Have you ever wondered …
- Why are we here?
- Why do we exist?
- What’s our role in what God is doing in the world?
- What is God’s plan for us (as a congregation and as individual Christ-followers)?
"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless." (Matthew 5.13)
Salt is useful!
- Salt is used more than any other mineral.
- Salt has more than 14,000 known uses.
God is a “Missionary God”
God is a God on the move. God has a purpose. God sends us, as his body, to be his hands and feet in the world!
From The Barbarian Way (Erwin McManus) …
- "Jesus did not suffer and die so that we could build for ourselves havens, but so that we might expand the kingdom of his love."
- "God’s will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count …"
- "A world without God cannot wait for us to choose the safe path."
- "We look to Jesus not to fulfill our shallow longings or to provide for us creature comforts. We look to him to lead us where he needs us most and where we can accomplish the most good."
"For God so loved the world that he gave …" (John 3.16)
"As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20.21)
"I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28.18-20)
It’s God’s ministry, not mine/ours!
"I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." (Jesus, Matthew 16.18)
God equips/empowers …
"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. 5John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. … 8"But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere–in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1.4-5, 8)
Fruit – God’s responsibility!
Real fruit is a result of God’s work not human ability.
1 – Make yourself available to God!
2 – Get salty!
Let God rub off on you. When God dwells in you, transformation will happen!
3 – Rub off on others!
Flavor your world. Create thirst in others!
"90% of ministry is just showing up!" (one of seminary professor)
Keep making yourself available to God, and keep showing up. Let God take care of the fruit.
“Be sure of this: I am with you always!” (Jesus)
O God, thank you for your presence in our lives. As we spend time with you, please rub off on us and make us salty so that as we interact and rub shoulders with other people, you will rub off on them as well! Amen.