Sermon Cloud

The life of the gospel community does not consist of a few scattered events throughout a week or

month, but rather an ongoing flow of movement within the everyday rhythms of a culture. The

Gospel effects all of life – everything we do – because God is at work redeeming all things to

Himself. Our new Gospel Identity leads us to enter in to the everyday Gospel rhythms of life.

To be a healthy Family requires that we live life together, not just attend events where we see each

other once in a while.

Effective Missionaries don’t just move into a new culture and stay distant or disconnected from

the culture. The most effective ones are those who join in the flow of life with everyone else,

engaging in the activities of the culture they are sent into with gospel integrity, not falling to the

left of syncretism or to the right of separatism.

Gospel Servants are actively involved in regularly meeting the needs of the people they live life

with and the communities they live within. And Ongoing Learners don’t get developed and

Everyone is living within the context of some story. The story they believe shapes the kind of lives

they live. Although we live in a time when many would prefer denying that they live within the

context of a meta-narrative, because the meta-narratives of the western world have seemingly

shown themselves to be fairy tales not rendering the happy ending they promised. It is still true

that everyone finds their meaning within a context larger than their own life – it is what gives any

sense of context to our lives

The Biblical/Gospel story reminds us that we all move toward seeking meaning outside of God’s

Story (We see this in our first parents – Adam and Eve), yet Jesus Christ who is the Author and

Hero of the Story moves to Redeem and Restore His Creation from our rebellion. As we become

familiar with His Story we realize that we are part of God’s rescue plan as well. If we are to be an

effective Family of Missionary Servants in our culture we will have to engage the Story-formed

rhythm in a variety of ways:

We are a story-formed people who are living our lives based upon and within a story. We must

know God’s Story because all of our beliefs, identity and actions are all connected to the dominant

story. This is why we are to talk about it when we sit, stand, walk along the way, eat, lie down,

etc…. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

We all need to continue to grow in the gospel of grace and truth. Therefore we need to be selfaware

and let the Spirit show us where our lives, past and present, are not in line with the gospel

(Galatians 2:14; 1 Timothy 4:16)

Not only should we regularly reacquaint ourselves with the Gospel Story, but we must also know

each other’s stories if we are going to be a Family who is equipping each other effectively. We

need to hear one another’s stories and bring the gospel story to bear on each other (Consider Paul

to Peter in Galatians 2:11-14).

In order to be effective missionaries, we need to know the story of our culture – what has shaped

it, what is the dominant story line, what are the idols, where are the open doors for the gospel –

both demonstrated and declared – and learn how to enter into the gospel crossroad (Consider

Paul in Acts 17)

There are thousands of voices and messages competing for our attention and we are listening. We

ebb and flow all day long from one voice to the other. The question is which voice informs how to

listen to all the others?

In The Story, we see in the very beginning what happened when God’s voice was no longer the

dominant voice – Adam and Eve listened to the serpent and to themselves – and God’s original

mission for humanity moved into rebellion.

In order to faithfully walk in the gospel, we must walk dependently on God through the ongoing

rhythm of listening…

The gospel informs us that we are fully dependent upon God’s Spirit to teach us the truth, convict

of sin, show us the way to go and empower us to do everything God wants. So, we learn to walk in

submission to the Spirit if we are going to live as God intends. Listening itself is an act of

submission and dependency on God – it is clearly one of the most obvious and profound ways that

we live out our gospel need.

The culture and people around us are telling us what they believe and why. We need to learn to

ask questions and listen. If we are to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have, we

must spend less time just preparing answers and as much time listening for the questions.

Listening to others first is prerequisite for gospel engagement. We should be listening constantly

to determine what story they believe in and where that story has proven weak and ineffective to

save.

Everybody loves a good party. In fact, most people are regularly on the lookout for the party. Why?

Because God made us to be worshippers – to be rejoicing and satisfied in someone other than

ourselves – namely Him. This hunger to celebrate – to worship – is in every person.

If we are to engage the missionary activity of God must regularly enter into celebrating…

If we truly understand and believe the gospel, we should be the most celebratory people on the

planet. God regularly called his people to celebrate through feasts and parties because he did not

want them to forget His grace and abundant provision. The very celebration wasn’t just a

response – it was also a demonstration of what God is like and has done. We must engage in a

regular rhythm of celebrating God’s extravagant blessings in ways others can access and

understand.

Part of our ability to live out the gospel is dependent upon our regular reflection on the gospel.

We need to regularly set our affections on things above – the work of God in Jesus Christ and what

is now true of us because of Him. Celebration should be a regular rhythm in all each of our

personally lives.

We also not give up meeting together so that we might spur each other on to love and good deeds

(Hebrew 10:24-25). Jesus himself demonstrates this through his first recorded miracle – at a

wedding feast where he affirms the celebration of life together because celebrating life together

demonstrates the working out of the purposes for the gospel – a people being restored to

abundant life together.

The people God has sent us to are also celebrating – they happen to be celebrating a different god

and a different story. We need to learn to enter into their celebrations and do it unto God and fully

aware that even this celebration is within His Story. Then, within the celebration look for ways to

serve, redeem, bring gospel light, etc…

Everyone has received blessings and chooses to do something with what they have received. Some

people give in order to gain acceptance; to appease their guilty conscience or because they simply

like the feeling. Others hoard what they have or use it only for themselves. Followers of Jesus

believe they have been blessed by God to be a blessing. They are not motivated to gain something

through giving, but they bless because have been given something they don’t deserve in order to

share with others in need.

Just like Abraham (Genesis 12:2) we have been blessed – we have received unmerited favor and

provision. This is not because of anything we have done, but because of all that God has done for

us in Jesus Christ. We must remember that we are co-heirs with Christ and blessed with every

spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Romans 8:16-17; Ephesians 1:3).

We are not blessed just for our own good. We have been given what we have so that others might

also receive. We must regularly take account of what has been given to us and realize that it is not

ours, but God’s to steward. Then, in light of the gospel that reminds us that He become poor so

that in his poverty we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9), we are freed up to pour out our lives

and things so that others might be blessed and taste and see that the Lord is good.

We must see that when we believe the gospel and know that what we have we did not earn and

since we have been bought with a price nothing is our own anymore, then we also realize that our

Father in heaven provides for his children through sharing what we have with each other. When I

come to see this I realize that I don’t really own anything and yet at the same time I have more

than I ever dreamed (brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, houses, cars, clothes, food, etc… Luke

18:29-30). All that we have is His and that is His is ours.

God’s intent in blessing His people has always been so that those who don’t know Him and his

grace might see Him at work in and through us, taste of His grace and come to Him. We must

No one would deny that everyone eats regularly – some of us too much and some too little. It is

interesting that the means God gave to Adam and Eve to show their faith in him was eating. They

choose to eat unto themselves instead of in faith to God. This became a prime means for

expressing faith and thanksgiving to God throughout The Story and it is still true for us today.

Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we do it unto God. Every meal really is a demonstration

of the gospel. We come hungry (a real need) and our need is graciously met (Whatever we have is

from God). Since we eat three times a day, we get a gospel reminder over and over again IF we eat

unto God. It’s interesting that throughout the Story, food continues to be the prime example of

God’s provision meeting their need. And in every case, they ate unto God or unto themselves.

When we eat together we commune over our common need and God’s provision. In doing this we

proclaim the gospel to each other over and over again. That is why it is so important to eat

together regularly – a loving community of believers communing around the work of Christ is the

best apologetic of the gospel AND eating together is one of the ways we are commanded to do

this.

The table for the Jews, as also in our day, is very symbolic AND communicative – who we eat with

makes a statement. This is why Jesus was called a friend of sinners – he ate with people who were

“dirty”, unreligious, and visibly or sociably unacceptable. The table becomes one of the most

powerful displays of God’s love and acceptance of sinners. We need to see the table as a place to

exercise radical inclusivity.

Recreation is not a new thing in our culture, but we often forget that God is the one who put it in

place. After his work of creating was finished he was satisfied with it and he rested. He then set up

a rhythm of life that starts with us resting in his creative work followed by us working creatively.

Some have a hard time really resting in God’s finished work and therefore find it hard to work,

create, play and take it easy and rest in all or any of those.

Because God has accomplished everything necessary for our justification and is the one who will

finish the work He started in us, we can rest. Whether working, playing, sleeping or creating – we

rest in His work and His abilities and His power. Our rest then is not only a result of the Gospel,

but a demonstration to the world NOT at rest in the gospel. We need to know and live this rest.

We should realize that we can approach work, school, sports, social events and creative works not

because we need validation or security – we can truly do all we do unto the Lord and be free to do

it as worship (not worshipping the pay scale, position, grade, award, or the status that we obtain).

We need to walk in faith that we can truly rest because the world is held together and run by Him

and it will be restored by His work through us, not our work apart from Him. We should also trust

that we can create freely, not dependent on the quality of the creation or the validation of others

to say it is good, but rather because we are already called good in Jesus Christ. Finally, we should

be the most playful and joy-filled people because we know the Father is in control of the world

and He loves us deeply.

We should recreate together as a way of preaching the gospel to one another. By doing this we

become a display together of the truth of the gospel to a watching world. Our resting, creating,

working and playing all proclaim that God is Creator, Sustainer, Provider and Redeemer.