Blessing Our Community (c)
Blessing Our Community • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Handout
Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 2. Keep it simple and practical this morning as we continue to talk about Blessing Our Community. Remember, our objective during the next 5 weeks is to discover how God wants us to Bless Our Community. Understand that this is not an evangelistic effort or church growth strategy per se. The heart of this initiative is to seek God and His revelation and to be what the Church is supposed to be – a blessing in and to its community. A community should be glad we’re. (Somolia).
If you recall, the core meaning of blessing is to give or create life. Our theme verse is
By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
Might be something to memorize and pray over.
This initiative is about mobilizing the Church to bring life and hope to lifeless and hopeless communities.
This is not about doing a couple of good deeds. This is so much more than that and that’s why everyone needs to be involved in praying and asking God to show us where and how to bless Klamath.
This doesn’t end at Pentecost. This is just the beginning.
I mentioned this last week that
Our prayers need to be centered on Christ and asking God what is needed most, here, now – and to show us what He is already doing in Klamath so we can get on His agenda.
Let’s look at the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthian congregation. Paul opened his letter with a less than cheerful account of his ministry. He made it clear that he experienced some severe trials, in despair, and he and his team were so burdened at times they thought they would die. He had to write a painful but corrective letter to the Corinthian church, and as always with his ministry, there were plenty of critics. Great letter so far.
Then he wrote,
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,
to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
What is this triumphal procession? Most scholars believe that Paul referred to a Roman victory parade. A Roman triumphal procession was granted to the victor of a war. Usually it was an Army General who had conquered a foreign enemy, extended Roman territory, and ended the war. Rome would celebrate this victory with a grand parade in which the General and other war heroes were honored with this procession through the city. During this parade the streets were decorated with flowers, and the temples were opened where priests burned incense as an offering to the gods.
The aroma of these flowers and incense would permeate the air.
Imagine what Rome normally would have smelled like in those hot stuffy streets. All those bodies, no AC, a lack of deodorant and hygiene. We’re talking about a perpetual Jr. High locker room. The aroma from the flowers and incense would have been refreshing.
I think the analogy Paul is trying to make is clear - Christ is our victor, and He leads us in triumph. Christ won the war through His death and resurrection. This is where the “already, but not yet” theology comes in. Already done, but not in its fullness. But
As Jesus leads us, He wants His people to be His aroma, spreading His fragrance of the knowledge of God throughout our communities.
It’s like going around with a bottle of Jesus cologne – (sprtiz, sprtiz – smells like Jesus has been here).
Problem – no one knows what Jesus smelled like, but they do know how He lived and loved.
That’s what we’re really talking about. See, Paul said Christ spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. This is not about trying to force conversion or trick people into church. What this means is that when we do what we’re supposed to do, live how we’re supposed to live, be who we’re supposed to be – holy, righteous, humble, compassionate, loving our enemy, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, picking up our cross and following Christ – whether it’s through the mundane, or the difficult, or the exciting – whatever – when we’ve been somewhere, people should have some sort of knowledge that Jesus was also there.
That’s what Blessing Our Community is about – seeking ways to bless people so that people begin to ask questions like, “Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus? Why are you doing this?” Then we earn the right to say, “I’m doing this because I love Jesus, and because Jesus loves you. If you want to talk about that, I’d love to tell you my story.” Blessing our Community is partly about leaving little whiffs of Jesus.
Think about the places we go and the people we encounter. What kind of aroma do we leave?
If we were to look behind us as we leave a place and see people’s reactions or hear their conversations – what would we see and hear? Would your waiter or waitress, coworker, the clerk in the checkout line, whomever, be glad you came or glad you left? Is Klamath Falls glad the Nazarene church is here – or would they even notice if we left? Something to think about.
Perhaps it would be helpful to
Think about being the aroma of Christ as leaving our mark.
(not marking your territory – but leaving your mark). While studying this passage, one of my favorite movies kept coming to mind - The Mask of Zorro with Antonio Banderas (1998). Here’s how the story goes. Zorro was a hero of the Mexican people. He fought a corrupt government and protected the poor and helpless.
In the movie, the original Zorro was getting too old to fight and so he looked for an apprentice. He found an unlikely person - a local drunk who can barely fight his way out of a paper bag. He was unkempt, smelly, scraggly, uncouth, undignified, and an outcast living in the streets. Yet, Zorro saw potential in this young man. Zorro trained him to become a master swordsman. He learned the ways of a gentleman, and nobility with humility - he became very stately and dignified and courageous. This smelly, scraggly, uncouth young man was transformed into the new Zorro who carried on the fight against injustice and corruption.
This young man did not become Zorro overnight. He didn’t simply put on a mask and fought bad guys. To become Zorro, he had to be with Zorro – every day. He had to learn from Zorro. Learn his ways and skills …. Similar to us. God finds us as an outcast, scraggly, smelly - but He sees our potential. He takes us in as an apprentice, teaches us and empowers us with His Spirit. Then He says “Go. Fight the good fight.” But like Zorro, if you want to be like Jesus, you have to be with Jesus and learn from Jesus every day.
One of the things Zorro is famous for is leaving his mark wherever he went – the infamous Z. People didn’t always see Zorro, but when they saw his mark, they knew he was near. This mark caused dread and fear in his enemies, but inspired hope and courage to the hopeless and helpless.
I think our call to be the aroma of Christ is similar – not only are we Christians to leave a good fragrance in our community, but we are also to leave our mark so that people will know Jesus is near.
So,
Where am I leaving my mark (i.e. blessing others and creating life)? Where is Klamath Nazarene leaving its mark (i.e. blessing others and creating life)?
Some of us already know how and where to bless and leave our mark. Others, we need to discover how and where. Regardless, understand the purpose of Blessing Our Community and leaving our mark and spreading the aroma of Christ is to build authentic relationships with neighbors, neighborhoods, community leaders etc., to earn the right to share Christ. Paul said it in v17 – we are to be people of sincerity, commissioned by God. Tom Keller said this –
“It’s the Great Commission without an agenda.” ~ Tom Keller
That’s where the Church has blown it in the past.
Let me close with this. In verse
to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
Paul asked, Who is sufficient for these things? None of us are sufficient to be the aroma of Christ or to leave our mark. But Paul says this in
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,
who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
As God reveals and as we follow Him in faith, He will make us sufficient to do what He asks.
Blessing Our Community:
Recognize God's blessing is for all people.
Acknowledge that God is inviting all believers to participate and the mission of God.
Pray for a compassionate heart like Jesus.
Begin to notice your community and your neighborhoods as a mission field.
Be challenged by the Holy Spirit to prioritize turning our hearts outward towards our communities, to those who don't yet know Jesus.