The externally focused church, part 1
“What is an EFC?”

Intro… Today is an exciting day for me and our church…a brief history…
• However, “Crossroads” is about so much more than just inviting people here… We could have the “coolest” church in town…
I’ve been to endless church conferences out there, workshops, books, seminars etc. that all deal with healthy church life.
• When I see fellow pastors, often the first thing they ask me is: “How many are you running now?”
• Often the characteristics of a healthy church are equated almost solely with attendance…
• Normally we don’t talk much about taking care of those less fortunate and serving others...
• Two books I’ve read….”Externally focused church”, “The most loving place in town.”

Text: Matthew 25: 31-40 Prayer

Big Picture: If Crossroads were to close up, would people who don’t attend our church notice or even care?

Outline from Matthew 25:31-46
• This section of verses refers to the judgment of the nations…us!
• When Jesus returns to earth he will judge us accordingly:
• Sheep on the right, goats on the left (Christians & non Christians)

Those on his right are blessed and will take their inheritance, why?
because a church (people) that is externally focused: (v. 35-36)
• Feeds the hungry
• Gives a drink to the thirsty
• Invites in the stranger
• Gives clothes to those who need them
• Looks after the sick
• Visits those in prison


I will spend the next few weeks asking us all to consider what it means to be an externally focused church.
• I’d like to propose this: “Church effectiveness is not only measured by what happens inside the church but rather by the impact of the people of the church on their communities.”

An example, Switchfoot Bro-am (Stand up for kids)

• Are we engaging our communities with truth and grace, good news and good deeds?
• Are we the salt that preserves, the light that shines to help transform a community? Matt. 5:13-16
• Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

The internally focused church (people): v. 37-39 somehow looks right past all these needs
• As a church we may not be intentionally internally focused, but it can easily happen.
• If a church isn’t careful it can focus primarily on getting people into the church and generating endless activity there.
• The dreaded “Christian bubble.” It all sounds so good, powerful worship, excellent teaching, thriving youth programs, vibrant small groups etc, etc..
• But at the end of the day what is measured is the number of people and activities within the church. Good churches, good people no doubt.
• This is all important, but not complete, for a healthy, well balanced church.
• As Christians, we need to have a balance of growing a healthy church and always reaching out to those in need. We need both.
• I like to call this “missional living”…like a missionary learning another culture….
• Every one of us has our own “mission field.”
• Isaiah 1:10-17

The externally focused church (people)… v. 40
• Realizes that looking after the needs of “the least of these” is actually taking care of Christ.

Often churches talk about their “target” audience.
• My journey through the “ target age groups” since Seminary grad…
• You know who our target audience should be?
• Those in the margins. There are nearly 400 passages in the bible that show God’s concern for orphans, widows, prisoners, aliens, homeless, poor, hungry, sick and disabled. (But that’s not glamorous…)
• Deut. 10:18-19, 15:10-11 Isaiah 58: 6-7
• Our community. Instead of being so angry with our city or politicians, can we be a blessing? We need to pray for our leaders.
• Maybe we could start right here at SDA? How ‘bout notes of encouragement to the entire staff? I bet we could do that!
• By focusing on these groups, we will naturally attract new people to our church and then have the privilege to see them come to Christ and grow in their faith.
• We need to see ourselves as vital to the health and well being of our community. (Here in Encinitas as well as your individual neighborhoods.)

Jesus has some harsh words for those who are internally focused.
• Those on his left will be judged more harshly, why? Vs. 41-46
• Ignoring the needs of those who are in need is actually ignoring Christ.
• V. 45 is the opposite of v. 40…
• V. 46 A possible consequence of not looking after those in need is Hell!

Where do we start?
• Big picture: Season of service. 375 churches, CityFest
• Homelessness, Military, Mentoring, Hunger, Schools
• Local picture: Me playing drums at the neighborhood block party…street clean up, beach clean up etc.
• Here’s a crazy idea: “Don’t just start a church (service), serve a city. Serve them with love and if you go after the people nobody wants, you’ll end up with the people everybody wants.”
• It was never about the donkey...The EFC is a good donkey that takes Jesus into places where he hasn’t always been welcome. It’s still about Jesus.
• It’s always about Jesus…gospel…

Be patient, stand firm

Be patient, stand firm James 5:7-12

Intro…I think one of the toughest things to do in life is to be patient and stand firm…my day at court and the DMV trying to be patient and “stand firm” knowing why I was there.

• That’s just a silly example from life.
• When it comes to our faith, God is asking us be patient as he unfolds his plans for our lives.

Text: James 5:7-12
Thesis: When we are patient, trusting God for his plans, he will help us stand firm in our convictions.

God is asking us to be patient and stand firm like a farmer. V. 7
• I’m guessing that for most of us here in San Diego, the closest thing we’ve ever been to being a farmer is attempting to have a garden. Any farmers out there?
• Notice the seasons James mentions, autumn, spring rains.
• God teaches us as we go through the seasons of life.
• We need to trust him for the “yielding of valuable crop.”
• Just like the farmer cannot hurry this process, neither can we as God works in our lives.
• We can’t just take a season off…there is always much work to be done to ensure a good harvest.
• That could be character development, learning to trust him more, changing our ways…
• While God changes us we live by faith, trusting him for the outcome.

God is asking us to be patient and stand firm like an OT prophet. V. 10
• Let’s take a look at a few of them, things they said or did and the price they paid.
• Samuel, Nathan, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, Joel, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah Micah , Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Obadiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, Malachi
• Isaiah 20 God had Isaiah walk naked a sign and warning to the Egyptians and Ethiopians that would make them afraid to do the things they were doing.
• Jeremiah, Daniel, Amos, Haggai, Malachi
• What did prophets do best? Speak the truths of God with conviction!
God is asking us to be patient and stand firm like Job. V. 11
• Job is always the “extreme” example of how our patience could be tested.
• Most likely, these kinds of events will never happen to us…
• Job was steadfast in his moral integrity.
• Job 1:21, 2:10, 13:15, 16:19, 19:25.

How do we have patience like a farmer, prophet or endurance like Job?
• By being patient and standing firm. V. 8 (Trusting that God has a bigger plan then you can see…”the Lord’s coming is near.”)
• We need to stand firm in what you know is true…biblical truths, God’s providence, provision.
• By not grumbling…v 9
• When things go wrong we tend to blame others. Instead we need to own up to our responsibility.
• Before we judge others for their shortcomings, remember, God is the judge who won’t let us get away with shifting the blame.
• Focus on God and the basic fundamentals of the faith, not getting caught up in petty differences.

v. 12 Above all, when learning to have patience and stand firm…be careful what you (swear) commit to.
• We need to let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no.”
• People who tend to exaggerate or lie often can’t get anyone to believe them on their word alone.
• We always need to be honest so others will believe a simple yes or no.
• Stand firm in your beliefs, what you know is biblically right.
• As God takes us through life’s trails and we come out the other side with his perspective, we learn to trust him more.
• This verse is talking about not taking an oath (or committing to something) that is flippant, profane or blasphemous.
• We can take oaths that are solid affirmations of what we believe.
• Ex. 22:11, Matt. 26:63-64, Rom. 1:9

In our struggle to learn patience and trust God remember…
• “We consider blessed those who have persevered.”
• “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” V. 11b
• What God finally brought about in Job’s life is amazing…
42:10, 12-13, 15-16 …. this is just an example…
• God wants us to have patience and stand firm not because we are guaranteed to have twice as much as we had before…but just because we need to trust him.



Conclusion:
Mindy Belz World Mag.
Every year the garden reminds me of something different about life under the sun.—the garden is a steady pacesetter, a visual metronome marking out the seasons in a rhythm that's undeniable, no matter my hurry or the blur of events around me.

In the great race to learn how to pace, have you noticed that American culture has become a pell-mell quest to feast all the time? That we have so much of everything we don't have time to enjoy anything?

That we've lost our equilibrium in the art of abounding and abasing? That we forgot doing without goes along with having plenty?

Our cars with their cupholders, face mirrors, and USB jacks are a testimony to our belief in having and doing all, all the time. Amid the darkened auditorium rows at my son's graduation were scattered bricks of light as family and friends paused to check mail or text from their smartphones. We're working the next deal or planning another event even in the midst of one.
Some of us can do it all, for awhile, but I come to the end of this season limp, drained of my capacity for joy at just the moment when there is most to enjoy. What I end up with in a time of perpetual feasting feels more like a persistent fast. I gnaw at a vast cluster of bones but miss the choicest pieces of marrow.

Here's the good news to the believer: God gives us leave to enjoy both feasting and fasting. The writer of Proverbs 30 declares, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God."
He also says..
"I am weary, O God; weary, and worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man."

I too am weary of the feast, fearful of the fast, too stupid usually to know what I need when; but longing for both if they will but come from the hand of God.

Let’s be patient as God takes us through the seasons of life and stand firm in what we know is right and true.