back to indexBerean Community Church Bible Study Session 10 Covenant 9 - EV
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We, everything within the BCC playlist is up for game. 00:01:09.240 |
kinda like a call to worship, which is the firm one, 00:01:30.360 |
usually the song, or the next couple songs that come up, 00:01:38.000 |
So, I feel like, I wanted to sing the second song, 00:02:03.480 |
- Are you gonna do seven, or seven out of five? 00:06:09.620 |
Okay, please join with me in a word of prayer as we begin. 00:06:26.700 |
Our God, we wanna take time to thank you in prayer 00:06:36.100 |
proven yourself to be trustworthy and faithful. 00:06:40.420 |
And in our own lives, God, we know that you are working 00:06:44.660 |
We pray, Father God, that you would help us to continue 00:06:48.340 |
to go to you in faith, to be about your work, 00:06:51.780 |
and continue, Lord God, to serve your great kingdom. 00:06:55.060 |
We ask, God, that you would continue to grant to us 00:06:59.860 |
discuss the book, and have our time of fellowship, 00:07:05.740 |
And at this time, again, we want to lift up our voices, 00:07:08.580 |
to sing your name and continue to lift you up. 00:07:56.260 |
♪ My gracious Redeemer, my Savior, art thine ♪ 00:08:27.180 |
♪ I love thee because thou hast first loved me ♪ 00:08:32.180 |
♪ And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree ♪ 00:09:44.080 |
♪ I'll sing with a lettering crown on my brow ♪ 00:10:33.100 |
♪ There is an endless song that echoes in my soul ♪ 00:10:48.780 |
♪ And though the storms may come, I am holding on ♪ 00:12:14.460 |
♪ And I will walk with you, knowing you'll see me through ♪ 00:13:20.380 |
♪ See I can sing, I can sing in the troubled times ♪ 00:14:06.240 |
♪ Sing for I know that I'll sing with the angels ♪ 00:14:12.300 |
♪ With the angels and the saints around the throne ♪ 00:15:15.600 |
- Father, we just thank you for this time of worship. 00:15:28.140 |
God, we just love you 'cause you loved us first. 00:15:33.920 |
you demonstrated your love by dying on the cross for our sins 00:15:46.320 |
for us to just be in your word, to share your word, 00:15:51.280 |
that we will continually be led to just abide in you, 00:15:55.400 |
just trust in you, and really have your heart and attitude 00:16:02.080 |
but even evangelize and disciple within our own church. 00:16:05.000 |
So God, we pray that your love would just bring us 00:16:08.840 |
to a point where we just can't help but to sing, 00:16:11.800 |
to shout, to just worship and praise your name, 00:16:15.280 |
all for your glory and really just to magnify your kingdom 00:16:37.160 |
So specifically, the Outreach Team is hosting, 00:16:44.320 |
It's gonna be held at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, 00:16:49.680 |
if you are hoping to bring somebody to church this Saturday. 00:16:58.920 |
we're gonna be having an all-church cleaning day 00:17:14.720 |
Again, that's taking place Sunday, 11/24 at 5 p.m. 00:17:35.360 |
And then for everybody who is a part of the family ministry, 00:17:44.920 |
And it's gonna be a great time of fellowship, 00:17:49.320 |
so please make sure that you sign up for that. 00:17:55.440 |
just because you're doing one of the performances. 00:18:05.980 |
The final announcement that I have for you guys 00:18:08.680 |
is the BBA season is going to be starting up soon. 00:18:12.240 |
And so for both the men's BBA and the women's BBA, 00:18:19.140 |
and you can check that out here on the QR code 00:18:31.000 |
of making this a fellowship and intentional activity, 00:18:34.880 |
we are asking that those who are either in membership class 00:18:39.880 |
Unfortunately, if you aren't a member or just checking out, 00:18:48.840 |
We'll be back at eight for the teaching time. 01:00:11.240 |
- All right, we're gonna start in about five minutes, 01:03:51.240 |
All right, well, if you're in the other rooms, 01:07:38.240 |
I think it looks like most people have arrived, 01:07:58.240 |
and as we go back into our discussions afterwards, 01:08:01.240 |
we pray, God, for hearts that are very moldable, 01:08:04.240 |
God, ones that are ready to receive your word 01:08:06.240 |
and to apply, it's out of our love for you to obey. 01:08:11.240 |
Thank you for the opportunities that you give, 01:08:19.240 |
Well, to start here, the master's plan for the church, 01:08:31.240 |
that were in this book, just as a reminder to you, 01:08:34.240 |
you were able to kind of talk through some of that, 01:08:38.240 |
So when we're thinking about the Lord's work, 01:08:46.240 |
we can just kind of have maybe a basic understanding 01:08:54.240 |
We get to call the shots as to what that looks like, 01:09:05.240 |
about this thought of, well, it has to be God's vision, 01:09:20.240 |
or perhaps when we want to do things our way, 01:09:29.240 |
There needs to be a commitment to thoroughness, 01:09:38.240 |
A team spirit, that's where we're united in this. 01:09:43.240 |
And a sensitivity to the spirits leading in others. 01:09:52.240 |
"is never described in the Bible as being easy. 01:09:58.240 |
"carry the idea of working to the point of exhaustion. 01:10:09.240 |
That kind of toil that wears and weakens, by the way. 01:10:17.240 |
The idea of this quote is that you work hard. 01:10:28.240 |
That our lives here is going to be filled with this. 01:10:32.240 |
"Secondly, anyone committed to the Lord's work 01:10:37.240 |
"will see many needs that haven't been met yet, 01:10:43.240 |
So it's not just working hard, but it's working smart. 01:10:53.240 |
There needs to be something driving us forward 01:10:55.240 |
because it's not just if you work hard, then great. 01:10:58.240 |
There's a direction to all of this that God would want of us. 01:11:02.240 |
Here's the third and final quote that I wanted to bring up. 01:11:05.240 |
"We also have to be working to prove ourselves useful 01:11:14.240 |
And so the idea of this is that would work now. 01:11:30.240 |
And so those were three things that I wanted us to keep in mind 01:11:35.240 |
because I think they do have a lot in common. 01:11:44.240 |
"through sharing the gospel locally and globally." 01:11:51.240 |
"through sharing the gospel locally and globally." 01:11:54.240 |
And so we're nearing the end of the covenants here. 01:11:56.240 |
And this one, the words are very carefully crafted, 01:12:29.240 |
ought to be able to define what evangelism is. 01:12:38.240 |
is if you think of any type of good news that you've had, 01:12:42.240 |
there's a sporting event where your favorite team won, 01:12:47.240 |
or you want to share about the news of your child 01:12:49.240 |
that's going to be born, or something like that, 01:12:55.240 |
the emphasis on the heart of something like evangelism. 01:13:14.240 |
And so we're going to go through five different slides here, 01:13:20.240 |
And I'm going to ask a question on each of these points. 01:13:24.240 |
So the first question is, do you want to glorify God? 01:13:53.240 |
is that the best way to just kind of go about evangelism? 01:13:59.240 |
Or is that the best way even to live your life? 01:14:02.240 |
That's my desire, and that's all that's needed. 01:14:09.240 |
And I want to pose that perhaps it might not be enough 01:14:19.240 |
And the chapter that we read kind of talks about this a little bit. 01:14:30.240 |
and dictate terms of what that means to glorify God. 01:14:40.240 |
There are plenty of people in this world who desire to glorify God. 01:14:48.240 |
That's the question each of us needs to ask ourselves. 01:14:55.240 |
and we try to kind of dictate the terms of that, 01:14:58.240 |
it's the same thing as, I've shared this example before, 01:15:01.240 |
but it's kind of similar to me trying to give a gift to my wife 01:15:14.240 |
It was something that would be useful, something like that. 01:15:16.240 |
But if I don't ask the question of what would my wife actually like, 01:15:26.240 |
It could be something that I genuinely think is a good thing to give. 01:15:37.240 |
Where do we find an answer to this question, how would God be glorified? 01:15:49.240 |
And it can't just be lifted from pieces of text. 01:15:54.240 |
The whole of Scriptures is going to show us how God is glorified, 01:16:01.240 |
And so this actually brings us to the second question. 01:16:07.240 |
Not only do you want to glorify God, but do you want to do His will? 01:16:13.240 |
Then the answer is, then you will evangelize. 01:16:17.240 |
And so we're going to do the same exercise here. 01:16:22.240 |
it's not enough until we ask the question of what is God's will. 01:16:33.240 |
and then again I begin to dictate the terms of that, 01:16:38.240 |
We need to be asking what does God actually desire? 01:16:45.240 |
And so we go to the Scriptures to begin to kind of look for things, right? 01:16:51.240 |
"But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, 01:16:54.240 |
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, 01:16:59.240 |
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, 01:17:02.240 |
but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, 01:17:08.240 |
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, 01:17:10.240 |
in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, 01:17:12.240 |
and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, 01:17:14.240 |
and the earth and its works will be burned up." 01:17:31.240 |
And so start thinking about this in very practical terms. 01:17:35.240 |
Like what do you think God wants for you in your life? 01:17:41.240 |
What would God want for Berean Community Church? 01:17:43.240 |
What does He want for each and every individual here? 01:17:52.240 |
Do you think God's will has to do with just us 01:17:59.240 |
or furthering our careers, or something like that, right? 01:18:03.240 |
And kind of broaden the scope of that a little bit. 01:18:08.240 |
Why would God be--like His will would be so unwrapped 01:18:16.240 |
But many times, I think that's how we go about it, right? 01:18:22.240 |
Should I like date this person, or get married to this person, 01:18:25.240 |
or should I go like for this job, or move here? 01:18:32.240 |
Is that those individual islands, those individual places, 01:18:36.240 |
is that going to be the thing that moves God's heart? 01:18:41.240 |
And at the end of it, we would see that probably not, right? 01:18:59.240 |
but He says there is no marriage in heaven, right? 01:19:01.240 |
So I don't know what that means for me and Keziah. 01:19:06.240 |
we know that the things that are given here in this world, 01:19:12.240 |
So do you think God's will is going to be isolated 01:19:18.240 |
The scriptures tell us a broader scope of that, 01:19:21.240 |
a broader picture of something like that, right? 01:19:26.240 |
Why would God's will have to be with me just finding the spouse, 01:19:38.240 |
John Stott says that our God is a missionary God. 01:19:53.240 |
It's pointing forward to the reality of Christ coming back, 01:19:56.240 |
that the heavens and the earth will pass away. 01:20:01.240 |
which is this question, do you believe in what you preach? 01:20:12.240 |
So moving forward, 2 Corinthians 5, 6, it says, 01:20:17.240 |
"and knowing that while we are at home in the body, 01:20:33.240 |
and these things that are going to be passing away. 01:20:43.240 |
and things that are happening just right in sight. 01:20:46.240 |
Because these are the things that we see in the here and now. 01:21:01.240 |
But we can't just say, with dictation of my own terms, 01:21:13.240 |
And so all of these things are more like vehicles 01:21:23.240 |
all of these things are going to be wrapped up in this, right? 01:21:26.240 |
As Christians, we want to do what brings God glory. 01:21:30.240 |
And so we cannot get stuck on the things that are just by sight, 01:21:36.240 |
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, 01:21:53.240 |
that we know that what we see here in this world is passing away. 01:22:00.240 |
"The world is passing away, and also its lusts, 01:22:03.240 |
"but the one who does the will of God lives forever." 01:22:14.240 |
then we cannot get engrossed in the things of this world anymore, 01:22:25.240 |
and our very own bodies are going to waste away. 01:22:30.240 |
And so with something even as simple as like eating healthy, 01:22:33.240 |
sleeping right, exercising, things like that, 01:22:38.240 |
And so we will keep it healthy inasmuch as it will what? 01:22:42.240 |
Make us effective in this lifetime to God's purposes, right? 01:22:48.240 |
And so if we get stuck on the things by sight, 01:22:50.240 |
and we're not living by faith for the things yet unseen, 01:22:55.240 |
and we're not going to be believing what we're preaching. 01:23:01.240 |
"The world is passing away, and also its lusts." 01:23:10.240 |
"for the first heaven and the first earth passed away." 01:23:14.240 |
I was tempted to kind of put out more of this text, 01:23:19.240 |
everything rolls away like a scroll, you know? 01:23:31.240 |
if we understand what it is that's going to actually occur, 01:23:35.240 |
then we are going to be an evangelizing people. 01:23:55.240 |
"See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking, 01:23:58.240 |
"for if those did not escape when they refused him 01:24:02.240 |
"much less will we escape who turn away from him 01:24:10.240 |
"'shake not only the earth but also the heaven.' 01:24:14.240 |
"denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken 01:24:18.240 |
"so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 01:24:21.240 |
"Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, 01:24:24.240 |
"let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God 01:24:27.240 |
"an acceptable service with reverence and awe, 01:24:41.240 |
number three, we believe in what we are preaching, 01:24:43.240 |
then number four, this question of do we love people 01:25:09.240 |
our coworkers, our roommates, our family members. 01:25:14.240 |
We'll evangelize to every person that we care about. 01:25:25.240 |
Or is it that we don't believe what we're preaching? 01:25:27.240 |
There's something broken in this line of thinking 01:25:34.240 |
Matthew 9:36, "Seeing the people," this is Jesus, 01:25:37.240 |
"he felt compassion for them because they were distressed 01:25:40.240 |
"and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 01:25:42.240 |
"Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, 01:25:51.240 |
Look at what draws him to call people into the service. 01:25:56.240 |
Look at what draws him to call people into evangelism. 01:26:09.240 |
And so if we love people, we will evangelize. 01:26:20.240 |
"'go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, 01:26:32.240 |
But look at what causes Jesus to evangelize here. 01:26:44.240 |
What draws him to that is his love for this man. 01:26:48.240 |
So if we love people, then we will evangelize. 01:26:52.240 |
All right, here's our last point, number five. 01:26:55.240 |
Do you understand the purpose of the church on earth? 01:26:59.240 |
Do you understand the purpose of the church on earth? 01:27:10.240 |
and then we have accountability sessions with each other, 01:27:33.240 |
"how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God." 01:27:47.240 |
So this is something that when we look at our covenant, 01:27:50.240 |
that we're committing as individuals, but together, right? 01:28:06.240 |
And the church is the pillar and support of the truth. 01:28:13.240 |
I know you knew we were gonna go through this passage today. 01:28:26.240 |
"All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 01:28:30.240 |
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, 01:28:32.240 |
"baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son 01:28:35.240 |
"teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. 01:28:37.240 |
"And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 01:28:41.240 |
So this is the mission that God has left us with. 01:29:10.240 |
and if we actually want to bring glory to God. 01:29:44.240 |
we are going to be able to evangelize like this. 01:29:47.240 |
There will be no other time in eternity for this. 01:29:53.240 |
with this idea of evangelism in the here and now. 01:29:57.240 |
We'll have plenty of time for everything else. 01:30:08.240 |
because we try to find the most beautiful places 01:30:17.240 |
and we're going to be able to experience that. 01:30:19.240 |
That's like an eternity in this kind of new heaven 01:30:26.240 |
Like, each of us can spend like 1,000 years with each other 01:31:09.240 |
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, 01:31:13.240 |
"abounding in riches for all who call on him. 01:31:15.240 |
"For whoever will call on the name of the Lord 01:31:24.240 |
"How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? 01:31:35.240 |
"However, they did not all heed the good news, 01:31:37.240 |
"for Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed that report?' 01:31:44.240 |
And we are the ones who go and take the word of Christ. 01:31:50.240 |
We cannot be pointing to missionaries and pastors. 01:32:02.240 |
So I was going to put this idea of evangelism 01:32:10.240 |
with this thought of evangelism being a simple duty. 01:32:20.240 |
really caused me in the short 30 minutes that we have 01:32:26.240 |
because it's supposed to be a great privilege and joy. 01:32:33.240 |
It's supposed to be something that abounds from our hearts. 01:32:40.240 |
It's not just trying to convince somebody of something. 01:32:48.240 |
It's sharing the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. 01:33:03.240 |
"For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; 01:33:05.240 |
but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me." 01:33:07.240 |
I think that's a really good way to think about this. 01:33:11.240 |
That when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, 01:33:15.240 |
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel." 01:33:17.240 |
And so there's this thought that's being kind of seen here 01:33:27.240 |
And I want to remind us of the fact that it's voluntary. 01:33:32.240 |
there are some misconceptions about evangelizing. 01:33:37.240 |
some of us have a temptation to think it's for the missionaries 01:33:40.240 |
and pastors and super Christians to do this work. 01:33:44.240 |
And that's why this is part of the covenant that every member signs on to. 01:33:49.240 |
It is not, "I will try my best," or something like that. 01:34:01.240 |
You have signed your name next to such a thing if you are a member of this church. 01:34:12.240 |
and we are making one to another because we know this is right and true. 01:34:18.240 |
This idea of, "I need to go on missions to do that," it's not true. 01:34:21.240 |
"I need to be extroverted to do this," not true. 01:34:23.240 |
"I need to be fully trained to do this," it's not true. 01:34:26.240 |
In 1 Corinthians 1:26, it says, "For consider your calling, brethren, 01:34:29.240 |
"that there were not many wise according to the flesh, 01:34:33.240 |
"but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, 01:34:36.240 |
"God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 01:34:39.240 |
"and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen the things that are not, 01:34:52.240 |
"By His doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God 01:34:56.240 |
"and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 01:34:59.240 |
"so that just as it is written, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'" 01:35:03.240 |
"And when it came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, 01:35:14.240 |
"proclaiming to you the testimony of God, for I determined to know nothing among you 01:35:20.240 |
"I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 01:35:23.240 |
"and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, 01:35:26.240 |
"but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 01:35:29.240 |
"so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 01:35:33.240 |
I hope that we're able to encourage each other with this covenant today 01:35:39.240 |
that we're committing to the best of our ability to advance the kingdom of God 01:35:43.240 |
through the sharing of the gospel locally and globally. 01:35:46.240 |
Be practical, encourage each other, make a habit of coming back the following week 01:35:52.240 |
and asking, like kind of following up, even if it's real quick. 01:35:56.240 |
I know we don't have that much time to go through all the material, 01:35:59.240 |
but make a habit of kind of following up with each other. 01:36:05.240 |
this idea of working hard, working smart, working now, 01:36:08.240 |
I think has everything to do with evangelism. 01:36:11.240 |
So the Lord's work is for us to go and share the gospel, 01:36:15.240 |
is to build up the church, to make disciples of Christ, 01:36:19.240 |
and it has to be done the Lord's way, not however we dictate the terms. 01:36:24.240 |
All right, so these are the passages, the quiet time, 01:36:30.240 |
So I believe it gets kind of sent out to everybody, 01:36:33.240 |
so if you want to take a picture of it, you can, 01:36:35.240 |
or just wait for maybe your facilitator, your small group leader to send this to you. 01:36:44.240 |
So number one, if you were to answer the question, 01:36:46.240 |
what is God's will for my life, how would you answer it? 01:36:49.240 |
And please don't supply the answer that the teacher is looking for kind of thing. 01:36:57.240 |
Actually try to answer what you think, how you have been living that out right now. 01:37:02.240 |
What have you been supplying as an answer to that? 01:37:15.240 |
So ask that question, answer that for one another. 01:37:19.240 |
And how does evangelism fit into your answer? 01:37:22.240 |
If that is in fact the mission that he gave us, 01:37:24.240 |
with the answer that we give, where does evangelism fit into that? 01:37:28.240 |
Number two, what are some comfort zones that you have roped off in your life 01:37:30.240 |
that prevents you from faithfully evangelizing? 01:37:32.240 |
So this is a place I think we could try to encourage each other. 01:37:35.240 |
What are some places, let's reveal the places where we've kept hidden 01:37:41.240 |
Like home, or work, or clubs, or old friends, or whatever. 01:37:50.240 |
What exactly is it that might cause you to veer away from sharing the gospel with them? 01:37:54.240 |
Number three, how do you continue to share the gospel 01:37:56.240 |
to someone you have already shared the gospel to? 01:37:58.240 |
Someone that you have shared the gospel to multiple times already. 01:38:01.240 |
And so, share some ideas, tips, and encouragements. 01:38:06.240 |
Sometimes, your discouragement is my encouragement. 01:38:11.240 |
When someone's sharing something hard they're going through, 01:38:14.240 |
you're like, "I don't know why I'm so encouraged right now." 01:38:21.240 |
We'll use good things and bad things to propel each other. 01:38:27.240 |
let's try not to do the hit and run type of gospel. 01:38:30.240 |
If there are people that we've already shared the gospel with, 01:38:33.240 |
let's persevere, and let's kind of encourage each other in those things. 01:38:41.240 |
Heavenly Father, I pray, God, that you would help us to move. 01:38:48.240 |
Father, that your spirit would awaken and enliven within us 01:38:53.240 |
a real desire to do your will, to live for your glory. 01:39:00.240 |
And Father, show us, remind us how much you loved us. 01:39:10.240 |
That it might cause us to grow urgent, even in our love,