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Core Value #6 Mission Our purpose statement reads, “GCF exists to glorify God by forming Christ in a growing church.” The mission of the church is a three-legged stool. Remove any one of the legs and the stool will collapse. Our sixth Core value derives from our mission statement and it reads… “We are committed to the Great Commission. We evangelize because we believe that God glorifies His mercy, grace, and love through the conversion of needy sinners. We also evangelize because as Paul wrote, “the love of God controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). We believe these terrible words, (Heb. 10:27) “it is appointed for men to die once then comes judgment.” At the judgment God will separate people into two groups— those that go to “a lake of fire” (Rev 21:14) and those who go to Heaven, a place of “joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8). All of life is preparation for one of these destinations. We evangelize because on the Day of Judgment no one will enter Heaven except through specific conscious faith in Christ and His atoning work.”

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Core Value #6 Mission

Our purpose statement reads, “GCF exists to glorify God by forming Christ in a growing church.”

The mission of the church is a three-legged stool.

Remove any one of the legs and the stool will collapse.

Our sixth Core value derives from our mission statement and it reads…

“We are committed to the Great Commission. We evangelize because we believe that God glorifies His mercy, grace, and love through the conversion of needy sinners. We also evangelize because as Paul wrote, “the love of God controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). We believe these terrible words, (Heb. 10:27) “it is appointed for men to die once then comes judgment.” At the judgment God will separate people into two groups— those that go to “a lake of fire” (Rev 21:14) and those who go to Heaven, a place of “joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8). All of life is preparation for one of these destinations. We evangelize because on the Day of Judgment no one will enter Heaven except through specific conscious faith in Christ and His atoning work.”

Today’s sermon is going to examine the whole subject of mission. We will answer four questions about the mission of GCF. Why do we evangelize? Where should we evangelize? What is Evangelism? And last, How do we evangelize?

A.WHY DO WE EVANGELIZE? The “Why” always precedes the “What!”

We evangelize for two reasons. First, we evangelize because we love God. Second evangelize because we love our fellow man.

Love for God, not love for man, should be the primary motivation for evangelism.

1. Love For God and his ultimate purpose.

Our first core value is God’s end in all that he does—his pursuit of his glory. That idea appears in today’s first text, Genesis 1:26-28.

(Genesis 1:26–28) "26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”"

This text is best understood as a mandate to Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth with God’s image and likeness, which is his glory. (The image and likeness of God is shorthand for his glory).

In other words, they were to fill the earth with sinless people capable of displaying God’s moral image back to God for God’s delight and for his creature’s ultimate happiness. One aspect of the image and likeness is servant-dominion. Since they were immortal, each couple descended from Adam and Eve would have gone on reproducing forever until the earth was filled with God’s image and likeness, which would have been a relatively short time. How many children would a couple have that never aged, never died, and produced children free from pain and suffering?

G. K. Beale: “God’s desire and purpose throughout history is to glorify himself. This is first suggested in Genesis 1:28, where the purpose of God’s creation of humanity in his image is that humanity would reflect that image. This means that humanity would reflect God’s glorious attributes and “fill the earth’ with image-bearers who reflect the divine glory…Therefore, the grand goal of creating such

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image-bearers was that all the earth would be full of the glory of the Lord (So likewise Isa. 11:9, Hab 2:14).”1

We all know the story. Adam and Eve sinned, plunging the world into ruin. The moral image of God was not completely destroyed, but it was terribly disfigured. Humanity still exercised dominion, but now that dominion had morphed into a selfish desire to use others to advance oneself.

Jesus was the ultimate missionary. He came to earth as the Second Adam.

In his office as the Second Adam Col 1:15 tells us that he was the “image of the invisible God.” He came to restore what Adam had lost. The first thing he did was die to atone for Adam’s sin.

Second, he lived a sinless life, i.e. he fulfilled all righteousness. That righteousness is now imputed to all who believe.

Third, he sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate believers, imparting the divine nature to them. The divine nature motivates us to live a life of increasing godliness.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven he commanded his disciples to fulfill God’s initial imperative to Adam and Eve. this command. It was a command to fill the earth with God’s glory.

(Matthew 28:18–20) "18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"

This is the first reason we evangelize. We are consumed with a passion for God’s glory. We want to see the earth filled with the

1 Beale, G.K. , A New Testament Biblical Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2011) pg 959

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image and likeness of God, which is his glory. Someday it will be a reality.

(Habakkuk 2:14) "14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

2. B. Love for People

We also evangelize because we love people. Revelation 20:11–15 describes the final judgment. It is a sobering text.

"11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it… 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne…And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done…14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

This text is warning us that every person will stand before Christ to be judged on the Day of Judgment. We will give an accounting for our lives. We will be judged by our deeds, and the judgment will determine our eternal destiny—heaven or hell.

Heaven and hell are real. There is no third option i.e. purgatory, soul sleep, annihilationism, second chances, etc. In addition, there is no access to heaven accept through specific, conscious faith in the atoning work of Christ.

(Mark 16:15–16) "15“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

a. Affirmation: Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father

We evangelize because we believe these terrible words, (Heb 10:27) “it is appointed for men to die once then comes judgment.” We

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evangelize because no one will pass through that judgment except through specific faith in Christ and His atoning work. Jesus said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (Jn. 14:6).

b. We deny that anyone can be saved apart from explicit faith in the death and resurrection of Christ.

We deny that sincerity saves. We deny that good works save. We deny that one’s best efforts save. We deny that church attendance saves. We deny that any other religion saves. We deny that birth into a Christian family saves. We deny that sacraments save. We deny that baptism saves.

Rather, we affirm that salvation involves a renunciation of confidence in all of these things—confidence in one’s good works, family connections, church membership, good intentions, virtues, etc.

B.WHERE SHOULD WE EVANGELIZE? 1st Spokane County. Only 5-7% have New Birth. That is why we support Kyle Parker’s PCA Church plant. That is why are installing a North Campus. Pray for neighbors, relatives, work associates, fellow soccer parents, other parents at school, etc.

2nd The United States. Although 40% attend church on Sunday, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% have New Birth. Of that 40% a huge amount are Roman Catholic. Another large segment are liberal Christians, many are Mormons, Christian Scientists, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.

3rd Foreign Missions. We support Evan Burns in SE Asia, James Hely-Hutchinson in Belgium, etc.

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C.WHAT IS EVANGELISM? 1. What evangelism is not:

Your testimony. It is not the story of what God has done for you.

It is not religious speech.

It is not bringing someone to church. You can go to church for years and never be evangelized.

Evangelism is not results. It is not getting converts. Getting converts is a fruit of evangelism.

Evangelism is not the appropriation of a one-time decision or leading someone in the sinner’s prayer. These are fruits of evangelism.

Evangelism is not leading someone forward at a crusade.

Evangelism is not something the convert does to themselves. It is not a decision.

Evangelism is not a program conducted by a church.

2. What Evangelism is:

Evangelism is telling lost people the Truth.

Dever: “According to the Bible, evangelism may not be defined in terms of results or methods, but only in terms of faithfulness to the message preached....We don’t fail in our evangelism if we faithfully present the Gospel and yet the person is not converted; we fail only if we don’t faithfully present the Gospel at all.” 2

It is the Truth about our helpless condition in Sin

(Romans 3:10–11) "10 “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God."

It is the Truth about Justification by Faith.

2 Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.

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(Romans 1:16–17) The gospel 16 “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”"

It includes the Truth about the necessity of Repentance: Conversion will be costly. It will mean a permanent change of lifestyle. (Metanoia). This means a life of ongoing discipleship. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:18). Without repentance God will not be glorified and the earth will not be filled with Christ’s image and likeness.

Allen: “St Paul gave his hearers a perfectly clear, definite understanding of what was required of them. To enjoy the hope set before them they must be prepared for a complete break with the past…There is today a tendency to avoid this stern doctrine…We have lost the sense that the Judge is at the door and that the wrath of God against all ungodliness is ready to be revealed. We no longer look upon the acceptance of our message as ‘deliverance from the wrath to come.’”3

Cheesman: “To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”4

New Birth is always sudden, but it is not always suddenly detected. Sometimes it is dramatically experienced. At other times, it is not dramatically experienced. The convert wakes up one day and, after many exposures to the gospel, realizes that something has changed. They are now a Christian, but they are not sure when it suddenly happened. (C. S. Lewis on the bus).

D.HOW DO WE EVANGELIZE? We reject Francis of Assisi’s admonition. “Always preach the gospel, and if necessary use words.” 3 Rolland Allen, Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, 4 Cheesman, John, et.al., The Grace of God in the Gospel, quoted by Mark Dever in Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, pg 123 (Wheaton, Crossways, 2000)

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First let’s think about personal efforts, then let’s examine corporate efforts.

1. Personal Efforts

Prayer: Pray For boldness. For God’s Spirit to visit the lost.

Invest and Invite.

Ask good questions.

Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?

Do you have a religious background?

What do you think will happen to you when you die?

If you were to stand before Christ’s judgment seat and he were to ask, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” What would you say?

Always ask permission to share the gospel. (Len the Hippie).

Face up to the facts about your non-Christian friends. They are dead in sin. Sin is spiritual death. This means we have no capacity to seek God or turn to God on our own.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1).

Sin also alienates our friends from the Gospel. It makes them God haters. Speaking to his followers Jesus warned—

“If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

Therefore God must save them just like he saved us. They cannot and will not turn to God unless Christ draws them.

(Matthew 11:27) "27 No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

David Wells: “The gospel cannot be a product that the church sells because there are no consumers for it. When we find consumers, we will find that what they are

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interested in buying, on their own terms, is not the gospel…It is the benefits of believing that can be marketed, not the truth from which the benefits derive.”

Here is the good news. God will save others through the example of our lives and our imperfect evangelistic attempts. Why? Because he has been “given all authority in heaven and earth.” On that basis he has commanded us to go, and he has promised to “be with us always to the end of the age.” In other words, God will use our weak efforts.

The bottom line is this. It doesn’t depend upon us.

Be willing to suffer rejection. (Bill Kingsley)

“I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

Be persistent: Studies have shown that the average convert has heard the gospel between five and seven times before they respond.

Packer: “The idea that a single evangelistic sermon, or a single serious conversation, ought to suffice for the conversion of anyone who is ever going to be converted is really silly.”

Keller: “Many people come to full faith through a process of mini-decisions.”

If your friends are open read scripture together with them. (Beer and Bible).

If not open to a discussion with you, bring them to church. At church they not only hear the gospel, they also see the fruits of the gospel in the people. (Comment of Linda Jarms).

Smallman: “I want to emphasize the importance of the community as an essential element of how God works to bring people to Christ…People see the gospel in the way Christians relate to one another and in the way they serve, and then they hear the gospel in a welcoming environment…Ninety percent of [converts] came to faith in the context of a community of believers…The healthiest form of evangelism is linked to the local church.”5

5 Smallman, Stephen, Spiritual Birthline, pg 52,54 (Wheaton, Crossway, 2006)

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Keller: “Only a person who is hearing the gospel in the context of an ongoing worshiping and shepherding community can be sure of finally coming home into vital, saving faith… What the city needs in not more evangelism programs but far more wholly evangelistic churches.”6

2. Corporate Efforts

The place of the local church in the process of Evangelism.

Logan Ministry Campus Decentralization Church Planting

Strategic use of the gift of Evangelism to help us be an evangelizing people.

(Ephesians 4:11–12) "11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,"

In addition, the church corporate, GCF, marshals it resources to engage in Mission outside of our church. We do this in a way that you cannot as an individual.

E. APPLICATION

Look to the gospel. Jesus is our model. He came down from heaven and sought us out. We should do likewise.

Be God-centered in your evangelism. It is all about the glory of God.

Be restful in your evangelism. It is all about the sovereignty of God. Pray more and fret less.

Love people sincerely, not as “projects.”

Be motivated by love, not guilt.

6 Tim Keller, Center Church, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012) pg 359

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Invest and Invite. Reach out to those around you. You will be most effective with those that you have the most in common with.

Work where God is working. Sometimes God is not working in the person you love, but he is working in the life of someone you don’t care about. Be flexible. Work where God is working. Love whom God is loving. In the meantime pray for those you love, and wait patiently for God to work in them.

Lastly, cultivate a servant’s heart. Christianity is not a spectator sport. It is a team sport. Some of you are spectators. You are not serving anywhere. A failure to engage in service repudiates the gospel. Don’t proclaim the gospel with your mouth while you repudiate it with your unwillingness to be put out for the Kingdom.

At this moment we need musicians and vocalists to serve on the Music team. We need servants to serve in the production booth. We need a Kitchen coordinator. Etc.

Every act of service is a contribution to our shared mission. Nursery workers are serving God’s mission.

The greeters are serving our mission.

The worship team is serving the greater mission.

Our website designers are serving the mission.

The security team is serving our greater mission.

Tithers are supporting and advancing the mission of the church. Everyone who serves is serving the mission of the church.

Caveat: You must be a member to serve at GCF.

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F. CLOSING PRAYER

Father, your end goal is that the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the seas. You sent the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, to finish what the first Adam failed to accomplish. Now you have commanded us to “make disciples of all nations…teaching them to do all that you have commanded us.”

God, we are too weak for this. Strengthen us with your power.

We are apathetic and callous towards the fate of the lost. Forgive our loveless-ness.

Lord, we are double-minded. Forgive our idolatries.

Father, we fear the disapproval of men. Lord, teach us to fear you and not men.

We are timid and embarrassed about the gospel. We want to be like Paul. We want to be able to say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” God, open our mouths to help us boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel. Give us the gospel-boldness that we ought to have. Fill us with the Holy Spirit of boldness.

Lord bless the North Campus launch. Make it a city on a hill. Broadcast the light of your glory to the mead/Wandermere area through GCF North. Bring many converts into your kingdom through the Northside Campus.

Lord bless our Central Campus. Build it. Enlarge it. Prosper it for your name’s sake.

On the basis of Christ’s atoning work we ask all of these blessings.

Amen!

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