2026_05_31 A Commitment to the Whole Mission of the Church

Do you know that you are predestined as a believer to be conformed to the image of Jesus? That process is underway, and it will be brought to completion. Text says that Jesus might become the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Firstborn of many sons and daughters of God. Isaiah three sixty one verse three says of us that we will be called oaks of righteousness. Don't you wanna be an oak of righteousness? A planting of the lord for the display of his splendor. [01:00:39] (36 seconds)  #OakOfRighteousness

Now, that's not the here I'll tell you, here's the secret to loving your neighbor. We love because he first loved us. The secret to being able to love well is to receive the Lord's love fully, to soak in that love. he loved us when we were still sinners. It's an unconditional love. And, you know, when Jesus calls us to love our neighbor, he includes those who are hard to love. There are some people in your life that are hard to love. Did you know that you're that person in someone else's life that's hard to love? [00:52:46] (47 seconds)  #ReceiveGodsLove

We will restore society. That's our call. Not only to reach the lost, but to restore society. And so the final step in this whole mission is transformation of society. You can't quite see that, but that's the next word down there, transformation of society. As people of the kingdom, we are called to bring the attributes of the coming kingdom into the world today. That coming kingdom will be a place of peace, of love, of purity, of justice justice, of wholeness of body and mind. [01:01:32] (39 seconds)  #TransformSociety

We can't do this on our own. We need god's help. We need one another, and we need the power of the holy spirit. That's why Jesus commanded his disciples. This is recorded in acts chapter one verse four. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days, I will baptize you with the holy spirit. And then Jesus says, you'll receive power when the holy spirit comes on you. [01:02:51] (33 seconds)  #WaitForTheSpirit

We work for peace, for righteousness, for justice, for the healing of the body, for healing of the soul, to set people free from addictions, brokenness, to bind up and heal broken relationships, to break bonds of slavery, both spiritually and literally. We are called to bring the kingdom of God here on Earth. That's certainly the most important thing is winning people to Jesus so they might receive everlasting life. But it includes all the transformation of all society into that which God desires. [01:02:11] (39 seconds)  #KingdomHealing

The heart of this commandment, to go and make disciples, is a call for Christians to bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ. So that he, through his holy spirit, can reproduce in them his truth, his character, and his ministry. We're his body. And he's calling us to become like him. we don't just reach people in our own little group. Jesus says, go to who? Make disciples of all nations. That's reaching. We're to reach out beyond our circle of friends in our little world and and reach out to people of all different kinds. [00:46:13] (56 seconds)  #MakeDisciplesAllNations

Not only did Franca see the lost and preach salvation, but he saw orphans in the streets of Howe, Germany, where he lived. And there was no one to love them or care for them. He saw destitute widows struggling to survive. He read the words in James, religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless as this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress. So out of obedience to God's word, he started in an orphanage and a home for widows. [01:07:05] (39 seconds)  #FrancaOrphanCare

Conservative Christians who were committed to the authority of the scriptures focused on reaching the lost. They often felt that spending time on social programs, social issues was a waste of time. These people were going to hell. We needed to save them and put our focus on that. On the other hand, liberal Christians deemphasized evangelism in favor of focusing on socialist issues, like poverty and racism and war. Many didn't even believe that being born again was necessary for salvation, whatever that was in their thinking. My dad believed these belong together. [00:38:27] (43 seconds)  #EvangelismAndJustice