Let's spur one another on towards faith and good works-
(this is the long version of a sermon I preached recently. The group I spoke to was, predominantly, the elder population of our church)

Hebrews 10.23-25
23) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24) And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
25) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

My wife and I are starting a small group that meets on Friday nights. This past Friday night at the first meeting of our group, we began the search for the subject we wanted to focus on for the next few weeks.

We talked about many things (kids; jobs; life), then we talked about the purpose of the group
We eventually got to the subject of the purpose God’s church…
· Why do we have “church” and what does it mean
· Why do we need to come together in the first place… what is the reason for it all?
· How does it apply to today?
· How do we build it?

To see where God's taking us, we should look at where we've been
Being a student, I started looking for the church in the New Testament. The very first place it talks about “church” as such is in the book of Acts after the Pentecost day infilling with the Holy Spirit and Peter’s sermon (which by the way must have been some sermon as 3000 became believers that day).

Acts 2.42-47
42) They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43) Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44) All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45) Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46) Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47) praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

CONTRASTING THE FIRST CHURCH WITH THE CHURCH TODAY:
What were they taught?
JESUS, Life/Crucifixion/Resurrection…
Sanctification and empowerment with the Holy Spirit
Teaching to REMEMBER
The only scriptures they had was the Old Testament
In reading Acts 1, you see that Jesus “opened their understanding” of the scriptures to them

Where did they meet?
Solomon’s Portico… the eastern covered area of the temple (referred to by name in Acts 3). They met at the most convenient place where they could all be together.

What did they do?
Told the story
Broke the bread – had communion to remember and ate meals together, etc…
Worshipped God
Built relationships
The Lord Added to them Daily – EVENGELISM…
They became Salt & Light. The tasty flavor and the beacon leading to salvation

The present: What do we do?
Has the message hasn’t changed?
No, we still preach Jesus Christ Crucified. Buried. Resurrected from death!

The world hasn’t changed!! we still have sin, poverty, pain
So, here we are 2000+ years later…

What’s different 2000 years later?
TV, Internet, Radio…
Are these things inherently evil? No, they are a means to communicate. It is us that isn’t using them to their full extent
People STILL need to hear the gospel
There is still sin in the world, we need Jesus
We still have the poor with us, they need Jesus
The addicts, etc…, they all need Jesus
Here we go… WE are the body of Christ, the anointed.
Anointed for what purpose? The same purpose to be salt and light and a beacon that leads people to forgiveness and salvation in Jesus!

HOW DO WE DO THIS?
Jesus tells us how in Acts 1, Jesus and the 11 disciples left having a meal>
Told them not to leave town.
Wait for the Promised Gift
He told them what it was… “John baptized with water… you will be baptized with the HOLY SPIRIT”
Gave them a JOB… and the power to do it…
Be my witness – FIRST in Jerusalem, then in Judea, then to Samaria, then to the ends of the world

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?
Again, it’s the same…
We must be empowered by God’s Spirit
We must search out the call (JOB) He has for us to do
We must start right where we are, then go from there

MISSIONARY OR MISSIONAL?
So, am I saying that everyone is called to be a missionary? YES
Is everyone called to GO to a foreign mission field? NO
What did Jesus say?
FIRST in Jerusalem (where you are), then in Judea (where you live, the disciples didn’t live in Jerusalem) then to Samaria (where those who are aware of the truth but have walked away from it, i.e. backsliders, etc…) then to the (Personally, I like the Greek idiom best>) LAST OF THE LAND – Everywhere else…

What does it mean then that we are to be missionaries, actually EMMISARIES of God’s kingdom, but to not go to “The Mission Field”…. Well, it means that we are to, like Jesus said, start where you are.

Being missional means to look at life as a mission right where you are…
Doing the work of the ministry (WE ARE THE MINISTERS)
Being the hands and feet of Jesus to our neighbors
It’ll change how you view the person panhandling at Wal-Mart. Yes, Jesus loves him too!

There is a saying that has been credited to St. Francis of Assisi but no one is sure where it came from: “Preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary”
We don’t know who really said it, but it is true none the less. People would be better served if we SHOWED them Jesus by our love rather than telling them they are in sin.

We are called to be salt and light to our world, remember the BEACON of hope, leading to the Hope Giver.

We can’t forget Jesus warning with that one – if the salt looses its flavor, what good is it?

Now let’s bring this even closer to home… Here is where the meddling begins!

Where in the bible does it say anything about retirement at age 65?
Is there a “Spiritual Security Retirement” program that kicks in when you reach 65? How about 70?

Not that I’ve found, and believe me, I look for loopholes.

Moses as and example:
At 40, he heard God’s call to free the Israelites.
Took matters into his hands (didn’t wait for God’s timing or empowering) and murdered a man. He then ran away to the desert where he waited. At 80, God spoke to him again, this time giving specific instructions. He led the children of Israel through the wilderness, heard God and did many great things (like writing the bible), and many miracles were done through him for the next 40 years!

The Gospel hasn’t changed, the Mission hasn’t changed. Maybe we have?

So. To bring things back to the my intention today –
“To provoke one another on toward love and good deeds” I really like the King James word PROVOKE

How can we get beyond the thing in all of us that wants to kick back and say “we’ve done our part” or “I’ve paid my dues” or “let someone else do it, I want to ‘retire’”?

This is what Oswald Chambers said about RETIREMENT:
WE are all capable of being spiritual sluggards; we do not want to mix with the rough and tumble of life as it is, our one object is to secure retirement. The note struck in Hebrews 10 is that of provoking one another and of keeping together – both of which require initiative, the initiative of Christ-realization, not self-realization. To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as Jesus taught it!...
(*NOTE: Antipodes is a geographical opposite i.e. Australia is the antipodes of England)
….The danger of spiritual sluggishness is that we do not wish to be stirred up, all we want to hear about is spiritual retirement. Jesus never encourages that idea of retirement – “Go tell my brothers”

(as in Mt 28.8,9 - So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.")

Think about it…after Jesus went to the cross, the disciples were alone for those 3 days wondering what the last 3 years were about. They must have felt absolute loss and defeat. They just wanted to go home and give up… retire from ministry as it were..

What did Jesus say when he rose from the dead? Go and tell my brothers… don’t retire just yet!!

Remember, we have the advantage here. We get to read the book and we know how the story ends! We know that Jesus did exactly what He said He would do. He rose from the dead. They didn't have time to put all the clues He spelled out for them together.

Questions for today:
Are you just hanging on until Jesus takes us home?
Have you “retired” from your job? Ministry too?
If Jesus were to call you to engage again, would you?

In man’s society, the older generation hands off the running of things to the next generation behind them and go off to RETIREMENT, giving up the responsibility.

In God’s society, we honor our elders and look to you for guidance.
We need our earthly “GRAND-parents”
Your wisdom
Your mistakes
Your heart
We need your dreams, hopes and aspirations…

Why did you build your church to begin with?
What are your abilities?
What has God given you the ability to do?

Physical infirmities only limit your body, not your imagination or your spirit.

Romans 12.4-13
4) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5) so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7) If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
9) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13) Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

What has God called you to?
Are you chasing it?
Have you backed away from it?

Can I provoke you today to chase after God’s call and purpose in your life? We need our spiritual parents and grandparents, those who’ve gone before us and blazed the trail we now walk on. We need your prayers, your encouragement, your skill and wisdom. We need to learn from the mistakes you’ve made along the way because, quite frankly, we don’t have the time to make them all ourselves.

So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
Hebrews 10.22-25-The Message