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A MISSIONARY CHURCH

November 28, 1999 PM

Sermon Outline

Phil 1:5,6

INTRO: Let me read you a section of Acts 16:6-12. Though it was a man of Macedonia Paul saw in that vision, Philippi was the first city of Macedonia to hear the gospel. It appears that the church there then shared Pauls fervent zeal for spreading the gospel (Rom 1:14,15). Perhaps they felt an indebtedness which grew out of privilege. They became active participants in the work of world -wide evangelism. There are some great lessons to learn from Philippi about how to be A Missionary Church.

I. FIRST LESSON IS IN THE WORD FELLOWSHIP - PARTNERS

A. Koinonia is a rich and important word

1. it firstly speaks of a relationship

2. so, in 1 Jno 1:3,7 of relationship with God, with Christ ... with each other in Christ

3. it was/is a relationship integral to the church (Acts 2:42) and speaks of a close bond and intimacy

B. Then, it speaks of partnership growing out of relationship

1. his relationship with these people was one common in Christ

2. yet, it was a feeling, affectionate relationship as verse 7 indicates

3. these people were involved, also emotionally involved, committed partners

II. THEY WANTED THE GOSPEL PREACHEDIN OTHER PLACES

A. Theirs was a fellowship in the gospel

1. the word gospel appears eleven times in his letter

2. each use of it would make an interesting study

3. but the point for now is that they recognized the power of gospel (Rom 1:16) and necessity of its being preached (Rom 10:14-17)

B. I love the thought of Acts 8:4

1. wherever Christians went, it was with preaching

2. but need for missionaries exists, too

3. Philippi was no less involved in preaching than the man who went to speak the words - I think this is exactly the point Paul makes in our two text verses!

III. THEY WEREPRACTICAL IN THEIR INVOLVEMENT

A. They sought to supply material necessities

1. Acts 16:15 from the first day they supplied that

2. Phil 4:15,16 sent to his necessity again and again

3. could not go themselves - but they could provide for him who did go (they were not wealthy - 2 Cor 8:1-5)

B. Their involvement was supportive in every sense

1. Phil 2:25 sent one of their own to minister to Paul

2. a missionarys needs are for encouragement, advice, resources, prayers ... in a word, support

3. I often wonder if as a church we are truly supporting those whose material needs we are meeting

IV. THEY PERSEVERED IN THEIR FELLOWSHIP

A. They were not a flighty, fickle group of people

1. note 1:5,6 first day until now ... until the day of Christ

(Phil 4:16 again and again)

2. what these people began, they wanted to see through

3. they were dependable partners

B. So often we have not persevered ...

1. distance, discouragement, loss of zeal, etc. have contributed to a wasteland of broken works, broken lives, disillusionment

2. its always easy to be excited at the beginning, to enlist support and aid, to make banner headlines

3. but when the new wears off and the real slogging begins, the support evaporates

4. hard work, persistence, perseverance and dogged determination are just musts for missionary churches --- evangelistic, serving churches

5. in our local or foreign work we must develop the Philippian spirit of sticking with it

CLOSE: Verse 6 says to us that Gods work on this earth is done through human agency. If we fail to accept the challenge of Gods work, His work will go undone by the proportion of our refusal. Dear friends, God is placing a great responsibility upon us. We must accept it!

Cecil A. Hutson

28 November 1999

God's Plan of Salvation

You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

You must believe and have faith in God because "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called "Sinner's Prayer" that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the "Sinner's Prayer" to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)

You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus "Lord of your life." Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just "accept Jesus as your personal savior." We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God's grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God's grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)