Do you think of a building? An organization? A group of smiling, happy people holding hands? If you were to define the church in one, single word, what word would you use?

I think if Jesus was asked that question there is a high chance he’d use this one: mission. The church is a mission. We aren’t on a mission, we are a mission. We are God’s hands and heart and eyes and ears right here on Earth. It’s easy to lose track of that. Its easy to fall into the kind of thinking that says all we are is a “body” of people who “share” the same core “beliefs.” But that’s not a church. That’s a club.

A church is a mission. As a matter of fact, the church is God’s mission on Earth. We need to remember that because when we forget we start to fall into the thinking that the church is a way that uses to do His work. The truth is, the church is the way God works. And you are a part of that.

The church is how God says to us, “I’m committed. I’m all in.” Here’s what the Bible says about this:

…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
- Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)

That’s committed. That’s all in. And He did that for the church. If Jesus is all in we need to be all in too.

Committed means there is no quit. It’s easy to throw in the towel when things get rough. It’s easy to say, “This isn’t for me” when the future doesn’t look bright. But when Jesus faced the cross, He didn’t quit. He said, “Father, Your will be done.” He was committed.

Committed means doing your part. Yes, the church is a body. That means we all have our part to play. The problem is many of us don’t want to do our part. Oh, for a season we volunteer or help out, but we aren’t willing to take ownership. It’s easier to sit back and watch others do it. But that’s not being the church, that’s just “playing” church. Committed means each of us takes an area of the ministry and owns it. We say “Pastor, don’t worry about this, it’s mine.”

Committed means sacrifice. Committed means we serve not because the church needs workers but because we believe in the vision God has given. Commited means we step out, risk our time and our reputations. Committed means we sacrifice a past-time like going to the desert or playng softball or going bowling or going to the movies because those are temporary but building the kingdom has everlasting impact.

Here’s the thing: only the committed experience the victories. Don’t be fooled: God will always get the victory. But those who quit aren’t around to see it. Those who don’t do their part don’t share in it. Those who do not sacrifice get nothing for their time. Only the committed get to see and experience the greatest works of God.

So here’s the question: do you have an uncompromising commitment to the mission of God at Living Hope?

I used to think like that. After all, the world is going to hell in a hand basket and I can’t think of a better time for Jesus to come back. Wouldn’t it be cool if in the middle of a presidential campaign Jesus came back and showed everyone that He’s not a Democrat or a Republican? Wouldn’t it be special if He came back and established His kingdom on Earth and we would all celebrate because we are obviously on the winning side?

But this day, as I listened to that song I couldn’t help but think about all those who have not yet been reached by God’s grace through Jesus. I thought about the 63,000 residents of our neighborhood that live within three-and-a-half miles of our church that do not have a vibrant relationship with a God who loves them. I thought about the kids I see each week at the Sonshine club after-school program who never get to church because their parents are too busy with softball or soccer or work or going to the desert. I thought of families torn apart by the false gospel that says we can give lip-service to Christ without authentically turning our lives over to Him. I thought of all those who do not know the unrestrained joy of a life fully surrendered to the cause of Christ.

Then I started to pray a prayer I had never prayed before:

“Not yet, Jesus,” I prayed. “Wait. Hold off. We have more to save. Give us more time. If you come now it will be too late for them.”

My heart was broken for those who did not yet know Him. It was broken to the point that I was asking God to hold off…

I believe that every time God moves greatly He does so through those who have uncurably broken hearts for the lost. When our hearts are broken for the lost it changes the way we think. Judgment goes out the window and we look for opportunities to exercise the grace that God has given to us. When our hearts are broken for the lost it changes how we do things. It doesn’t change what Christ followers do; all Christ followers devote themselves to the teaching of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. But when our hearts are broken we will change how we do those things so that those who are hopelessly separated from God will find living hope in Jesus.

That means we structure our Sunday service in such a way that people who are just checking out God, the Bible, Jesus and church won’t be weirded out. It doesn’t mean we water anything down, but it does mean that we see ourselves as missionaries in a foreign culture. Therefore, instead of requiring the culture around us to speak our language, like any good missionary we are determined to learn and use the language of the culture God has given us the privilege of ministering to.

You see, if we don’t have a broken heart for the lost, our default attitude will be that our neighbors deserve whatever judgment God has planned for them. As a matter of fact, we will be all too eager to watch God meet out His wrath. But if we have the heart like Jesus, the sin, dysfunction, and hurtful lifestyles of those who do not yet know of Jesus will produce a life altering sadness in us that motivates us to love and good deeds.

And that’s where God does His best work.

So many times we try and try and try and fail at getting our “Christian walk” right. We know that what God wants for us and from us is right an good. As a matter of fact we really do want to do what God wants us to do. And then we find ourselves doing the exact opposite.

The mirror image to that is that we know exactly what we should not do as well. We even agree with God that certain habits, desires, and actions are just plain wrong and against God’s will. He doesn’t want us to do them and we don’t want to do them and yet every time the opportunity comes around we find ourselves doing them.

The worst part of all this is that no matter how hard we try to do the right thing, or try to avoid the wrong thing it seems like it never gets easier. We try and try and try and try and…

You get the picture.

But the problem with the problem is that what we think is the problem isn’t really the problem.

Huh?

Let me try to be more clear. The problem isn’t that we aren’t trying hard enough. First off, the harder we try the harder it seems to get. Secondly, the harder we try the more frustrated we get. Eventually we wear ourselves out completely and figure, “What’s the use?” “Why try anymore?” We give up.

The problem is not that we aren’t trying hard enough. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14.15)

Did you see that? The solution to our obedience problem isn’t to obey better. The solution to our obedience problem is to love Jesus!

Those who are in leadership in a church must be the most obedient Christians in their church. No church will ever rise above the level of their leadership. But the beginning of Biblical leadership is to acquire and exercise a desire to get closer and closer to God.

Developing an unquenchable desire for God is the reason we are renovating our Second Sunday meeting. The purpose of Second Sunday is being changed from leadership development into a time in which we will seek God together in prayer and worship.

You need to be there. It doesn’t matter if you think you are not a “leader” in the church. If you have a heart you need to be there. If you have a desire to know what God wants, you need to be there.

God moves when His people pray together. He moves because prayer is the most powerful display of a person’s desire to touch Him. And when a group of people join together in prayer power is released that is unexplainable.

You need to be there.

Second Sunday: January 13th 6:00pm.

These attributes–or attitudes–aren’t a five-step program or a “How to do Church.” These are deep down in the very DNA of the healthiest churches. These attributes aren’t head knowledge, either. They actually determine what these churches do and how they do them. And the result is that unchurched and unbelieving men, women and children are coming to Christ in numbers and power that are so unbelievably impossible that it must be God Himself behind it all.

One of the attributes that these healthy, growing churches have engrained is an unwavering conviction that God wants to do great works through us.

Let’s face it: God loves doing miracles. Most of us would love to see God work in marvelous ways. And we wonder if He’ll ever do something spectacular in or even near our lives so we can see first hand how great God is.

But if we look at the miracles that are in the Bible, we find out that almost every time God involved a human being in the working of those great works. God can do (and has done) miracles without our involvement, but it’s very rare.

Here’s the rub: We have to make ourselves available to God. I don’t know why God has chosen to work in this way, but He has. Too often we sit around waiting for God to do the miraculous when all the while He is waiting for us to get in on the game.

We have the ability to put God off. We can put Him on hold. If we choose, we can make other things priorities. When we do we miss out on the great things God has planned. We miss out on seeing and experiencing and participating in God’s great works.

That’s a sad thing. And the biggest problem is that we never know how sad it is because we never know just what we missed out on. We never see the lives we could have touched. We never see the families that we could have healed. We never see the power of God expressed in unbelievable ways. And so we never quite realize we have missed out.

BUT…when we make ourselves available God opens doors and possibilities that we could have never imagined. This only happens when you adopt an unwavering conviction that God wants to do great works through you.