01/14 Sunday Service

There's some sickness in our household. I am grateful to be here this week and I just want to say a special thanks to Henry for filling in for me last week. I heard he did a great job and keep it off for a stand but Yeah, I'm excited for what 2024 is going to bring for us here at Neelys Bend and what the year is going to look like for it and so is it weird that my original plan was to start with this sermon last week to start the year off but that didn't happen. So we're going to this week and we're going to start the year off with this sermon this week and learning about the mission of Neelys Bend Baptist Church. The mission of Neelys Bend Baptist Church, before we go there before we dive in let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Your heavenly father Lord. Would you want to come to you this morning? And we just want to pray and slipped up and your name lift up your voice for if we already praise and worship you this morning. What would you want to pray praise and worship you even more even during the sermon Ward? What is pray that today? We will just see your goodness and we'll see your mercy and your kindness and just all done great things that you have blessed us with. Our people will begin to dive into the mission that you have given us here at Neelys Bend Baptist Church. What I pray that we will live this Mission out that we will understand this mission that we will remember this mission that we will know the purpose of why we exist as a church. I'm so bored. I pray that you just help me this morning to preach with Simplicity with Clarity and passion. I want to pray that our Prince nothing but your word and your word alone. Punjabi thank you so much for Jesus and him dying on the cross for our sins so we can have eternal life. In Jesus name I pray amen.

mission you're the word Mission. What what what is a mission? I'll give you a brief definition of mission is basically an assignment that has been given to someone right. It's just a simple assignment that someone has been given to accomplish. We often hear the word mission in terms of like War we hear the soldiers are given a mission to overtake a certain city or to gain ground a certain area or to take someone captive in the ultimate mission of Warriors to win, correct? Do we have a mission?

The same can be said and many other scenarios such as like many different corporations job corporation these work places. They have a mission that they want to accomplish as a work place as a company. Some people and their very own wives have a life mission for themselves have a life mission statement I've ever heard someone say that my mission in my life. Is this store? I have these core values in my life. And they revolve their life around their mission in life that they believe they have they do and they live in a way that they can accomplish that mission that goal. As Christians we have also been given a mission. We are given a great mission one that is commonly called the Great Commission. Maybe look in the word commission. You see the word mission. Define the word coup mission is to say that isn't an instruction or a command or Duty that's been given to someone or a group of people. Essentially I commission is a mission that has been given to someone. and then mission that was given to the disciples to the missions that has been given to Christians in the mission has been given to all Christians including people today that believe in Jesus Christ comes from Matthew 28:18 420 as we will reach here Matthew chapter 28 18 through 20 says this Adidas came and said the volume 40 and heaven and on Earth has been given to me.

What are you doing? Here you go. I'll let you do it you're going to be here at 4 and Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit verse 20 teaching them to observe all that have commanded you and behold I Am With You Always and then to the End of the Age. This is the Great Commission that we are given as Christians the weird given as Believers. This is the mission of Our Lives versus should be the mission mindset of every believer. Every Christian do that for Make Disciples baptizing them teaching them.

That is the mission that every Christian should embark on recommended to do their duty to do this is our responsibility to do this. And that's a church as a local church is also very much our responsibility to fulfill that mission as well, which means that our mission as a church and ultimately be to go therefore and make disciples. Correct. That's the mission of our church that go therefore and make disciples.

When I first got here almost seven months ago crazy, right then 7 months. We are 5 months to a year. But one of the first things that I knew that we needed to do as a church was to develop a mission statement. We need to develop a purpose statement for our church that we could use to motivate a church. I think that we could use to assess and examine ourselves and how we are doing and accomplishing the Great Commission to help us to the church to reach people with the gospel into disciple those weary and within our church. And ultimately to guide us in to help us to make wise decisions and how we best Reach people and Neelys Bend Madison and Beyond. The statement the statement this mission statement what we give us a purpose as a church for who we are as a church who we should be the mission statement is the purpose of the church. So the mission statement is ultimately answering the question. Why does Neelys Bend Baptist Church exist? Why does Neelys Bend Baptist Church exist? What is our purpose here? Why does God have us planted as a tree right here in the middle of Neelys Bend?

I'm so the transition team myself again working toward a mission statement. The first meeting that we had to ask them five questions and they gave me several responses to those questions and I took those questions that their answers that they gave me and I begin to work it into a mission statement for a mission that we can have as a church and so after several more weeks of prayerfully thinking about it and making a couple of small changes at the Lord put them on my heart. This is the mission statement. That we're going to have at Neelys Bend Baptist Church. This is our mission. This is our purpose.

Neelys Bend Baptist Church fix this to glorify God by equipping people with the Gospel of Jesus and worship of God in one another fellowship and own mission to make disciples in Neelys Bend Madison, Nashville and the world Read it one more time has been baptized Church exists. We exist to glorify God by equipping people with the Gospel of Jesus to live in worship of God in one another fellowship and on Mission by making disciples and Neelys Bend Madison Nashville in the world and you look in your Bowl attendance in your bulletin the same mission statement there. So if you were going to go back to the bulletin and can I get a more better reading of it? I broke it down several a certain way to where you able to kind of see the breakdown of the mission statement and the one word that I just want to focus on in this moment is the lowest short phrase there right after the Gospel of Jesus and it's to live Career, so will we want to help people to live? In worship of God who want to help people to live in one another fellowship who want to help people to live on Mission by making disciples. To live as a Christian that means that we are living actively through living out these things.

So as you can see within the statements of home, we are ultimately fulfilling the Great Commission, right? We're making disciples were teaching them and we are baptizing people but there are a few other things that we've kind of added to it that I believe will help us grow the church spiritually. the original people in our area my mission statement is why we exist as a church. This is our purpose as if anyone ever asked is you what what is it about Neelys Bend or ask you about those been about the shirt? They want to know more. This is what you tell him. Tell him to tell him that we exist to glorify God by equipping people with the gospel to live and worship of God and one of the fellowship to live on Mission. This is who we tell people we are because this is why we exist as a church Confirm because of that. I want to encourage you to just familiarizing yourself with this statement. Remember it try to memorize it in some way.

I'm just so you know for the next several weeks. I'm just going to take this mission statement as a kind of a launching point to help us. Fully understand the statement as a whole who were going to be as a church to help establish why we exist here at Neelys Bend. As you can see with the statement we initially exist for one thing and that is to glorify God as the glorify God Neelys Bend Baptist Church exists to glorify God, which means that everything we do here at Neelys Bend should be to the glory of God. Now there's so much more. I have to understand about the short little phrase and existing to glorify God. So I first sermon through this series of understanding our mission statement is going to be on the subject of the church giving glory to God. So it's going to take a step by step process to understanding that and see how the church exists to glorify God sermon today from several passages. We're going to see that Neelys Bend Baptist Church exists for God's glory and we're going to see how these three concepts help us to understand about glorifying God.

the first concept that we see first understand is that God is all glorious. He is all glorious. God is entirely fully holy glorious. Unless they are when I say, holy when I think I mean that he has 100% glorious get perfectly glorious over where this means that God can give cannot get any more glorious than what he already is, right if something's a hundred percent can something get any more glorious. It can't but God is perfectly glorious. Now does this mean that we don't give him glory because he's already perfectly Glory. Absolutely, not the Bible tells us in so many places that we do things to the glory of God now the word glorify just so you know, it's not like the word and in some ways it is like the word you define but it's not like the word you define. So if you hear the word beautify you openly making something what more beautiful correct more beautiful making it prettier you making it look cuter or something else, you know, whatever else you want to say. You're making it look more beautiful your enhancing the way something looks when we think of all the word glorify we think of who God is as he's all glorious. Can we make him more glorious than what he already is. We can't get already holy glorious and if he wasn't wholly gorgeous and that would mean he's not God, which means that he is perfectly all glorious. But it doesn't mean that we don't give God glory because God desires God wants God wants us and his creation to give him glory. He wants us to worship him. He wants us to honor him. He wants us to praise him. Because he is glorious. That's why we worship him. That's why we praise him. That's why we give him glory because he already is glorious when seeing that God is worse in many places of scripture one of the first places that we see that isn't Exodus 40:34 2:35. So if you want to you can turn their to Exodus chapter 40, I have it on the screen here, but Exodus 40:34 35mm Lucia Cara toward the beginning of Exodus that John has given Moses a command to build a tabernacle and then an exodus 40. We finally get the Tabernacle, completed in in a stare and West Ham versus 34 and 35.

And so has been the cloud cover the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord build the Tabernacle and losses were not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud has settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle the glory of the Lord feel the Tabernacle. So just as we were able to see that is glorious because it was his glory that build the Tabernacle. It was his glory that filled the Tabernacle to represent God on Earth among the Israelites that would lead the Israelites with his glory. The cloud was around them by the surround them during the day as a clown trying cuz I didn't buy night. What does he lead the Israelites? I'm surrounded them my fire. His glory with leave them. We also see in Psalms 19:1 that God is glorious. Some of us know this first right and Psalms 19:1 the heavens the heavens declare the glory of God and the Scarborough Proclaim his handiwork the heavens declare. The glory of God. The point to be made here is that the heavens would not be able to declare the glory of God if God wasn't glorious, right? The God is glorious. So therefore the heaven can declare the glory of God.

The ultimate point I'm trying to make sure the point that I want us to understand is that from the beginning of time to the end of time from eternity past to Eternity in the future. God will always be glorious. You always have been gorgeous and always will be glory and Church of God isn't fully clothed as he would not be God is one. He does not give his glory to another Isaiah 42:8. Does this I am the Lord. That is my name. My glory I give to no other Norm. I pray the Cardinals God who is fully grows get snowboard to another he has no prayers for car. It was God is gorgeous and he shares it with no other and praise God for that. Does a dog shirt his glory with another that would mean one thing God is not God.

God is fully glorious and he gives his glory to know we serve a glorious God what he was fully holy glorious and that alone should bring it to a point and we want to glorify him as individuals and as a church, After all, we as individuals are created for God's glory. This leads to the second concept for us to understand. We are created for God's glory. We as human beings are created for God morning. We'll see that God is worth we understand that the glory we give him is not making more glorious. But yet we as people are created for God's glory released versus with me just to check her over from Isaiah 42 to go to Isaiah chapter 43 verses 6 & 7 Isaiah says, there's actually not I said Scott he was speaking to you and God says I will say to the north give up until the cell do not withhold bring my son from afar and my daughters from the end of the Earth and then here's for 7 where it really matters is says everyone everyone who is calling from my name. I created for my Glory by formed in me everyone everyone. For my Glory church. We are created as people for the glory of God. Got it specifically telling the people of Israel that he has created and he is formed them and then we read in Reverse to if you go back a few versus the Heat redeem the people of Egypt from Egypt and Israel said that God says everyone is called by my name creator for my porch Forum to me. God created everyone for his glory. God Is Creative me and God has created you and everyone else even in this day today for his glory. This is why we are created. This is why we exist as human beings. This is our purpose. This is our life mission to give him glory.

Call Paul says in 1st Corinthians, 10:31. So whatever you eat or drink and whatever you do do all to the glory of God. Paul's giving his Commandments stating that everything we do is humans must be to the glory of God every moment that we live here on this Earth is meant to be lived to the glory of God. The glory of God is for the glory of God. We don't glorify God with our lives. We are ultimately stealing Glory from God. We as humans have a tendency to be glory thieves Glory Steelers because the Grove at is supposed to be going to God it actually go into someone or something else. It's going to yourself. It's going to be all those that you have in your life. That's going to some other little G God. And when we give that cord to someone else or something else other than God, we are stealing God's glory from him with the cord that goes to John from him.

And that makes us for themes which is why Romans 3:23 says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We are created for God's glory and yet everyone else has every one of us has fallen short of the glory of God, and the only way that we can ever begin to give glory to God Ministry in the vehicle in the first place. The only way that we can give glory to God Is by believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. In that moment and from that moment afterwards we can give glory to God.

To be here today and you've never received Christ. You've never made the decision to make Jesus Lord of your life. You've never just read made the decision to believe in Jesus as Savior. I want you to know today that in this moment. It can be a moment for you to begin Living For the Glory of God not for the glory of yourself, but for the glory of God cuz that's what your created for and you can come and glorify him because we are created to glorify God. We openly created to reflect that Glory back to God. We certain that. God has all glory glory ultimately just radiates from him write his glory radiates from you. Think about Moses whenever Moses walked off the mountain. What was he? What did Moses look like in his head his his body was just radiating like the people could not look upon him because he had stood in the face of Glory for so long.

You think about? The sun in the moon, right? Illustration of picture of it. I heard recently thing about the Sun the moon the Sun as you know, it is a big ball of white right? It's a beautiful day outside. It's a beautiful day outside right now because of what the sun is shining really bright week. White just really aches from the sun and it is travel vast distances until it hits the Earth or hits the moon or any other options, right? That's how we're able to see things in space is because something is hitting it and what putting it like why is hitting it and light is reflecting back. And the more when you look up in the night sky least last night. It wasn't very lit up because it was a crescent moon. Is that what it's called? It's not a full moon. But if you look up in the night sky on a full moon night and you see the Moon is this what is lit up it just listen to split up so much that it has reflected light from itself. And it is making the Earth brighter the point where you can see at night. I don't have any of those who have been outside at night on a full moon, but you can see if it's a little bit right just a little bit not a lot, but you can see a little bit but there's the moon give light.

But doesn't the sun gives light the moon reflect light. And the reflection of that light goes back to go to the almost at the God but the reflection of that light from the moon goes back to the sun and it also reflects to everything around it such as the Earth which is why were able to see at night sometimes.

Does God's glory radiates from himself down to us and we have the responsibility as individuals to be like the moon and reflect that Glory back to him? God's glory is coming down upon us in and it hits them we can do one or two things we can replace that cord is something else or keep it for sale or give it to someone else or we can reflect that go back to God. We are created for God's glory which means that we have to reflect that Glory back to God. How much more in your life. Are you reflecting back to Garden?

We reflect this world back to God in several ways initially has stopped believing in him trusting in Him as Savior and Lord and then every moment after that living in obedience to him and his command worshipping him praising him serving him evangelizing him. So I ask you again where you with one thing Glory back to gone?

Go on to the next third concept here. The church exists for Dodge for the church exists for God's glory every local church that has ever existed ultimate exist for the glory of God now doesn't mean that every church is always fully giving God the glory that he deserves what it means that Rory Norris give you that every church should give God glory should exist for God's glory. Read these verses women in fusions chapter 3 verses 20 through 21. It says this all right now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask for thinking they talking about God not to God who is able to do for more abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power of work within us when he goes over 21 to God be the glory in the church and in Christ, Jesus to all throughout all generations forever and ever amen. To him be glory in the church God is to be the glory in the church. The church is never to give glory to itself and often times that can happen, right? Open times where the church and get super super proud of ourselves and we begin to give Glory back to herself again to give glory to themself by worshiping and praising the programs that are happening in the church. We can you give glory to himself by becoming a performance consumer ristic driven Church where we just want to serve ourselves and our needs and what we want to take can easily just begin to rely on traditional things that happened in the past. That is no longer bringing glory to God but continue to do those things because it makes us happy. That's what we want to do know what God wants us to do to become overly obsessed with the materialistic things of the church building such as this the building itself, right? The carpet the floor throughout the building the painting of walls the rearranging of rooms because that's just the way it's always been. That's what we like. We want to keep it that way. Because your father still not because it glorifies gone. It's not that these things are bad thing carpet has good programs as good buildings are good. Right paint is good. Cuz it's these things the walls with look like gray Concrete in here. If they wasn't painted good things are good story begin to let those things become the glory of the church. We are the church are no longer glorifying God.

The church is meant to be an outpost an embassy that sticks to glorify God and all that it does. Does an individual's or to reflect Glory back to God when we come together as a church? We should be a big ball of Glory that just reflects back to God.

That Praises God the worships god. And was weak or if I got here the trick will be coming. This way of God's glory to our community to the people around us. I'm at the door that we were flipped by the guy ultimately shut that you liked on all those around us. as a people in our community is able to see the school or even is going to God. When people see your church when people walk in these doors, do they see a display of God's glory?

Do you guys think that the people in our community see a display of God's glory happening here at this church?

How can I do a question do you personally think that we are the church are glorifying God as best as we can.

Reality is we can never give John enough Glory. There's always going to be more Glory that we can give to him. But we have to remember that we exist to glorify God in everything that we do here has been should be to the glory of God. I believe it is hurting in some ways. We are just playing God's glory here. But I also believe that there is so much more that we can do to display God's glory.

It's up to us. All of us every single one of us not just me. Not just the deacons. I'll just the leaders in the church. Not just a teacher's in the church. It is up to every single one of us here. Every single one of us working together serving together caring together going together being together for God's glory so much more than what we do. That's for a mission statement or both of my four ways that we will work together to this way, Glory. We will just like God's glory when we equip people with the gospel, right we say hey, here's the gospel because when we get people to gospel, it gives them the opportunity to believe in Jesus and when the moment someone to Lee's in Jesus think God gets the glory from that. We begin to live in worship of God. What are we doing? When we worship God we're glorifying God will begin to live in one another fellowship and living as a church working together as a church being with one another we will worship God when we begin to Lorde on Mission by making disciples and there has been Madison Nashville in the world. We will be giving glory to God.

Church we exist for God's glory and if we ever forget it, we will begin to live for our own selves and we would desire the things that we want but that is not what we are called to do as a church are called to do what God want what God wants for us what God wants us to do is reflect the Lorry back to him. So it's up to us to determine how we can best give God glory.

And I sermon today we have seen three concepts to understand to glorifying God. You're saying that God is glorious. He's all glorious. Holy glorious fool and glorious. We sing that we as humans are created for the glory of God. I'm saying that as a church the church exists for the glory of God. This is the very beginning of our mission statement. Does the very beginning of everything that we do with this church and that is for the glory of God?

So how do we begin to Linda's out as individuals? There's one package that I really wanted to put into my sermon somehow or another in a different place, but I was never able to get it in there. And so I begin to think we can live it out this way, right? This is a way that we can live without the God is glorious and were created for. Bluebird. How do we live this account? We live this out while letting your light shine before others. Letting your light shine before others Matthew chapter 5 verse 14 through 16 says dismisses Jesus and he says you are the light of the world and he's talking to believe what she told me to disciples. You are the light of the world a city set on a hill cannot be hidden in order people a lot of lamp and put it under a basket, but I want to stand and it gives light to all in the house. Convert 16 in the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to who your father who is in heaven.

Jesus teaching here that Believers are the light of the world and as we reflect Glory back to God, we are literally just playing God like to know the world around us. And this world is it incredibly dark and Incredibly broken place. It's so much sense so much Darkness here in this world and we are called to be a light of the world. That's what it sounded like before others. They will see our good works and they will give glory to the father who is in heaven. It would give glory to God. Are you shining a light for God?

Is your light shine before others?

Could we let our light shine most brightly when we live in obedience to God in his command when we love and care for those around us when we share the gospel with those around us. We are a light in a very dark place. I'm assuming darkness in this world. It should be our goal every day to be a like to somebody. I like when we equip people with the gospel so that they can begin to live in worship of God live in Festival those Believers and Omission. We are shining a light before the world.

Sprint You're having a call to war with thank you so much for your goodness and your mercy with thank you so much for Jesus. And you sending him to download cross for our sins Ward and what I just want to pray that if there's someone here today who is not reflecting Glory back to new board, but they don't believe in you Lord and they say they don't trust in you as Savior more than life. What I pray that today is that they will see their need for you as Lord and Savior, but they put their faith and trust in you and begin believing in you. And I just pray that as a church as we see this mission statement. We see our purpose here at Neelys Bend Baptist Church that we has our church WIll begin to live out this mission statement that we will exist for your Quarry that we work with people with the gospel, then we will live And worship of God. Tell me the live in one of the other fellows know we will live on mission to make disciples. Do all people around this board will be thank you so much for giving us this purpose giving us this mission for church and I'll prove what I just pray that we live it out. I pray that we take hold of it and we chairs.

Or Dogwood. Thank you so much. Help us the glorify you help us to be a light to those in our neighborhood. Help us to be a light to those around us. Help us to display your glory in Jesus name. I pray amen.

Will stand together as we sing.