Monday, April 19, 2010

It’s Time to discover & fulfill our God-given mission

If the church is to be relevant today, we need to discover and fulfill our God-given mission. The church’s mission statement is not hidden. It is found in all four gospels (Mt 28.19-20; Mk 16.15; Lk 24.47; Jn 20.21) and Acts 1:8. It is also found in Paul’s letters.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5.17-21

God made us partners in His ministry of reconciling humanity to Himself. Our involvement is significant. We are called Ambassadors for Christ. We have Christ’s authority for carrying out God’s mission.

The church gathered gains spiritual power. The church scattered brings that spiritual to all the dark corners of the world. God’s people can be found in places where people are hurting enabling us to bring words of hope and encouragement from the gospel.

God’s people can be found in key areas of society that have been corrupted by sin. These include government, media, entertainment, business and education. These areas that can be a blessing are often sources of injustice, oppression and corruption. “Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:18).”

We must use our prayers and influence and work to reconcile these areas bringing them into harmony with the teachings of Jesus. It was the church that has historically brought so much justice and relief of human suffering into the world. We must rediscover that missional spirit so that the church continues to be a transformational force in society.

Sermon audio

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