The Gospel Mission

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Good morning, church.

Amen.

Amen.

Take your Bibles and turn to Mark.

And we are going to continue.

I hope that uh you had a good weekend and good week.

And um I wanted to say to you this morning, we are in the presence of a birthday.

I don't know where he snuck off to.

Benji's in here somewhere.

There he is.

Y'all give it up for Benji.

I don't like to tell people's age, but he's older than me, and he had a birthday.

Happy birthday, Benji.

Thankful for all you do, brother.

I mean it.

You do a lot for this congregation, and it is appreciated and felt.

I saw this week, I'm not sure if they're here or not, but if you see the Irwins, they have a daughter who won Pitcher of the Year.

Hey, we're in the presence of greatness around here.

And the Brewer family got a player of the year in softball, Morgan Brewer, Hardy Irwin.

Man, it's exciting.

And I could keep going because y'all's Facebook feeds with all the awards and all of it is happening.

But you probably have a kid that did something good and I'm thankful for him.

Amen.

Let's give them all a clap.

I really want to clap for the parents.

He put in a lot.

Well, Mark chapter 16, and we're going to look over at Matthew 28.

Mark 16 · chapter mention

It is God's planning and fitting that today we commissioned Barry to the gospel ministry when we're talking on this topic, and God knew that because this was planned sometime last July, if that tells you the way God works.

Pretty cool.

But I want to tell you something that was surprising, even really to me.

The words, the Great Commission, are not in the Bible.

You'll probably find them as a heading in your Bible.

In my Bible, the Great Commission is the heading in Mark 16, right before verse 14.

But the words themselves are not found in a Bible verse.

The concept is as biblical a concept as you might find.

But what is it exactly and how did it come to be the Great Commission?

Justinian von Wels is credited with coining the term the Great Commission and then really popularized by Hudson Taylor.

You've probably heard the name Hudson Taylor.

His life and ministry reshaped missions in the 19th century.

Hudson Taylor said this about missions.

He said, We live in an age of options.

We have choices with denominations.

We have options as to which Bible translation we use.

We do not, however, have an option when it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission through praying, giving, sending, and going.

So if this is a command, as Hudson Taylor said, what is it exactly?

Well, you have to look, and most people will look to Matthew 28, verse 19, and I've got a graphic of the Great Commission shown in three of the Gospels and the book of Acts that I want you to see.

Matthew 28:19

But in order that we understand, since this is not in a Bible verse, what is this Great Commission?

You've probably heard it since you were a child.

I've heard it my whole life.

I think I had questions in Christian college about what is the Great Commission according to the Bible.

So if this is so important, I think it's important that you see these scriptures because what it really is talking about, well, what is it then, Pastor?

What it really is talking about is when Jesus last met with the disciples after he resurrected from the dead, he gave them one more charge of something to do.

Now, a lot of people, like I said, they'll go to Matthew 28, and we need to read them all so we understand what is really the Great Commission.

What was Jesus saying to the disciples to do before he left and ascended back into heaven?

Matthew 28, 19 says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Well, look there at Mark 16.

A little different, explaining the same scenario, a different person.

And he said, He said to them, Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Okay.

So a little different there.

And then Luke, I want you to see what Luke said.

And that repentance, Luke 24, and that repentance and remissions of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and you are witnesses of these things.

John 20, you can find in John, I didn't put it there because he says, As the Father sent me, he said to the disciples, so I send you.

So he said, Sent, you are sent.

And Acts 1.8 says, But you shall have re you should have power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

I bring this up because a lot of people say that the end game for the Great Commission is that we make disciples.

And we are to make disciples.

But we are to go.

So what is the real Great Commission according to all of these scriptures together?

Well, I'm going to tell you in these three points this morning.

It's this, and for those of you that like notes as we go, I'm going to give you a head start.

The mission is knowing.

That's the first point this morning.

The second point is the mission is growing.

And the third point this morning is going to be the mission is going.

Pray with me.

Father, we pray that you would help us this morning to understand.

Lord, this last conversation that you had with the disciples that you poured three years of ministry into.

Amen.

Point number one, again, the mission is knowing.

I want you to see Mark chapter 16.

Mark 16 · chapter mention

Go down to verse number nine.

It says, Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons.

She went and told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept.

And when they heard that he was alive and he had been seen by her, look at this, they did not believe.

After that he appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country, and they went and told it to the rest.

But they did not believe them either.

Later he appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table, and he rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

Letter A, this morning is this about knowing, knowing intellectually.

You see, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene.

I want you to look over in John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

It's a cross-reference this morning.

He appeared to Mary.

He showed himself to her after the resurrection.

And you gotta understand that everything that they would have seen, the crucifixion, this would have been really kind of life-altering.

Work in ministry.

Imagine you're on a mission trip for three years with somebody seeing them, do miracles, all of these things.

And then they are killed.

Even though he had been telling them that this part was coming, they had a struggle with that cross to resurrection.

And here's Jesus.

He appears to Mary.

Whom are you seeking?

She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

And Jesus said to her, Mary.

She turned and said to him, Rabbinai, which is to say, teach her.

Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I am not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her.

So I wanted you to see how John described this incident of Jesus meeting with Mary and this picture right here.

When Jesus said, Mary, the lights went on.

All of a sudden there was something about the sound of that voice.

That was the sound of the voice that had delivered her from the hand of the enemy.

That was the sound of the voice that had delivered her from seven demons of Satan.

When he said, Mary, she said, Wow.

She said, Rabbini, teacher, can you imagine the lights going on in that moment?

He is resurrected from the dead.

She said, Rabbini.

She said, teacher.

She believed.

She went and told others.

They believed not.

How many know today that it is hard to believe something unless you've experienced it?

It was something for her, the sound of that voice, that familiar voice.

The Bible says that my sheep know my voice.

James 2.19 says that the demons believe.

They intellectually believe that Jesus exists.

There's a difference that I want you to see this morning in knowing somebody.

Acts 16.31 says, believe on, little word, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.

There's a difference in everyone here, everyone in the south, everyone in churches today saying, I believe that Jesus existed.

I believe that Jesus died.

There's a difference in believing those things historically happened, and someone saying, Acts 16, 31, I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Believing something happened and knowing someone, and that knowing is knowing someone intimately.

That's letter B.

Knowing intimately.

I want to say this morning, church, the only intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is the salvific relationship, the one of a saved individual.

If a person has repented of sin and placed their faith and trust that Jesus was born, that he died, and that he resurrected from the dead, that person has placed faith in what they have not seen, what they have not experienced, but they're trusting that Jesus did what he said he would do.

That brings a different relationship.

You see, intellect is step one.

We have to believe that Jesus did exist, that he was born.

The things that history tells us, but intimacy involves a deeper dive.

It takes faith to believe something that not everyone believes.

Intimacy with Jesus Christ is putting my faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You see, Mary heard him say, Mary, and she said, That's a relationship that I know.

That's not just a gardener.

There was something deeper than just intellect.

And here's why the resurrection is so important to that.

1 Corinthians 15, 14 says, if Christ is not risen, your faith is empty.

It says later in that passage, it is futile and you're still in your sins.

You see, without that kind of faith, without that intimate faith in Jesus Christ, then it's empty.

We're doing something for nothing today.

If we're not trying to build this intimacy.

Faith in what we have not seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is intimate.

First it was Mary, and then he showed himself to the disciples, and then there were 500 other witnesses.

And I will tell you, even some of those witnesses still struggled.

They thought to themselves, is this real?

Am I in a dream?

Thomas said, I see you.

I'm going to need to see your wounds and place my fingers in them.

So if you ever struggle with doubt in your faith, you're in pretty good company.

Not downing you today for having struggles of faith and having doubts.

But James, who earlier said that the demons believe, he goes on to talk much about this faith because I'm tying together intimacy and faith.

He goes so much into faith that he says, faith, your faith without any works, is dead faith.

He says, if you say you believe in something, but your belief doesn't produce something from it, in essence, that's kind of like a lie.

He says it's dead, right?

Your faith, your intimacy, listen, Jesus intimately will show Jesus with intentionality.

If you're intimate with Jesus, church, your steps, your walk will show intention of Jesus in your day-to-day.

James said, draw nigh unto God, and he'll draw nigh unto you.

That's intimacy.

The Bible says in Psalms, we sung this a lot in college as a song.

It says, as the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longs after thee.

The song goes on to say, You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship thee.

That's this trust part.

I asked our serve team this morning, how many of you have 20 people?

20 people in your life that you absolutely trust.

You break down on the side of 280, they're one of 20 that's coming to get you.

Anybody?

Benji, what happened?

Benji threw up his hand this morning.

I'm telling on him.

Benji is the life of the party.

Benji is everybody's friend.

He loves everybody.

So when he went like this, I thought he probably does have 20 people.

Okay?

How many of you five?

You say you got five people in your life.

You're in that same scenario.

Right?

Some people here say, Pastor, it is hard for me to trust that somebody's in it for my best intention, for my best good.

And to have five is actually hard to think on.

Well, how do we get there in trust?

With the Lord.

How do we get there in intimacy with the Lord?

Well, to make it practical, we talk to him.

We commune with him.

We spend time with him a lot.

When Heather and I started dating, typical Tennessee Temple University Day, let me tell you, we had classes together.

We'd wake up, we'd go to breakfast together, we'd go to a class or two together, we'd go to lunch together, we'd walk through the courtyard, we'd swing on the swings together, we'd go to work till we worked at Ryan's buffet.

Man, that was a swanky job.

And we would go to Ryan's together, and then after Ryan's, we might go out for a little date with some time we had left.

You won't believe this.

After Ryan's, after the date, we'd come back, we'd call each other on the phone after all of that day.

And we would talk sometimes to two, three, eight.

I think I must have known everything there was, everything she's ever done in her whole life.

I knew.

And then you won't believe this.

All of those things would happen in the day at Tennessee Temple, and then Heather would write me love notes.

I've got one right here.

You guys are nosy.

You think I would begin to read that?

Sitting on the edge of your seats.

Y'all need to go buy a love book or something.

You're about to read that.

All day she wrote letters.

Do you know that God wrote letters?

All day you can spend with her.

He wrote letters.

He wrote some things to you because he wants there to be more than just intellect.

He wants there to be intimacy.

In fact, in John chapter 15, I want you to look there.

John 15 · chapter mention

Let me tell you what he said to the disciples.

John 15.

He said, These things, John 15, 11, I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

Hear this.

You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends.

For all the things that I have heard from my father, I've made known to you.

He said, if you'll trust my commands, and if you'll do the things that my father has told me, sent me here for you to do, one, your joy will be full.

You're looking for purpose, you're looking to get rid of that empty hole.

He says, One, do these things that are in the letters.

And your joy will be full.

And he says, anyone that does these things is more than just a servant, you're more than just a vessel.

Hear me, church.

Today, you here today are friends.

Those who obey the commands of God are intimate with Jesus.

You're more than just a servant.

But I got thinking, you know, there are millions of Bible-belt Christians who intellectually believe.

But I dare say that there are considerably less who walk intimately.

Do you know him?

If you know him, then we have to see number two.

Number one is knowing him.

Number two is growing.

Mark 16, 15.

Again, he said, and he said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

That means more.

That means people.

That means go to people and more people.

And Matthew 28, where it says that we take this gospel and we make disciples.

Letter A is that make disciples who make disciples.

Matthew's text says, go make disciples.

Now, interestingly, the King James version of that word where it says make disciples says go and teach everyone.

And the word is Mathetis.

It's like Matthew.

And it means to make a learner, to teach so that you make a learner.

Are you not parents trying to make some learners at home?

Disciples, hear me, are not created at conversion.

When you pray a prayer and you give your heart to Jesus, that's a step of faith.

That's a step towards intimacy.

But he says, further, we are called, everyone in here, if you're a Christian, you can't say, Well, I got saved and that's the end.

You are called to make a disciple and continuously make disciples.

And here's the thing people are like, Well, that was the that was the disciples, Pastor.

That was the twelve.

That was for them that started the church.

God's got something different for me, and I beg to differ.

Jesus entrusted ordinary men.

I'm telling you, the Bible tells us some of their things.

Peter was rash and headstrong.

John would sometimes wish to call fire from heaven to destroy men.

Thomas had to put his finger in the prints of the nails.

Yet the master said to them, You go.

And you make disciples.

So when you say, Well, I'm just not good enough, Pastor, none of us are good enough.

Right?

We're not good enough.

It's not about us being good.

It's about us being intimate with the one who is good.

So we make disciples who make disciples.

Here's how this went.

The first century Christians, by the time that first century was coming to a close, that started with the 12, by the time that was coming to an end, there were 7,000 Christians.

Is that a surprising number to anyone?

It doesn't seem like that many.

There were 7,000 Christians by the end of the first century.

Second century, there were 200,000 Christians.

Hey, started with 12.

200,000 Christians.

By 1,400, we were in the millions of Christians.

Today it is said there are 2 billion people who profess Christianity.

There's a huge difference between the biblical formation of the disciples and us today, though.

Because of these disciples and their witness to the Holy Spirit, this house today has been built.

And that meant a lot.

For them, it was scary.

It was physically something different.

Most of them were martyred for their faith.

And we have freedom today.

We can teach God's word.

We can meet in classes and you can preach on the streets.

You can go out here and hong a horn and hold the sign, like Brother Eddie.

You can do these things publicly while the world, I want to tell you, is no less in need of the gospel.

It's discipling urgency needs a spark.

Years later, that fire to make disciples is in great need.

We need disciples who make disciples who make disciples.

This is not the tenth time you're hearing this.

This is, for some of you who have been here a long time, this is going to be a continuation of a thousand times.

You need to meet with somebody who has a need and begin to teach them about their need.

You need to break into this word of God with people.

Now you say, well, how do I do that?

Well, first of all, you have to be the one knowing.

If you're knowing and growing, then you'll be knowing you'll be wanting people to be knowing and growing.

That desire has to be there.

Disciples who make disciples, letter B is maturing disciples deeper.

I want you to look at Psalms chapter 92.

Psalms 92 · chapter mention

Look at verse 12 and 13.

Maturing disciples deeper.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree.

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the course of our God.

They shall still bear fruit in old age.

They shall be fresh and flourishing.

What is the message and purpose of discipleship?

It is to teach God's principles from his words so that they become a practice.

The result is not just being a sanctified saint.

It's not just so that I can feel better about me and work on me week after week, but a depth and a fervor to continue it into others.

This Psalm says the righteous thrive.

Every spiritual growth scripture has one thing in common: growth.

Living things grow.

Dead things do not grow.

Let me give you an example.

I hate mums.

We get mums every year.

And I hate mums.

We put them, I like them when we first get them and they're beautiful, but I don't know.

I've read things, I don't know if it's the way my house sits, the way the sun beats down, but I've become a master at killing mums and not keeping them alive.

I cannot keep them alive.

They come in, they die, they laugh at me, they begin to smell.

Have you ever smelled a dead mum?

I I don't even know what that smell is.

But if we're going to reflect a vibrant and living relationship with Jesus, we must grow.

Must help others to grow.

Otherwise, listen, your Christianity, if it's not doing that, it is going through the motions.

And the motions get you so tired.

The motions get you weary.

If you come in here and serve and you're not growing, if you're not reading, if you're not worshiping before you get here, you'll get here and you're tired, and you're gonna get set off some week.

You'll be sick of me, sick of worship, sick of somebody, and you're gonna have enough because you're not doing it.

It's living in mediocrity to not be growing.

That psalm said, planted in the house of the Lord.

I love that.

They thrive who are in the courts of the Lord.

Where?

In the courts of the Lord.

That word thrive is parak, and it means to spread like leprosy.

It says, when we're discipling, when we thrive, when we're growing, it should spread.

Thriving means spreading.

Should be to that, those people in the circle around you.

And did you catch that reference?

Cedars in Lebanon.

I think there's something we have to look at there.

I want you to see a picture of Lebanon.

These trees are planted in Lebanon, and Lebanon is a place engulfed between mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.

It's 6,000 feet above sea level, and it's not the ideal location for planting your garden.

But cedars of Lebanon, this is what they go through, this is what commentators said about it.

It's humid and stormy in the summer, it's treacherously snowy in the winter, but cedars get better as terrain gets harder.

That's growth.

In order for these trees to soar to their great heights, they have to be strong in their rooting.

That means the things that are planted.

Cedars have remarkably long quality and lasting times.

They say there's some cedars that have lasted almost 2,000 years.

Here's something interesting about a cedar.

As long as it lives, it grows.

Why?

I just can't do this newfangled technology.

Why?

I don't do small groups.

I don't like to put myself in that situation.

Why?

I'm an old dog, and you're not gonna teach an old dog new tricks.

Why?

Well, Pastor, I'm just geared that way.

Well, shift your gears.

Why?

You're just saying I'm basically going to settle for this level of where I'm at for the rest of my being.

This is who I am.

And I'm gonna tell you, living life tells me that you're constantly changing.

If you're living, if you're growing, if you're maturing, you don't say, this is just, listen, I get some things are part of your personality and this and that, but to say, I can't, I won't, I don't, why?

That's apathy, if you ask me.

I love to hear from somebody and see.

Man, some of the most exciting things about our church is when I see somebody who's 70, 80s, and all of a sudden their life took a shift.

Another shift at this point in life.

And in this stage, all of a sudden they got more involved than they were before.

And all of a sudden, you see, what happened?

All I can guess is God is working right here.

And they're not saying I'm done.

That's growth.

You know, grown people, Benji, they tell me they can't drink coffee.

You can do it, folks.

You can do it.

Why?

Why would you say that?

I'm just joking on that one.

You can do it though.

Be like a cedar, keep growing.

Man, I hope one day when I'm old that I can say I'm old and flourishing.

I hope that I can say I'm the best I've ever been.

I just kept growing, I kept trying.

Well, Jesus, we go back to him and his picture of discipling.

And I thought about this, it's interesting.

Jesus didn't have a discipleship seminar.

You actually can't find the word discipleship in the Bible either.

He said, make disciples.

But Jesus didn't have a seminar, he didn't have a conference, he was constantly teaching, but it was as they went, as they were going, as they were on the road toward opportunity, as they were serving, he'd stop and he'd teach, and he'd disciple the disciples.

But it was by sitting with and eating with and walking with and serving with.

Do you have people, church, that you're sitting with and eating with and walking with and talking with and teaching with?

The first step of the Great Commission is looking for someone who needs taught.

Meet with someone long enough to go over things.

Go for a book in the Bible, start in the book of James, so practical.

Go for a book in the Bible, go for a character in the Bible and meet for five, six weeks.

We've said this over and over in this church, for everybody here that's 80 should be meeting with somebody who's 60 and 60, 40, and all the way down.

Teenagers, you need to start now meeting with the kids that are over here and teach them something.

This is discipling.

And we begin with the word of God.

Are we doing this?

Hey, by the way, we need it too.

If I'm growing and I'm being taught, then I can pass this on.

Well, and that takes us to the third thing.

The mission is going.

Again, Matthew 28, 18 says, go.

Matthew 16, 15.

He said to them, Go into all the world.

In Luke and in John, he talks about being sent.

So in all of those, go, go, behold, I send.

As the Father sent me, so I send you.

And Jesus talked about going.

Where are you going?

Where are you sent?

Let me make it hit somewhere.

My daughter Callie is getting ready to start, Lord willing, Sanford University in the fall.

Heather and I have spent 18 years loving and teaching.

And when I think about what's coming for her, the mission field is not Sanford.

It is.

But it's more about what opportunity is in front of you that you're taking.

What are you doing for Jesus Christ?

You are sent.

You're sent where you are right now.

Did you know that?

You're sent right here, right now.

Until God sends you somewhere else, you're sent here.

And so you get busy right here.

You know what Jesus said there?

Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.

But he first said, Jerusalem, you've been sent here.

God met with you, God saved you, and you've been sent here.

The key to that is understanding the go.

The Bible says, go into the highways and hedges.

The gospel on the ground is your story, your service, your opportunity right now.

Are you going where you are?

I used to tell teenagers, go on a mission trip.

Go.

Go on a mission trip.

But stay on a mission trip.

Live on a mission trip.

Be on mission.

The mission is going.

You're right here with this circle and these people in your life.

Are you going with the gospel?

Well, how do we do that?

Letter A.

Powered by the authority of God.

We saw there in Acts that scripture says, with all authority.

When you hear the phrase authority in their field, you immediately begin to sense that somebody is an expert.

They're educated, they're informed, right?

You can be taught by somebody like that.

In my house, Heather is the authority of cooking.

She is.

And so she went and uh Callie was in the state uh competition for track this past week.

And before she left, I still listen, y'all, I'm trying to grow.

I hadn't been cooking most of our marriage because why would I?

She's so great at it, and it's like walking in, you know, anyhow.

But recently I started just a little bit making some breakfast.

Just a little bit.

I just want to go in there, try to, you know, help or whatever, but she's allowed me, she's patient with me.

And the other day I felt very overwhelmed.

I know this is this is juvenile for most of y'all because you've been cooking and you're like, that's a grown man, I don't know how that happened.

Well, listen, don't judge me, judge you, okay?

But I said to Heather, I'm kind of nervous about these eggs.

I said, What do I need to do about these eggs?

Because I know how to get them to where they're scramble, but I always make them bad.

Like I pour them in there, they're all mixed together, but they come out dry or they're not cooked right.

They never look like hers.

Hers look glorious.

They're like glowing.

Like, how do eggs glow make you want to eat them?

Eggs are eggs, right?

And I'm like, that was and she said, the key, young lad, is low and slow.

And I was like, low and slow.

Well, that's me.

I'm just kidding.

I'm like, I can understand that.

I can verify low and slow.

And so three times this week, I cook my own eggs.

They were delicious.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I don't even know what my point was anymore.

Here it is.

I feel confident in cooking eggs because I learn from what I will call as an authority.

I learn from the right person.

Jesus said to the disciples, with all authority.

Has there ever been a statement given like this?

With all authority.

Now I'm not, when they say all authority, I'm not talking about an expert in one way.

Every amount of authority, disciples, with all of it, all that there can be.

I am placing with you all.

Are you getting the picture?

The Greek for all.

All authority to you to be my witnesses across this earth.

I am leaving with you everything.

Listen, all I needed was her to say low and slow.

All of a sudden, I just felt better.

I felt more confident.

When Jesus says, listen to me, you guys will be my witnesses.

My authority is given to you, my expertise.

Just go and say it.

Just go.

That is how we can be going.

Under his authority, the Great Commission, you have all authority.

Jesus said to Paul in Acts 26, 17 and 18, I'm sending you.

Here was the mission to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins.

With all authority, he said, Go.

Barry, this is old.

But God, I've heard this phrase over and over in ministry.

God never calls the equipped, he equips the called.

And when God tells you to go, it is not about this vessel.

I promise you that.

But man, have I seen the power of God's work in my life.

And it was because of the obedience to the go.

Under his authority, Hudson Taylor, who we talked about earlier, said this God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply.

God's work done God's way will never lack his supply.

You couldn't have told me in a million years, 20 years ago, you I would have never believed that I would be pastoring a church.

It would have been the biggest miracle you ever had said.

I mean, you could you could have seen hail fall down right then, and I'd have said, no, that's not as big.

I was not an authority on that, though.

Going by God's authority.

And powered with what?

Well, let her be.

What are we powered with?

We're powered with the Holy Spirit to preach the amazing gospel.

Mark says, Mark 16, preach.

He says to preach.

We're called to go and to preach, means to herald, one who declares.

There's a false philosophy that's been quoted by Saint Francis of Assisi.

He says, preach the gospel every day and when necessary, use words.

It is always necessary to use words.

I get the idea.

Preach by life.

But words are necessary.

It's saying your lifestyle should align with the advancement of the gospel.

Yes, but Ephesians 2.10 tells me we are created for good works in Christ Jesus.

Articulating starts with your life.

Yes.

If you're mean and arrogant and then say you need to be saved, well, how good does that work?

If you're rude to your server and then say, you should visit my church, there's your dollar tip.

Y'all leave 20% or more.

I'm just saying.

They might have had a bad day.

Okay?

You can do it.

It'll be alright.

I've been a server before, I'm sorry.

But we share.

Yes, our life has to proclaim the gospel and how we are and how we act.

How many of you are chatty people?

How many of you are sitting next to chatty people?

You can point at them.

This is good.

Now we know.

You are the people that like to talk.

But let me tell you a little secret and then we'll be close to wrapping up.

Turn to Romans before I hit you with that secret.

Romans 10.

The secret to have a voice in someone else's life, it starts with your ears.

To really get a voice in someone else's life, it starts with listening.

But then Romans 10, I want you to see verse 13 and 14.

Bible says, Whoever, that's anyone, calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How?

Church, how then shall they call on him whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

And how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

How?

How are the people in your circle going to hear?

I play this scenario over and over if I'm in a public setting and if God puts the fire in me to say something, maybe I'm in a public school or somewhere I'm not supposed to say it, and I go, if I believe that everyone on the planet innately is born drowning, and God has given me lifesavers, how are they going to be saved if I don't throw the lifesaver?

If I watch and go, well, they may reject my lifesaver.

They might not like the way I throw the lifesaver.

They're drowning.

And God's given me salvation and you salvation.

And he says, go.

Look, I found one with my son's name.

Look at that.

Do I get bonus points for being a cool dad?

Why it?

I was studying and it said 97% of the world knows about Coca-Cola.

That's a pretty, pretty large statistic.

97%.

50% of the world or greater has tasted a Coca-Cola.

And you know what?

Coca-Cola's been around a hundred years.

If it were up to the people at Coca-Cola to get the gospel across our world, they'd have done it.

If God had given us the job of reaching the world with the gospel, what's happened?

Well, here's what's happened.

It's kind of hot up here this morning.

That's refreshing.

How many of you want to coke right now?

A few of you.

I haven't drinking coke in a long time.

That kind of burnt.

But here's what happens.

We get really good at consuming all of it.

We consume it up.

And it gets really hard for us to share.

Who's up the Coca-Cola?

To get the gospel across to our nation, to our land.

It'll been done.

We have to share.

We have to share.

Would you bow your heads and close your eyes?

We're excited you joined us for today's message.

Our heart is to connect with others in our community, to grow with one another, and build a bigger kingdom.

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Take a moment and text CCW Connect to 94000.

Thank you again for joining us on the CCW podcast.

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