Intro:

• UP - We have an upward calling.. It is the preeminent calling.
• IN - We are called to love one another. That love is a supposed to be a beautiful thing to the world.
• OUT - We were never called to just be in a prayer closet, or a church building, but to be in the world.

TAKE OUT

• Covid take out was up 60%
• Still mad at Chick-fila for not opening up
• Some food was meant to be eaten in a restaurant, some food was meant to be taken home! 
• The gospel was not meant to be eaten in the restaurant, but taken out! 

BAG IT UP

• Some people you eat with, only eat half the meal and bring the rest home.
  • Always bag up half the meal
  • Always order something for someone else
  • Bag it up but leave it
  • Never take anything 
• You can’t leave communion with God and His saints, and not bring it home

PROVOKING QUESTION - How much of a difference does your faith make on the world around you?

• We’ve talked about up, We’ve talked about in, what about out? Is your faith making a difference in the world?

Early Church 

• AD 30 - The church has 120 believers
• AD 60 - Half the roman empire had believers and churches
• The question is... Do we have the same strategy? Do we have the same passion? 
• Their thinking was - “We have to get this message around the entire globe”
• Our thinking is - “This message is already around the entire globe”
  • “Christianity is about me and the Lord”
  • “Christianity is about me and the church”
• WE MUST START THINKING ABOUT RAPID MULTIPLICATION
• This means you must be Activated! 

2 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV) — 14 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. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

2 Corinthians 3:3 (ESV) — 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 4:7–10 (ESV) — 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV) — 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

1. Carry the VICTORY out
   1. Roman symbolism
      1. First would come captives
      2. Then would come rulers and authorities
      3. Then would come the soldiers
      4. Then the commanders
      5. Then the emperor
      6. EVERY CITY
   2. Paul saw himself in the parade
   3. LSU victory parade
   4. Denver Broncos Rally in 2016
      1. 
   5. YOU ARE IN THE PARADE “Oh yeah, we won! Oh yeah”
   6. You are called to demonstrate the victory of Jesus Christ
      1. Joyful expectation
      2. Victory over trials, tribulations, circumstances 
2. Carry the PRESENCE out
   1. Still in the parade mindset
      1. Nothing is more memorable than a smell.
      2. When you smell something you haven’t smelled in decades, you remember it distinctly! 
   2. The smell at a victory parade
      1. Some loved it! They were used to smelling it as a sign of life and victory
      2. Some hated it! Every time they smelled it, it reminded them of judgement. 
   3. Your life is, and should be, the continual smell of Christ. 
   4. Connecting Aroma with Presence 
      1. A smell precedes someone and lingers behind them. 
      2. A smell signifies proximity with another - 
         1. I can pick up my baby and tell they have been at their grandparents house
         2. I can smell cigarette smoke and tell that someone has been in a house with smoke
      3. Does your life smell like you have been with Jesus?
   5. “What’s your fragrance”
   6. There is an atmosphere that you carry with you when you have been in worship, prayer, presence!!!
3. Carry the MESSAGE out
   1. The early church and letters of recommendation.
      1. They couldn’t google someone, so they needed to bring letters that showed who they were.
      2. Paul was saying that he didn’t need letters because the people were letters. There had been so much change in them, that their lives were the letters.
   2. We live in a review culture
      1. Restaurants get stars - I’m not eating there unless it’s at least over 4.5
      2. Mechanical shops get stars - I’m not getting my car fixed there unless it’s at least over 4
   3. YOU ARE THE REVIEW ABOUT CHRIST
   4. Your very lifestyle is the message about Christianity 
      1. Your attitudes
      2. Your integrity 
      3. Your relationships
      4. Your priorities
      5. YOU ARE THE REVIEW
4. Carry the GRACE out
   1. When dealing with carry out, don’t judge a book by it’s cover! 
      1. Some of the best food I’ve had is in bags and boxes
   2. When paul talks about clay vessels he is talking about his own frailty 
      1. Believe it or not, the way you suffer and go through trials is a testament to the power of God! 
      2. When you are afflicted and not crushed, it shows grace - physical
      3. When you are perplexed but not despair, it shows grace - mental
      4. When you are persecuted but not forsaken, it shows grace - social
      5. When you are struck down but not destroyed, it shows grace - traumatic
   3. The way you endure is shining! 
   4. Like the bush that didn’t burn, you won’t burn 
   5. Like the boys in the furnace, you won’t burn
   6. Like daniel in the lions den, you won’t be consumed! 
5. Carry the AUTHORITY
   1. Ambassadors of a country 
      1. They have authority on behalf of the country they represent.
      2. You have authority in the Kingdom of God! 
   2. Matthew 16:19 (ESV) — 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
   3. Mark 11:23 (NLT) — 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.
   4. John 20:23 (NLT) — 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
   5. What’s the point? YOU HAVE AUTHORITY 
   6. Lay hands on the sick
   7. Pray for the business
   8. Pray for the marriage
   9. Lead people to Christ!