Our Mission

[Christsfreeservant]

Wednesday, April 19, 2017, 1:27 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “O Zion, Haste.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read selected scriptures (ESV).

His Witnesses (Acts 1:8)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”​

When we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, with God-given faith, his Holy Spirit comes into our lives to teach, counsel, correct, rebuke, encourage, remind, urge and to guide us in the way we should go. He also comes in to empower us and to gift us for ministry, as well as to strengthen and to empower us to live godly and holy lives for our Lord, and for his kingdom. Now Jesus Christ is living within us in the person of His Spirit, so we are his temple, his body, his church; the heavenly Jerusalem.

Now we are empowered of God’s Spirit in sharing with others the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they might hear the message of salvation, and so they might turn from their sins, and turn to the Lord to follow him the rest of their days. We don’t have to worry about what to say to people, for he will give us the words to say. He will open the opportunities for us to share his gospel, too, if we are willing and available to be used of him in this way. Yet, whether we actually give out the gospel to someone or not, we are still his witnesses, for we bear his name. How we live will speak volumes to others concerning what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Salt of Earth (Matthew 5:13)

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”​

We are the salt of the earth. So, what is salt? It is a preservative for food, as well as it is used for flavoring and as a healing agent. From a spiritual perspective, since salt is used as a preservative to slow decay, salt is thus an element that we need in our lives and in our conversations with people to help preserve our lives from corruption and destruction; and from the evils of our society. “Salty” words should be pure (virtuous) and wholesome, and can be penetrating to the heart, as they should have God’s unique individual characteristic within them, i.e. they should reveal his divine character.

As flavoring, salt brings out the distinguishing characteristics of the gospel message, i.e. it does not hide the truth from people, but it shares with people who and what has the power to deliver them from slavery to sin, and to give them pure lives, now free to live righteously before God. Salt, as well, instills thirst, so the goal of our conversations with people should be to inspire them to thirst for God and for his word. But, if the salt loses its saltiness, the messages we share with people will be rendered ineffective in penetrating to the heart, and in preserving lives from sin’s deceitfulness.

Light of World (Matthew 5:14-16)

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”​

The Light is Jesus Christ, and it is truth and righteousness. We are to be Jesus to the world. Our lives should reflect him. When we talk with people, we should be ever aware of our Lord’s presence with us, and we should be open to the Spirit’s promptings to share Christ with people, as he leads. We should be people of integrity – honest, honorable, virtuous, and pure in our thinking and speech, and in our actions. Because, it isn’t just our words that need to reflect truth and righteousness, but our lifestyles, too.

We are a city on a hill, i.e. we are Zion, the Holy City of God. God does not dwell in tabernacles built by human hands. He dwells in the hearts of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins. So, we are his temple. We are God’s house. No building on this earth is God’s house, even if they give the name “church” to it. It is the people of God who are his church; his house. And, we are to not hide his truth from the world, because many people are still lost in their sins, and they need to hear the truth, not hear lies which give people a false hope of eternal life with God.

Make Disciples (Matthew 28:18-20)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”​

By the authority of Jesus Christ, he sends us, his disciples, out into the world, not to become one with the world, but to be his light to the world. Too many Christians these days think we have to be enmeshed with the world in order to win the world to Jesus. But, Jesus called us to come out from the world and to be separate from (different, unlike) the world. We are not to love the world of sin or the things of the world. We, too, are to be no longer conformed to the ways (attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors) of this sinful world, but we are to be transformed of the Spirit of God in the renewing of our minds. We can’t make disciples of Christ of people in the world, in other words, if we are immersing ourselves in the world’s ways.

We have to go to the world. We have to go where people are, and we have to be intentional about sharing the gospel of Christ with them, yet under the empowerment and direction of the Holy Spirit, and not in our own flesh. Our goal is to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ and then to help them to grow in their walks of faith, although that is not always possible. We individually may not always be the ones to disciple those with whom we share Christ, but we, as a body, can work together to accomplish this, i.e. one plants and another waters. Some baptize, while others preach, and still others pray. Yet, we should all be teaching people what it means to be a follower of Christ, and we should be urging them, too, to obey their Lord and Savior.

Proclaim His Excellencies (1 Peter 2:9)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.​

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to proclaim his excellencies, of how he died on a cross for our sins, and of how he will give us the faith to believe in him for salvation. Yet, we also need to tell of how he turned us from sin, and of how he brought us into his truth and into his righteousness. We need to share with them, too, that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. If we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk (in lifestyle) in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we walk in the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live with Christ for eternity (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; 1 Jn. 1:6; Ro. 8:1-14; cf. Lu. 9:23-25). This is what we should tell them.

Yet, time is not on our side, so we need to make haste in fulfilling this mission to which we have been called, to get the gospel out to the people of this world before Jesus Christ returns to judge, and to take his bride to be with him forever. We should not be lazy servants, for many are lost.

O Zion, Haste / Mary A. Thompson / James Walch

O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling,
To tell to all the world that God is light,
That he who made all nations is not willing
One soul should perish, lost in shades of night.

Behold how many thousands still are lying
Bound in the darksome prison-house of sin,
With none to tell them of the Savior's dying,
Or of the life he died for them to win.

‘Tis thine to save from peril of perdition
The souls for whom the Lord his life laid down;
Beware, lest, slothful to fulfill thy mission,
Thou lose one jewel that should deck his crown.

Proclaim to every people, tongue, and nation
That God, in whom they live and move, is love;
Tell how he stooped to save his lost creation,
And died on earth that we might live above.

Give of thine own to bear the message glorious;
Give of thy wealth to speed them on their way;
Pour out thy soul for them in prayer victorious;
O Zion, haste to bring the brighter day.

Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace;
Tidings of Jesus, redemption and release.

 

[Another Lazarus]

Yet, time is not on our side, so we need to make haste in fulfilling this mission to which we have been called,

Many nations forbid its citizens to force their religion to others and guarantee their freedom of religion.
Hebrew 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls
Christians must obey their nation's Law which guarantee people's rights for their religion.

You cannot come to the unbelievers and yell "Jesus is the Saviour, receive Him or die in hell", i cannot imagine if somebody would ever do that.

Whatever is your religion if you come to the other believers and force them to swallow your faith, you will be stoned because of your own stupidity. so we should not act like a Shining Teacher which must be followed by all the unbelievers.

Peter was the first apostle to win the Gentiles for Jesus but that was by the INVITATION from Cornelius the Roman.
I need to tell you strongly that Peter never came to the unbelievers yelling "Jesus is the Lord Jesus is the Lord !"
People will throw stones at you !!!
"be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves"

We need to just live in God and spread God's love to others that our light may shine and people will praise God.
Matthew 5:16 let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

People need to see your good deed, not your sermon. So keep all that sermon to yourself and start showing Love toward the unbelieving people. Your job is to spread Love and Its the job of The Holy Spirit who opens people's hearts to Jesus.

Dont be like a stupid church sending 2 people into my neighbourhood and yelling on the streets "Salvation to this house, Salvation to this house.....", nobody opened their door, do you think God work that way ? you are provoking anger from people. they wont appreciate that. If they want to hear your sermon they will come to your church unasked.

We better Learn this story how Peter was invited :
10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”

22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Peter at Cornelius’s House
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”

27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”


7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.


May Jesus bless you all HalleluYAH

 

[Christsfreeservant]

Acts 4:1-20: "And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”