Messages

Luke 10:38-42 
³⁸As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” ⁴¹But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴²There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

What affections are raised when we fill our minds with truth?

1. A love for other believers
2. A confident approach to God’s presence
3. A satisfying obedience to God’s commands
4. A certain expression of God’s Spirit

 

John 13:35
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

 

The Scriptures do represent true religion, as being summarily comprehended in love, the chief of the affections, and fountain of all other affections. So our blessed Savior represents the matter, in answer to the lawyer, who asked him, which was the great commandment of the law: ‘Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou   shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ 

-J. Edwards, Religious Affections

 

John 3:14
If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

 

John 3:18-19a
¹⁸Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ¹⁹Our actions will show that we belong to the truth.

 

1 John 3:19-21
¹⁹Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ²⁰Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. ²¹Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.

 

Romans 8:1
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

Satan knows your sin and calls you by it. God knows your sin but calls you by your name.

 

1 John 3:22-24 
²²And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. ²³And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. ²⁴Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

 

John 15:10-11 
¹⁰When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

 

Romans 8:12-16 
¹²Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. ¹³For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

 

1 John 5:20-21 
²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. ²¹Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

 

How will I fill my mind with truth?

1. Find a Bible reading plan. Daily? Weekly?
2. Highlight a verse each week you can memorize.
3. Fix verses you want to remember to places around the house.
4. Start thinking about joining a D-group for study together.

 

How will I fuel my affections for God?

1. How will I incorporate worship into the daily activities of my life? Times for music as well as devotion and gratitude.
2. What constitutes gathering regularly with others in worship?
3. When and where will I stop for focused prayer? What can I use from the scriptures as well as guides to help me pray?
4. When will I give up a meal-time for prayer and contemplation?

Acts 17:16-17

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. ¹⁷He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

 

 

Acts 17:22-23

²²So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, ²³for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.”

 

 

People need a personal savior

 

 

Acts 16:25-32

²⁵Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” ²⁹The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” ³²And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household.

 

People need a proven Messiah

 

Acts 17:1-4

¹Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ²As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. ³He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” ⁴Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

 

Acts 17:24-26

²⁴He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, ²⁵and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. ²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

 

Acts 17:27-29

²⁷His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ²⁹And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

 

Romans 1:20-21

²⁰For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. ²¹Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

 

Preach the gospel. It’s always necessary to use words.

 

Acts 17:30-31

³⁰God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. ³¹For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.

 

How will I share God’s love as a witness in the world?

 

1. Who are the “people of Evansville” in your life? Ask God to give you some names. Start asking God to draw them to salvation and use you to do it.

2. As you fill your mind with truth, what biblical content is God equipping you with to use for this purpose?  As you respond with a heart moved by truth, how can this begin in the context of where you live, work, and go to school?

3. Get familiar with the basics:

What have you learned about God’s character?

John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9

What have you learned about the character of man?

Romans 1:20; Romans 3:10-18, 23a

What have you learned about Christ’s provision?

Romans 6:23b; Romans 5:8

What have you learned about responding to Christ?

Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-9

Colossians 1:15-16

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

 

Psalm 19:1-2

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.

 

Habakkuk 2:14

14 For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.

 

Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

 

Revelation 7:9-12

9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. 12 They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

 

 

How will I spread God’s glory among all people?

1. I will pray for God’s glory to cover the earth.

Devote time praying Psalm 67.

A May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us.
B May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere.
C May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you.
D Let the whole world sing for joy, because you govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world.
E May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you.
F Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us.
G Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him.

 

Visit onlinecfc.com/global-outreach to learn about and pray for an entire group of unreached people.

 

2.  I will give to spread God’s glory to the nations.

A  In what ways can I give to support this purpose?
B Join a “support team” for a CFC missionary.
C Give to an organization that is devoted to this work.

https://joshuaproject.net/get_involved

 

3.  I will go to the nations and spread God’s glory.

Explore onlinecfc.com/missions and learn more about our work with short-term teams.

 

Is the Lord leading you for a longer-term commitment?

Matthew 28:16-20 
16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

2 Timothy 2:1-2 
1 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

 

The mission isn’t merely individual growth, but growth that moves toward multiplication.

 

Ephesians 4:11-13 
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

 

1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 
31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

 

The mainspring of Paul's service is not love for men, but love for Jesus Christ. If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men.   
-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (2/23)

 

How will I make disciple makers among a few?

 

As you practice the intentional outcomes, consider 2-3 people in your relational scope you could invite to join you.

 

We help people to:

·      Fill their minds with Truth

·      Fuel their affection for God

·      Share God’s love by being a witness in their world

·      Demonstrate God’s love as a member of CFC

·      Spread His glory among all people

·      Make disciple makers of a few

 

Where is clear obedience being demonstrated in their lives where it had not before?  You might refer back through this sermon series to put a plan in place for doing so.

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/multiplymovement.com/index.html (English)

https://s3.amazonaws.com/multiplymovement.com/Material/95723.html  (Spanish)

 

In what ways can you make disciple-makers by asking “Imitate me?”

 

John 13:12-17
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.”