August 15th, 2004, Sunday Morning

"Be An Ephesians Christian"
Imparting God's Word to others can be done in a variety of flavors

Guest speaker: Dr. Charles Price

OPENING: Acts 28:28-31 and Ephesians 4:11-13

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• Two ways to live/experience life as a Christian: abundance or scarcity
  
  
  • John 10:10: Jesus wants you to experience life on earth better than you could even dream for yourself
    
    
  • If you're living life abundantly:
    
    
    • Your reflection is in your joy and praise you sing TO Him (not ABOUT Him)
      
      
      • "TO" vs. "ABOUT": You're singing from the heart TO God; Those not in the spiritual mindset sing mechanically and unemotionally ABOUT God from the words of the hymnal book
      
      
    • You believe God and his son, Jesus Christ, exist
      
      
      • That God (not science) created the world and man; And that God gave man His love and law to guide man to success
        
        
      • That God then gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, as an expression/example of love and obedience that man should follow, ultimately giving Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to not only pay for man's sins but demonstrate the greatest love of all: giving your life for your friends (John 15:13)
      
      
    • You believe His church is His presence in this world
      
      
      • Ephesians 5:23: Christ is the head of the church
        
        
      • The most important thing in a country is not its government, military, or economic system--it's the church
        
        
      • Psalm 20:9 and 33:16-18: Do not trust in the might of government and military numerical superiority--only fear God for deliverance
        
        
      • Romans 12:5: If you are saved, then you are in the body of Christ, with all other saved people of this world--now a child in the family of God, your Father
  
  
• IF YOU LIVE IN ABUNDANCE, YOU HAVE THREE OBJECTIVES:
  
  
  • #1: You must have a "mission vision"
    
    
    • PASSIVE: Attending church to receive a sermon--but doing nothing with it and/or forgetting it when leaving church
      
      
    • ACTIVE: Taking God's Word (Bible)/sermons and imparting its contents to those in the world (outside the church and/or lost souls)
      
      
      • Being a missionary means simply taking God's Word to those who have it not; It's not limited to self-dedicated people/families who travel around the world, seeking the secular
        
        
      • Acts 28:30-31: When not in church, Paul taught about Christ to others he invited into his home, "with all confidence, no man forbidding him."
        
        
        • "ALL CONFIDENCE": boldly/confidently--he studied, did his homework and knew his material (Bible)
          
          
        • "NO MAN FORBIDDING HIM": Paul taught, with disregard to race, money and criticism
    
    
  • #2: You must have the correct goals
    
    
    • Ephesians 1:3,12 and 5:20: Give thanks and praise to God IN ALL THINGS--both the good and bad--because even bad things ultimately turn out good in the end (Romans 8:28)
      
      
    • Our focus is not merit/recognition for ourselves but that glory be redirected to God; our reward is the joy of just being His servant
      
      
    • The mission of the church/pastor is not to direct you to perform church missions but to motivate you to want to conduct your own personal mission
      
      
      • Proverbs 21:1: Change comes from within and only God can turn the heart of man
      
      
    • Ephesians 4:11-13: God has provided man with a variety of leaders (teachers, pastors, evangelists, etc.) to not just listen from but teach/equip/prepare you to go out and teach/train others for the purpose of building up the body of Christ (saving others)
      
      
      • "Bad people are good soil": people are most likely to come to Christ when their life is a "wreck"
    
    
  • #3: You need a place to volunteer
    
    
    • "Apostle" translated: a entrepreneurial missionary--thinking of new ways to get the Gospel to people
      
      
      • CAUTION: the variety lies in how you present it; The Word itself is ALWAYS the same message
        
        
        • One mid-Sunday afternoon, Dr. Price heard about and saw a church where a congregation of leather-dressed, tattooed people were being preached to by a Christian, named Skip, who looked/identified the same as them
          
          
        • A "cowboy church" was started in Helotes, Texas, beginning June 2004
          
          
        • The Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) is a global organization, with local chapters, seeking secular motorcyclists (but will stop for anybody)
  
  
  
  CLOSER

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• Matthew 28:19-20: If you're living in abundance, then you should be using your provided tools and training to tell the lost of the Gospel of Christ
  
  
  • Be cross-cultural: live among the people and understand them--sympathize if you can't empathize; always begin a soul-saving conversation by identifying common interests/hobbies
    
    
  • You are a student and teacher of live, reconciliation and conflict resolution with the goal of not only saving others but also to create strong, healthy, unifying relationships
  
  
• Consider how all the gifts/possessions/talents God has given you can be tools used to reach the lost of this world
  
  
  • I.e. - "Truckers for Christ," "Christian Motorcyclists Association," the U.S. Air Force's "Officer Christian Fellowship" (OCF), etc.