Activate

So today we are launching into our second ever round of Activate.

This is a chance for us to get connected through community groups.

It's a chance to sign up and serve in a whole bunch of ministries across the church.

But as I was preparing my message this week, I was convicted that there was more to say than you should serve.

You should serve and God wants you to serve and it's okay to say that.

But this week, and in fact over the past few weeks, God has been impressing something else on my heart.

Namely, his heart.

Over the past two weeks, I've had this overwhelming sense that we as a church and me personally need to refocus on the heart of God who gathers us.

We need to stop and realise that in reality, all service, all connection, all relationship, all of that has to begin by understanding the heart of God.

If we're to reflect on what it means to serve him, we must start with him.

We must start with what matters to him.

It has to come first.

Because if we don't start there, anything that we do for him will just be a job or a task.

Something that we're required to do or a box that we have to tick.

If you remember Jonah in the Old Testament, the way he approached his God-given calling.

After running away, being rescued by a fish, hearing a second time what God wanted him to do, he goes off dutifully and does his task.

He never stopped to ask, though, why he was being sent to the city of Nineveh.

He walked into a large city.

He told them all that God was angry, that there was going to be judgment.

It was just a simple transaction for him.

And then he wandered out of the city and waited for the fireworks.

But he was disappointed when God didn't come through.

He was angry when God's judgment wasn't poured out.

He had never stopped to ask, why did God send me?

What matters to God in this?

It was never just a job.

God had an agenda the whole time and Jonah lost sight of God's heart.

So what is it that consumes God's heart?

What is it that matters to him most?

What is it that he's desperate for in any and every circumstance?

First and foremost, God is a God who desires his own glory.

And rightly so, because he is glorious.

But the way that he seeks his glory tells us a lot about who he is.

From the beginning of creation, if you start with Adam and Eve in the garden, God's agenda, his desire has been for relationships with his people.

The thing he's always worked towards has been the goal of dwelling among his people, of having that right relationship with his people.

And as you read what happens with Israel in the desert wanderings, God goes to incredible lengths to create an acceptable dwelling place for him, a sanctuary, a temple where he can be among his unworthy people.

God is driven by desperation to bring people who are far from him back into a right relationship to find what is lost.

The heart of God, the heart that we as his people must imitate and share, is a heart for lost people.

Even what motivates God in his acts of judgment throughout scripture is a heart for lost people.

Look at the way he deals with his children in the Old Testament.

He always starts with a warning.

His desire is that they might turn back, that there might be repentance, that he might not have to pour out his judgment, like with Nineveh.

And even when he does pour out his judgment, it's always motivated by love.

Take Adam and Eve right at the beginning.

They get kicked out of the garden for disobeying God.

They're kicked out of the perfect place.

But why?

Because if God leaves them there in the garden, they have access to the tree of life and they could live forever as sinful people separated from God.

God doesn't want that for them.

His desire is not that they live forever.

His desire is that they have a close, intimate relationship with him.

That they know that deep satisfaction.

God wants more for them.

And so in his wisdom, he judges them, kicks them out of the garden and begins the greatest rescue mission ever.

Why?

Because he loves his people.

Because he desperately wants Adam and Eve and us and all of his creation to be in a right relationship with him.

Because God's heart beats for those who don't know him yet.

If you look at Jesus, you get a picture of God's heart in human form.

Jesus is God's heart personified.

When you look at his life, you see everything that excites God.

Everything that's important to God lived out in our earthly context.

You can sum up Jesus' life and ministry in one word.

Compassion.

As he spends time on the earth, as he interacts with people, he looks and he sees need and he's moved with compassion to meet that need.

He sees people lost without God.

He sees people suffering the effects of a sinful world and his heart is moved with compassion to meet that need.

He was deeply aware of the suffering and need around him.

And what fuelled him, what drove his action and his teaching and everything that he did was a desperation to see that suffering relieved.

You can see it in every bit of Jesus' life.

Jesus didn't actually come to earth to do miracles.

I mean, they're the bit that often gets a lot of coverage, a lot of press, a lot of excitement.

He didn't come to earth to impress people with his power and healings.

But when he saw people in desperate need, his heart went out to them.

His compassion was aroused within him and he met needs.

The day he fed the 5,000, that wasn't on his to-do list that day.

Jesus was there to teach, but he looked and it says he saw them harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

So he met that need.

He fed them and then he spoke God's truth to them.

Jesus' whole life and ministry was about meeting the need of people.

The need that they might be restored into a relationship with God.

And sure, he spent a lot of his time with his disciples, but even there his agenda was that he would equip the disciples to continue reaching for lost people once he was gone.

The fact that we're sitting here today is a testament to how good he was at equipping them for that ministry.

But even in amongst his time spent training the disciples, Jesus couldn't help but be moved by the need that he saw around him.

He couldn't help but be driven by the urgency for lost people who were living as enemies of God to be brought back into a saving relationship with God.

He looked and saw those who didn't yet know the love of his heavenly Father and he was moved to teach them and to reach out to them.

Because in his own words from Luke 19, the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

In his teaching, Jesus even says this is what motivates him.

The thing that motivated him more than anything else was a desire to see lost people brought back, lost people found.

The lost sheep, the lost son, the lost coin, they're all stories of God's heart for that which is far away to be brought close into the love of God.

In Luke 15, he says,

I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.

God is on a mission to bring lost people back into a relationship with himself.

His heart is desperate for the people that we walk past every day.

Maybe the people we live with, maybe our neighbours, maybe those we work with, those that we walk past in the shops or catch the train with.

His heart is desperate for lost people.

And in his grace and generosity, he has chosen to include us in the mission that he is on.

We are chosen to share God's goal.

To share God's heart.

The thing that unites us as a church, the thing that draws us together, isn't sitting together in this time slot.

It's not a logo or anything else.

It's a common goal or desire.

It's a common heart, a common purpose.

It's God's heart.

God's heart for his creation, to know him and to glorify him as God.

And so this morning, I want to challenge you to reflect on how are we going at that?

Together and personally.

If we were to give ourselves a health check, would you right now describe yourself as desperate for lost people?

Desperate to see those who don't know Jesus come to discover the grace and hope that is offered in him.

Does your heart quicken and get excited when you see an opportunity to talk about Jesus?

Is your day and week and year and everything you do driven by the same goal as God?

When I was growing up, I used to live for footy.

I think I've told you this before.

It's not a big secret.

I played AFL as a kid and it was the highlight of my week.

My week revolved around Wednesday night training, Saturday games.

I would go to training two hours early just because I liked being at the Oval.

No one else was there.

I'd just take a football and hang out.

I would wake up on Thursday really excited that that meant I was in the closer to the game half of the week.

Everything was directed towards that.

I would be imagining myself kicking the winning goal.

I would be talking about how well I'd played the week before.

I was planning my career as a professional AFL player.

Saturdays was easy.

That was all about football.

I would turn up for the first game of the day, which is like 8am in the morning.

My game's somewhere in the middle and I would stay right to the end.

I'd be helping put pads up, cook sausages.

I just loved everything football.

And then on Sunday I would wake up with my brother to recover from the game the day before,

talk about how well I'd played, kick a football and start preparing for the next week again.

I carried a football around instead of a teddy bear.

I'd talk about football.

I'd force my brother to come and kick a football with me every single afternoon.

I loved it.

I lived for it.

It was obvious to anyone that football motivated everything I did.

I'm not exaggerating.

Every time there was a chance to draw a picture in class or wherever I was, it was football related.

I wonder right now, what is that thing in your life?

What is driving you?

If people looked at the way you make decisions, spend your time, use your energy, spend your money,

what would they think is your driving desire?

And is it anything like a desire for God to be glorified by lost people coming to know him?

Are we as a church desperate to see people come into the kingdom of God?

My guess would be no.

This past few weeks, while God has been pushing me on this,

it's been quite a challenging and sobering time.

I've reflected on what I was like as a new Christian.

Or even just in my early days of serving God in ministry.

I was undivided in my allegiance.

Absolute in my commitment.

I was happy to take ridicule or discomfort or whatever came my way

as long as I got to tell people about Jesus.

As long as I could tell them about this incredible love that I had experienced and tasted in my own life.

I would catch my friends at lunchtime and not let them go off to play whatever we were playing

because they needed to hear about Jesus.

Because there was nothing more important that could happen in that 45 minute break at school.

But I'm not like that now.

Somewhere over the past 18 years,

I've slowly but surely slipped back

with the tide.

I've gotten distracted

by the responsibilities of life.

By worrying about money.

Worrying about fitting in.

Worrying about how I might spend the rest of my life.

Dreaming about holidays and retirement and whatever else.

And what we need to understand

and what God has been challenging me on this week

is that everything that you have in your life,

even the good gifts from God,

war for your affection.

They war for your allegiance.

And unless we actively

draw close to the heart of God

that has loved us

even when we are sinners,

then we are destined

for apathy.

For mediocrity.

Let me share with you two traps

that we fall into

when it comes to serving God's mission

and serving God's church.

The first trap is

a roster

instead of a heart.

Like Jonah,

ministry can just become a job

that we tick.

Something we have to get done.

It's about filling a hole

rather than a heart

that's overflowing

in love for God's people.

Every single person

is valuable to God

and he has called us

to get out there

and speak to them.

He's called us to be desperate

because

he was desperate for us.

He was willing to go to any length

and he's calling us

to love people like he does.

Not just to be the name

on a spreadsheet

or a name on a roster.

A couple of weeks ago

I was having a conversation

with Candida

who's one of our 930 volunteers

for welcoming

and she came up to me

to chat about welcoming

and how we might do it better.

She had some great ideas

but what struck me

as I was chatting with her

was the reason

that she bothered

to come up with these ideas

because it's not necessarily her job.

If Candida stands at the door

and smiles

and gives you handouts,

helps with collection,

she has ticked the box.

She's done what's required of her.

But the encouragement was

it's not a job to her.

There is no box to tick for Candida.

She just has a heart

to see us as a church connect.

To see us having rich,

deep, Christ-filled relationships.

She wants this to be a community

that is so welcoming

and so loving

that any outsider

who walks in

easily connects

and gets cared for

and feels valued.

I hope I'm doing justice

to her in my paraphrase

but I just walked away

encouraged

and rebuked

because for her

there was no job.

For her, literally,

the roster is irrelevant.

This morning,

we had a conversation.

I said,

are you on welcoming?

She goes,

well, I like to just be here

every week.

That is a heart

that doesn't look at

what must be done

but a heart

that looks like God

and loves people

who are in need.

If serving at church

here has become

just one of the commitments

that you have to get done

in your life,

could it be that

desperation

and love

has given way

to rosters?

Now, don't get me wrong,

there's nothing wrong

with a roster itself.

It's a good and efficient way

for us to organise ourselves

but there is something wrong

when we have a roster mentality

to the way that we serve.

In Ephesians 3,

Paul tells us

that it's through the church

that God has chosen

to display

his manifold wisdom

to the rulers

and authorities

in the heavenly realms

according to his eternal purpose

which he accomplished

through Christ Jesus.

The church is central

to how God is working

in the world.

It's a key part

of his mission.

It's not the only place

you can serve

but it's a key way

that God has chosen to work

and so you've got to

ask yourself the question,

if I'm too busy

to commit

to the people of God

and the mission of God

through his local church,

am I wasting my time

on things that are

less important?

Now, I want to choose

those words carefully.

not unimportant,

less important.

We have a lot

of really important things

in our lives,

valid, valuable things

but if this is God's heart,

there is nothing

more important than this.

Maybe it means

we need to make

some hard decisions.

Maybe it means

we need to say no

to some other things,

count the cost

and let our heart

for God's purpose

drive the way

that we spend our time

and energy and resources.

The first trap

for us

that we need

to be mindful of

is that roster

or task mentality

instead of a heart

that shares God's desire

for lost people.

The second trap

for us

that can limit

our desire to serve,

our effectiveness

in serving

is comparison.

Let me read to you

from 1 Corinthians 12

that Tim read out for us

from verse 7.

Now to each one

the manifestation

of the Spirit

is given

for the common good.

To one there is given

through the Spirit

the message of wisdom,

to another

the message of knowledge

by means

of the same Spirit,

to another

faith by the same Spirit,

to another

gifts of healing

by that one Spirit,

to another

miraculous powers,

to another prophecy,

to another

distinguishing between

spirits,

to another speaking

in different kinds

of tongues,

and to still another

the interpretation

of tongues.

All these

are the work

of one and the same Spirit

and He gives them

to each

just as He determines.

Verse 7

is a really key verse

for us this morning.

Each one

has a manifestation

of the Spirit.

Not some,

not most,

each one

and the same

grace that

chose you

when you didn't

deserve it,

the same love

that reached out

to you

while you were

still a sinner

has now empowered

you by the Holy Spirit

to serve,

to be a part

of God's mission.

God loves to use

inadequate people.

God loves to grab

hold of people

who couldn't do it

in their own strength

and use them

to achieve significant

things for His kingdom.

Moses was a stutterer

yet he would be

God's mouthpiece

to lead the people

out of Egypt.

Any limitation

you see within yourself,

if you look out

at our church community

and you think

I'm not as articulate

as that person,

I'm not as friendly

as that person,

I'm not as energetic

as that person,

I'm not as strong

as that person,

I don't have as much money

as that person,

whatever limitation

you see within yourself

is an opportunity

for God

to glorify Himself.

It is a gift

for God

to show off

how powerful He is.

But what you have to do

is put up your hand

and have a go.

Be willing

to let God use you.

Understand

it's not about

what you can

and can't do.

It's about a God

who is the God

of the impossible.

You don't need

to know everything

about your gifts.

You don't need

to be able

to tell me

on the list

of spiritual gifts

that are in this passage

or any other list

that someone gives you

which ones you have

and which ones

you don't have.

Most gifts

are discovered

by trial and error.

Most gifts

are discovered

by trying something

and seeing God

use you.

If you're nervous

because you're not sure

what gifts you have,

you're not sure

how you could contribute,

let me encourage you

to wander around

over morning tea

see what is happening

and put your hand

up for something

because God can

and God will surprise you.

You're not signing

your life away.

It's one of the beauties

of Activate

is it's six months

for you to have a go

and see what God

will do.

Everything we do

as a church here

is aimed

at people coming

to know,

treasure,

and represent Jesus.

so any ministry,

absolutely any ministry

is a chance

for you to share

God's heart

of lost people

coming to know him.

Whether it's morning tea,

youth ministry,

music ministry,

sound,

cooking meals

for sick people,

doing admin

in the office,

ringing new people

to our church,

hospitality,

visiting people

who are unwell,

vacuuming the floor,

all of it

is about God's glory

and the joy

of all people,

lost and found.

So have a go.

Try something,

anything,

and see what God

will do.

There's no hierarchy

of gifts.

It's the great encouragement

of 1 Corinthians 12.

We are a diverse body,

interdependent,

unified,

because we've all

received the same grace.

Because none of us

deserves to be here.

None of us has something

great to offer God.

But God in his grace

empowers us

to do great things

for him.

In his strength,

in his power.

It's poisonous

for churches

when people start

getting focused

on their ministry

or their ability

or their recognition

over and above

other ones.

If the youth ministry

starts fighting

with the music ministry

for the best leaders

or for the best rooms

or for the best resources,

we're all in this together.

It's not my mission.

It's not your mission.

It's God's mission.

He has,

in his grace,

designed this body

of his

so that we need

one another

to do what he wants

us to do.

No one

is dispensable.

We need the attitude

of Jesus

that says,

what I'm part of

is bigger

than the part I play.

What I'm part of,

this whole church

on mission

for God's glory

drawing lost people

into the hope

and salvation

of Jesus

is bigger

than the bit

that I do.

It's bigger

than any recognition

that I get

or don't get.

Verse 26

is a key verse here

in chapter 12.

It says,

if one part suffers,

every part suffers

with it.

If one part is on it,

every part rejoices

with it.

It's shared rejoicing.

It's shared struggling.

When someone

becomes a Christian

in our youth ministry,

that is a rejoice moment

for the person

who vacuums the carpet

after playgroup

on a Tuesday.

When somebody

comes here

on a Sunday

and makes a good

relational connection

and starts investigating

Jesus,

that is a rejoice moment

for those

who are cutting fruit

in the kitchen

on a Tuesday.

When somebody

joins our

Mandarin Bible study

on a Sunday

because they have

come to know

the hope and salvation

that is in Jesus,

that is a rejoice moment

for every one of us.

And equally,

when somebody

loses

somebody close

to them,

regardless of

whether we know

them or sit

next to them

or are serving

in the same ministry

of them,

that is a struggle

moment for all

of us.

We are a body

unified.

What we are part

of,

what God is doing

is bigger

than the part

that we play

individually.

Jesus can work

in spite of us

and thankfully

sometimes he does.

He can work

around us

or he can work

through us.

Which one do you

think is most

beneficial to him?

It doesn't matter.

He can achieve

the same outcome

whether we're

involved or not.

But which one's

most beneficial

for us?

God has included

us for our

sake,

for our joy,

that we might

know that joy

he talks about

in Luke 15,

that rejoicing

over a sinner

who repents,

that we might

rejoice as his

body,

as other

churches grow,

as the gospel

goes out,

as missionaries

bear fruit,

he includes us

for our sake

and for our

joy.

And so what

now?

If we need

to acknowledge

and I want to

say personally

I do and

possibly we

do,

that we are

not as

desperate as

God has been

for us,

what now?

Two things.

And this

is cannot

be overstated

for importance.

Remember

God's grace

to you.

Don't walk

away feeling

guilty because

you failed.

Don't walk

away kicking

yourself and

trying to

self-generate

desperation.

Remember

God's grace

to you.

Remember

his incredible

love.

Remember

the lengths

he went

to,

to draw you

back into a

relationship

with him.

Remember

how far

away you

were.

Maybe

like me

this week

you need

to be

reminded

of what

it is

to be

forgiven

by Jesus.

What it

is to be

loved by

Jesus

unconditionally.

What it

is to have

your saviour

die in your

place and

take your

punishment

and instead

offer you

freedom and

hope and

future and

eternity.

When we

know that

love, when

we know that

love that

will never be

taken away,

that love that

is doing a

work in us and

guarantees heaven,

then we can

look and see

the people who

are where we

used to be.

People who are

still far from

God.

people who

are in

desperate need

and we can

accept the

joy that God

is offering by

taking the

hope of the

gospel to

people who

are lost and

hurting.

Soak in

God's word.

Get to know

his heartbeat

again.

It's there over

and over in

scripture.

He loves us

even while we're

sinners.

He chose us

before the

creation of the

world.

He loved us

enough to send

his son,

soak in God's

word, hear

God's heartbeat

and then

gradually you

become more

and more like

him.

You begin to

take joy in

what he takes

joy in.

You begin to

be increasingly

upset by the

things that

upset him and

you begin to

be increasingly

desperate for

that which he

is desperate

for.

People who

are lost.

We need to

remember God's

grace.

God loves to

answer prayers

that honor

him.

God loves to

answer a

prayer when

you go to

him and

say,

God, I

want to be

the person

you want me

to be.

God, I

want to love

what you

love more.

God, I

want to stop

being distracted.

I want to

stop paying

attention to

things that

are less

important.

God, I

want you to

give me your

heart.

God, I

want you to

love me.

He loves to

answer that

prayer.

He loves to

redefine lives

and give us

purpose as a

church so that

we might

joyfully

sacrifice,

joyfully pay

the cost.

And he

loves to

empower us

to do more

than we're

capable of

on our

own.

God's desire

is not for

a big church

or a small

church or a

medium church.

God's desire

desire is for

people, for

your husband

or your

wife, for

your son or

your daughter,

for your

neighbour or

your work

colleague, for

people you

haven't met

yet, people

who right now

live their

lives in the

shadow of

death.

For those

individuals,

God's heart

breaks.

So let's

ask God to

give us that

heart as

well.

Let's ask

him to

empower us

to resource

us, to

equip us

so that we

might be a

part of a

body that

rejoices

together and

suffers together

for his

cause.

Let's do

that now.

Let's do

that now.

Let's do

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