Philippians - Unfinished

With four girls, we have many toys that I never played with as a child. One Christmas, among the typical toys, an unusual and sometimes offensive creature waited for Sofia to open it.

Furby.

This little guy can be fed, showered, use the bathroom, and lay eggs through an app on our phone. He talks and uses his own language, which is mixed with English. He’s a rather silly toy. One of the unusual things about Furby is that the designers of that particular model designed him so that his personality is shaped by the way he is treated. The designers shaped him to learn and adapt constantly, and his personality was shaped by the attention he received.

When Sofia received Furby, she was six years old, a snuggler, and a lover. She would cup Furby in her hands, nuzzle their nose, pet him lovingly, and treat him sweetly. For the first few days, he cooed and ooh-ed and said things like, “Me like that. Me love you.” Furby’s personality was warm, loving, and caring…until our two-year-old, Violet, got a hold of him.

On Day 3, while Sofia was occupied with something else, Violet carried Furby around the house by his foot, sometimes by his ear, banging him against the wall, the stairs, and her toys. He tumbled down the stairs and was dropped on his head a few times…then she sat him down and walked away. Later, when Sofia picked him up to snuggle with him, the Furby yelled, “No likey!” He made all kinds of odd shrieks because Violet had shaped Furby’s personality, too.

Most toys that came into our house were finished products, but the Furby remains unfinished, even today. 

He, like us, is unfinished.

If you are a follower of Jesus, take a moment and reflect upon who you were the day before you surrendered to Jesus as your savior. What did you find pleasure in?  What did you want to do with your life? If you had any, what were your goals and objectives?  Hopes and aspirations?  Desires?  

Now, fast forward one day to the moment after you surrendered your life to Jesus. You experienced the life-changing power of the Spirit of the Living God and were made brand new.  What did you find pleasure in?  Who did you want to become like?  What were your hopes and aspirations?  Desires?  

And now, fast forward to this moment.  This worship service.  This sermon.  Are you any different from the moment you were saved?  Have you changed?  Perhaps you have become stronger in your faith.  More disciplined.  More joyful.  More seasoned.  

Or perhaps your journey from that day to this has been riddled with ups and downs.  Two steps forward, one step back.  Perhaps you have backslidden several times yet still cling to your hope in Jesus Christ. Or perhaps you are not as joy-filled as you once were. Perhaps you feel empty on the inside…shallow. Not a deep trust and closeness with Jesus, but a hesitant faith.

Today, we will look at Philippians 1:6. You will be encouraged.  Regardless of where you are on your journey…Christ is not finished with you.

Let’s read:

Philippians 1:6 (NLT2) 

6  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

In describing to others the moment we surrendered our lives to Jesus, we may at times use language like: 

“I trusted in Christ.”

“I surrendered my life to Christ.”  

“I was saved.”

“God saved me.”

But…

GOD BEGAN THE GOOD WORK.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you.”

It is interesting that the Greek word Paul chose for “began” is only used once other time in the New Testament.

Enarchomai: to make a beginning

The use of this verb communicates that it indeed was God who BEGAN salvation in our hearts.  

“God made the beginning.”

He is the initiator.  We did not initiate our salvation – if we did, it would be considered a “work.”  

And, we understand we are not saved by works but by Grace. 

By using the verb enarchomai (en-ark-home-eye), Paul reminds the Philippians that God began the work in their hearts. And, the very first time Paul visited Philippi in Acts 16, we see a perfect example of God initiating salvation in someone’s heart.  

Acts 16:13-14 (NLT2) 

13  On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14  One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

The Lord opening the heart of Lydia is the perfect picture of God making a beginning in a person’s heart.  Lydia listened to the same message we preach every weekend.

She heard Paul tell her that God loves her.  

As humans, we sinned and rebelled against our creator God. We chose sin and rebellion rather than obedience. But God’s love never changed.  We sinned, and the punishment for sin was death. Yet, God loved us, so Jesus voluntarily came to the earth to pay our punishment for sin. Then, he rose from the dead, returned to heaven, and will one day return. As Lydia listened to the Good News, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted Jesus as her Savior.

That is what happened to me.  I heard that Jesus paid the price for sin through dying on the cross.  While I listened, the Lord opened my heart to trust Christ as my Savior.  

It wasn’t a WORK I began.

It wasn’t a journey I began. 

It was a supernatural encounter with the Living and Holy God who loved me and gave up his Son for me. Then, Paul uses another word to teach us that:

GOD WILL CONTINUE THE GOOD WORK

Paul used the word Ergon for the word work.  

Ergon: that which one undertakes to do, undertaking …

Paul used this word to communicate God is presently working in your life.  If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, God will continue to work! It is an ongoing undertaking of God for each of us who have surrendered to Him. We can find great confidence and inner strength when we understand He not only initiated our salvation, but he has been working in our hearts since then as well! From the moment you trusted in Christ – God has been working in your heart.

The seasons of hard you endured. 

The brokenness.

The moments you almost walked away from your faith in Jesus.

When you experienced the miscarriage.

The diagnosis.

The betrayal.

The divorce.

God is taking all the pain, heartache, and crud that living in a fallen world brings and is PRESENTLY using it to craft your character so that you become more like Jesus. All of the good. All of the bad.  He uses those things to cut away the parts of you that do not reflect Jesus so you continue to LIVE more like Jesus and reflect Jesus to people in need of a Savior.   

He is working on the foundation he laid! From the moment you surrendered, God has been working in your heart.  Whether you have wandered far from Christ or not – He has been working in your heart. 

None of us are finished.  

God has not stopped working in our hearts.  

But…why?  

Have we not been made NEW?  Is not the old gone, but the new here?  What work is there to do within our hearts if we have already been made right with God?  If we have already been perfected through the blood of Christ, what work could He possibly do? After all, Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NLT2) 

11  Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

If we have already been made right with God, why would God continue to work in our hearts? A few paragraphs later, Paul speaks about the ongoing work of the Lord in the hearts of the believers…and this time, he tells them…

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. 

God continues to work in our hearts to give us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him! 

This October, our staff and leadership will have an annual planning meeting. Each ministry will come prepared to share its Goals and Objectives for 2025, centered around our Mission to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

I will not dictate their goals; they will develop them because I have learned that when it comes to following Jesus, it is impossible to accomplish goals if you lack desire. Without desire, we will not finish goals that require hard work. And you can trust that:

GOD WILL FINISH THE GOOD WORK

God began the good work in your life and continues to work in your life, giving you the godly desire to do what pleases him. God will finish the good work in your life.

He began it.  

He will continue it.  

He will finish it.  

Paul described what the finished Christian would look like as the Lord continued to work inside them.  

Paul said in Acts 20:24:

Acts 20:24 (NLT2) 

24  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. 

The unfinished goal for followers of Jesus is to invite others to experience a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Are you inviting others to Jesus? Invite them to church, to lunch with you afterward, to a relationship with Jesus simply by inviting them to experience worship here at Beach Church. Paul’s attitude was so strong that he could write, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the TRUTH that his life was worth nothing to him unless he used it to finish the work of telling others. Even though God had used Paul in the past to tell countless others about Jesus – unless he was used in the future, it meant nothing to him.  He wanted to finish the unfinished work.

Do you?  

Do you sense the desire and compelling tug of the Spirit of God to tell others about Jesus and finish the work?

Listen to the words of Paul written about ten years later to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:7 (NLT2)
7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

Paul wrote to the Philippians from a prison cell and told them to finish...roughly ten years later, he sat in another prison and wrote to Timothy that he had finished the race. Paul finished the work that had been assigned to him. Let’s strive to finish our assignment and lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus by inviting them to worship with us.  

Philippians - Slave and Saint

I am excited to kick off our sermon series from Philippians! Over the next 18 weeks we are going to be teaching from the letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians. Before he became a follower of Jesus, Paul was a Jewish terrorist.  He was one of the leading pharisees that persecuted followers of Jesus – but then – Paul surrendered his life to Jesus, and everything changed.

Instead of being the persecutor, he became the persecuted.  

• He was chased out of city after city by the Jewish religious leaders.

• He was threatened, beaten, stoned, and left for dead.  

• He often went without food, was often in prison, and was constantly on the move telling people about Jesus and leading others to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

As Paul traveled and preached, people responded to the good news and surrendered their lives to Jesus.  Churches began to pop up. Paul would help establish leaders in the churches who would help people grow in their faith and then he would move on to another city. Many of the Letters Paul wrote, were written to churches he had planted. When Paul wrote Philippians, he was under house arrest for preaching the Gospel. 

Most of us got a small taste of what it would be like to be under house arrest a few years ago when we had Covid. But in Paul’s case it was a little different.  He was chained up – but friends and others could come and go as they pleased.  So, Paul spent two years chained up, teaching about Jesus.

Paul began his letter with his traditional greeting – let’s read it:

Philippians 1:1-5 (NLT2) 

1  This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons. 2  May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 3  Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4  Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5  for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 

Any time I receive an email, text, or message, one of the very first things I do is to see WHO sent it.  If it is an anonymous letter or spam, I throw it in the trash can. Now, I have softened a bit on this, but if someone does not think it is important enough to sign their name, I do not think it is important enough for me to read. And, I am guilty of writing anonymous letters in the past.  Mostly to girls that I liked in Middle School…and high school…

If you have your hand up, we are also collecting handwriting samples for the future just in case. Paul never wrote an anonymous letter. From the start, he said HE wrote it, and WHO he was sending it to.

From his greeting, we see that…

A FOLLOWER OF JESUS IS A SLAVE AND A SAINT

Your identity always matters.  In my younger days of driving, I was known to speed and drive recklessly.  One year, I was pulled over five times for speeding, and I even was given a ticket for riding in a friend's trunk. That’s a sermon illustration for another day. Every time I was pulled over, the Officer asked for my Driver’s License first. The identification that I handed to each officer told him exactly what he needed to know. 

In verse one, the word Paul used for Servant in the original language is Doulos. (doolos) It means SLAVE. Paul described himself as a SLAVE of Jesus.  

He is in chains. 

He is locked up for telling people about Jesus. 

And he identifies as a SLAVE.  

But – he also called the Jesus followers he was writing, saints. In the original language he used the word hagios (hag-ee-os) which means “morally blameless and pure.”

These two words, side by side, sum up how followers of Jesus should describe themselves. We are slaves. We are saints. Think about the weight each of those words has behind them. First,

A SLAVE IS BOUGHT, BELONGS, & BIDDABLE

In Early America – slavery was a horrible evil.  Men and women in Africa were living out their lives peacefully, and then, by force, they were taken from their families and sold in the United States. They were bought by a master and often beaten, treated harshly, and thought to have less value than cattle.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you too, have been BOUGHT. A transaction has been made. A price has been paid.

1 Corinthians 6:20 (NLT2) 

20  for God bought you with a high price…

It is a clear teaching throughout the New Testament that Jesus BOUGHT you with his blood. There is no higher currency than the BLOOD of Jesus.  Nothing is as valuable as the blood of the Son of God. So that means, you BELONG to him!  He owns you. You are his property.  We belong to Jesus. We have been adopted into his family through the blood of Jesus.  We belong to him, and we belong with him.  

Since he bought you and you belong to Him, that means you are biddable.

When Paul called himself a slave of Christ, he implied that he did God’s bidding. That he was the hands and feet of Jesus.  That Christ lived his life through Paul. And if you are a follower of Jesus, I encourage you to ask yourself what God is bidding you to do for him.  

Whether you are the youngest in this room or watching online your responsibility as a follower of Jesus is to DO his bidding.  A slave of Jesus never gets to retire. Do what he wants you to do. 

Serve in the way He is calling you to serve.   

SLAVES do their master’s bidding. You have been BOUGHT, you BELONG so continue to be BIDDABLE. That is what Paul implied when he called himself a slave. 

Then look how he addressed the Philippian followers of Jesus in the second part of verse one…

“To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi.”

It is a little uncomfortable to think about ourselves from God’s point of view.  In most of our prayer time with God, as we describe ourselves, we most likely lean toward our sinfulness.

I am a miserable sinner.

I am the chief of sinners.

Undeserving of grace and forgiveness

While those thoughts are true, I also think we need to remind ourselves of how God sees us. God sees us through the lens of Jesus's sacrifice.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus, I am no longer only a sinner.  I am a SAINT.

You are too.

A SAINT IS HOLY, HAPPY, & HELPS SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS

I grew up Catholic. I attended Catholic school until fourth grade, and later, I went to Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. The walls of the school and church were covered with images and portraits of Saints. The Saints were always portrayed with glowing halos above their heads. Their hands folded in prayer…. a cross necklace… in my mind…they were HOLY… 

Saints were people I could never identify with.

In the Catholic church, a person can only be called a Saint after they have been through a long process called canonization.  It happens long after that person dies.  They look for at least two miracles that happened through their hands. They read all of their writings to make sure they were theologically sound.  Their actions, attitudes, and works are examined closely…then if they pass the process, they are made saints.

But, from God’s perspective, there is only ONE step to become a Saint.  

Romans 10:9 (NLT2) 

9  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

• A SAINT can be a drug addict who has surrendered her life to Jesus. You might think of them as an ex-addict, but God says she is a saint.

• A SAINT can be an alcoholic who has surrendered their life to Jesus. You may call him a drunk, but God says he is a saint.

• A SAINT can be a man who has surrendered his life to Jesus but still struggles with temptations to be unfaithful to his spouse. You may call him an adulterer, but God calls him a saint. 

• The married couple who have each surrendered their lives to Jesus are SAINTS, but they struggle with bickering back and forth.  You may say their marriage is crumbling, but God says they are SAINTS. 

If you have convinced yourself that you are worthless and add no value to this world, God says you have been chosen and purchased and that you are a masterpiece. If you feel like a zero on a scale of 1 to 10, God says that you are a perfect 10. The sacrifice of Jesus has made you RIGHT with God – YOU have been perfected in his sight. You have been made HOLY. As Holy as Jesus is and was. And since you have been made HOLY you should live HAPPY.  

Happy because God loves you. 

Happy because God KNOWS you.

Happy because God lives within you.

Happy because have been chosen and adopted by God.

Happy because you are free from condemnation.

Happy because you have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. 

Happy because you have been forgiven for all your sins.

Happy because you are a citizen of Heaven.

Happy because you are born of God, and the Evil one cannot touch you.

Happy because you are the dwelling place of the Most High God

Happy because you can approach God with freedom and confidence anytime day or night.

Happy because you will never be rejected, abandoned, deserted, overlooked, or treated poorly by the one who gave his life for you.

God’s TRUTH about your identity matters more than your negative thoughts about yourself. Because a follower of Jesus is HOLY and HAPPY, they HELP spread the GOOD NEWS of Jesus to others.

Paul said in v. 5.

Philippians 1:5 (NLT2) 

5  for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

Sharing the GOOD NEWS of JESUS is all of us working together in unity. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

When you invite others to church – you help lead people to Jesus.

When you serve on the tech team, you help lead people to Jesus.

When you help in the Junior High ministry, you help lead people to Jesus.

When you serve on the First Impressions team, you help lead people to Jesus.

When you serve in the Kids ministry, you help lead people to Jesus.

And if you are interested in serving to join us in our mission, grab one of those connect cards, fill it out and drop it in the offering box on your way out.  We believe that people who have experienced the overwhelming love of God want to show others the same love they themselves have experienced – and we often do that by helping and serving. 

A few years ago, I served as Lead Pastor at a church that averaged about 2,500 on the weekend, and I volunteered to serve in the Junior High Ministry on Thursday night. I was not up-front preaching…I sat quietly in the back of the room, and when the students went to small groups, I grabbed a broom, a dustpan, and a trash can and went to work sweeping up candy wrappers, skittles, crushed candy bars. Then, I filled a mop bucket and went to work cleaning up all the cans of Coke that had spilled onto the floor.  

I was finishing up when a 7th-grade boy came over and said, “Are you the Janitor?”  

I said, “What makes you think I’m the janitor?” He said, “Because you are mopping the floor. Aren’t you the Pastor? Why are you mopping? That’s what the janitor does.”

I told him, “I am a Pastor…but I shouldn’t be if I am not willing to mop floors and serve others. I don’t ever want to be guilty of asking other people to step in and serve but be unwilling to myself.”

I am a SLAVE and a SAINT and there is nothing else I would rather be! 

When you experience difficult days and seasons, know that you can overcome any difficulty that comes your way because you belong to Jesus. You do not face life alone because you have been bought by the blood of Jesus, and you belong to Him.And if you are facing life alone without Jesus, you don’t have to.  Jesus can be your Lord and Savior if you surrender your life to Jesus and commit to following Him.

Beach Life - Anchor Points

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own. We kicked off this series by discussing the Mission of Beach Church. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Our Mission is the reason we exist. Our five guiding values guide us in fulfilling our mission.  

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus invited men to follow him and learn from him. He showed his disciples the way to live. 

1 John 2:6 (NLT2) 

6  Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 

Our Guiding Values are rooted in Jesus's life. The more we allow these guiding values to shape our character, the more effective we will be in leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Our Guiding Values are:

1. Life-Changing Truth

2. Transparent Living

3. Uncomfortable Grace 

4. Captivating Celebration

5. Selfless Service

The life-changing truth of the Word of God begins to change a person. They embrace the value of transparent living and understand that they find accountability when they share their wins, sins, and struggles. That leads to Uncomfortable Grace. We show grace so powerfully that it's unusual and a bit uncomfortable when we first begin to demonstrate it. That leads to Captivating Celebration. Followers of Jesus celebrate their faith even through the hard seasons, which is captivating to others drawn to Jesus. This leads to Selfless Service. Jesus has changed our lives, and we want to serve others.

You may be asking, now that we have discussed our mission and our Guiding Values, what is left to discuss?

Today, we are talking about our Anchor Points and looking at Matthew 7:24-27.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NLT2) 

24  “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26  But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” 

Jesus said the life of a follower of Jesus can be compared to a house. Every decision you make in life is part of the house you are building. According to Jesus, our lives are the houses we build, and the materials used are our decisions.  

Those who listen to his teachings and develop applications are wise and are building a strong house that can withstand storms. And those who hear and ignore his teaching are building a house that will collapse when the storms come.

When we bought our house, we looked at many homes, and every house we looked at had a foundation. Even the houses in the Grand Strand that appear to be built along the coast on shifting sand are built on piers that dig deep through the sand into the bedrock. Can you imagine only being concerned about what the house looked like on the exterior and not being worried about the foundation of the house? It would not matter how beautiful the home is if it isn’t built on a solid foundation.  When the hurricane comes, the house will be destroyed.

Jesus tells us that our lives are the very same way.

A dating relationship built without the solid foundation of the word of God will collapse.

A marriage without the solid foundation of the Word of God will collapse.

And, a LIFE without the foundation of the word of God will collapse. When the storm of this life comes, the flood waters will crash against the life you have built, and if you have not built on the proper foundation, great will be your fall.

Life Storms come in all varieties

At points in your life, you will face STORMS that have the potential to destroy you.

Storms that can destroy your faith and weaken your trust in God.

Storms that can wipe out everything you.

Many of you have faced storms you never thought you would have to face, and if it wasn’t for your faith in God, you would not have made it through the storm.

You kept your faith through that cancer diagnosis.

You kept your faith through the betrayal of a close friend.

You kept your faith through the financial collapse that wasn’t supposed to happen.

You kept your faith in God through that injury at work.

You kept your faith through that job loss – you didn’t know how to provide for your family, but you made it through, and God took care of you.

You kept your faith in God even though your spouse was unfaithful to you.

You faced death, family disputes, friendships falling apart, divorce, and unemployment. 

You faced depression, anxiety, and darkness – but you made it through to the other side of that dark storm because you kept getting out of bed. You kept putting one foot in front of the other. You kept trusting in God. You kept believing in His Word. You kept applying His Word to your life. You kept on following Jesus…

You made it through the storm because you continued to follow Jesus and apply his word to your life. 

You have faced high winds, rain, tornados, and hurricanes of life…and have made it through because you have spent a lifetime building your house on the Word of God.

You have anchored your life to the Promises of God’s word. 

You have anchored your heart and your attitude into the bedrock of God’s word.

Somehow, you learned along the way that…

Anchors prevent drift and provide stability

Last July, during a double red flag warning, we baptized 95 people at the beach. This summer, we will have another Beach Baptism on July 14. I learned the importance of having an anchor last summer.  I set my water bottle and phone down in a little spot on the sand, walked out into the ocean, and began baptizing people.

We could go through the line, take turns, and baptize one at a time. The sand under my feet was twisting and churning. The foundation was constantly shifting under my feet because of the power of the waves and the tide.  I was continually in motion, trying to stand up and encourage people to enter the waves. 

When we finished baptizing, and I came out of the ocean, I couldn’t find my water bottle or my phone. I thought, “Somebody I just baptized stole my iPhone!”

Then, somebody pointed down the beach and explained we had drifted about forty yards from where we began. I had no idea we had drifted far from where we began. And sometimes, as followers of Jesus, we can drift away from our relationship with him.  

The storms come, the waves beat us down…, but we make it through. But our relationship with Jesus drifts. It is not as deep, meaningful, or personal as it once was. We made it through the storm; our faith in God carried us through, but our relationship with Jesus feels…hollow. Not all storm damage can be clearly seen. Some storms gut us, but other storms cause us to drift away from Jesus.

In the book of Revelations, Jesus spoke to different churches and warned them about specific issues they were facing. To the church in Ephesus, Jesus acknowledged how hard the church had worked. The church in Ephesus knew the Word of God so well that they discovered false teachers and turned away from them because they were liars. But they were missing something.

Listen to Jesus:

Revelation 2:2-5 (NLT2) 

2  “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3  You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. 4  “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5  Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 

Hard work.

Patient Endurance.

They did not tolerate liars, evil people, and those who pretended to be God-called Pastors.

They patiently suffered without quitting…

But they still drifted away. They endured the storm but drifted away in their love for Jesus. I have been there. I have endured brutal storms in my life.  

Childhood of abuse.

Six years of infertility.

Three children were diagnosed with type one diabetes.

Job loss.

Financial loss.

Betrayal of friendships.

It appears as though I have endured those storms…but the words of Jesus call to me today as they call to you.

“I have this complaint against you: You don’t love me or love each other as you did at first. Turn back to me. Turn back to your relationship with me. Turn back to your first love.”

We can be on target with our mission to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

We can live out our guiding values of:

Life-Changing Truth

Transparent Living

Uncomfortable Grace

Captivating Celebration

Selfless Service

We can practice 1 John 2:6 and live our lives as Jesus did.  We can do all of the right things. We can live right through the storms…but our hearts can drift away from our first love. We can endure the storms. We can endure suffering. We can stay on target in our mission.

But our hearts can drift away from Jesus.

So, to prevent ourselves from becoming hypocrites, we must daily check to see if we are truly anchored to Jesus. To help you with that, in the Beach Church App, you have 7 Anchor Points to ask yourself daily.  To prevent drifting away, even when you do everything right, use these questions to reflect on and evaluate your life every single day:

Beach Church Anchor Points:

1. LOVING: How am I showing others kindness and respect?

2. GROWING: How am I deepening my relationship with God?

3. CONNECTING: Who am I getting real with?

4. FORGIVING: Who am I forgiving and extending grace to?

5. SERVING: How am I selflessly meeting the needs of others?

6. INVITING: Who am I encouraging to follow Jesus?

7. GIVING: How am I trusting God with my finances?

All of these questions are rooted in the challenge to return to Jesus daily—to return to your first love every single day. And, when you build your house on the words of Jesus. When you face the storms of life without drifting away…

You can become a refuge for others

I was living about forty miles south of Atlanta when Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans.  Lives were lost, and homes were destroyed. Families fled. Refugees from New Orleans made their way to Atlanta and needed food, clothing, and shelter. Kristy and I got involved, cooking meals, leading clothing drives, and trying to help as much as we could. It seemed that the entire community wanted to do something to help because of the storm's damage and destruction.

Beach Church is a place for refugees searching to rebuild their lives.  

Beach Church is a place for those who have been hurt by the church, hurt by life, and hurt by the storms. Here, you will find community, you will be encouraged, you are welcome, and you can join our mission to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

This isn’t just a place for you to attend. This is a body of believers in Jesus Christ who are serious about building our lives on Jesus, and we are committed to building relationships with each other and doing life together.

Beach Life - Selfless Service

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own.

We kicked off this series by discussing the Mission of Beach Church. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Our Mission is the reason we exist. Our five guiding values guide us in fulfilling our mission. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus invited men to follow him and learn from him. He showed his disciples the way to live. 

1 John 2:6 (NLT2)

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 

Our Guiding Values are rooted in Jesus's life. The more we allow these guiding values to shape our character, the more effective we will be in leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Our Guiding Values are:

1. Life-Changing Truth

2. Transparent Living

3. Uncomfortable Grace 

4. Captivating Celebration

5. Selfless Service

The Life Changing truth of the Word of God begins to change a person. They embrace the value of transparent living and understand when they share their wins, sins, and struggles, they find accountability.

That leads to Uncomfortable Grace.  We show grace so powerfully, its unusual and a bit uncomfortable when we first begin to demonstrate it.

And, that leads to Captivating Celebration. We celebrate forgiveness, honesty, and reconciliation. That life of celebration centered on Christ leads us to our final guiding value: Selfless Service. Today, we are going to talk about our fifth guiding value:

Selfless Service

FOLLOWERS OF JESUS BEST DEMONSTRATE LOVE TO OTHERS THROUGH ACTS OF KINDNESS AND SERVICE.

Love is best demonstrated through our ACTIONS, not through our words.  If you love somebody, you show them that you love them by doing things for them. If you are married, you show your spouse you love them by serving them and doing nice things for them.  You go out of your way to show them how much you care for them.

And if you are a follower of Jesus…by that, I mean …you believe that God created you.  You believe that you were separated from God because of your sin.  You believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin when he died for you on the cross. You believe that Jesus rose from the dead, went into heaven, and will return one day.  And because you believe, you surrendered your life to Jesus and received forgiveness for your sin.

Then, you try to live out the greatest command: to Love God with all your heart. You strive to love your neighbor as yourself.

The entire life of Jesus demonstrates God's love for us, but one story stands out among all his miracles and teachings. 

Let’s read together.

John 13:1-17 (NLT2)

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2  It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3  Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4  So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5  and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 6  When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7  Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 8  “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” 9  Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” 10  Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11  For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12  After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14  And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15  I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16  I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17  Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. 

I am willing to bet that the last time you entered a friend's house, you may have taken off your shoes—or offered to take them off. I am also willing to bet that your friend did not grab a bucket of sudsy water and wash your feet.

In order for us to fully appreciate the significance of Jesus washing His disciples' feet, we need to understand the historical context. In Jesus' time, people wore sandals and walked long distances on dusty, dirty roads. But people were not the only living things that traveled those roads. Goats. Horses. Donkeys and livestock traveled the roads as well. And, I have never seen a potty-trained horse. When a horse has to “go,” they “go.”  

They don’t get embarrassed, and they don’t care who is watching. In Jesus’ day, the roads were filled with horse and livestock filth. Sandals had a single leather strap for the toes, and a leather strap around the heel. So, feet were disgusting: Caked in mud, dirt, and who knows what else. 

So, because feet were so filthy when guests entered a home, the host provided water, and the least important servant would wash their feet. (That lowly servant also had to remove human waste from the house as well.)

So, understand the significance of Jesus's act. Jesus took on the role of the lowest servant because, 

DOING THE HARD DEMONSTRATES LOVE 

We often don’t mind serving others when it is easy. We can let others in line in front of us at the grocery store or wave them into our lane of traffic. But, if strong winds knocked over your neighbor's trash can on trash day, and a bag had opened and was being spread around, would you go out of your way to demonstrate love, do the hard, straighten up their can, and pick up the trash?

We demonstrate real love when we choose to do the hard things for others.  

When your neighbor’s dog is missing, you could go out of your way to help them find it.  

When your neighbor’s grass is too high, you can go out of your way to cut it.  

Selfless service often does the hard things that other people do not want to do. Jesus washing His disciples' feet was hard physically and emotionally. Jesus washed the feet of all 12 of his disciples, including Judas, whom he knew would betray him.

So, the neighbor that has hurt you in the past? Demonstrate love to them.

The neighbor who has called HOA on you for painting your front door the wrong color?   Bake some cookies for them.  

Washing the disciples' feet was gross, but it wasn’t physically demanding…(Unless they smelled.)  The “hard” part was the emotional hard part: washing the feet of the man Jesus loved and invited to follow him, who betrayed him for a little cash. We selflessly serve our neighbor when we do the hard, physically or emotionally. Next, it is important to understand that…

SELFLESS SERVING IS A LIFESTYLE, NOT AN EVENT

Peter could not believe that Jesus would stoop to such a lowly position and do the work that the lowest of the servants did.

John 13:6-7 (NLT2) 

6  When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7  Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” 

Jesus wanted Peter to understand that serving is a lifestyle, not an event. Serving others should be a way of life for each of us. Doing the hard things others do not want to do should be how we live. If we truly do want to become like Jesus to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus, we must understand that serving is part of our new nature because God is love, and love is best demonstrated through acts of kindness and service.

It wasn’t just this example of washing feet that proved Jesus loves us.

And it wasn’t just his willingness to pay the price for our sins that proves he loves us.

The entire life of Jesus is an example of selfless service.

The Apostle Paul wrote this to followers of Jesus: 

Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT2) 

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Jesus was a servant long before he washed the disciples' feet. Jesus was a servant long before he paid the price for sin. In fact, there never was a time when Jesus was not, in his nature, a servant.

Hebrews 13:8 (NLT2) 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

If Jesus poured out his life to demonstrate God’s love to us, then Jesus is still a servant today. In fact, even now, Jesus is taking the form of a servant, and he is praying for you and me:

Romans 8:34 (NLT2) 

…Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Hebrews 7:25 (NLT2)

Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. 

So, if you want to live your life like Jesus, learn to live like a servant to everybody. And finally, 

SELFLESS SERVING LEADS TO BLESSING

John 13:15-17 (NLT2) 

I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16  I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17  Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

Selfless serving leads to Blessing. Can you imagine what the disciples thought when Jesus told them this? Out of the thirteen men there that evening, Jesus was the most important.  They knew him as “Teacher,” but the universe knew Him as Creator. They knew him as “Rabbi,” but the Angels knew him as The Promised Messiah. They knew him as the one who held the keys to life and death in his hands.

So, why didn’t one of the disciples serve the others first? It was customary for the Jewish people to have a servant to clean guests' feet, so in the absence of a servant, why didn’t one of the disciples get up and wash their feet? The topic of dirty feet must have come up because the disciples were arguing with each other over who the most important follower of Jesus was. 

During supper that evening…

Luke 22:24 (NLT2)

Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 

The disciples refused to wash each other’s feet because they wanted to portray themselves as the greatest. I am sure they were talking trash to each other and saying things like, “You wash our feet; I’m too important.” Then, Jesus rises. Takes off his robe and proceeds to wash all their feet.  Then he says, “When you live your life as a servant to others, you will be blessed.”

The disciples must have felt so dumb at this moment.  They argued about who would be the greatest, and “the Greatest” washed their feet.  

If you want to be blessed, live your life “washing the feet” of others.

If you want to be blessed, do the hard things others won’t.

If you want to be blessed, prove to the world you are a follower of Jesus by doing kind things.

Beach Life - Captivating Celebration

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own. We kicked off this series by discussing the Mission of Beach Church. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Our Mission is the reason we exist. Our Five Guiding Values guide us to fulfill the mission.  

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus invited men to follow him and learn from him. He showed his disciples the way to live.

1 John 2:6 (NLT2) 

6  Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 

Our Guiding Values are rooted in the life of Jesus.  The more we allow these guiding values to shape our character, the more effective we will be in leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Our Guiding Values are:

1. Life-Changing Truth

2. Transparent Living

3. Uncomfortable Grace 

4. Captivating Celebration

5. Selfless Service

Today, we are going to talk about our fourth guiding value:

Captivating Celebration

We believe that…

FOLLOWING JESUS RESULTS IN A JOY-FILLED LIFE THAT DRAWS PEOPLE TO JESUS. 

We believe that when followers of Jesus celebrate – other people without Jesus are drawn to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. I have been around people who claim to be followers of Jesus – and never crack a smile.  

They don’t laugh.

They don’t celebrate.

They are not joyful.

But that is not who we want to be.  We want to be followers of Jesus who always live lives filled with JOY.  Life is simply more fun that way. I can’t find any other man in scripture that best demonstrates this core value than a crippled man from Acts 3. I don’t know how old this man was, but I do know that since he was born, he had been carried around wherever he went. He never learned to stand or walk, and he never knew what it was like to run and feel the wind on his face.

Most likely, he was not married.  

Most likely, he did not have children.  

During this time period – anybody that was crippled, blind, paralyzed, or diseased was considered an outcast. From the time of his birth – this crippled man had been rejected by the world. 

But his life was about to change radically!

Peter and John were followers of Jesus who met this man right outside the temple…

Let’s read together.

Acts 3:1-12 (NLT2) 

1  Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2  As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3  When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. 4  Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5  The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6  But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7  Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8  He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. 9  All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10  When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11  They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. 12  Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 

Then… Peter continues to preach and teach. We will look at the end of his sermon in a few minutes, but now I want us to focus on the man who demonstrates our Guiding Value of Captivating Celebration. This man was just sitting outside the temple asking for money…and unexpectedly…his life was changed forever.  

Peter and John looked at him and said to him,  “We do not have any money, but what we do have, we give you. In the name of Jesus, get up and walk!”

Then Peter took him by the hand – and as the man rose to his feet – his feet and his ankles were healed!

Suddenly this meant:

No more begging for food! No more depending on other people to move him around. No more dragging himself through the town. He was changed. He was made better. He was a new person. So, how does this relate to you and me?  

If, by faith, you believe that you have been forgiven. If, by faith, you believe that you Jesus rose from the dead and one day he will return. If, by faith, you took a moment, received Jesus into your life, and committed to follow Him.

Then you KNOW exactly how this man felt. Before you and I became a follower of Jesus, we were just like this crippled beggar.

We lived crippled by sin.

Crippled by shame.

Crippled by guilt.

Crippled by hopelessness.

Crippled by doubts.

But when we became followers of Jesus, we were made new and set free!

We were set free to follow Jesus.

We were set free to show GRACE to others.

We were set free to HOPE and to BELIEVE THE BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD.

We were set free to experience the overwhelming, never-ending, breathtaking love of God found through Jesus. So, as we remember what we have been rescued from, we should look at the example this man provides:

CELEBRATE LIFE-CHANGE HARD

Acts 3:8-9 (NLT2)

8  He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. 9  All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 

WALKING – this shows us that this man was healed.

LEAPING – this shows us this man had strength.

PRAISING – This shows us that Jesus was credited for the change, not Peter and John.

The old, crippled man was GONE. The new man with strong feet and legs was here – and he could not have celebrated harder! If there is anything that the people of Myrtle Beach do well – whether they are born again or not – is CELEBRATE! People love to PARTY! They party on the beach – they party in the ocean. They celebrate on the miniature golf courses. They go on helicopter rides and race go-karts. People like to celebrate and gather with friends.

And…at Beach Church, we really seem to CELEBRATE well.  

We celebrate Baptisms. We cheer and applaud when somebody comes out of the water.

We celebrate when marriages are rescued from the brink of divorce and redeemed.  

We celebrate stories of people being rescued from addictions and their new life in Jesus. 

We Celebrate Recovery every Friday night.

But I would love it if we celebrated MORE.

I sometimes wish our voices were louder in worship. 

I sometimes wish our voices would drown out the band on the stage.

I sometimes wish our applause and cheers would linger longer during our services as we celebrate our great God that changes people's lives…I am not talking about the fake kind of celebration. Not the polite golf-clapping type of worship that I have been guilty of doing before. I am talking about the type of celebration this man showed:

UNHARNESSED ENTHUSIASM for the work God did in his life. And I sometimes find myself wishing for that because I recognize that…

CAPTIVATING CELEBRATION ATTRACTS OTHERS

As this man was whooping and hollering—leaping and shouting and praising God—all the people who were outside the Temple area heard the celebration and came rushing in!

Acts 3:11 (NLT2) 

11  They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

The people who heard the CELEBRATION were curious about what had happened, so they ran together and surrounded the man, Peter, and John. When we celebrate our faith, those without Jesus, those on the outside of our faith, will grow curious. 

They will be captivated as they see us living lives that CELEBRATE GRACE, REDEMPTION, FORGIVENESS, HEALING, SECOND CHANCES.

CELEBRATION will draw others in – because people love to have a good time! People love to celebrate! If you don’t believe me – stand up in a crowded restaurant, tell people it is your child’s birthday, and ask them to join you in singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY and see if they join in.

When I was a Student Pastor in Georgia, Kristy and I hosted some college students at the house.  I was at the grocery store buying food.  My daughter Naomi was about four years old. She found out we were having a party, and she stood up in the shopping cart – spread her arms wide, and yelled – EVERYBODY COME TO MY HOUSE! The more, the merrier.

And that leads me to my final point:

CAPTIVATING CELEBRATION LEADS TO MORE CHANGED LIVES

Crowds of people rushed in when they heard the celebration of the former crippled man. Now think about that. Jesus had told Peter and John to tell everybody about him – and now, because of the hollering and celebration of this man, all these people gathered around Peter and John. We see how Peter responded in verse 12.

Acts 3:12 (NLT2) 

12  Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 

Peter SAW his opportunity to tell others about Jesus! The crowd was full of questions. They wanted to know how Peter and John had made this man walk – and Peter took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. Peter tells them about forgiveness and hope through Jesus for the rest of this chapter.  He helped them understand that the power of Jesus healed the crippled man and that the Power of Jesus can give them new life as well – new spiritual life.

The only reason why those people were there was because the celebration of the man had drawn them in. I love it when friends and family are invited to celebrate baptisms! I love it when they give their lives to Jesus and are baptized as well. An invitation to celebrate your faith in Jesus can result in more people experiencing a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

So, check it out – Peter took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus – and skip to Acts 4:4 as Peter wrapped up his message.

Acts 4:4 (NLT2) 

But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children. 

Do you see it? Isn’t it beautiful? 

When followers of Jesus celebrate our faith – others can be drawn in out of curiosity and become followers of Jesus as well. In case you have forgotten, here are a few reasons why followers of Jesus can celebrate.

Followers of Jesus can celebrate because Jesus defeated sin. 

Followers of Jesus can celebrate because Jesus has defeated death.

We can celebrate because Jesus holds the keys to life and death in his hand.

We can celebrate because Jesus has defeated hopelessness, loneliness, and addiction.

We can celebrate because Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to guide us.

Followers of Jesus can celebrate because we know for certain that we will be in heaven.

We can celebrate because NOT ONE THING will ever be able to separate us from the love of God. That is why CAPTIVATING CELEBRATION is one of our GUIDING VALUES at Beach Church – and I invite you to make it one of yours.

Beach Life - Uncomfortable Grace

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own. We kicked off this series by discussing Beach Church's mission. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Our Mission answers the question of " why” we exist, and our Guiding Values answer the question of " how” we fulfill our mission.

We could gather every weekend for worship, distribute food to 500 families every week, go on mission trips, have life groups, and have a ministry for children with special needs, but without our guiding values, we would not be leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

The Bible tells us without love, we are nothing.

Our Guiding Values, shaped by the love of Jesus demonstrated while he lived on earth, will help us fulfill our mission.

The Values are:

The Values are:

1. Life-Changing Truth

2. Transparent Living

3. Captivating Celebration

4. Uncomfortable Grace

5. Selfless Service

Today, we are going to talk about our third guiding value:

UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE

That is, we believe that:

FOLLOWERS OF JESUS GIVE THE SAME LIMITLESS GRACE THEY HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD.

If you are a follower of Jesus – the Grace god has given to you isn’t only FOR you – but it is also FOR you to GIVE to others. We are going to keep talking about that – but for now let’s look at the passage of scripture that best demonstrates UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE.

Let’s read together from Colossians 3.

Colossians 3:12-13 (NLT2) 

12  Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

If you grew up in church, you might be thinking to yourself, the two words “Uncomfortable” and “Grace” are two words that do not go together.

“Uncomfortable Grace”

We are taught that GRACE is wonderful.  And it is.

That GRACE is comforting.  And it is.

That Grace is AMAZING. And it is.

When we pray for others, we often pray that they would experience the GRACE of God in their lives…because God’s GRACE is a good thing. But – what is GRACE? The Word “Grace” can be a little confusing. For instance, I grew up saying “Grace” before I ate a meal.  My family would close our eyes and say GRACE.  

Bless us oh Lord, For these thy Gifts, Which we are about to receive, From thy Bounty, Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Then, after I surrendered my life to Jesus and received Him as my Savior and received forgiveness for my sins, people used the word differently. The mealtime prayer was no longer called Grace.  That was for the Catholics…and the Clark W. Griswold family. Now the mealtime prayer was called a Blessing…”Who wants to say the Blessing?” 

No wonder people can get confused the churches choice of vocabulary.

For the sake of the message, Grace is not referring to a mealtime prayer. Grace is not the name of a woman who is very uncomfortable right now.

You can jot this down in your Lifenotes.

God’s grace is best described as:

GRACE: GOD’S GOODNESS TO THOSE WHO DESERVE PUNISHMENT.

I deserve to be punished for my sins.

I have lied. 

I have stolen. 

I have cheated. 

I have looked at pornography.  

I have hated in my heart. 

I have been drunk. 

I have sinned in my anger and lost my temper. 

I have been arrogant.  

I have been filled with pride. 

I have wanted the spotlight on me, rather than God. 

I have been selfish, unfaithful to God, and unfaithful to friends.  

I have been rude. 

I have been impatient with others. 

I have carried grudges in my heart. 

I have not helped somebody when they needed it the most. 

I have not cared for my body, my wife, and even my children the way I should. 

I have rejected my Creator. 

I have used the name of Jesus as a cuss word. 

I have openly mocked followers of Jesus for living for Jesus.

I have not worshipped God.  

I have not lived for God. 

I have not loved others the way I should.

And…I deserve to be punished for my rebellion against my CREATOR GOD.

God says in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 18:4 

“…all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.”

All people belong to God…and since we belong to Him, he makes the rules…and he says, “The person who sins is the one who will die.” The punishment that I deserve for my rebellion against God is DEATH.  Not only do I deserve to physically die, but I deserve to be punished by experiencing spiritual death.  

I deserve to suffer in Hell for ALL eternity. I deserve to be tormented in a fire that is so awful the flames never consume what they burn.  An everlasting flame that never goes out.

That is what I deserve. And so do you.

Let that sink in.

You deserve to be punished for your sins.

When you accept that weight of that statement – you can best understand how life-changing the Grace of God is.  God’s goodness toward those who deserve punishment.  

God’s Goodness is NOT PUNISHING us by giving us what we deserve. 

God’s Justice demands that punishment be paid.

God’s LOVE chooses to pay the punishment himself.

Jesus chose to willingly suffer on the cross and pay the price for our sins. God’s rule was that all people who sinned would die. Jesus became a person and paid the penalty as a man for our sin.

The PRICE was paid. The debt was satisfied.

And the relationship between God and People was redeemed. That is the GRACE we sing about and embrace.  

Amazing Grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost

But now I’m found

Was blind but now I see

So, if you feel hopeless, discouraged, overwhelmed.  If you wake up every morning and your past sins weigh you down. If you feel like a failure in life. If you think that God will never forgive you for something you have done…I want you to look down at your Life Notes and ask yourself honestly:

WHICH ONE OF YOUR SINS WILL GOD NOT FORGIVE?

Which ONE of your sins do you think God is holding against you?

Have you done something that damaged somebody else so bad you think God will not forgive you for it?

Do you wake up every day with regret? Shame? 

Do you go through pill after pill, or bottle after bottle trying to forget the pain you caused?

God has something better for you.

It is called: FREEDOM!

You do not have to be weighed down by the sin of your past. God’s goodness toward you cannot fail.  God’s goodness toward you, demonstrated by Jesus on the cross, cannot be watered down, explained away, or made powerless. Jesus has set you free from your sin – and that means he has set you free from shame, from fear, from doubt, and from insecurities about your past mistakes, sin and failure. He has set you free – so stop chaining yourself down by the weight of guilt.

Walk in Freedom. Live in Uncomfortable Grace. And as you live out God’s uncomfortable grace in your own life, ask:

DO YOU ALLOW OTHERS SPACE TO FAIL?

Do you allow other people around you and give them space to fail?  

Do you criticize people when they mess up? Do you harp on people around you because they have made poor choices? 

Do you whisper about the teenage girl who got pregnant? The mother who drinks too much? The parent losing their temper in the grocery store?

Do you gossip about your neighbors choice of swimwear at the beach? (She is too old to be wearing a bikini…she is 95!) 

Weren’t you once like that? (Minus the 95-year-old bikini.)

Didn’t you once make horrible mistakes? Didn’t you once live as a sinner with no hope?

Then, give other people space to fail without judging them.  You once made similar choices. You deserved death. You deserved God’s judgement over sin…

But you were made new – So why limit the Grace of God only toward you?  Why not demonstrate God’s grace so much it makes other people UNCOMFORTABLE? Followers of Jesus ought to show so much grace, that everybody gets a second, third, fourth, fifth chance.  

Kristy and I are talking about camping.  I love building a nice hot fire for mornings and evenings…When it comes to camping, the one problem I have with the campfire is the smoke! 

Have you ever noticed, when it comes a campfire, the smell of smoke soaks into everything. My hair. My beard. My hat. My clothes. My undies. The tent. The sleeping bags, the van, the tent…

After camping, in order to be clean – I have to do more than change my clothes. I need to take a shower, scrub that smoke off my skin and hair, then put on clean clothes. But, if I only changed clothes to be clean, it would not make sense. The smokey odor would still be on my skin. I would not feel clean – and I would not be clean. Putting on fresh clothes would not fool anybody. 

Sometimes people try to do that to feel better.

They start attending church.

They start using the churchy words like grace and peace and Jesus.

They begin doing nice things to other people…

But they have never accepted God’s Grace, personally.  

If you would like to receive forgiveness for your sins, all your sins, and begin a relationship with God, and start over…I invite you to surrender all you are, into God’s hands, by receiving Jesus as your Savior.

It looks something like this:

PRAYER OF SURRENDER

Thank you, God, for creating me. I admit that I have sinned, and I deserve to be punished for my sin. Thank you that Jesus paid the punishment for me I deserved on the cross. I believe Jesus died, rose from the dead, and will one day return. I surrender my life to you and receive Jesus as my Savior. 

We will continue to change the world around us, when we clothe ourselves with the Grace of God and demonstrate that towards EVERYBODY.

Beach Life - Transparent Living

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own. We kicked off this series by discussing Beach Church's mission. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Our Mission answers the question of " why” we exist, and our Guiding Values answer the question of " how” we fulfill our mission.

We could gather every weekend for worship, distribute food to 500 families every week, go on mission trips, have life groups, and have a ministry for children with special needs, but without our guiding values, we would not be leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

The Bible tells us without love, we are nothing.

Our Guiding Values, shaped by the love of Jesus demonstrated while he lived on earth, will help us fulfill our mission.

The Values are:

1. Life-Changing Truth

2. Transparent Living

3. Captivating Celebration

4. Uncomfortable Grace

5. Selfless Service

Today, we are going to talk about our second guiding value, 

Transparent Living

GOD DESIRES US TO BE REAL, OPEN, AND HONEST ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND ALLOW OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. 

Because we love one another, you can be the real you at Beach Church. Because we love one another, I am allowed to be a real Pastor, a real person, a real husband, and a real daddy.  You do not have to pretend to be perfect.

Maybe you grew up in a church that practiced “privacy” rather than “transparency.”  Maybe you were encouraged not to talk about real life and real problems at church. Maybe your experience was to sing from a Hymnal, listen quietly to the sermon, and leave just at the end of the last song to get to the restaurant first. 

Maybe your experience in church has leaned toward “pretending to be perfect.”

Because we love one another, you get to be real, open and honest about who you are – AND you allow others to do the same. If I get to be transparent,  if you get to be transparent, then others are allowed to be transparent, too. Because followers of Jesus love each other, we all get to be who we really are during the week. When you come to church, it's okay if you wear mismatched socks, have baby vomit on your shirt, and toothpaste on your chin.

The apostle John describes transparent living and some amazing benefits when followers of Jesus live transparently with one another.

Let’s read:

1 John 1:7-9 (NLT2) 

7  But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8  If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 

First, John is writing to believers in Jesus. He describes what happens when believers in Jesus are serious about living in the light and following Jesus. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you are living in the light. But you didn’t always live in the light. Before you surrendered to Jesus, you lived in darkness. I did too.

And, there is a vast difference between living in darkness and the light. Thanks to the light outside, every one of us followed a predictable pattern when we arrived on our campus this morning.  

You parked your car. You and your crew got out of your car. You walked through the parking lot. You entered the lobby. Maybe you stopped to use the restroom. Maybe you picked up a cup of coffee. Then, you finally entered the worship center and sat in your seat. I imagine you will do that in reverse when it is time to leave.

Getting into the building and making your way to the seat wasn't difficult because you were “living in the light.”

However, imagine that after parking the car, your crew put blindfolds on and attempted to make it into the worship center.  Just simply finding the entrance would be hard enough. Obstacles of parked cars, moving cars, bushes, and steps would make it difficult for you to enter the worship center. Some of us would still be wandering around outside. In the same way, a lack of transparency creates an obstacle for you to really experience “fellowship” with God and with other believers. The word fellowship communicates a deep intimacy with other believers. It suggests an “exchange” of lives with one another.

“Exchanging” means giving and receiving. When believers share their burdens with each other, they live in the light of Jesus. They are living in community with each other. Living in the light and fellowship means sharing the burden, which goes both ways. Others share their wins and sins with you, and you share your wins and sins with them. You may not have a problem with people sharing their real lives with you, but you may struggle to open up to others.

Maybe you aren’t sure what others would think about you if they knew what you really struggled with, so you remain private.  You listen to others but do not share your life with them. Maybe you smile and nod and tell people everything is okay, but your heart cries out for somebody to listen to you. Maybe you don’t tell others about the struggle you are having with sin at work or with your family. Many of us sometimes pretend everything is ok when everything is not ok.

You might think, “If people knew the real me, they wouldn’t like me.”

The truth is, transparent living is hard.  

Transparent Living means we are vulnerable with others

1 John 1:8 (NLT2) 

8  If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

Being open and honest about who you are means you are vulnerable.

And, when we are vulnerable, we can be hurt.  

When we are vulnerable to others, we can be rejected.  

When we are vulnerable, we give people power with areas of our lives we keep secret for a reason.

And, if other people view you as a leader, vulnerability is even more difficult.

You are the leader in your family, and your family looks to you for protection and provision.

You are the leader at work, and your coworkers turn to you for advice and solutions.

You are a leader in your neighborhood, and your neighbors may bring their complaints to you to solve them.

You are a leader in your life group, and people look up to you as a role model…

You may be tempted to think, “I can’t live transparently because people expect me to be strong.”

If I am vulnerable, people will turn on me. 

If I am vulnerable, people will reject me. 

If I am vulnerable, others will think I am too weak to lead and find another leader.

If I am vulnerable with my spouse, they will find somebody else.

If I am vulnerable with my children, they won’t respect me.

If I am vulnerable at work, I will never get that promotion.

That is not true. For example, let's look at Animal Kingdom:

In the animal kingdom, every ‘pack’ has a leader guiding them through life. 

Wolves have a pack leader. Lions have a den leader. Orangutans have leaders.

The pack leader keeps the pack safe and provides solutions to the dangers they may face. We may be tempted to think that if a pack leader demonstrates vulnerability, the pack will reject them and find a new leader. We can learn some lessons about the power of vulnerability from animals!

When the leader of the pack demonstrates appropriate vulnerability, amazing things happen inside the community:

• The leader becomes more relatable.

• The leader’s vulnerability reduces tension, which leads to less conflict and stabilizes the pack.

• The leader's vulnerability helps promote and develop future leaders of the pack.

• In situations of potential conflict within the pack, leaders who show vulnerability de-escalate tension and preserve strength for the critical battles the pack faces with other packs.

Pack leaders who show appropriate vulnerability enhance the entire pack's survival and success!

The lesson: When followers of Jesus lead with transparency and demonstrate vulnerability, the entire church is strengthened. Sharing our weaknesses makes us stronger!

Paul, a Christian leader, said:

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT2) 

10  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So, trust others. Be vulnerable. Because,

Confessing our sins, our wins, and our struggles develops fellowship. 

We develop genuine, meaningful friendships when we confess our sins, wins, and struggles to one another. If you have been attending church for a while and still feel like you do not know people, you are probably correct.  

If you love the worship and are engaged with the message but are still missing friendships with other believers, it may be because you have not yet taken the initiative to join a life group or serve on a ministry team.

Transparent Living does not mean everybody in the church knows you. The power of transparent living is best experienced in the context of a life group.  

A life group commits to confidentiality, exchanges life experiences with each other and develops meaningful friendships. But from time to time, some stories must be told churchwide. Sometimes, stories of triumph and victory must be captured and shared with the church to strengthen the whole church.

I believe one such story is the story of Stephen and Mary Boyd. For years, they struggled with infertility. They prayed to conceive a baby. They desired to be parents, - but spent a long season in the valley of disappointment and struggle.

Here is their story:

When God works in our lives, the stories must be shared. Some share the story of God’s work in their lives through baptism. Some share their stories in lifegroups. And sometimes, stories need to be shared with the church.

This is because,

Transparent Living leads to freedom!

When real connections are made, we live in freedom. When real friendships are made, we live in freedom. We can confess our sins, our victories, and our journey as followers of Jesus—and that type of living leads to freedom! You can be free to be the real you.  

Transparent Living invites us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, to live in freedom with each other, and continues to help us lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Beach Life - Life-Changing Truth

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own. Last week, we kicked off this series by discussing Beach Church's mission. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Our Mission is the answer to the question of “Why we do anything around here.”

Why we gather together for worship each weekend.

Why we serve in our community.  

Why we have children’s ministry.

Why we go on mission trips. 

Why we provide stoves in the Mayan jungles.

Why we have student ministry.

Why we have LifeGroups.

Why we plan for the future.

Why we have an online presence.

The “Why” behind everything we do is answered by our Mission, “To lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.”

We have five Guiding Values that I believe will help us fulfill our mission.

1. Life-Changing Truth

2. Transparent Living

3. Captivating Celebration

4. Uncomfortable Grace

5. Selfless Service

For the next five weeks, I encourage you to embrace these guiding values as your own. Today – we are going to talk about the first Guiding Value of Life-Changing Truth.

You might have noticed that we begin every sermon with an invitation to take a Bible home…and then say something like, “At Beach Church we believe…”

IF WE READ AND APPLY THE WORD OF GOD, GOD WILL CHANGE OUR LIVES

That is not just a cute saying.  That statement is developed from the life of Jesus in Matthew 4 when Jesus used God’s word to resist the temptation of the Devil and in Second Timothy. I have never met anybody that didn’t want to experience some level of change in their life…

They want a better marriage. 

Better relationships at work. 

Better relationships with their family members…

They want to be better off financially. 

They want to have more peace, more joy, and give more love in their lives.

And the BEST and most PRACTICAL way to experience life change is found in 2 Timothy 3:16.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT2) 

16  All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. In the original language, Paul used the word “inspiration,” which suggests the Bible was “breathed out” by the mouth of God.

THE BIBLE IS GOD BREATHED AND TEACHES RIGHT AND WRONG

The Bible is not merely a religious book. The Bible is not just a collection of churchy books smashed together. The Bible is a collection of 66 books. God, the Creator of the world, BREATHED out into the minds of men, who recorded His words.

For the first season of Human History, God walked and talked with His creation – until Adam and Eve – the first man and woman, rebelled against God and sinned.  They preferred living for themselves rather than living for their Creator. Then, God communicated with his creation through the Prophets, through Jesus and his Apostles. His communication and interaction with humans are recorded in this Book.

The Bible is God Breathed.  

Just like these words you are hearing right now are Joe-Breathed.  I am forcing air out of my lungs into my vocal cords; they vibrate, and you hear these words I am saying – God spoke into the minds of the Prophets and Apostles and gave us words that have endured for the past 4,000 years. God loves Human Beings enough to communicate with us. We have not been abandoned by our Creator.

 Even when we FEEL alone – our feelings are wrong.  Through the Bible, we are encouraged and comforted by the heart of God.

The Bible tells us what is right and wrong.

I love hearing an ATTABOY, and I love words of affirmation when I am doing something right. It motivates me to continue to do right, but not many people like to be told when they are living or doing something wrong… 

Today, the culture of the world EMBRACES what is WRONG and REJECTS what is RIGHT. If an athlete or a politician is a follower of Jesus and uses his platform to be a role model and point others to Jesus – he/she is ridiculed and mocked by the culture. But if an athlete or politician uses their platform to promote anti-Christian views, they are hailed as heroic status symbols. The reality is this: if you enjoy doing wrong, the Bible is going to offend you.

If you enjoy doing wrong and do not want to be corrected, sermons here at Beach Church are going to offend you. They are going to step on your toes and get all up in your business. 

I will offend you because, from time to time, I will teach something from the Bible that goes against what you value and embrace. There is RIGHT, and there is WRONG.  

I acknowledge that since the Bible is GOD BREATHED, it has authority over our lives. We can depend on it as the foundation upon which we can build our lives. I don’t preach sermons wagging my finger at you. I look in the mirror, point the truth of God’s Word at myself, and seek to apply the truth to my life before I ever preach, and I ask you to do the same.

My focus when I preach is to help YOU apply God’s Word to YOUR life. We believe that Spiritual Growth is evident when each of us individually applies God’s Word to our lives. So, how can you train yourself to apply God’s Word to your life?

In 1996, five years after I became a follower of Jesus. Five years after I understood that there was a right and wrong. Five years after I surrendered my life to Jesus, received Christ as my Savior, and became a born-again believer in Jesus…

I was taught how to READ my BIBLE and develop an application from it… If we do accept the Bible as the living and active Word of God – then we have to figure out how to read it and apply it. How do we read the Bible without falling asleep? How do we read the Bible without our minds drifting off?  It happens to all of us.  We open up the Bible to read it…and our minds drift off, and we begin to think about other things.

Today I want to give you a tool to help you be able to read God’s Word and apply God’s Word to your life: If you do not have a Letter or Book of the Bible that you are currently reading on a regular basis, I want to invite you to begin reading the shorter letters in the New Testament. The letters were written to followers of Jesus and gave instructions on how to live as followers of Jesus. How to raise their children, get along with their neighbors, and LIVE out their faith as followers of Jesus.

When I read the Bible, I typically read these shorter letters in one sitting. As I read them, I underline all the verses that make me go, “Hmmm.” Or strike me in a particular way…

That’s all I do in that first sitting. I read the letter, and when a verse stands out to me…I underline and move on. The next morning, I typed out the first verse that stood out to me, and I began to meditate on it and let it sink into my life. I ask myself, did this verse leap out to me because there is a…

SIN TO AVOID or CONFESS

Is there a sin I have been thinking about doing (robbing a bank, committing murder, overeating tacos) that I need to avoid? Or have I murdered somebody, and I need to confess it to God, admit it was wrong, and stop doing it? Mostly, I don’t struggle with temptation in those areas – but I am tempted in areas of lust, gossip, greed, selfishness, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness…

If there is, I will write about it.  I journal about it. Then, I ask myself if this verse leaped out at me because there is a…

PROMISE TO CLAIM

Within the New Testament, God has made over 250 promises to followers of Jesus.  Here are a couple of them as examples:

Jesus promised rest in 

Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT2) 

28  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Jesus promised abundant life to those who follow Him 

John 10:10 (NLT2) 

10  The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

There are many more promises of God, and every single one of them find their ultimate fulfillment in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. If there is a promise, I write it down and CLAIM it. I pray it into my heart and life.

Third, I ask myself…did this scripture pop out to me because there is an…

EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW

Am I supposed to follow the example of somebody I am reading about? Is there an example I am supposed to follow about somebody’s strength, faithfulness, or obedience? Does somebody inspire me to walk with God more closely?

If so, I will write about it, and I will seek to follow their example. Fourthly, I ask myself, is there a…

COMMAND TO OBEY

Is there an area of my life that I need to bring into alignment with the Word of God?  What is it?

I write about it and begin to apply it to my life. I often find commands I once obeyed that I have become relaxed about continuing to do. Am I no longer generous like I once was?

Do I love others as I once did?

Am I being patient and kind and tenderhearted with my family and friends?  Am I following Jesus like God expects me to?

Then, finally – I ask myself if the verse leaped out at me simply because it has some bit of… 

KNOWLEDGE TO GAIN

…about God or my fellow man that I need to be reminded of, tuck away, and even pass along one day.  

You will never know how much of an encouragement you can be to others by simply passing along an encouraging thought from the Bible to others. Now, I have given you solid questions you can ask yourself as you read the Bible. These things will help your mind stay focused and alert as you read God’s Word.

I want you to ask yourself,

WHAT IS MY DAILY PLAN TO READ GOD’S WORD?

Will you wake up thirty minutes earlier daily to read the Bible and pray?

Will you go to your bedroom thirty minutes earlier to read God’s Word and to pray?

Devise a plan for the next thirty days and stick with it. I guarantee you will never regret developing a plan to read and apply the Word of God.

Beach Life - Our Mission

Today, we are launching our Beach Life Series. Throughout this series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us as a church to follow him and make his mission and values our own. If you are interested in joining our church or if you are already a partner or member, this series is going to be very appealing to you. As we begin, it is so important to address the question, “Why?” Why should we spend 7 weeks in a series called Beach Life?

As followers of Jesus, ultimately, when our life is finished here on this earth, and we stand before God, we all want to hear Jesus say to us: Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Most of us want to be a part of something significant. We want to leave our family, friends, community and even the world a better place when we pass on from this life. The only way we will hear those words from Jesus is if we value what Jesus values and make his mission and values our mission and values—personally and together as a church.

The Bible calls Solomon the wisest man who ever lived. Solomon was a great “people reader.” He knew how to read and motivate people. Read through the Proverbs, and you will discover incredible God-breathed wisdom. In Proverbs 29, Solomon wrote about the importance of leaders casting vision for God’s people. 

He writes:

Proverbs 29:18 (NLT2) 

18  When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. 

If you grew up in church, you may be familiar with other translations. The King James version reads:

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) 

18  Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. 

And the English Standard Version reads:

Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) 

18  Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. 

In other words, without divine guidance and vision, God’s people will not hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  

Without vision, God’s people will run wild.

Without vision, God’s people will cast off restraint.

Without vision, God’s people will perish.

The direct result of not living with a clear direction and mission will result in God’s people running wild. I really like the emphasis on “running wild.”  During my college years, I worked in an after-school program for elementary-age children. If we didn’t have a plan, those kids ran wild! 

Cliques of kids would do whatever they wanted to do. Some would try to play kickball on the same field others were trying to play football. Kids would swing on the swings, and other kids would play tag in between.  Girls were playing, dancing, and getting smashed by others playing football. 

Without direction – there would be bumps, bruises, and tears.

That’s how it is for the church or any organization without a clear mission. Without unity around a clear mission, God’s people can be playground bullies and hurt others. So, that’s why, for the next seven weeks, we will do this series on “Beach Life.”

At Beach Church, we are…

Leading People to a Life-Changing Relationship with Jesus.

Our mission, our purpose, is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus, and our mission is formed by Jesus's life and mission. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus' mission is very clear. Before he was born, an angel appeared to Mary and told her his purpose:

Matthew 1:21 (NLT2) 

21  And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Jesus described his mission early on in his ministry and said:

Luke 5:31-32 (NLT2) 

31 …. “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32  I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” 

And he made his mission even more clear in Luke 19:10

Luke 19:10 (NLT2) 

10  For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

50-60 years later, the apostle Paul described the mission of Jesus to Timothy and said:

1 Timothy 1:15 (NLT2) 

15  This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.

The mission of Jesus was to seek and save the lost.  

The mission of Jesus was to save sinners.

The mission of Jesus was to save people from their sins.

That is why our mission as a church could not be any clearer. Our Mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. If you are a follower of Jesus, that is your mission as well because the mission of Beach Church is the mission of Jesus. Over the last few weeks, we have looked at the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  Now, before Jesus ascends into heaven, Jesus passed his mission on to his followers:

Let’s read together From Acts Chapter One.

Acts 1:6-11 (NLT2) 

6  So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7  He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9  After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10  As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” 

Jesus left the earth because his part of the mission, to save people from their sins, had been fulfilled. There is only one way a person can be forgiven for their sins, and that is through Jesus' death and resurrection. Jesus' role in his mission had been completed, but his mission is ongoing. He told his followers that His mission to seek and save the lost now rested in their hands.

The timing of when Jesus invited these men to participate in his mission is crucial for us to understand how we are supposed to fulfill Jesus's mission. Jesus did not wait until he ascended into Heaven to select the people to fulfill his mission; he selected them at the very beginning of his ministry. He had already shown them how to fulfill their mission and how to lead people to a life-changing relationship with him.  

He did not ask them to do something he had not already shown them how to do. In Jesus's culture, when a teacher invited people to follow him and be his disciple, the teacher was inviting them to become LIKE HIM. 

The reason he invited them at the beginning of his ministry is because Jesus knew…

A follower of Jesus reflects the character of Jesus.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John describe roughly three years of Jesus's life. They describe how he interacted with religious leaders, prostitutes, the worst of the worst, and the best of the best. Jesus spent time in the slums with the poor, and he went to the parties of the rich. Jesus taught people who went to the synagogues, and he taught in the streets and fields.

The Gospel writers provide accounts of Jesus working miracles: He healed people with leprosy, brought the dead back to life, made the sick well, and made the paralyzed run and skip. For three years, Jesus engaged with people and taught them how to love God with all their hearts and love their neighbors as they loved themselves. His disciples were right there watching him every step of the way. 

Jesus knew their observation of his life would transform their lives. He knew that before he could assign them the responsibility to fulfill his mission, they must be prepared, and the preparation happened partly through their observation of his life and as they became more like him.

Growing up, I acted just like the friends I hung out with. The more time I spent with them, the more I became like them. If they spit spitballs from a straw in the cafeteria, I spit spitballs from a straw in the cafeteria. If they superglued their fingers together, I superglued my fingers together. If they did dumb things, I did dumb things. My teachers always told us that we acted just like each other. If you are a follower of Jesus, the more you observe the life of Jesus through prayer and reading the Bible, the more you will reflect the character of Jesus. When we reflect the character of Jesus, we will lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

In other words, the character of Jesus rubbed off on his disciples. The disciples became like Jesus – not just in regard to their mission, but in regard to their character.

We have Five guiding values that guide our decision making at Beach Church, these guiding values are reflected in the life of Jesus.  The more we grow in these values, the more we reflect the character of Jesus, and the more we fulfill his mission:

Our first guiding value is…

GUIDING VALUE #1: LIFE-CHANGING TRUTH

“We believe if we read and apply the Word of God, He will change our lives.”

Matthew 4:1-11 tells the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Despite being hungry and weak, Jesus stood firm and resisted the temptation to sin by quoting Scripture and applying the truth of God's Word to His life. In doing so, Jesus demonstrated the power of God's Word to overcome temptation and sin.

GUIDING VALUE #2: TRANSPARENT LIVING

“We believe God desires us to be real, open, and honest about who we are and allow others to do the same.”

In John 11:35 and Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus is vulnerable. He wept at Lazarus' tomb and experienced anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. We cannot be transparent without being vulnerable.  It is okay not to be okay.  

GUIDING VALUE #3:  UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE

“We believe followers of Jesus give the same limitless grace they have received from God.”

In Matthew 9:10-17, Mark 2:15-22, and Luke 5:29-39 and throughout the Gospels, Jesus ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, and other notorious sinners.  In that culture, sharing a meal was the greatest way to demonstrate love and acceptance.

We must make allowance for the personality clashes, sins, and faults of other people and show the same type of grace Jesus did. 

GUIDING VALUE #4: CAPTIVATING CELEBRATION

“We believe following Jesus results in a joy-filled life that draws people to Jesus.”

Throughout the Gospels, when Jesus healed people, the healings led to joy for the person healed and spilled over to others who saw the change in their lives. The joy and celebration that followed the healing would draw more people to Jesus.

We intentionally celebrate during the hardships that living in a broken world brings.

GUIDING VALUE #5: SELFLESS SERVICE

“We believe followers of Jesus best demonstrate love to others through acts of kindness and service.”

In John 13:1-17, Jesus washed his disciples' feet, a powerful act of humility and deference that indicates servanthood is a defining characteristic of Jesus, and he calls his followers to become servants to one another and the world.

We demonstrate selfless service by serving our community with no strings attached. Throughout his ministry, Jesus reflected the value of the Word of God, Grace, Transparency, Joy, and Serving others. These values were blueprints for how we, as followers of Jesus, fulfill his mission. When first-time guests walk into our church, we want them to see that we live with purpose and encounter Jesus's values through each and every one of us.

So, invite!

We are building a culture in which each of us strives to exemplify the values of Jesus. We are developing followers of Jesus who strive to live their lives like Jesus did.

1 John 2:6 (NLT2)

 6  Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

We are developing a culture where people are not ashamed to invite their family, friends, and neighbors who don’t yet know Jesus. Regardless of their lifestyle, political views, and past, all people are welcomed at Beach Church because all people are welcomed to the cross.

So, invite others!

And finally, 

Jesus will return, are you ready now? (Acts 1:10-11)

I am ready for Jesus to return because I know Him as my Savior.  

By faith, I have been made a new creation through the GRACE and FORGIVENESS of Jesus death on the cross.  By faith, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, that he rose from the dead, went up into heaven and will one day return.

But I am not ready based on what BELIEF.  I am ready because I have RECEIVED the free gift of forgiveness. In 1991, I knelt beside my youth pastor, and I asked Jesus to forgive me, and I invited Jesus into my life.  I had already KNOWN what Jesus had done for me.  But I never received him as my Savior.

Paul writes in Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 (NLT2) 

9  If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

If you have not yet made a decision to follow Jesus, I invite you to pray with me right now and surrender your life to God and accept Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. Wherever you are.  In your car. At the beach. In an RV. In your House. You can get ready for the return of Jesus, right now.  

So let’s pray together.

You can pray something like this:

Dear God,

I am ready to receive Jesus as my Savior.  I believe that Jesus paid the punishment for my rebellion and sin. I believe he suffered and died on the cross for me.  I believe he rose from the dead. I believe he went up into Heaven and will one day return.  God, I give you my life and accept Jesus as my Savior.  Thank you for forgiving me!