The church dies when the church stops being the church and just starts doing church.
If our heart doesn’t break for the things that break God’s heart, we just start going through the motions and might as well put our time, energy, and resources toward other things.
If we are not passionate about God and passionate about people then we are wasting our time.
Passion causes people to do strange things and it can cause people to do great things.
A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position. –John Maxwell
Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” –Luke 19:9-10
Salvation = sōtēría
Sōtēría was treated as a present experience. Sōtēría was only used twice (see also John 4:22) by Jesus. Jesus taught that when one possesses sōtēría, death brings no interruption in the individual’s community with God. Therefore, salvation is not merely deliverance from future punishment; it includes also freedom from sin as a present power.
We are the people who God is sending to a broken and needy world. We ought to be passionate about the same thing that God is passionate about – people.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. –John 3:16
Who did God send Jesus to seek and save?
a. The preoccupied – The busyness of life gets in the way of life (Luke 15:3-7)
b. The abused – People who are used for a purpose other than which they are primarily created (Luke 15:8-10)
c. Those who have made mistakes (Luke 15:11-32)
I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. –John 17:14-18
A danger exists in defining Christianity by a list of things we do and don’t do.
Christianity is not an external behavior modification program.
Christianity is an internal heart transformation program. God transforms the human heart which results in people stopping dysfunctional patterns and self-destructive habits.
We should be “in” the world, but not “of” the world. God does not want us to be separated from the world. It is hard to change a world that you are not in. It is even harder to change a world that you are the same substance as.
You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. –Matthew 5:13-16
Salt and light are change agents.
Be the change you want to see in the world. -Ghandi
In partnership with God, it is Christians being Christians in a broken and needy world that will bring change to the world. That is why we “be” the church rather than just “go” to church.
Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true. –John 18:37
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. –Romans 12:2
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