 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
 |
We may not be the twelve apostles, but we still are God’s emissaries in the world. We are still sent ones, sent from Christ, sent from our local assembly, the primary sending institution in the Bible. But how do we go about being His emissaries in the world? The following principles are for anyone and everyone. 1. We must realize that we too are sent ones. We are sent by the Lord into the world. We are sent by out local fellowship into the world. We are sent to love, sent to serve, sent to make the broken world of God better through our work and through our love of neighbor, sent to evidence new life in Christ, sent to share the gospel of Christ, sent to bring glory and honor to our God. Thinking of ourselves as sent ones causes an important change in perspective in daily life. Our perspective as being sent ones will radically effect how we see those people in our offices, schools, and neighborhoods, folks we might be tempted to write off, complain about, be offended by, etc. Our perspective as being sent ones will cause us to bow before the God of heaven and thank Him for his wise providence in placing us where he has placed us. Our perspective as being sent ones will give us the excitement we need as we realize we are each on the cutting edge of the kingdom! 2. We pray daily for opportunities, and for us to make the most of them. I believe that if we started each day with a genuine prayer that the Lord would open doors and create opportunities for us to get to know people that He is drawing to Himself, and to use us in their lives, that this would have a radical effect. Not only is there the ”you have not because you ask not” idea, but praying in this way it would increase our sensitivity to our surroundings and cause us to be watchful. 3. We really and truly care about others around us. We make ourselves available in love to our neighbors and work-mates and softball parents and parents of our kid’s friends and cashiers at the store etc. As I have shared in the past, there have been times when I have utterly failed in this, when all I cared about was my tasks, my agenda, my to do list, the things burdening me, ignoring others as I walked by them. I was once scathingly rebuked by a librarian where I talked for walking by her counter on the way to the staff mail boxes almost everyday, and never saying boo, never signifying that I cared less about her. Her rebuke profoundly affected my life from thence forth. 4. In our caring for those around us we move beyond small talk and chit chat. We ask personal questions. How is your wife? How are things going well in your kid’s school? How are you dealing with your new job assignment? Nothing is wrong with small talk. Small talk builds bridges. Small talk is part of sharing and relating common human experiences. But small talk can also be a barrier, a fence, a buffer, a defense, and we need to find ways to break through the barrier. Often times personal questions are irritating, but other times they are disarming and are like a key to a person’s heart. Often when we ask sincere personal questions we don’t get answers, but tears. 5. When people share difficult things with us we listen carefully, trying hard to understand, patiently withholding pat advise and trite Christian formulas. We try to sympathize and empathize. Perhaps we tell them we will pray for them (and then we pray for them!). We stay in touch. We let them know we are thinking of them. We check back later. We remain faithful to relationships, even with people who may not be faithful back. We look to the long term and are patient. Who knows but what personal crisis will bring that person to you for help and counsel two years hence, if they know you are there and that you care. 6. We express outwardly, publicly, and verbally our own gratitude to the Lord when we can. Little comments that seem natural and part of life really can help open doors. We don’t over due this, but if God is such a central part of our lives, it is natural for us to express this in normal and honest ways in our conversation. 7. We make ourselves ready to share the gospel when asked. Do we know how to do this? I would ask each of you to take an hour or two and write down what you think you would say if someone asked you to explain why you are full of hope and peace (are you?). Then share what you have written with a friend who can give feedback. I don’t know how to say this without causing guilt or sounding pushy, but many of you just aren’t as ready (as you have been asked by the Lord to be) to share the hope within you as you should be. The reason for this is that you haven’t applied yourself to the task by searching the Scriptures and learning how Jesus and the apostles shared the message of the kingdom. I am willing to spend time with anyone who wants to develop a way of sharing the gospel of Christ with those who ask. On the other hand we will never really be ready. Every situation is different. No formulaic expression is right for all circumstances. We must trust the Lord to give us the right words at the right time. 8. We make ourselves willing to be considered fools, to be stereotyped and joked about. Sometimes, no matter how “perfect” we have been loving others and sharing about Christ, we will experience rejection. As people reject God and the message of His saving purpose in Christ, they may well reject us who associate with Christ. Some relationships we have nurtured along will not mature or develop as hoped. Some may turn tense and sour. This is life as a disciple, but it can be very hard at a personal level. Our fear of this may cause us in subtle ways not to associate with Christ’s name. But, if we are ashamed of the consequences of being associated with Christ, perhaps He will be ashamed of us. 9. We are willing to be sorry for mistakes we make in relationships, and to express our contrition even to those who would gloat over our mistakes. We ask sinner and saint alike to forgive us when we sin against them, when we have a superior attitude, when we are disrespectful of authority, when we are caught gossiping, or whatever. We turn our shame into praise as we testify to how it is clear that yes, even we need a savior, but we do this with real humility, not spiritual one-upmanship. We make ourselves willing to be known as the sinners we are. Not that we have to work hard at this. But sometimes we work too hard to hide the fact that when it all boils down we’re no better than anyone else, that we need Christ as much as they need Christ. Sometimes it is helpful when we know that they know, that we know that they know that we know, that we are not so perfect after all, and that we can admit, joke perhaps, acknowledge this in humble and human, and not superior ways (in our spiritual pride we can try to better our neighbors by showing hoe truly humble and contrite we are about our faults). In this way our weakness turns into a strength for Christ’s sake. 10. We deal with our objections to and difficulties with what has been said above. When I present this message some of you are uncomfortable, uneasy. You’re sitting there listening or reading politely, but you’re arguing with me under your breath. “I object!” you cry out inside. This isn’t me, not my thing! Now why might you think that? 1. I’m too busy and tired to befriend and take time with people. 2. If I say anything about Christ or being a Christian they will ridicule me, make jokes about me, marginalize me in the company. 3. That sharing about Christ stuff just is not my thing -- not my gift and personality thank you. 4. I’m not ready. I don’t have the tools. I need two more years of evangelism training, three more years of BSF, two more trips to L’Abri, maybe a year of seminary! 5. That’s what we pay you for! It’s your job to do this, not mine! I would recommend a book to you that I have found very helpful over the years. I have checked with Logos Book store and this book is still available and can be ordered. It is Out of the Salt Shakerand Into the World by Rebecca Manley Pippert. Logos also rents a six part video series by the same name that a cell group could put to good use. Sometimes I will admit it is just too awkward to share the gospel with a friend, but it may be possible to invite that friend to church. I will make you a promise today. From here on, each Sunday, I will find a way to present the gospel of Christ in a simple way and invite any one who may not yet have responded to the gospel to do so. I will pledge to do this every week for the duration of my pastoral ministry here at Covenant Fellowship. So if you bring a friend who is not a Christian, I will promise that somehow someway they will hear the gospel and an invitation to obey it. |
 |
|
 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
