REAL LIFE
The Journey of Transformissional Community
Step VIII - January 20, 2008
John Ryan

"God isn’t dead, he just doesn’t want to get involved."
(Woody Allen – Actor, Producer, Writer)

Acts 2:42-27 ... 47 praising God and having favor with all the people.
When Jesus left His disciples - He did not leave them unchanged, alone, or powerless. 1st, the gospel - had been fulfilled which had been promised from eternity past. God had made man acceptable to Him through the full work of Jesus. These men and women were accepted before God not because of what they did, who they were, but who Jesus was and what He did. 2nd and 3rd, God left His Spirit in them. The Person and power that raised Christ would now continue to be with them, work in them and work through them. They not only believed the gospel would save them but it was the power to change them and the world they lived in. And, God did change the world thru them.

Great Movements in the Church

* Reformation of the Message - Through the gospel God says, "You are completely acceptable to me in Christ Jesus alone." When the pure message of the Biblical gospel is taught and spoken by the church, the culture is changed. When it is not, the church speaks hate and judgment and the culture runs from the church.

* Reformation of the Mission - The result, the lives of people in the church change as the words of the gospel and actions of the gospel are made relevant and understandable to the culture. The pure gospel taught and spoken has always led to the mission of the church looking like the gospel. The Word is taught and lived out, people are loved and cared for, and the church lays down its life for others so they can know the love of God in Jesus.

Speaking the Gospel in the Culture
Acts 17:16-34 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious."

Vs. 16) Our lives must be a part of the culture and immersed in people's lives without becoming worshipers of the culture or some aspect of it. Paul saw this as he observed their many idols. Paul observed well because he cared.

Vs. 17-21) Paul obviously was gifted to preach the gospel but we can learn from how Paul reason with this group that new little of Jesus.

Vs. 22) 1st, Paul found a point of common interest. We may think there is no common ground. There always is if we care to look and listen to others.

Vs. 23) Paul rarely if ever addressed specific sins when talking with those who were not Christians. The issue was not about all the specific things they were doing wrong. It was about SIN. It was that they did not trust in Jesus Christ as God and the only one worthy of worship who could and did make us right before God. He did not avoid talking about sin. However, he did not focus in on specifics that distract from the issue and just make people defensive. Rather, he focused on our heart of sin that leads us to not trust in Jesus but rather causes us to believe we can be our own god or work our way to God. Telling someone the issue is their sexual lifestyle and focusing that first makes people focus in on what they must do to be right with God and not what Jesus did to make us right. We are sinful - but the focus must on our heart of sin and the good news that Jesus makes us right with God.

Vs. 24-31) He told the gospel in the language and story of these Athenians who were religious but far from God. They were thinkers but their minds were dull. The point was not to convince but to declare the truth in love.

1) We must learn to live in the culture because we love people. Listen, look, and care.
2) Find points of common interest. They exist if you care to listen and look.
3) We must learn to speak the gospel in love and truth focusing on the heart of man that is in desperate need of the work of Jesus.
4) We must learn to share the gospel and our story in a way that can be understood by those outside the church.

Hindrance and Motivation to Speaking the Gospel
Acts 20:24, Philippians 3:12; II Corinthians 5:14

The main objections that are shared over and over in the church are:
1) I don't have time
2) I don't know how
3) I'm not good at it
4) I don't want to.

The biggest hindrances are:
1) we believe the gospel is something we are trying to convince people of or sell
2) we don't really care about the lost and they know it.
3) We approach the lost as freaks and what they care about as all evil. Much in this world is sinful, but not all. The lost are people and we must care.

Bottom line - if we truly trusted the fullness of the gospel all our objections and hindrances would be overcome in Christ. When we see our full acceptance in Christ and His work we know He saved us and can save anyone. We don't worry about messing it up or being rejected. When the gospel impacts us deeply, we begin to care because we realize our Master cares and amazingly He provides us the time. When we trust the gospel we realize we aren't selling or convincing anyone of anything, we are loving and speaking the message of hope. When we are stunned by the gospel and God's great love for us, we treat people with love and respect as Jesus treated us, and we don't see them as freaks. The sins of people don't have to freak us out or make us run. What must be our motivation - II Cor. 5:14 - tells us the gospel - the love of Christ which pursued us and made us right is what move us to pursue in love without fear.

Living the Gospel in the Culture
Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-34; 5:12-14

There are two main aspects that the gospel message calls and compels us to live out.

First, we must love as Jesus loved and be about Kingdom renewal.
KINGDOM - Jesus' first message was - the Kingdom of God is at hand - it has come. (Mark 1:15) He taught the disciples to pray - "Your Kingdom come ... on earth as it is in heaven." (Matt 6:10) When Jesus came declaring the Kingdom is at hand he quoted Isaiah 6:1-2 in Luke 4. It declared God's justice for the oppressed and poor spiritually and physically. Ps. 68:4-5 is the text to a son we sing around here. It was song of the coming kingdom sung by the Jews in worship. These two verses declared God as Father to the fatherless, protector of the widow, a home for the homeless, and freedom for the prisoner. What does this mean for the church and living out the gospel? We must be about living out the Kingdom that has come and is coming. This includes declaring the gospel and restoration of relationship and living it out by being a part as God renews this place through us. As the poor are fed, the homeless are homed, the widow is protected, the father is Fathered we are God's vessel for showing the world what the Kingdom does and will look like. The early church was about this and they gained the favor of all types of people because of this. What would the culture our community think of us if we were truly about living out the gospel in this way. The poor, the widow (this includes single moms), the orphans (this includes kids without dads or moms), and those in jail need to see the Kingdom in the flesh. How can we do this? Meeting needs. How? Well we are church but there is so much more we can do if WE get involved. Will you?

LOVING AS CHRIST DID - What does this mean? Christ loved without regard for who or what they could give back in worship, love, or friendship. (ie. Judas and you and I) How do we love? Expecting, with conditions, and for our need. Only as the gospel impacts us deeply and empowers us deeply will we begin to love as Jesus does. Who is the unlovely God is calling you to love? Who is the one who will not return the love who God is calling you to love? How can we show this love - by serving, by our time, by our giving of money and resources to the needs of those we are called to love.