GraceUnlimited

The Church has a mission statement. It involves making disciples. This is the responsibility of the whole church. In other to fulfil this mission, Christians must pray for opportunity to speak intentionally to people about Jesus. Look at your own area of influence and write down names of people you want to speak with about Jesus. Christians must also be ready to share the gospel. What words will you use- This is not about letting people go to hell thinking you are a nice friendly person. Even Paul asked others to pray for him to be able to share the gospel boldly. Evangelism is not just a talk about the bible. Evangelism aims at persuasion. Christians must understand that sharing the gospel has consequences. Paul was imprisoned. Your family may cut you off. Moreover, Christians who share the gospel must speak clearly. Don't misrepresent the gospel. Those who share the gospel should also live the gospel. Live wisely. This opens up opportunity too. Is this what your own evangelism looks like-

What gets you going in the morning- How is it that some people take initiative and others don't- People take initiative in the secular world, but does initiative belong in the church- It certainly does- Unfortunately, many people take initiative in the church because they are self-centred. Some don't take initiative because it is outside of their arena of personal comfort. But God saved His people and one of His purposes for you right now is to serve other people in the church. This is an act of love and humility. Love is capable of learning how to take initiative to extend itself for other people. Jesus' blood is the primary example of this- initiating love. Love hates evil- we see this at Calvary too. It clings to what is good. It draws other Christians into affectionate family relationships. Develop relationships with others where you put other people's preferences before your own. Love-driven initiative fights against being lazy in taking initiative. It demonstrates fervency. This initiative also serves the Lord. This is the overarching theme of initiative. This can be applied in so many ways in the local church.

True church members are responsible to check whether what is being preached is an accurate representation of God's word. Without this, people fall into misery. Their diet becomes pleasant preaching. You can grow in your ability to discern good preaching from poor preaching by being a faithful listener to God's word. The second feature of a true church member in this regard is that he also submits to and works at obeying God's word. Prepare to hear it. Meet regularly with other believers. Study God's word yourself. Remember what you learn. Make specific changes. Thirdly, true church members equip themselves so they can serve others rather than simply caring about their own growth. They are stable and dependable and practically love other believers.

Is a church member defined by being a member of a church- Is he defined by his giving, service or attendance- Not at all. Scripture defines a biblical church member as a person who has been truly born again, who understands the true nature of their depravity, who has repented of their sin, and has trusted Jesus as Saviour. Many will claim to be true church members on the day they see Jesus, but many will be found to be fakes. Where do you stand-

How does God want you to respond to sickness- Should a Christian feel sad- Are there right and wrong ways to be sad over sickness- Christians are trapped between suffering and the new order of the coming kingdom. Are there right and wrong ways for Christians to desire to get better- Is God able to heal Christians- Is it considered a lesser healing if you went to a doctor to be healed- If God is able to heal you, should you always expect God to heal you- And if God does not heal you, does that mean you have less faith- What about James 5-13ff- Hasn't God promised to heal a person through prayer- What is the key to understanding these verses- If God hasn't healed, why hasn't he- Is it because He doesn't love you- Is it because He doesn't know how hard it is for you to suffer- If God doesn't heal you, then how do you find courage in the gospel of God in the face of suffering- What is Isaiah saying about us being healed by Jesus' stripes- Does this mean that God should heal Christians now- Find answers to these questions now.

Are you easily deceived- Someone has said that the church is damaged by error in the pulpit and public gullibility. For example, a gullible congregant would sit and listen to a pastor who claims to have direct revelation from God. John warns Christians to cultivate discernment regarding what they listen to. One current deception that has tricked many people is that a pastor can live a life free from accountability because he refers to himself as the Lord's anointed. This title awards him immunity from accusation. In this sermon we examine whether a person who reveres such a pastor is actually honouring God or whether he is simply gullible.

What would you like for someone you love- Spiritual stability is certainly a worthy desire. Consider Paul's spiritual stability throughout his four years in prison. He can still write to the Philippian church with joy. At the heart of his stability is the drive to make God look beautiful, even through suffering. Even through suffering there are moments where people are not actually suffering. The painful moments in spiritual suffering do not destroy the good ones. In relationships too--we can destroy all of the good we have because of some negative aspects. So many people are not like this. Therefore, they consider a challenge not worth the inconvenience. They won't even start. Paul learned the secret of being content. Being content is the key to spiritual stability. Christians need to believe in their hearts that they have enough. It is a secret that must be learned. Contentment is a heart issue that says, -God will give me the ability to honour Him in any situation, even if I don't have food to eat-- In this way, Christians can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

How do we relate to people who are different to us- Today there is such a strong public attitude that you should not judge. Even if people don't care about the Bible, they us it to support their objection that you should not judge them. God's wrath is certainly not instructing us to never make a judgement. It that were true, it would make it impossible for society to function. Notice that people who criticise other for judging, are actually judging. Rather, Jesus provided a framework in which people should judge. Firstly, the judgement He is speaking about is spiteful criticism. James calls this speaking evil against a person. This prohibits judging people's motives. Ever. Rather, gather information before concluding. Don't assume. Beware of holding people to your own personal standard--whether regarding, food, culture, anything. Don't be harder on other people than you are on yourself. Look out for a defensive position in you when other people criticise you. You have something missing in your understanding of the gospel. Are you failing to see your own sin- Are you failing to be merciful- Such is a major issue. It is God's word that helps us to see our own sin. It is close relationships with other people that help us to see our own sin too. This is what love looks like. Judgement is a blessing, not a curse. It also creates opportunity for you to help others. Critical judgement- no. Kind, loving judgement- yes-

How you define greatness is going to have an impact on your life. Jesus looks at the widow putting all she had to live on into the treasury. Some people measure respect by qualifications, clothes, family history, power, etc. It is notable that Jesus measured people differently--He spent time with the poor and sinful. Jesus highlights surprising examples of success. There was huge poverty in Jesus' day. The rich are showing off. The widow was poor and vulnerable. She deposits two coins into the treasury of an opulent temple. Jesus evaluates this action. His evaluation is shocking. She is another surprising individual. Here are some features Jesus highlights as great- Faith, love, humility, mercy, repentance, eternal perspective, gratitude, and dependence on God's mercy. What God considered traits of greatness resided in this widow. This is an opportunity to stop and evaluate your system of evaluation of greatness and success and to examine whether your criteria are the same as those God uses.