Pastor Mark Mikels
\nAugust 13, 2006<\/p>\n
“MY WITNESS IN THE WORLD – part
\none”<\/p>\n
Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #3<\/p>\n
Intro … Jesus Christ said, “I will build my church and the gates of
\nHell shall not prevail against it”.<\/p>\n
That’s an ambitious task! The Church of Jesus Christ generally and
\nSonlife Community Church specifically is a “Church Under Construction”.
\nHow appropriate during the very months we are engaged in building a
\nphysical structure to house our congregation that we turn our attention
\nto the spiritual construction project going on in our midst!<\/p>\n
There are four distinct phases to Christ’s construction project: the
\ndoctrinal phase where the foundational truths of the faith are laid
\ndown; the behavioral phase where the essential behaviors of the
\nChristian Life are laid out; the relational phase where a discussion of
\ntrue body life is taken up and the evangelistic phase the heart of God
\nfor the Lost is fleshed out.<\/p>\n
So far we have completed the doctrinal phase and we are three weeks
\ninto the behavioral phase. The messages during the doctrinal phase were
\nbased upon our Sonlife Statement of Belief (our doctrinal statement).
\nThe messages during the current behavioral phase are based upon our
\nSonlife Covenant of Behavior.<\/p>\n
Today’s message “My Witness In The World” is the third in this
\nbehavioral set. Here’s the statement from our Sonlife Covenant that
\nstimulates it …<\/p>\n
Our Sonlife Covenant …<\/p>\n
Believing in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and desiring to live in
\na manner that will bring glory to Him, and having associated myself
\nwith this local body of believers called “Sonlife Community Church”, I
\ndo now covenant together with them that… I will endeavor to give
\npositive witness of my relationship to Jesus Christ by word and deed in
\nevery circumstance in which I am placed. (Acts 1:8; Colossians 3:17;
\n1 Peter 2:15)<\/p>\n
Today’s message is part one of a two part discussion … we might say
\nthat today’s message establishes the context within which next Sunday’s
\nmessage will be given. Today’s message can certainly stand alone but
\nnext Sunday’s message will definitely flesh it out.<\/p>\n
So then … on with today’s message … our Covenant says in a
\nstatement that could easily be committed to memory …<\/p>\n
I will endeavor to give positive witness of my relationship to Jesus
\nChrist by word and deed in every circumstance<\/p>\n
in which I am placed. (Acts 1:8; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 2:15)<\/p>\n
Here are the key scriptures upon which that statement is based …<\/p>\n
“you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
\nand to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)<\/p>\n
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of
\nthe Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
\n(Colossians 3:17)<\/p>\n
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give
\nan answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
\nyou have.<\/p>\n
But do this with gentleness and respect … (1 Peter 2:15)<\/p>\n
There can be no doubt that Jesus Christ intends the members of His
\nChurch to have an impact upon the world around them – He expects them
\nto be demonstrators and explainers of the Life He provides. Committing
\nourselves to live as His Witnesses puts us firmly on the Path of His
\nChoosing and Blessing. So then how do we go about it? How should we
\nunderstand this commitment that we have made?<\/p>\n
Reflecting upon our Sonlife Statement and upon these key scriptures
\nthat underlie it, I would share with you this morning Six Key Words
\nregarding our witness in the world … Six Key Words that hopefully
\nhelp unlock the procedure whereby we become effective witnesses for the
\nLord in our everyday world.<\/p>\n
The first word is … EFFORT – Our Sonlife Statement begins with
\nthese words … “I will endeavor …”<\/p>\n
Living as a witness for the Lord in this fallen world requires some
\nconscious actions on our part … actions that are not necessarily the
\nmost easy or natural to take. In fact all of the actions that lead to
\nthe right kind of “witness” are actions that are unnatural to our
\nfallen sin nature. It takes conscious “effort” to live “like a
\nChristian” in this fallen world, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n
The Apostle Peter explains the “starting point for witness” in his
\nfirst letter to the Church … “But in your hearts set apart Christ as
\nLord” … Best to do that first thing every morning … “Set apart
\nChrist as Lord” … that means “acknowledge that He is running the
\nshow”. To set Christ apart as Lord means to simultaneously “set self
\naside”.<\/p>\n
Either Christ is Lord or Self is Lord. It takes conscious effort to
\nmake that commitment and to maintain that commitment throughout the
\nday.<\/p>\n
But once I establish Jesus as Lord of my life for the day, what am I
\nconsciously trying to accomplish as I go through the day?<\/p>\n
That question brings us to our second Key Word of the morning – The
\nWord RESULT… According to our Sonlife Covenant Statement: “I am
\nendeavoring to give “positive witness”<\/p>\n
Sometimes adjectives can be irritating things … it would make our job
\na lot easier if the statement simply said … “I will endeavor to give
\nwitness of my relationship with Jesus Christ by word and deed in every
\ncircumstance in which I am placed.” But the statement says that the
\nRESULT for which I endeavor is a “Positive Witness” …<\/p>\n
That means that the words I use and the deeds I perform need to reflect
\npositively upon Jesus Christ … they need to be the kind of words or
\ndeeds that someone could say “I could imagine Jesus saying that or
\ndoing that”.<\/p>\n
Once again we take our cue from the Apostle Peter …<\/p>\n
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to
\ngive an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope
\nthat you have.<\/p>\n
But do this with gentleness and respect …”<\/p>\n
No haughty or “know it all” condescending attitude – don’t express your
\nwitness with a condemning, putdown attitude. The result that we seek is
\na positive, winsome, attractive witness – the very kind of word and
\ndeed witness that Jesus himself gave.<\/p>\n
So I make the daily effort to establish Jesus as the Lord of my life
\nand having done that, I allow Him to bring out of me a wholesome,
\nattractive, positive witness …<\/p>\n
Now to what and of what am I giving this positive witness?<\/p>\n
And here we come to our Third Key Word … FOCUS – the focus of my
\nwitness is “my relationship with Jesus”. Note that I am not primarily
\nwitnessing to the trustworthiness of the Bible nor am I primarily
\nwitnessing to the correctness of my doctrine or any other such thing. I
\nam witnessing to the fact that I have a personal relationship with
\nJesus Christ and to the corollary fact that my relationship with Jesus
\ndetermines and explains and gives meaning to everything that I do and
\nsay in my life.<\/p>\n
And since that is the focus of my witness then it logically follows
\nthat I concern myself with our fourth Key Word of the morning – METHOD.
\nFor how do I get an opportunity to tell people about my relationship to
\nJesus Christ … Do I button hole them or do I wait until they ask? But
\nwhy would they ever ask?<\/p>\n
Basically our METHOD is to live in such a way that they can’t help but
\nask. Again here’s what our Covenant Statement says …<\/p>\n
“I will endeavor to give positive witness of my relationship with Jesus
\nChrist by word and deed in every circumstance in which I am placed.”<\/p>\n
Those words come right out of the Apostle Paul’s directions to the
\nColossian believers … (Colossians 3:17)<\/p>\n
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of
\nthe Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”<\/p>\n
As we mentioned just a few moments ago, it’s our words and deeds that
\nenable the “witness” – they are the things that draw the attention of
\nthose around us. When our words and deeds are consistently positive –
\nespecially in times when circumstances are negative – people will
\nnotice and they will inquire. They might say things like …<\/p>\n
“Don’t you ever get down?” – “Don’t you ever blow up?” – “Are you
\nalways so together?” – “What’s the deal with you anyway?”<\/p>\n
Here’s where Peter’s words come into play once more …<\/p>\n
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give
\nan answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
\nyou have.<\/p>\n
But do this with gentleness and respect … (1 Peter 2:15)<\/p>\n
Our answer in a nutshell is … “I have a personal relationship with
\nJesus Christ and He keeps me going”.<\/p>\n
That answer, of course, can lead to much more conversation but that
\nanswer all by itself is the “WITNESS” … anything that would follow
\nfalls under the category of explanation and is only given if the person
\nwho asked wants to hear more. So my commitment is to make the effort to
\nlive in such a way that my words and deeds bear positive witness of my
\nrelationship with Jesus!<\/p>\n
Now there’s two more things to share this morning and those two things
\nare communicated by our final key words …<\/p>\n
Our Fifth Key Word is the word EXTENT – Where am I to maintain this
\npositive witness and what, in fact, is the EXTENT of this commitment I
\nhave made?<\/p>\n
“I will endeavor to give positive witness of my relationship with Jesus
\nChrist by word and deed in every circumstance in which I am placed.”<\/p>\n
There’s never a break from witness … never a circumstance where I can
\nforsake my commitment to live in such a way as to give positive witness
\nto my relationship with Jesus Christ … never a circumstance where I
\ncan say, “I don’t care whether they know I have a personal
\nrelationship to Jesus Christ or not.” Never a circumstance where I can
\nconsciously say, “I don’t even want them to know that I have a personal
\nrelationship to Jesus Christ”.<\/p>\n
Every circumstance of life is “witness territory” … In every
\ncircumstance of life I am to live in such a way that my words and deeds
\nbear positive witness to the fact that “I have a personal relationship
\nwith Jesus Christ that keeps me going strong”.<\/p>\n
Now knowing how twisted and even bizarre some circumstances of life can
\nbecome and knowing that the Devil himself would whisper in our ear …
\n“This situation doesn’t count … in this situation you need to just
\nact like everybody else … use the language they use and do the things
\nthey do” … knowing that that’s how life frequently is … we need to
\ntruly experience the power of this final Key Word … CONFIDENCE .<\/p>\n
“I will endeavor to give witness of my relationship with Jesus Christ
\nby word and deed in every circumstance in which I am placed.”<\/p>\n
God is the One who oversees the circumstances of my life. In every
\ncircumstance I can confidently say, “I am here either by the direction
\nor the permission of God”. He will grace me to function for Him if I
\nset Him apart as Lord in my life. So in every circumstance of life I
\nwill endeavor by word and deed to give positive witness to my personal
\nrelationship with Jesus Christ. What a challenge and what a privilege!<\/p>\n
Our final thot simply once again underscores the fact though the living
\nof a positive life must come first, the witness to the source of that
\nlife is essential if people would understand what our life really is
\nall about.<\/p>\n
Final Thot … Before people can know that your RELATIONSHIP with
\nJesus WORKS they must know that you HAVE a relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n
Otherwise they won’t know WHAT’S working! They can see that SOMETHING
\nis working but they can’t know what it is until we TELL them …<\/p>\n
“I have a personal RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ and HE keeps me going
\nstrong!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pastor Mark Mikels August 13, 2006 “MY WITNESS IN THE WORLD – part one” Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #3 Intro … Jesus Christ said, “I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it”. That’s an ambitious task! The Church of Jesus Christ generally and Sonlife Community Church […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[9,3],"archive_item":"http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com--church-under-constr---hurch-under-construction-behavioral-phase-part-3a","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sp_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}