“What is Westwood all about?”

April 10, 2005.  Pastor Matt

We are family.  The more time we spend together, the more we are family

If you hop in a car, do you want to know were it is going or do you just drive around endlessly?

Let me show you where Westwood is going.

God woke me up in the middle of the night and gave me this Scripture.

Acts 13:38-49

What does God want us to do at Westwood?

It is a pretty simple process:

I. He wants us to proclaim Jesus (38-41)

Previously in (15)  After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."

I don’t know that the rulers knew what they were getting themselves into.

Paul builds the case for Christ, he lays out all the supporting evidence, and then he drops the bomb on them:

(38-39) I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses.

What does this mean?

A.   It means the salvation message is a pretty simple message: We all have sin and we all need a Savior

(38) through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you

It is not about the gaining the good life, or becoming a better person.  The simple message of the Gospel has to be about sin, its consequences, and our escape from The consequence.

Romans 3:23.  For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

B.   It means legalism/ the Law won’t get your sins forgiven…only Jesus can forgive your sins

(39)  Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses.

Salvation is not a matter of your good outweighing your bad

Ephesians 2:8-9.  (CEV) You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.  This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.

You cannot do anything to earn your way into heaven.  It is a belief.  It is a change of heart.  It is a change of direction within your heart.

There are people walking the face of this earth thinking they can never be close to the Lord because of the sin in their life.  Guess what…no sin is too great to be forgiven.

There are also those who are striving to be perfect so they can be close to the Lord.

That’s not how it works.

You can have a relationship with the Lord if you choose to believe in Him

II. He wants us to be a light to the Gentiles (44-47)

Our goal is not to reach out to the religious.

          Please be aware that the religious folks won’t want to see this kind of change.

Our goal is not to make those people happy who want to hang on to their religion/tradition

Our goal is to bring salvation to the Gentiles.

Who are the Gentiles? 

-         People who don’t like church

-         People who are not “religious”

-         People who are not familiar with the customs of the church

-         People who have been hurt by the church, turned their back on Him and need to come back

(CEV) Isaiah 42:6-7 I selected and sent you to bring light and my promise of hope to the nations. You will give sight to the blind; you will set prisoners free from dark dungeons.

Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim (the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God), to comfort all who mourn,

So what does that mean for our church?

Everything we do has as its ultimate goal to bring lost people to Jesus

-         The Music, the Message, the building

We must go where the fields are ripe for harvest…not stay in the fields that have already been harvested

-         This includes training you up so you are equipped and growing so you can turn around and win people for Christ

o       We as a church are here to help each other grow up as Christians so we can be mature in our walk with the Lord and be effective in our witness to others

§        How effective is a Christian who stays a baby his whole life?

-         How will we do this?

-         Matthew 28:19-20.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in  the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

o       Servant evangelism,

o       small groups,

o       Sunday school,

o       leadership training

o       fellowship

o       Building relationships with people one person at a time. 

§        If each person spent the next six months building a relationship with and sharing Christ with one person, we could double our church every six months.  That to me is true growth. 

§        Take a moment and pray about it.  Who are you going to reach out to for the next six months?

-         If we make changes, and the changes we make do not help bring people to Jesus, we must make more changes

-         If you are uncomfortable with change understand this:

o       If lives are not being changed, and people are not getting saved, you can fire me as your Pastor

Let us think outside of the box.

What are we doing that keeps people from coming to Him?

What can we do to draw people to Him?

Remember, we have to let go of the religion if we are going to reach out to the Gentiles

What is God going to do through Westwood?

(41) "`Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.' "

-         The message of the Cross, of Jesus is more powerful in people’s lives then we can even begin to imagine

-         Faith in Jesus has the power to change lives

-         As we begin to proclaim Jesus, watch out for what is in store!

Ephesians 3:20 {God}…is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

we all have within us the potential to do great and amazing things for the Lord

(48-49) When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.  The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

-         Westwood is going to be a light.  People will come from far away because of Jesus

-         Lives will be changed.  People are hungry for a change in life and Jesus is the answer.  Let’s give them the Answer

This is a cross roads sermon.  

You need to ask yourself if you want to be a part of this.

Do you want to be a part of a church whose main focus is to reach out to the Gentiles?

We are not just talking about that, we are going to be taking an active role in making it happen

Closing

Do you need to accept Jesus this morning? 

Have you heard of Him in a way that is different from the “church” you thought of?

Make a commitment to being a part of this church and reaching people for Christ.

Who are you going to be reaching out to for the next six months?