Gifted for Discipleship.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, good morning. My name’s Steve. I’m one of the pastors here. And that [0:05] video you just watched, it’s a friend of mine, Chris Barris from Area 10 faith [0:10] community in downtown Richmond. And I met Chris a few months ago and he shared [0:16] his vision for the Change Who Waits conference with me back then. And I tell [0:25] you, I was struck to my core as he talked to me about this rally and not just this [0:31] rally but what he hopes God can do through the rally and then the following

[0:38] changes that are made from it. And let me give to you guys the reality of the [0:43] situation in Virginia. If one in six churches in our state, all right, that’s [0:55] one out of six churches, finds one family willing to adopt a child, then [1:04] every child up for adoption in this state will be adopted and there will be

[1:11] That’s not one family per church. That’s one family out of six churches in our [1:19] state. And I think one of the reasons that we have been hesitant to address [1:24] this issue is because we don’t want to feel like we’re hypocrites. And I think [1:31] that’s a huge problem I’ve had my entire life is that I feel that if there’s not [1:34] something specific, there’s not something I can do tomorrow, then my [1:39] involvement in that situation will make me such a huge hypocrite. And I’ll be

[1:42] honest with you, I am not, I don’t think my wife and I are at a place in life [1:49] where we can become foster parents or we can become adoptive parents. I’ll be that [1:53] transparent with you. But here’s what the scripture says. In Ephesians 1.5, Paul [1:59] writes that God predestined us for us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. [2:04] Galatians 4.5 reveals that we were redeemed by adoption by God. Romans 8.15 [2:10] proclaims that we were adopted by God to have a full relationship with Him.

[2:17] Here’s the reality of what theologically we believe as followers of [2:20] Jesus. We believe that we were orphans. We believe that we were rebellious. We [2:26] believe that we were without a home and not because of what we’ve done, but we [2:31] because of the love that He had for us, He adopted us. God is an adoptive father [2:40] to each and every person that claims Him as His Lord. And there are right now in [2:48] the state of Virginia just under 6,000 children who do not have a comfortable

[2:54] home, who do not have the security of home. And I don’t know what I can do. I have no [3:02] idea right now. But I do know that I must do something. I know that the most

[3:11] tangible apologetic or witness that I can have for what the gospel is, for what [3:17] has done to me through Jesus, is the analogy of adoption. And James 1.27 tells [3:24] us that true religion is caring for the orphans and the widows. Not because [3:29] that’s how I earn God’s favor, but because that is what God has done for me.

[3:34] And I know that I can play a part. Even if not by adopting, not by becoming a [3:42] foster parent, I can support someone that will. I can’t speak for this crowd. [3:49] I can’t speak for every husband and wife. I don’t know where you are. I don’t [3:54] know how many children, but I know that there is a possibility that there’s [3:56] someone sitting in this room that God may call to do something, tangibly, adopt, [4:04] become a foster parent. I don’t know. But for those of us that God isn’t leading

[4:08] us in that direction right now, we are called to help. I don’t know if it’s [4:14] financially. I don’t know if it’s through parents who have older children [4:18] counseling those. But I do know this. You should not enter into the foster care [4:24] system or into the adoption system if you want a child that’s going to love [4:27] you, because the brutal fact of the matter is, is that most of these children [4:32] are incapable of that. They’ve never known love. And I know that politically we

[4:38] have all types of opinions that span the spectrum as to who should be able to be [4:43] a foster parent, as to who should be able to adopt, what orientation they have in [4:46] this life, but all of that is a moot point if we are unwilling ourselves to [4:52] do something. It’s moot. And so here’s what I’m going to ask you to do as a [4:59] church, because I do not have the time this morning to like lay it all out. I [5:04] wish I could. You probably don’t want me to. But I’m going to ask you as a church

[5:10] to make one sacrifice. And as the pastor, I’m asking this. I’m asking you that on [5:19] May 5th, from 8 to 12 or 9 to 12, I don’t remember, I’m asking to clear your [5:27] schedule. Even if you’re single, even if you’re newlyweds who have no desire [5:35] right now to start a family, I’m asking you to go to Grove Avenue Baptist Church [5:39] and I’m asking you to just be present. Have the ministry of attendance that [5:45] morning. And learn more. Because I know that sometimes we have a very hard time

[5:53] figuring out what can I do for the mission of Jesus. Do this. This one thing. [6:06] Even if you think there’s nothing you could possibly do in this situation. I [6:10] just know that if the church is not there in some capacity to help the 1,000 [6:16] that need adopted or the 5,800 that need foster parents, then who will? Because [6:21] we’re the only people with a support system to love the unlovable. Because [6:26] we’re the only ones that know what that’s like. Because while we were

[6:32] unlovable, God loved us. And he showed it through Jesus Christ. So here’s the key. [6:39] Alright, I’m going to be really point blank. If you have to work, take the day off. [6:43] If you have a game, don’t go to it. If you love racing, don’t watch the Nationwide [6:47] Race that morning. Even though I don’t think it’s until the afternoon. So we’re good. [6:51] We’re good guys. Here’s what I’m saying. Please, please be a part of this. Our [7:00] church is in full support of this. We’re backing it up. And so I’m just going to

[7:05] ask that you be there. Because I don’t know what God’s going to lead you to do. [7:09] But I do know he’s going to lead you to do something. Alright. Turning your [7:15] eyes to the book of the resurrection. And we’re going to be doing a revival to [7:16] Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. And this actually does a great job of [7:23] leading into what I want to discuss today and where we want to go in the [7:26] scriptures. Last Sunday was Easter and we talked about the resurrection. And it

[7:34] was a great place in the book of Ephesians for us to take a break, talk [7:39] about what God says about the truth in the book of John and then kind of [7:42] transition into what we’re going to talk about today. And that is God’s design for [7:48] his church. Okay. Because chapters 1 through 3 of the book of Ephesians, what [7:53] they are is almost like an overhead view. I heard an analogy this week. I actually [7:58] read it. I think Matt Chandler says it. That if you are in New York City on the

[8:04] street, you have a perspective. And I’ve been there and it’s amazing. Alright. [8:09] Buildings everywhere, tall ones. It’s huge. So you have a perspective of New [8:14] York City. If you are in a helicopter flying above New York City, you also [8:20] have a perspective of New York City. The one from above is far more vast. You can [8:27] see one side of the city to the other side of the city. If you’re on the ground [8:31] level, what you’re seeing is the close view of the city and your view is a

[8:36] little limited, but you are still seeing the city. Ephesians chapters 1 through 3 [8:42] are an overhead view of what God is doing in the gospel. It’s God’s [8:47] perspective. It’s an eternal one. He sees the beginning from the end and then back [8:52] and forth. He sees it all. From the moment that we fell from him to the death, [9:00] what we’re doing right now, God sees it all. My perspective though is the ground [9:05] level. I see the present. I see what God is doing right now. It’s a far more

[9:11] limited view, but it is a view of the same thing nonetheless. What Ephesians 4 [9:18] through 6 are going to give us is the ground level view of what God has a full [9:25] perspective of. In chapter 4 verses 7 through 16, we’re going to see a little [9:32] bit of a summary of what we already saw at the end of chapter 1. At the end of [9:38] chapter 1, we saw God’s perspective of Jesus’s authority over the church and [9:44] into the world. In chapter 4 verse 7, we begin to see the same thing, but from a

[9:50] ground level view. Join me in the text.

[9:54] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s [10:00] gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he [10:07] gave gifts to men. It’s a quote from the Psalms. In saying he ascended, what does [10:13] it mean, but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth. He who [10:19] ascended is the one who also ascended far above all heavens that he might fill [10:24] all things. So the end of that parenthesis is the way that the end of

[10:29] that chapter 1 verse 23 ends, that he is the fullness of him who fills all in all. [10:35] And it said in chapter 1 that Jesus is above every ruler, that all things are [10:41] under his feet, and he’s given as head of the church. Here we have a very similar [10:47] perspective, but it’s a little bit different. Here he gets more to the ends [10:52] and outs of it. He says that when Jesus ascended up into heaven after the [10:57] resurrection, what we talked about last week, revealing once and for all that he

[11:01] is God, that he has the power over death, that he’s the ultimate authority over all [11:05] things. We talked about that last week. Here it says when he ascended, the [11:12] authority that he has, the reason for that authority is because of what he did [11:17] when he descended. We can trust in his authority because of what it was seen [11:23] even historically that he accomplished on the earth, that his authority is in [11:29] light of what happened on the earth. And that is an explanation for verse 7.

[11:36] Okay, in verse 7 he very poignantly says, but grace was given to each one of us [11:42] according to the measure of Christ’s gift. What does he mean there? [11:48] I’m going to move fast today because I don’t want the sermon to be too long, but [11:53] I want to get the same amount of words in, so I’m just going to say them faster.

[11:57] Number one today, the potential of my life is rooted in Jesus’ authority. [12:04] The potential of my life is rooted in Jesus’ authority. What he is saying is [12:11] that each person out of that unity that he talked about at the beginning of [12:15] chapter 4, the calling to which we have been called, Jesus says that we have [12:21] been given gifts in order that we could live that calling in reality. And the [12:28] proof of that is not my capability. The proof of that is not my talent. The proof

[12:37] is the finished work of Jesus Christ. That he descended to the earth, that he died, [12:43] that he rose again, and then he ascended as a great God and King. In Matthew chapter 28, [12:50] he reveals the ultimate reality in verse 18, that all authority has been given to [12:55] him on heaven and on earth. That’s what Jesus tells us about himself right before [13:00] he ascends into the heaven, and then he says, and that authority is going to be a [13:04] tangible thing for you because I’ll be with you always to the end of the age.

[13:09] Now the reality of that is oftentimes we view our impact for the mission of Jesus [13:15] in what we are capable of. Whether or not it’s someone more talented than we are, [13:21] whether or not it’s not someone that has more capability in their bank account than we do, [13:25] whether or not it’s someone that’s more better looking, someone that’s better looking than we [13:29] are. All right, clearly I don’t have a grasp on grammar. You probably have a better one [13:32] than that, but I’m still up here, right? We tend to limit ourselves and the impact that we can have

[13:42] on what comes natural to me.

[13:48] The vision that Paul is giving in light of chapters one through three and chapter four [13:52] is that your potential is in no way limited to who you are and what you can accomplish. [13:58] Your potential is limited to who Jesus is and what he has accomplished. [14:03] He has accomplished rising from the dead. No better accomplishment than that. He gets the [14:11] grand prize. He has power over death. And the vision that Paul is giving here in this text [14:18] is that your impact in God’s mission is based on Jesus. So your potential, huge.

[14:29] And for those of you that have gone through life feeling like you haven’t accomplished as much, [14:34] feeling like your potential was less than someone else, maybe you weren’t first in your class, [14:38] maybe you weren’t the first one picked at dodgeball, maybe you were like me and you [14:43] were a little pudgy and you had red hair, maybe everything was going against you. [14:48] All right, it’s just me against the world. I was the only redhead and everyone like really [14:54] just hated that. And then when I was 14, I was six feet tall and they didn’t say anything

[15:00] because they were still like four foot nothing. All right. Yeah, buddy.

[15:08] Here’s the key. My potential is not based on me. My potential is based on Jesus.

[15:15] And the evidence that he gives of that is not an evidence that you’re talented. Oh, [15:20] come on, love yourself. It’s all about you. No, his reasoning for that is God.

[15:28] And that God has done everything for you to know him. And as we saw last week, [15:34] he has called you to a calling and said, live worthy of it. And that can be daunting. [15:40] Because like I said earlier, we’re so afraid of being a hypocrite. [15:45] We’re so afraid of not measuring up to someone else’s expectations. We’re so afraid of not [15:50] being accepted or breaking something or saying the wrong words. Or I’m not a theologian. I don’t [15:56] know the right words. And what God is saying is stop worrying about that. Basically, God’s saying,

[16:04] hey, I got this one. Trust me, if you’re basing it on your abilities, guess what your abilities [16:11] got you? Death and sin. So that’s a clear indicator. No one has enough ability to please God [16:20] or live for him in total obedience. That’s why Jesus did it for us.

[16:27] Not only did Jesus forgive us, but he also imputed his righteousness on us. It’s basically saying [16:33] our bank account for good was totally depleted. We were bankrupt. And Jesus said, well, I’ve got [16:39] plenty. You can have mine. I’ll take your set. You’re good by trusting in Jesus. That’s it. [16:47] Then he moves on. It’s going to be quick. And you’re like, that wasn’t very quick. [16:52] And here’s the key. He gives us this vision that Jesus led this host of captives with him. [17:00] There’s a two-point reality. And some of it’s a little Old Testament theology where he led the

[17:05] saints out of paradise into the kingdom of God at that time, those who were dead in Christ. But [17:09] the scripture gives us a second view of that in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 14 through 15. [17:17] Paul’s writing again, he says, but thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in what? [17:23] Triumphal procession. And through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. [17:28] For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those [17:33] who are perishing. In other words, that the triumphal procession of Jesus is something that

[17:40] we are a part of in this life when we trust him and when we tap in through our faith of that [17:48] great potential that he gives us. I think sometimes Christians, we view ourselves as sinners who, [17:54] through Jesus, we kind of maybe become a little bit of like a saint in this life. But no, [18:00] Paul’s perspective is this. He says, you are to always trust in the righteousness of Jesus to [18:06] lead you in triumph through this life. It’s not a denial of the hardships, but it is walking [18:11] into the hardships with the reality that God has already conquered them. And the worst thing that

[18:17] can happen to you is death. And then you get heaven. So he gives us a reality that we’re to [18:23] walk through life as triumphant in the face of the suffering that Jesus says, hey, guess what? It’s [18:29] coming and it might come because you’re following me. But he says the worst thing that happens is [18:35] you’re going to have eternity with me because I’ve already led a host of captives into the [18:38] kingdom of God. And guess what? You’re coming with me. And then he takes that perspective and [18:45] makes it even more specific and he talks about the church. All right. It’s point number two.

[18:50] I’m going to go ahead and give that and then I’m going to unpack it. And here it is. Jesus [18:54] established his church and gave it a structure for producing disciples. Okay. That Jesus [19:01] established this in the book of Matthew. He tells Peter, he says, on this rock, on the reality of [19:07] me, I’m going to build my church. But look back at the text, Ephesians chapter four, verse 11, [19:16] and he gave, right? It’s a little different of a form of verse seven where it says, but grace was [19:24] given. He’s not talking about the same. It’s not a charisma. It’s not a spiritual gift. What he’s

[19:32] talking about simply here is a different word that is simply for the fact that it’s a free gift,

[19:40] that the dependence of the reality of this gift is not on the person receiving the gift, but rather [19:45] it’s on the God who gives the gift. Okay. And it says, and he gave the apostles, the prophets, [19:53] the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry [19:58] for building up the body of Christ. Here’s what we sometimes can be guilty of doing. Well, [20:06] God’s going to work this out. He’s taken us on triumphal procession. So I can just worry [20:11] about my own life. He’s got that. I’ll do my own thing. No responsibility. No, there’s a lot of

[20:19] responsibility in this text. It’s a free gift of God, but he says, guess what? You get to live [20:24] that free gift. All right. And he gives us a few different gifts that he has given to the church [20:30] to set up structures in order that discipleship can really happen. Because notice in verse 12, [20:36] where he gets really specific and he says, these gifts, which are leadership, it’s a gift of [20:41] leading in the church and planting churches. These gifts exist so that the saints, the whole [20:48] church can be equipped for the thing that only pastors are supposed to do. Is that what it says?

[20:57] No, it says that the leadership equips the saints for the work of ministry.

[21:05] If you’re a follower of Jesus, guess what? That’s you. You are to live your life becoming equipped [21:12] for the work of ministry in every area of the world. And he gives us a few different gifts [21:20] that he gave to the church. Now, other places he’s going to talk about the offices that these gifts [21:25] can lead you into, but here he’s not describing offices. Here he’s literally just talking about [21:30] gifting. And the first one is the gift of apostles. Now, these are people who are gifted to start [21:40] pioneer efforts for the purpose of taking the gospel to new places and beginning new works.

[21:46] Now, the office of apostleship in the New Testament is different. Those are people who [21:51] spent time with Jesus. Those were people who were connected directly with the earthly work of Jesus, [21:57] who authored most of the New Testament. We don’t have those anymore, but the gifting of that [22:02] equips you for some of the works of apostleship that still exists. I think of missionaries that [22:08] go into unreached people groups. That’s the gift of apostleship, church planting, the gift of [22:13] apostleship. That’s a passion to reach new people and the gifting and equipping of God to begin

[22:19] those types of works. Starting Village Church a few years ago, that was somewhat of an apostolic [22:25] work of pioneering a new work to reach people with the gospel. But the gospel is the emphasis, [22:31] not the gift. Because a lot of times, if you see in some denominations, somebody will get up and [22:35] say, I’m an apostle, do what I say. No, that’s not what the emphasis here is the gospel, not the [22:40] person. Secondly, prophets. These are people who are gifted to boldly proclaim the revelation of [22:47] God and expound on the already given revelation. In the Old Testament, we see prophets. We also

[22:52] see them referred to in the New Testament. These are people whom God speaks specifically through [22:56] and whom he gave revelation to become scripture to. In this age, these are people, in my assumption [23:03] throughout the totality of scripture, that are gifted to boldly proclaim the word of God as already [23:09] received. Now, it also, you have to walk a fine line because I do believe God can reveal certain [23:15] things to people with prophetic gifts to speak boldly to specific situations, but they will not [23:20] be given new revelation whereas scripture is concerned. That’s over. The book is sealed.

[23:27] But the prophetic gift is to boldly proclaim the truth. Some people have that. Thirdly, the gift of evangelists. [23:36] These are people who are gifted to uniquely reach those who do not know the gospel. Some of you are just far better at starting [23:42] relationships than I am. It might get awkward between me and you. We sit down one on one. This is where I’m good. [23:48] You can’t talk back. Me and you one on one, it might get a little awkward. I’m pretty good there too.

[23:56] But these are people who are gifted to just go to their neighbor and totally it’s cool. You guys are just [24:01] hanging and banging. You’re just kind of hanging out. You’re just cool. Hey, can I mow your grass for you? [24:05] And he’s like, absolutely. I would say yes. He’s like, absolutely. And then you somehow, you’re the type of [24:11] person, and I’ve seen a few people like this throughout my life. It’s like they’ve gotten them down the [24:18] road. It’s like, how do you do that? That’s a gift. And some of you have that gift and you don’t even realize it.

[24:27] Shepherds and pastors. These are people who are gifted to care and spiritually guide the church into God’s purpose, plan, and mission.

[24:38] And then finally, teachers. These are people gifted to instruct and explain the word of God to the church. [24:47] Okay, here’s what I’m going to say. I’m going to make a bold statement right now.

[24:53] God will rise people all the time for these giftings. All the time.

[24:59] There’s nothing special about the calling.

[25:04] Ephesians 4.1. Everyone’s called. These are giftings inside of that calling. [25:11] I get very timid when people start talking about this theology. If you better [25:15] follow me because I’m God’s man.

[25:19] No, you’re gifted by God. If people follow you, guess what? They’re following a sinner. [25:26] God’s man is God, Jesus. Follow him. All right? These are giftings. But here’s the key. The [25:33] direction of these giftings is very, very important because the direction of these giftings [25:39] is verse 12. To equip the saints for the work of ministry. [25:46] And I have realized in my life that a few of those giftings pertain to me. [25:52] And so I decided, and along with Nate, James, and a few others, that we were reading the Bible.

[25:58] We were doing Bible studies. We were students in college and students in seminary. And as we [26:03] read through the scriptures, we had two very important questions to ask ourselves. And those [26:07] questions were, number one, is Jesus God? Number two, is the Bible true? If the answer is yes to [26:12] both of those, then anything I’m going to do with my life that’s ever going to have any meaning is [26:17] going to have to pertain to those two things. It’s going to have to. All right? And so as we were [26:23] going and God was equipping us through people who had specific giftings, we said, what if God could

[26:29] use us to equip people to live the mission of Jesus? I heard a pastor one time jokingly, and [26:36] it’s a little truth, but don’t hear what I’m not saying here. He says, I left the ministry the day [26:41] I became a pastor. He’s really meant by that. He said, now my job is to equip the saints for ministry.

[26:54] The minute I tell someone I’m a pastor, conversation dries up. [26:59] You don’t have that problem. You can get them way further down the road before it dries up.

[27:07] There’s a specific design by God for that to take place. Here’s what I mean by that. Point number [27:13] three, you are equipped in the church for ministry as the church in everyday life. When believers [27:23] come together, there is something special that takes place. That’s why the book of Hebrew says, [27:29] don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together. That’s why all of the books are written to [27:34] churches and to leaders of churches in the New Testament. That is why it is so drastically [27:40] important that relationships start in the church in order that you can be equipped for what you are

[27:47] called to do outside of the church. Oftentimes, our problem and the reason that we cannot find [27:55] relevance of Christianity in our lives, and we think about leaving, we think about just giving up, [28:01] because let’s be honest, sleeping in on Sunday mornings is a lot easier than getting up on Sunday [28:06] mornings, even though it doesn’t start until 10 o’clock. It’s like, what are you people doing? [28:09] Don’t you have to go to work in the week? The reason it becomes irrelevant and you just begin [28:18] is like, it’s just something I do. It’s like a hobby. It’s because nothing that you’re doing

[28:26] in here in community group, in a discipleship group is impacting anything that you do outside of those things.

[28:36] And that relegates this to nothing more than a hobby.

[28:43] This is not a hobby. Jesus did not descend, die on a cross, rise from the dead, reveal he’s God, [28:52] give us the scripture, give us the giftings of his grace,

[28:59] so that we can have something to do on Sunday morning.

[29:03] He wanted to dramatically transform our lives, and that’s the vision that he gives in the rest of the text.

[29:12] In verse 12, he says, To equip the saints for the work of the ministry, [29:15] for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, [29:19] of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the [29:24] fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves, [29:29] and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes, [29:34] rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ,

[29:42] from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each [29:49] part is working properly makes the body grow up so that it builds itself up in love.

[29:57] We have two things in this text that are drastically important for you to catch a vision [30:01] of in your life. The first one is the grace of God, which gives you unmatched potential in this [30:07] world because you actually follow and know and are known by the creator of the universe who has [30:14] power over everything in this universe, even death. You can trust his grace to gift you to [30:21] live the life he has for you. The second thing in this text is drastically important for you to [30:24] understand is submission. The responsibility on you is to submit to the authority that Jesus

[30:32] proves that he has. Jesus throughout the book of Ephesians, through the apostle Paul, under the [30:44] desire, plan, purpose, and mission that God has had for all time, which he says, [30:50] in your present you get to live for that. He equips us and he gifts us and he says, [30:59] trust me. What trust equates to in our lives is a position and a posture of submission [31:07] to his plan, his purpose, and his mission. Oftentimes that is the hardest thing for us to do [31:15] because we have competing passions that we want to excuse. Here’s what I mean by that.

[31:26] I can come up with a lot of plans for my life. I only know of one that’s from God.

[31:36] And the responsibility on my life is to choose which I will live in submission to.

[31:43] God in eternity past shows you specifically to live a life in which you are fully submitted [31:51] to the glory of God through the work of Jesus Christ to carry his gospel into whatever area [31:56] of culture you go into. He gives specific people with certain gifts so that the word of God can [32:05] be poured into you. The direction is always, always, always God’s word. If you look in that [32:12] text, he says, to equip you to mature manhood so that you are not carried this way and that way [32:20] by every wind of doctrine that comes down the pipe.

[32:25] My responsibility as a teacher of the gospel is to teach you the word of God so that you can grow [32:32] up into mature manhood so that you can take redemption into the areas of culture that you [32:41] go out into in order that the redemption that has taken root and is captivating your life [32:47] and is becoming a greater passion than any other driving desire that you have and give it to someone [32:55] else. And you say, well, what if they reject me? What if it doesn’t work out? What if I don’t say [33:04] it right? What if I mess up and sin in front of them? What if, what if, what if, what if?

[33:09] Remember, what do we talk about first? Where does your potential come from?

[33:14] I’ll be honest with you. You’re probably going to mess it up at some point.

[33:20] I’ve been doing this for a while, well over a decade and hundreds of mess ups. You’ve seen a [33:26] lot of them. You were probably sitting there when a lot of them happened. But here’s the key. [33:32] It’s not dependent on me. Neither is your potential.

[33:38] There’s one thing I can drive home to you today.

[33:43] It’s that your potential driven by Jesus to build his church is only limited by his amount of grace [33:53] and your amount of submission. He’s done it all. Nothing more needs to be done [34:02] for you to be worthy of him. You were unworthy. Jesus makes you worthy through his work.

[34:11] And he has a plan. He has a purpose. And he has a mission that you get to walk into as he [34:19] unfolds it before you through his grace. Guaranteed success at the end. Momentary setbacks in the [34:28] moment. We can trust in him. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 10. I’ll give you two texts and then I’ll be done.

[34:42] As each has received a gift, and I believe everyone has, use it to serve one another.

[34:50] You see Christianity, it’s this great work of God that by its very nature breeds reconciliation [34:56] which forms relationships. Use it to serve one another. That means that in this church, [35:04] if the only ministry being done is the ministry by the pastoral staff, then this church is not following Jesus.

[35:13] If everyone being discipled has to be discipled by me or Nate or James or someone else, our limit will be so so low.

[35:24] Discipleship is the calling of every person in this church. Serve one another. And then it says, [35:29] as good stewards of God’s very grace. You say, what? Stewards of grace? Yeah, he gives it all. [35:35] And then he says, okay, you point it in the directions where your life is going. [35:40] Does that put limits on you? Absolutely. But so does my wedding band. But that’s a great limit, right? [35:47] It’s a great limit. I love it. That’s right, baby.

[35:53] She’ll fight you. Most of you are like, well, I don’t want that problem. Not the fight, this.

[36:02] She’s got plenty of problems. I caused them all. And then James 1.17. Every good gift and every [36:08] perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation [36:13] or shadow due to change. His mission is unchanging. The people in that mission are always changing.

[36:23] See, there’s a certain cycle that Christianity seems to flow in.

[36:29] That cycle is always redemption transforms you for mission, sends you into community to be [36:33] discipled and then thrust you into the culture as a missionary so that more people can be redeemed. [36:39] Those are our core values as a church. They’re on a sign out there. You can look at them. [36:43] The centerpiece of it, though, is worship of this great God who loves us, gave his Son for us, [36:53] and has empowered us to live for him. Do you trust him? Do you trust him? Will you follow him?

[37:05] What I want to do right now is I want you to realize

[37:10] that you’re in church right now, but when you walk out those doors, you go as the church, [37:18] as the ambassadors of Jesus to build his church. Use your weeks to grow into mature manhood. [37:26] We, I cannot do that for you. I can’t. I can equip you. I can equip you. We’ve done a good job of [37:36] some things so far. Not perfect. There’s so much we can do better. So many more people that need [37:44] to be discipled. So many more people that need time spent with them. But here’s the key. It’s a group effort. [37:52] It’s a group effort. Join us. Make some sacrifices. Join a group. You need it. You need relationships.

[38:04] If we’re not together at least that time every week, how can we possibly serve one another?

[38:11] If you’re unknown, not in a relationship with anyone in the church, how can you be served?

[38:19] And secondly, go out into the culture, not as someone that’s timid, not as someone that’s [38:27] unequipped, but go as someone who’s been being led in a triumphal procession by the King of Kings [38:32] and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. Wherever you’re going. Wherever you’re going. He says go make [38:41] disciples. As the band comes up, right now we’re going to reflect on a time of communion, [38:49] the Lord’s Supper. He gave us this great analogy as to what the gospel is. [38:59] The broken body, the shed blood of our risen King, it represents the life of Jesus entering into my life.

[39:08] And as I go into this world as his follower, what it’s going to represent for me and for you is [39:14] proclaiming with boldness that Jesus is King and everyone needs him. Do you believe that? Do you [39:29] will you live like that? Even if it’s just saying, hey, [39:34] why don’t you come listen to a guy talk about the gospel for anywhere between 20 and 90 minutes?

[39:43] Guys, I love you. God has a great mission for each and every one of us. Let’s live the potential [39:53] of Jesus. When you’re ready, his table’s wide open because Jesus has made you acceptable to God.