The Gospel Mission – Part 1

And Graham walks with this introductory encouragement as you join us this week for living in the light and her message passing the baton of truth may be the person that you share the gospel with maybe the person you share God's word was made at that moment they don't respond, but you just keep on sowing the seed of the word of God, you keep on sharing the gospel and in God's own time and through prayer we pray the Holy Spirit will come along and start to make sense and will blossom into real faith in that person's heart was a good doing this for this week's living in the light with Bible teacher and Graham was it's a reminder that our gospel mission may at times seem like mission impossible, but one which God in spirit can be mission possible peers and beginning in Matthew chapter 28 with today's message Jesus makes it very clear. This is in his own words in Matthew 28 verse 18. He says all authority has been given me on heaven and earth for going make disciples of all nations having them in the name of the father the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you to the end of the age now that the mission impossible except for one thing, that Jesus is with us until the end of the age you don't do this by yourself. He's with you. The mission is a take that gospel message as a messenger into the whole world and not just African, Asian, Russian, but the world is between your own 2 feet okay your neighborhood, your schools, your businesses in your workplace, your family, your to take the gospel into the world that you and habits and make disciples and share the gospel to open your Bibles to second Timothy chapter 2 and policy challenges Timothy to carry out this mission. He says you to be strong to be smart and you to be serious. The first of all he challenges him to be strong in this chapter 2, verse one, and sometimes strength is a command is and I can feel so overwhelmed with things are going on that I begin to feel my spirit is folding and that I remember be strong and sometimes strength is just an act of your well you just need to buck up, you need an attitude change is be strong and sometimes life can be very hard. I said that before you know life is hard and and sharing the gospel in a wicked world is hard and Paul says in verse three is Timothy. I'm sure would say the same thing talk the assignment you giving me his cell heart is too hard. I can't do this out here with her, crucifying Christians and throwing them to wild animals and putting them in the lines down and and this is hard, and Paul says in verse three so endure hardship Enoch that I thought about the great apostle Paul and you going to tell them as to our second Corinthians 11 verse 23 I have worked much of this is his testimony. I worked much harder been imprisoned more frequently been flogged more severely been exposed to death again and again five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes -13 times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night in a day in the open sea been constantly on the move have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles in danger in the city, endangering the country and dangerously in danger from Baltimore others have labored and told another often gone without sleep.

I've known hunger and thirst, often gone without food have been called and I can besides everything else of a passionate heart for the church and you gonna tell them it's too hard, endure the hardship. So when we think about taking the gospel message into the world around us.

Yes, it's hard so what you just be strong and then he gives three examples three illustrations of what it takes to stay focused, as were taking this gospel in any says. First of all you to be separated from the world in verses three and four and he said it's like a soldier who separates from civilian life, keeping his focus on the goal which is to win the battle.

We can't live according to the world's pattern, which is you know, whatever is right in your own eyes. If you feel like you can do it get by with it. Whatever the duration of it is is is so you just go with the flow and we can do that we live according to the pattern of Scripture and the priority of the world which is me first or pleasure.

We can't do that because our priority is the kingdom of God first and the glory of Jesus and you know the pace that the world keeps it so busy busy busy busy. It makes no time for God. We have to walk with God.

Don't walk in his pace, making time every day to read our Bibles and pray and seek his will and do what he calls us to do and you have to be separated. You can't be entangled with the things of the world. Paul says in Corinthians, be ye separate, and it's for our own good that we might maintain our focus on the goal not only separated like a soldier but dedicated to the rules like an athlete and the athlete he says in verse five keeps the rules of the game so he can win it so you and I if we want to be effective on our mission. We have to keep the rules and this is the rulebook okay this is our playbook so you have to read your Bible, you have to apply the Bible to your life, you have to obey it and live it out if you're going to be effective on your mission. And Paul says stay focused separated from the world dedicated the rules motivated by the hope of harvest in verse six he talks about the farmer who worked to set up the some sundown just for the hope of harvest when were passing out the gospel and were passing the baton and were sharing the gospel we do it for just the help of the harvest and sometimes it can be discouraging candidates. And we've done our best and we worked hard to share our faith in the person seems like they've received it, and then a drought comes along, or flatter insect and you know what we thought was springing up in the real face just seems to disappear in front of her eyes and and we just keep on sowing the seed of the word of God may be the person that you share the gospel with maybe the person you share God's word with maybe at that moment they don't respond, but you just keep on sowing the seed of the word of God, you keep on sharing the gospel and in God's own time and through prayer we pray the Holy Spirit will come along and start to make sense and will blossom into real faith in that person's heart, but we do that, just for the hope of the harvest I love. Galatians 69 which says let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Don't quit, don't quit. Don't give up.

You just keep sowing the seeds of God's word. You keep sharing the gospel and you will reap a harvest, but we do it for the hope of harvest, we do it as an athlete just to win the race. We do it as a soldier because we want to win the battle and stay focused and stay fired up. In verses eight and nine he gives the heart of the gospel. He says remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead descended from David, this is my gospel, the heart of the gospel message is Joseph Jesus.

For God so loved the world that he created you brought you into existence that you might know him in a personal relationship that you might enjoy him that he might enjoy you and sin came into your life and in my life and separated us from God. But God is so you didn't give up on your instead he just initiated this incredible plan of redemption to send Jesus his own son, not God Junior God in the flesh you came down to be born of a virgin to live among us to finally give his life on a Roman cross as a sacrifice for your sin. And when you believe Jesus died for you have nobody else knew the Savior.

You did when you believe Jesus died for you and you thank God for the sacrifice you claimant for your sin, asking to cover you with his blood. He forgives you of your sin. He puts his Holy Spirit within you, and you give to eternal life, which is a personal relationship with him right here and now in heaven when you die, that the gospel get fired up is the only way you can be saved as the only basis for salvation in verse nine it says God's word and I'll just say God's gospel is not showing is not confined. I can share it here and you know you receive it, and you share with somebody somebody shares at somebody in the gospel just goes wherever it chooses.

So get fired up. We have a gospel message that has wings, you know, not confined to just your little sphere you share in your spirit goes out from there goes up from there and and Paul says I'm not ashamed of the gospel and no is the power of God is a built in power the gospel for the Jew first listen to me power of the gospel for the Jew first. You know what you share the gospel with them. Tell them that the Messiah has come, that the Messiah loves and that is coming back in to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. So get convinced of your message committed to your mission. In verse 10, I endured everything Paul says for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation it's in Christ Jesus, so I wonder what you've endured the sake of the gospel. I don't want to hurt anybody.

But let me just tell you that you put your faith in Jesus and your saved. If you don't, your lost if you put your faith in Jesus, we are going to heaven if you don't, you're going to hell and that applies to everybody in the whole world. Every gender every race, every culture, every age, so when we talk about children. I believe there's an age of accountability. I don't know when that age is some churches believe it's nine, 10 or 11, but I know that little children two and three can receive Christ by faith. The Savior they can be told enough that they can make that commitment. But this just say that's when they reach the age of accountability from heaven's perspective doesn't mean it is necessarily according to church but when God sees that that child is beginning to make decisions on his or her own thinking for themselves. They been presented with the gospel. And if that child is under the covenant.

We are up until then, under the covenant of their parents have made with the Lords of your Christian parent and you have a little child. The wonderful thing is that when God made a covenant with you. He made with your children.

Also, until the age when they can make the decision for themselves.

Whenever that age is, but if you are not a Christian parents.

There's no covenantal covering for your children and I think of all the children that have never been told the things the Savior never been told in such a way that related to them and I wonder about the children within your own home, your grandchildren and not just want to fire you that we need to tell them when you're young, we need to get them before the devil, but we need to share the gospel.

When the listen to us so I believe there are people all around us that Nietzsche's and I believe their people around us who would come to Jesus if they knew how often you had had somebody to tell them somebody would tell them with love, not judgment when you knew Jesus you know. But let me share what Jesus has done for me and we are going to this hard time. He can give you strength and comfort and hope, and that's what he's done. But let me tell you what he's done for me and you make it winsome and inviting.

If they don't come there lost in their people all around us who are going to hell and they go to Paul games and they get excited about whatever and they're watching you. The red carpet in their wondering about the latest food fad or whatever it may be in and it's just heartbreaking. Isn't so one of the prayers I have for myself. God help me make the message and my witness winsome realm of funds inviting enticing that they would want to know my Jesus because of what they see in me. So stay fired up, convinced of the truth of your message like Abel was in the beginning so convinced that he would lay down his life and committed to the mission because faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. How can they hear, nobody tells them if there's no messenger, and your mission is to be the messenger takes a gospel and to your own world. Don't worry about African and Asian you know you will world your sphere of influence. So stay focused and fired up. Stay faithful stay faithful. In verse 15 to God's word and this is one of the first verses I memorized as a child, but I learned of in the King James is already love and of a do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed of correctly handles the word of truth and were trying to emphasize that very careful not to put words into God's mouth you want to see exactly what the passage is saying you list your faxes are stated in the passage, then you look at those facts don't read into them, and sometimes attendance in a familiar passage is the thing you want to my pastor.

Same with the mouth and you trying to be more spiritual than you are.

I guess instead just look at the facts. What does that factor mean can you find a lesson from that fact and you correctly divide the word of truth, and then you apply to your life and then you live it out. And when you going to read your Bible every day you listen for God to speak to you through every day you live out what he said to so stay faithful to God's word and then as you share the gospel stay faithful to God's warning in verse 14 he says warn them against quarreling about words. I guess that's arguing the gospel so that you we argue to win instead of really not wanting to win them. We just want to be right.

Avoid godless chatter. Verse 16 verse 23.

Avoid foolish, stupid arguments, and I think there's a warning that when we go to share the gospel.

People who make peanut it makes them nervous and so they'll pepper us with questions like, well, you know your sharing this, but what about all the people never heard you are, you know, what about these all these other religions and you know you say that, but not neighborhoods or whatever and he says this in an don't get sidetracked.

So one way to handle that is just I don't know about other religions on about you and they burned and God will take care of those who never heard but you've heard and let me just tell you with the boxes and then you just share what the Bible says what Jesus is done in your life. Share your own testimony and the stay faithful to the word of God stay faithful to the warning because the devil himself will try to get you sidetracked. Try to get you diverted try to get you caught up in politics or some of these other issues today and have you argue about this or that and and they're missing the point. They got one young friend and he asked so many questions and at first I was excited because I love questions and all of answer questions but after a while the questions kept coming and I thought you he keeps asking questions so that he doesn't have to deal with the answers so that's a warning to me to not get caught up in the secondary issues and then stay faithful to God's work in verse 20 and 21 in a large house there articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay summer for noble purposes and for a noble.

If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes made wholly useful to the master and prepared to do any good work.

So in the Masters household and I'm assuming that's in heaven, but in God's kingdom. There are two kinds of messengers two kinds of workman and Sommer wasted the summer all saved, all in the Masters household but summer living wasted lives in summer worthy labs. Some are useless to God, summer useful.

Some are big, noble summer noble, so let me tell you this, that God can use any vessel he can use small ones and big ones he can use vessels that are educated or not educated he can use vessels that are male or female. He can use vessels that are black or white or brown or any other culture, nationality.

You can name you can use vessels that are young and middle-aged and old. He can use any and all vessels except for one he can't use a dirty vessel which is flat. When we are aware of our sin, we come back to the cross and we confess our sin, not for forgiveness.

You understand that right you've been to the cross.

You receive Christ by faith as your Savior. You are forgiven. Praise God. Past sin presence in future. Since you say that we think of as little medium big they're all under the blood of Jesus when he died 2000 years ago. All of us and was featured to him. So when he forgave me of the cross.

His blood covers all of my sin. I come back to the cross to confess my sin, not for forgiveness but that might be clan's that might be filled with his Holy Spirit that I might be a vessel useful to the master.

So as you work and you seek to be a master to fulfill this mission, how useful are you we can look good on the outside.

Currently, we can fool everybody that has spiritually earned into the cold to the seminar when quote versus doing say things but God looks on the heart. He doesn't care about the outward appearance on he does but he looks on the heart. He's not impressed with our reputation. He's not impressed with opinions of other people about and God looks on the hearts so stay faithful to God's word was warning to his work and then to God's way.

God's way is a way of purity in verse 22 of chapter 2, he says, flee the evil desires of you, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, and evil desires of use and as we think about is lust or immorality, but I think evil desires of his arrogance, assertiveness, selfishness and self-centeredness wanting what they want when they want it and call a saint and run away from sin and run after God. So we have to do things God's way and flee sin and teach our children by example to just run away from it. Don't think that you can handle a temptation that you're strong enough to give had difficulty with alcohol. You can go back into that place where they serve its ends.

If you had difficulty with pornography. You can't go back on the computer where that thing is in your don't toy with temptation. Don't tolerate it, put it out of your life run away from it. It's okay to run. You can asked Joseph and Potiphar's wife grabbed him. He just ran and left his coat in her hand he knew when he had to run so run away from it that you might run after God and as you run away that purity in your life I believe is linked to spiritual power to make a difference and was taught that in Revelation chapter 2 when Jesus just blisters the church about Tyra. He looked at them with the eyes of blazing fire. He was angry with what was going on there what was going on. There was immorality within the church and then he says if you overcome this immorality.

If you run away from sin and you run after God. He said I will give you authority over the nation, and I thought what he was saying to me was and if you run away from sin and you run after me and you put sin out of your life and live a life of holiness and purity. I'll give you power to make a difference around the world. I think that's one reason our churches. Sorry I don't mean to be critical, but just honest ideas so powerless their sin in the camp and you and are the church. So I think the search for the sin starts here in my heart and your heart to see what needs to be brought to the cross, we confess that we might be clan that there might be power once again and God's people to make a difference in impact on our generation so they focused fired up faithful to do things God's way with purity. I'll just point verse 24 with humility. The Lord's servants, you know, the kids are taught today to be self-promoting and aggressive and get what they want and I love Jesus in John chapter 13 the night he was betrayed when he should have had people coming around him to encourage him to hold them up to pray for him to see her wipe his brow and instead they were all are doing, but who is going to be the greatest. It was triggered because when it came to the door. There was no sermon there to wash their feet and it was a basin, and there was a town there was water but nobody wash your feet so Matthew says Peter you wash my feet business may and he says John you wash are no longer going to do that in and a go around no matter wash anybody speak because all things are better than the other person. This is the night he was betrayed after three years of ministry in Jesus. He takes off his cloak he picks up a towel and consent basin of water and he washes the feet of his disciples and he said if I've done this for you. You go out and do it for somebody you we are to be the Lord's servant. There should be of humility in our lab. Jesus said the greatest among you is the one who serves.

There a lot of people down here that think they're the greatest they're going to get a shock when they get to heaven. The people we walk by people that we didn't even notice.

Pay attention to. We did and other names are never on TV that and write a book. They did have a radio program you know the just the Lord's supper and they're going to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Wonder if that you humility and sincerity. Verse 25 and 26. He says those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who is taken them captive to do his will and nothing one of the things this applies to us when your children are out of the passing zone and you see them rejecting the Lord and are turning away from him and you want to just grab them by the shoulders and shake them and you want to get in your face and you see them doing things they should never be doing and you want to just lay them out and he says that's not so effective you have to be sincere and channeling just pray that God gives the opportunity you just love them. Keep the lines of communication open. When God gives you the opportunity you say a word, but is up to God to convict them in their hearts and bring to that point of repentance and to bring them out of the snare of the devil, because the devil make no mistake about it is after our children, especially the children of Christian leaders. He's after Christian homes in the homes of Christian and he will take them captive to do his will, and so that the spiritual battle and we engage in that spiritual battle. You can read Ephesians 6 you put on your armor and then you praying and you pick up your sword, which is the word of God. You can hear living in the light with and Graham wants weekly and for ways to experience the God filled life as you pursue your personal Bible study go to Engram lots.org to help you get started with free resources you can use and share with others join us here each week for living in the line