February 1, 2009
The Gospel - Missionary character of the Church
Steve Lane

A. Introduction

Review: "The joyous proclamation of God's redemptive activity in Christ Jesus on behalf of humans enslaved by sin."

Acts 1: 8
You are empowered to be His witness

John 7: 37 - 39
Luke 11: 11 - 13
Rivers of living water
Go and disciple
And a promise... I will be with you.
Indifferent to #1 and ignorant of #2
Symptoms of unbelief and stubbornness

B. God's Righteous Desire for His Own Glory through the Gospel

"You will have a son." "Abraham believed God..."
We can believe it... and when we do, we reap the full benefit of the promise.
Acts 1:8
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:4 - 5

Who gets the glory when these promises are seen to be true? A life is truly transformed.

"When the heart sees what God wants, the body must be willing to spend and be spent for that cause alone."
-Oswald chambers

1 Peter 2:1 9-10
Do you talk about how He brought you out of darkness into wonderful light?
Do you live a transformed life?

C. The Basic Nature of the Church

We, the church, belong to God, we are His possession.
Have you renounced self-centeredness and joyfully and sacrificially responded to the call?

Review:
Our identity is that of God's own people, His possession and our purpose in the world is to glorify Him by declaring the gospel to others.
You are either in Christ or not - there is no middle or neutral ground.
If you are in Christ, you are alive, and this new life should be bringing glory to God by your deeds of love.
If you are not in Christ, now is the time to receive Him, because you will perish if you die without Him. This is absolutely not something to let pride or shame stop you from doing.
The gospel is good news - supremely good news- which believed and acted on produces a whole new life of praise for anyone, no matter how corrupted, confused or damaged.

(Adapted from C. John Miller - Outgrowing the Ingrown Church)
Our next step is to really get our identity straight. We belong to Christ and we are God's church in the world for a missionary purpose...
"Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" This is God's will for you.
A willingness to gently confront the world with the message of the gospel and live the evidence

Now Go, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and take the hope of the gospel to the lost.