Sermon Central
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Serving The World Series
Contributed by Darrell Stetler Ii on Nov 13, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: The reason we serve the world is because of the Gospel – the GOOD NEWS. The way we serve the world is through living out and sharing the Gospel.
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Our Church’s New Mission Statement:
Love God, Love Others, Serve the World
We illustrate it like this:
(graphic available in Resource Download)
The third part of our mission comes from Jesus’ words just before he went back to heaven.
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The reason we serve the world is because of the Gospel – the GOOD NEWS. The way we serve the world is through living out and sharing the Gospel.
In other words, we must both Preach the Gospel, and Do the Gospel.
Why you should serve the World:
Jesus came to serve:
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Luke 22:24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
One of the greatest ways that we are to serve our world is to preach the Gospel. But we can’t forget that the Gospel is inseparable from its results, even for the Poor:
• Jesus preached the Gospel, but also…
• Jesus touched the untouchable.
• Jesus loved the unlovely.
• Jesus forgave the guilty.
• Jesus healed the broken.
• Jesus spent time with the addicted.
• Jesus blessed the young.
John the Baptist even doubted whether Jesus was really the one or not after he was in jail… he sent his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one we’re looking for? Are you really the one around which centers the Good News, the gospel?” Jesus reply was this:
Luke 7:22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
It was only natural that Jesus’ disciples would go and do what they saw him do. They would go and love the poor, care for the widow, heal the sick, serve the sinner.
It is impossible to really do/live/preach the Gospel without realizing its implications for the poor. The middle class and poor think they have already found their good news, but God’s heart has always been for the poor and those who need served – those who still realize that they need Good News!
Let’s look at some Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
Psalm 82:3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Proverbs 21:13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Exodus 23:11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it…
Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Acts 6:1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
