The Church's Blank Check

These are sermon notes that I took from David Platt's sermon earlier this year (1/9/11 to be exact if you wanna go look it up and listen to it), called "The Church's Blank Check". I've been wanting to share them with all 2 of you who read my blog but honestly have just been lazy to type it out. BUT it's sooooo good :) It's kinda long, but please take the time to read and pray through it all.

1 1/2 billion people today do not have access to the gospel. That means 1 1/2 billion people (and more who have some access) are on the road to eternal hell. Yet we, as the church, know Jesus and the hope that there is in Him, the hope that we will be with Him forever. He has saved us and filled us with His Spirit--the Spirit of GOD!! And we have been charged to get the gospel to the ends of the earth. Every one of us who calls Jesus Lord. It's not the responsibility of pastors and missionaries. It's the responsibility of every single one of us. That's why He has left us here instead of immediately taking us to heaven! Therefore, if we, as the church, had a blank check, what would we do to carry out this charge? Where would we start? Would we pool together our resources and pour it all out on the advancement of the gospel or on ourselves, our programs, our entertainment? What would be our strategy? If all we had was the Word in front of us and the world around us, we would not spend money on a building or programs or ourselves; we would put everything into taking the Word to the world. We would scatter, not try to stick together and focus inward. We have the Spirit of GOD in us!! That's way more than we need!! Yes, we still need each other in community but for the purpose of advancing the gospel, not for our own comfort or entertainment.

The book of Acts presents a much different picture of the church than what we have in the church right now. It's not all prescriptive nor is it all perfect, but the church we see in Acts multiplied like crazy! 3000 people at the end of chapter 2 turned the world upside down. We have far far more Spirit-filled people in the church today--why aren't we seeing more turning of the world upside down? Why aren't we seeing the fulfillment of the Great Commission? Why aren't we seeing that 1 1/2 billion people reached? We need to give our lives and our church as a blank check to Him with no strings attached.

10 Reasons Why to Give God a Blank Check:

1. Jesus is worthy of absolute surrender (Luke 9:23-24, 57-62; 10:3; 12:22ff; 14:25-33; 18:18-22)

2. Jesus is working to advance His kingdom (Acts 1:1, 8; 2:32-36, 47; 9:3-6, 34; 28:30-31)

3. Jesus has clothed every one of us with His power (Acts 1:8)-- the same power that raised Him from the dead and conquered sin!

4. Jesus has given every one of us the same purpose (Acts 1:8)--we are witnesses of His gospel in all the world.

5. The world is our goal (Acts 1:8)

6. The word is our guarantee-- All Scripture WILL be fulfilled! We are guaranteed success because He has promised to gather people from every nation, tribe, and tongue before Him!

7. The Spirit is here (Acts 2:1-13)--we're no longer waiting for Him to come like the disciples were in Acts 1. He's here NOW! Inside of each of us, ready to be unleashed to the rest of the world!

8. The stakes are high (Acts 2:38-40)-- this is people's lives for all eternity, not to mention God's glory

9. The glory of Christ leaves us no other option--as His followers, we want His glory far more than we want our own comfort, traditions, preferences, securities, etc. We're consumed with a passion for His glory in all the world!

10. The coming of Christ leaves us with eager expectation (Matt 24:14)--do you think the fulfillment of the Great Commission could happen in our day? We have the resources, most importantly the Spirit of God. Let's die trying! There's nothing more important! That's why we're here! Why waste our lives doing something else?!


God has been burdening my heart for the lost once again, placing His passion in me like a burning flame that I cannot contain. We must, we MUST be sharing with the lost! He's entrusted us with the gospel, and we MUST be faithful stewards of it! He deserves it! He is worthy of all their worship and ours! He's left us here on earth for this very purpose--to declare His glory among the nations! Let's get off our lazy butts and out of our comfortable pews and out of our big houses, fancy careers, etc. to reach the lost around the world! Let's pour all the resources HE has blessed us with into advancing the kingdom--that's what He gave us those resources for!