christ to every person He died for. It is about holding up high the banner of Jesus Christ for the world to see.
· So with that ultimate focus for our missions work, let me share with you the missions burden that our generation must bare:
· LAUNCH 10/40 WINDOW SLIDES
· There is an area called the 10/40 window that spans North Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia that has never been penetrated by the gospel.
· It is called the 10/40 window because it spans 10 degrees of latitude and 40 degrees of longitude
· Hear some facts about the 10/40 window:
i. 97% of people in the least evangelized countries live in the 10/40 window
ii. 82% of the poorest of the poor live in the 10/40 window
iii. 2.7 Billion people are lost -- many of them have never heard the gospel
· 45% of the world population lives in that region! Most of these people have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ!
· This is the call and mandate for missions in our lifetime. It has been untouched by so many generations, but Jesus Christ declares that the gospel must be preached in every nation and then He will return.
· We live in an unprecedented time, as the events of this world accelerate on a path to the culmination of all things, God is also opening doors for those who are observant:
i. First, there are signs of the end shown by the planet itself
1. The earth is groaning for the coming of the Lord
2. Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Natural disasters unseen before are happening at an escalated pace
3. Typically a year would bring around 300 major natural disasters around the globe – earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados.
4. In the last year, we have seen over 4 times this level of disasters!
ii. The world scene is showing the setup for the end of days
1. Iran is taunting their nuclear powers
2. The Bible predicts a coming alliance between Iran and Russia and that these two countries will join forces to attack Israel.
3. The Hamas Palestinian government has risen to power with promise to wipe Israel off the map
4. The fact that there is even an Israeli government for Palestine to contend with is a major fulfillment of Bible prophecy – Israel ceased to be a nation for 1900 years!
5. All these things point to the looming truth – THE NIGHT COMETH WHEN NO MAN CAN WORK!
iii. Before I go any further, let this truth resound in your ears!
1. If you are ever going to do a work for God – DO IT NOW!
2. If you are ever going to give to the Kingdom – DO IT NOW!
3. If you are ever going to use your talents to matter for eternity, don’t wait for tomorrow – DO IT NOW!
4. If you are ever going to reach your pre-Christian friends and family – DO IT NOW!
5. If you are ever going to get serious about the Lord – DO IT NOW!
iv. There are not only signs of tribulation and trouble, but there are open doors that are unprecedented!
1. Do you understand why there is a war in Iraq? It is not because of WMD or the evils of Saddam!
a. Just as God tore down the Iron curtain that kept the gospel from Communist Russia and Eastern Europe, God is opening the door to the ISLAMIC and ASIAN countries!
b. This GOSPEL shall be preached in all nations and then shall the end com
c. The war in the Middle East is because God is tearing down barriers so His Gospel can penetrate every nation
2. Do you understand why all kinds of jobs are being shifted overseas to India & China?
a. These countries openness to western business is the door that God has opened so that the church can go in and preach the Gospel!
3. All the current events are being animated by the unseen hand of God to bring about His Kingdom!
a. I believe God has brought us into the Kingdom for such a time as this!
v. Now let me tell you how we are part of a greater movement of God throughout the earth:
1. The Church of God world missions department is working toward "2nd generation missions", where the countries that have received missionaries from the USA, begin to develop and send out their own missionaries.
2. Because there is a great need for missionaries in the 10/40 window (the Middle East, Northern Africa, India, China), the Church of God is working to send missionaries from Latin America and Africa where the church is thriving.
3. Rather than focusing on sending missionaries to the already evangelized, the Church is sending African & Latin American missionaries (with American support) into the 2 billion un-reached peoples who have never heard the name of Jesus.
4. This is a great strategy because these 2nd generation missionaries are not encountering the same type of prejudice that Americans do when we go to these places.
5. This evolution in missions is the great burden & call of our generation -- to reach those countries that have never been penetrated by the gospel for 2 millennia.
6. I feel the heart of God leading me to invest in reaching these 2 billion people.
A. A strong Missions program rests on these three foundations:
a. A Compassionate God
i. The Description of God’s Love – John 3:16 [quote it with me]
1. It is Extravagant - “God so loved”
a. It is a love so infinite that it is everlasting.
i. Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
b. It is a love so incomprehensible that it passes knowledge.
i. Eph. 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
c. It is a love so indiscriminate that it would be given to the least worthy, sinners.
i. Romans 5:8 But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
2. It is Exhaustive - “the world”
a. God is not willing that any should perish. 2 Peter 3:9
b. He would have all men to be saved. 1 Timothy 2:4
3. It is Expressive – “that He gave”
b. The Demonstration of God’s Love
i. He promised a Savior to deal with the problem of sin.
1. This promise was repeated and amplified throughout the Old Testament. It rested upon the unconditional, sovereign “I will” of God.
2. All the acts of God in the Old Testament were performed with the fulfillment of this promise in mind.
ii. He provided a Savior to deal with the problem of sin.
1. When the plan of God was complete, God sent forth His Son to be mankind’s redeemer.
a. Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
b. According to the eternal purpose of God, Christ “died for our sins … was buried … and rose again the third day.” 1 Cor. 15:3-4
c. To the everlasting praise of God, salvation is now offered on the sole condition of faith in the finished work of Christ upon Calvary.
c. A Compelling Message
i. In Romans 1:14-16, Paul declares that he is indebted to God to give the world the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Having heard the greatest message in the world, He was compelled to share it with whomever he could.
1. So great was this sense of obligation that Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “Yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel!”
ii. It is a distinct message.
1. Every major religion relies upon performance for salvation.
a. Hinduism preaches a fourfold path to salvation.
b. Buddhism leads its followers down an eightfold path to salvation.
c. The salvation offered by Islam rests upon Five Pillars.
d. In Catholicism, salvation is gained through fulfilling five sacraments.
2. The Gospel centers upon a Person for salvation.
a. Jesus announced, “I am the Way …no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” John 14:6
b. Peter declared, “There is none other name…whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
c. Paul said, “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.” Acts 13:38
3. The Gospel finds its source, content, and meaning in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
a. Apart from Him, there is no salvation.
b. Other messages tell men what they must DO to be saved; the Gospel tells men what has been DONE to save them.
iii. It is a dynamic message. Romans 1:16-17
1. The Gospel is a particular message.
a. There are many messages in the Bible, but only one of them qualifies as THE Gospel.
b. The facts of the Gospel are:
i. Christ died for our sins
ii. He was buried
iii. He rose again on the third day, having completed by himself all that was necessary to redeem mankind.
2. The Gospel is a powerful message.
a. The Gospel is the ONE MESSAGE that has the power to save a man from the penalty of his sins.
b. The power of the Gospel is subject to the following limitations:
i. It cannot save until it first has been believed
ii. It cannot be believed until it is first heard
iii. It cannot be heard until it is first preached
iv. Because of the power of the Gospel – it is the only way for sinful man to find forgiveness and freedom – we must carry it without prejudice to every person for whom Christ died
1. Multitudes are born and die whether or not anyone is prepared to reach them
2. If we do not evangelize our generation, this generation will not be evangelized at all.
3. No one is exempted from the responsibility to evangelize the lost.
a. We are not finished with our call until every man has been evangelized
b. The domain of missions is “all the world.”
c. The demand of missions is to reach to “every creature.”
B. We must not be so blind as to reach across the globe but fail to reach across the street
a. I once heard it said that God is color-blind
i. How could the creator of the rainbow be color-blind?
ii. God is NOT color-blind; He LOVES all colors!
iii. Red & Yellow & Black & White, they are precious in his sight
iv. Men are the creators of prejudice and exclusion
v. Jesus embraced the tax collector, the Samaritan, the harlot, the half-breed, the rich, the poor, He loved ALL men and women, and children
vi. Away with the prejudices of men
vii. Away with the narrow-minded exclusion that pushes people away from the God who embraces
viii. We will be a place that loves every person, because we’re all made in the image of God
1. We will love Arabs, Blacks, Whites, Indians, Chinese, Korean, Filipinos, Latinos, Eskimos, Russians, and Greeks, and Africans, African-Americans, Asians, “Others”, because that is the heart of the Father
2. God made you just the way you are and He loves you
3. We love you whether your young or old
4. Whatever style of music you like
5. Whatever your social-status or education
6. You matter to the Father and we’ll embrace you just like He does!
b. I long for the day when I see a diverse congregation
i. When we are not so focused on hearing our music style, or having it “my way”
ii. But we worship with bluegrass music, oriental songs, Mexican maracas, Puerto Rican guitars, African drums, hip hop rhythms, because Jesus died for every tongue, tribe & nation
iii. A diverse congregation that worships not because of your musical preference but because of passion for Jesus Christ and for your brother that He died for
iv. I long for the day when I see a church that reflects our community all washed in the blood of the lamb and praising our God for His mercy toward us
