Mark 16:15-16 NKJV And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
- This morning you may have noticed that our key text is not from Genesis… And not to worry, I am not trying to skip out on the difficult story of Sarai and Hagar… we will get there.
- But for this week and the following three weeks we are going to take a break from Genesis and instead talk about values.
- For ten years as a pastor I have never presented a value statement to the church.
- I have cast vision for CLC, I have proclaimed the mission of CLC, but I have never presented the values of CLC.
- Sure you can go online and see our full statement of belief, a large theological document that is sometimes called a value statement, but as a Pastor part of my job is to make it plan.
- Now the mission of CLC is simple, it is the mission of all believers, and I believe it should be the mission statement of every Bible believing church… it is the great commission.
Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- This is our mission, to be a part of the global bride of Christ making disciples of all nations, including but not limited to Cedar Rapids, IA, baptizing them and teaching them.
- So that’s our mission, what will that look like when we get to where God is calling us? Well that is our vision.
- Our vision as a church is to be the Missions Arm of the Body of Christ in Cedar Rapids. To be a thriving church on the hill overlooking the city, and sending out and supporting many missionaries who are preaching the gospel.
- So there is our mission and vision… where do value come in?
- Well our value statement is a little more practical, a little more “here and now”.
- I realize that as a pastor I don’t always do the best job of saying “What should we be doing right now as a church?”
- I am good at following the mission, sometimes I get around to casting the vision, we as a church are great at looking out our personal responsibility and needs for growth. But what should we as a church be doing on a week to week basis… what KIND of church are we.
- Well we are a charismatic church, we are Bible believing church, we are a missions minded church…
- But even those things can mean so much… I know Bible believing churches that seem dead as a door knob.
- I know charismatic churches that never preach the gospel.
- I know missions minded church that never make disciples…
- And so, I mean to in the next coming weeks, firm up what our values are as a church… four simple things that define how we pursue our mission and get to the vision that God has placed for us.
- OK, now… are you ready for the four value statements of CLC? Don’t worry, we are already doing all of these things… nothing is changing… I am just trying to help us unite as a church and to understand what God has put in the pastors of this church’s hearts since God planted us 10 years ago… here we go, the four values of CLC:
The Four Values of CLC
- The Gospel is for Everyone
Every person, every nation, every generation - A Place to Belong
There are no outcasts in this family - We Go All In
Everything we do, we do with excellence and zeal. We go all in! - Everyone Grows
From the newest believer to the senior Pastor, we are called to grow
- So, these will be our sermon topics for the next four weeks. Our Associate Pastor, pastor Jared will preach next week on A Place to Belong, then I will preach about going All In, then our discipleship Pastor, Pastor Mike, will preach on Everyone Grows.
- So with that, this morning let’s talk about being a church that has the value of “The Gospel is for everyone”.
- The Gospel is for everyone. Say “Amen” if you believe that.
- The Gospel is for everyone!
- Point one this morning is simple, and probably where your mind goes to when I say “The Gospel is for everyone”… Point one this morning is that the Gospel is for every person.
Point One – The Gospel is for Every Person
Mark 16:15-16 NKJV And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
- Preach the Gospel to every creature…
- What exactly does that mean?
- Well if you take this literally it means
Preach the gospel to cats and dogs, bats and frogs
Preach it to carpenter ants and to pigmy elephants!
And don’t forget the spiders, or single striped tigers!
To each and every creature, your called to be a preacher!
- I don’t know why I decided to write that in rhyme… but it was fun… and ridiculous… Because that is not what this verse means.
- “But PAASTOOOOR the first rule of Biblical interpretation is to take every verse literally”
- WHEN IT IS POSSIBLE… and it is not possible to take this verse literally, why? Because the next verse says that everyone who hears will fall into two camps… He who believes and is saved, and he who does not believe and is condemned.
- A dog can not believe or not believe… a carpenter ant can’t be baptized… a tiger can’t chose to accept Jesus or to reject the gospel…
- ONLY HUMANS CAN DO THAT… so we know that this verse, Mark 16:15 means “PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY PERSON… every created being made in the image of God… the Gospel is for them.
- THE GOSPEL IS FOR EVERY PERSON.
- If you don’t know, the word Gospel simply means “The good news” and what is the good news?
- The good news is that even though we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, God has made a way through His son Jesus Christ for us to be saved and restored to right standing with God.
- The Gospel is that Jesus died for our sins so that we may be forgiven.
- The Gospel is that Jesus loved us so much that He suffered and died for us, rose again on the third day, and now invites us to follow Him.
- The Gospel means that though we deserve hell, we can be made right with God and enter into heaven for eternity.
- The gospel is the good news and the gospel is for every person.
- Now you would think that would be self explanatory… but there is a LARGE sect of Christianity… in fact about a third of Evangelical Christians go to churches and follow teachings that do not believe that God want’s everyone to be saved.
- These Christians proport that God creates some people to be saved and some people to be destroyed.
- These churches follow doctrine that says when God creates you He decides that you will either go to heaven… or not go to heaven.
- And these churches and teachers believe, though many in their churches don’t know it, they believe that the Gospel is not for every person… but that it is only for the elect.
- Now I don’t want to cause divisions… these people our brothers and sisters in Christ , and they believe the Scriptures and obey… but when it comes to this doctrine, they really really miss it…
- So if you are wondering where CLC stands, our value is that the Gospel is for everyone.
2 Peter 3:9 NKJV The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
- ALL MEANS ALL…
- Someone say “ALL MEANS ALL”
- ALL MEANS ALL.
- I was working with a young man who was debating some brothers in Christ who believe that God choses who goes to heaven and hell, and that it is completely outside of our control… that we have no choice in the matter.
- I told him to use this verse… after the debate he called me and said “I don’t know what to do… these guys just make stuff up… I read the verse that said God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance and they said “Well that means that God is not willing for any of the Elect to Perish an want’s all of the predistened to come to repentance…”
- I SAID “WHAT?! If all doesn’t mean all, then it means the opposite of all… why would God say “All” if He meant “some”?
- God is not willing for ANY to pershish but for ALL to come to repentance… the Gospel is for EVERY person… not just whom some call “The elect”.
- Well then whom does God elect?
- He elects everyone who believes… not at the point He creates them, but at the point that they believe. When you believe… when you hear the gospel, believe the gospel, respond to the gospel putting your trust in Jesus… then God responds by saving you.
- But I thought God elected, I thought He predestined, before the foundations of the earth…
- YES! He elected, before the foundation of the earth, to SAVE ALL WHO CHOSE TO BELIVE.
John 3:16-18 NKJV For God so loved the world (Not the elect, not the predestined, but the WORLD… for God so loved the WORLD… ALL MEANS ALL… for God so loved the WORLD… ) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes (That whomever believes, not whoever was predestined… but whoever believes! That who ever believes) in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (18) “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, (Why?! Because God created them to be condemned? No!) because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Joshua 24:15 NKJV And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
- Choose this day whom you will serve! If you have no free will to chose God, then Joshua 24:15 makes no sense.
Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
- CHOOSE LIFE! This verse doesn’t make sense if we have no free will.
- But PASSTOOOR… in John 15:16 Jesus says “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…”
- Yes… He was talking to His 12 disciples in the context of bearing fruit in the ministry… yes Jesus chose them to be His 12 disciples, just as Jesus chose me to be a pastor, and just as Jesus has chosen you to whatever calling he has called you…
- But there were MANY people who Jesus called into ministry, who refused to follow him. They chose instead to go be with their families, to burry their parents, to chase after food and comfort… many Jesus called said “No” and Jesus respected their choice.
- Jesus did not put a sword to the throat of His disciples… He said “come and follow me” and many said no, but 12 said yes and followed Him… this is to whom this verse is written.
- Does that cause some confusion, sure it might, but what is clear as day is that God is not willing for ANY to perish but for ALL to come to repentance… this is the will of God… All means all…
- That brings us to point two this morning… the Gospel is for every nation.
Point Two – The Gospel is For Every Nation
Mark 16:15-16 NKJV And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
- Go into all the world… well, Cedar Rapids is part of the world, yes… but Jesus says go into ALL the world… ALL MEANS ALL!
- In Matthew, the more often quoted version of the great commission it is put this way:
Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- Go into ALL the world… Go therefore and make disciples of ALL the nations… ALL MEANS ALL.
- We, at Christian Life Church, believe the Gospel is for everybody… and that means all tribes, all tongues, all nations.
Romans 10:13-15 NKJV For “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” (14) How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (15) And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE, WHO BRING GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS!”
- We have a distinct duty from God to preach the Gospel… because we believe that God want’s all people to be saved, and salvation comes from believing in Him… and believing comes after hearing about him… WELL THEN SOMEONE NEEDS TO GO INTO ALL NATIONS AND TELL PEOPLE ABOUT HIM.
- This is called Missions!
- If you are born again you have a missionary to thank for it… well, you have Jesus to thank for it He get’s all the glory… but Someone had to take the Gospel out of Judea… someone had to go into Europe, into Asia, into Africa to preach the Gospel.
Acts 1:8 NKJV But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
- The fact that Christianity is in America, or Europe, or Africa, or Asia… is because missionaries, starting with the 12 disciples… they LEFT JERUSALEM and went int Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth. Otherwise Christianity would just be some small sect of people in Jerusalem…
- Listen, the New Testament is full of missionary endeavors… and letters to and from missions church plants.
- Romans… written to believers in Rome… that’s not Jerusalem.
- 1st and 2nd Corinthians… that is to believers in Corinth… Not Jerusalem.
- Galatians… to the church in Galatia.
- Ephesians… the church in Ephesus.
- Phillipians… the church in Philippi.
- Colossians… the church in Colosse.
- 1st and 2nd Thessalonians… the church in Thessalonica.
- These are all mission church plants! One of the first converts was an Ethiopian politician who brought the gospel to Ethiopia… the Bible chronicles Paul’s journey through Asia as he preaches the gospel.
- Revelation has letters to the church in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Ardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea… Those churches exist because the disciples and those after them left JERUSALEM and went into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
- So if our mission as a church is the great commission, then we must go into all the earth, all means all, we must do our part to bring the gospel to all people of all nations… because we believe the Gospel is for everyone, amen?!
- That brings us to our final point this morning, the Gospel is for Every Generation.
Point Three – The Gospel is for Every Generation
Mark 16:15-16 NKJV And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
- If the Gospel is for every person, as CLC’s first value states, then it must be for every person of every generation… young and old.
- There are many churches out there that run their church as if the gospel is only for the current generation… the people in their mid 20’s to mid 30’s…
- I know of MANY churches that have fired all their staff over 35 because they wanted a “young and hip” church.
- I know many churches that run children’s ministry as a daycare or a babysitting program.
- We don’t want to be a hip church.
- We want people from all generations to receive the gospel and be saved.
- We don’t want children’s ministry to just be babysitting… we want our children to hear the gospel, to believe the gospel and to be saved.
- Listen, I want the Spirit to be poured out in our church like described in Joel chapter two…
Joel 2:28 NKJV “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
- Now how can that prophecy come to pass in CLC if we don’t have son’s and daughters to prophesy… how can old men dream dreams in CLC if there are no old men here, or young men seeing visions if there are no young men here?
- We need men and woman from every generation preaching the gospel to every generation.
- Again, let it be said, we at CLC believe the Gospel is for EVERY person and that includes every generation.
Psalms 145:4 NKJV One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
- I really want my grandchildren to be baptized in this church… I want to see the little ones grow up and get married in this church.
- When I am dead and gone, should the Lord tarry, I want this church to continue from generation to generation until the Lord returns.
- CLC is not some fad that is going to go away, because the Gospel is not some fad that is going to go away.
- As such, I pray that Daniel 4:3 will be proclaimed in CLC 100 years from now!
Daniel 4:3 NKJV How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation.
- The gospel is for every generation. That is our first value as a church…
- The gospel is for everyone… every person, every nation, every generation… that is our first value statement… now let me conclude by saying what this looks like at CLC.
Conclusion
Mark 16:15-16 NKJV And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
2 Peter 3:9 NKJV The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Matthew 28:19 NKJV Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
- All means all… The Gospel is for everyone. The gospel is for all nations, all generations, all people… the Gospel is for everyone. This is what we believe at a church.
- So if you ask “Why do you focus on missions so much?”
- Because we believe the Gospel is for Everyone. That means all nations, not just Cedar Rapids Iowa… there are people in other nations who need to hear the Gospel.
- “But why give Missions Faith Pledges… can’t we just go on a few missions trips to visit some orphanages and dig some wells?”
- We give MFP’s because we support pastors in other nations who are preaching the gospel to people we are not preaching the gospel to… and because we are planting churches in other nations to preach the gospel… because we believe the Gospel is for everyone.
- “Why do you preach the Gospel every Sunday?”
- Because we believe the Gospel is for everyone… and if there is a chance that someone in the service or someone on the livestream has not believed in the gospel, then we will take time to share the gospel with them and give them an opportunity to believe.
- “Why don’t we play more games in Children’s ministry and Youth Group?”
- Fun and games are great, and I want our kids and youth to have fun… but more than that I want them to be saved and discipled… the Gospel is for everyone.
- “Why do we sing Hymns from time to time?”
- Because Saints have been singing these hymns for hundreds of years… and older generations are sure to know them. We don’t just want to be a young church. The gospel is for everyone.
- “Why don’t we only sing hymns?”
- Because we want to be a least a little bit hip! We don’t want to ignore the current generation either… the gospel is for everyone.
- This is who we are as a church… it is why we do what we do… it drives us toward our vision and our mission.
The Four Values of CLC
- The Gospel is for Everyone
Every person, every nation, every generation - A Place to Belong
There are no outcasts in this family - We Go All In
Everything we do, we do with excellence and zeal. We go all in! - Everyone Grows
From the newest believer to the senior Pastor, we are called to grow
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God. Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids. 2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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