Vision: Purpose To*Gather
Notes
Transcript
Last week we reflected on the foundation of everything we believe in: that Jesus came into this world, lived a perfect life, died on the Cross in yours and my place, was buried, and risen again on the 3rd day.
Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
God has a purpose in His Chosen gathering of people
God’s Chosen
God’s Chosen
Christ is the way and method by which God graced us with salvation.
The Church is the method God uses for the world to know it.
God established His people from the beginning to be the mouthpiece by which the world can know they have access to Holy God through Jesus.
God established His people from the beginning to be the agents by which His Will would influence this world.
God established His people from the beginning to be the expression of His Love for all people.
In essence, the Church, is a sort of Ark by which people can find Salvation. What does that mean?
Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”
God set up His people to be His priesthood and holy nation.
God set up the nation of Israel to do the priestly duties of maintaining the presence of God in a world that did not yet know Him or accept Him.
They were the blessed ones, that carried the blessing of God, and the rest of the world around them was blessed through them.
Warring nations that rose up against the nation of Israel were rising up against the blessing of God.
Israel also became the example we follow as a Church. Where as Israel went, so did the world.
If Israel rejected God’s presence and commands, they themselves were rejected by God, and the whole world would dip into chaos.
If Israel feared God and kept His commandments, God embraced them and blessed them and brought peace to their land.
We see this time and time again, a story repeated over and over. Kings taking the throne, fearing the Lord and were blessed!
Then there were kings taking the throne, and serving their flesh lived through a divided kingdom and wars and pestilence would break out.
God was very specific saying Exo 20:5-6
Exodus 20:5–6 (CSB)
for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.
God brought them out of Egypt, delivered them from Pharaoh’s hands in an incredibly miraculous way! He had no intention of sharing His beloved people with any other god or religion or lifestyle. And it was His right to say so. None of the Hebrew people could have saved themselves from Pharaoh’s devouring army.
And God says this over and over again:
Deut 7:6
For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
Deut 14:2; 26:18;
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his treasured possession.
The Nation of Israel is His people, highly treasured by God Himself, chosen for His purpose.
The Modern Church: New Covenant, Same Intent
The Modern Church: New Covenant, Same Intent
When we fast forward to Christ and His death and resurrection, God essentially recreated Israel’s deliverance in Christ.
We as a people were destined to a certain eternal death, and Christ created the bridge to God, allowing for spiritual regeneration and total reconciliation with God.
God created a bridge, not just to have communion with God, but to have eternal LIFE with Him.
And just as God created the young Hebrew nation of Israel through their deliverance - walking away from Egypt on dry ground.
So to did God create His Church through our deliverance - walking away from eternal death and separation from Himself and placing us on the rock of our Salvation.
And the Church, birthed and organized by the Holy Spirit as we read in Acts 2, becomes the priesthood and holy nation by which the world can know the blessing of His Salvation.
In Acts 1, Jesus exhorted the believers and said wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit - for you’ll be baptized in just a few days.
And in Acts 2, we read that baptism happened - as was prophesied back in the prophet Joel’s days - the outpouring of the Spirit fell upon those faithful 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.
120 men and women were surrounded by the presence of God and spiritually baptized - and began to testify, began to preach the Gospel, but in a tongue they did not know before - the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit to speak the Name of Jesus in a foreign language so that others might hear!
The Church began to flourish under the power of God, and it grew - exponentially.
And so the Lord is our God, He is a jealous God, showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.
God ups the ante this time with the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. We look through the Old Testament and there were individual times when the Spirit of the Lord would come upon someone and they would do miraculous wonders so that God’s people would believe.
Now, we as the Church have the ability to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and to testify demonstratively that the Holy God with His everlasting love has created a Way for the unbeliever to have faith and believe and return to his or her Creator.
The Church is given an apostolic, Spirit-filled leadership that is sensitive to the Holy Spirits leading.
The Church is given authority over the spiritual domain and can command a room spiritually.
Those in the Church with gifts and abilities can now use them unapologetically for the glory of God - and the Spirit uses them, amplifies them so that God receives even more glory.
We, the Church, are filled with purpose through the Great Commission and where to go with it
When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
People ought to know wherever you go, that you are a carrier of the presence of God.
People should know, when they hear you, when they see you, that you are a carrier of the presence of God.
Why is this such a key component of being the Church?
#1 And so the Lord is our God, He is a jealous God, showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.
#2 If this God is so loving, as you have experienced, it should be believable to those around you.
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
#3 Isn’t He worthy? Yes there is a cost to this walk of faith, but isn’t He worthy? I mean, He gave his life up for this, y’all. He gave His life up so that we could come to gather under His Name? He bought this moment right now with His own blood.
For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you.
#4 We, the Church, are empowered through the Holy Spirit to be exactly who He wants us to be.
Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, 1&2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude
All 21 of these books testify to who Christ is, what He’s done, the organization of the Church and how we’re to be! We are without excuse - there’s no “I can’t” because He did, and He is. The Holy Spirit works through us to accomplish what we would not be able to do ourselves.
Paul, a part-time tent-maker, references the Church as a people knitted-together in the Love of God - Colossians, Ephesians
Eph 4:16; Col 2:2-3; 2 Cor 13:11;
Individual threads can’t become a shelter of support, but knitted together they can.
Individual blocks and bricks can’t become a shelter or hiding place, but built together they can.
Individual pieces of wood can catch fire individually, but do not support an altar by themselves. They burn out individually, not sustaining heat, not maintaining warmth.
But together, the fire can rage for hours, and as more keep piling on the fire can continue to burn.
This is the visual I want to give you today - the idea of a fire; the concept of an altar.
The whole point of this stack of wood is that it is meant to hold a fire. The catch is, once there is a fire, it is meant to be consumed. This stack of wood cannot fulfill its purpose without being consumed.
Each one of these individual logs are representative of your and my individual lives.
Through the saving knowledge of Christ we can individually burn for Christ; but that’s not what’s going to warm the house it sets in, that’s not what’s going to warm the Community we’re sitting in. But together, as we are built upon each other, as we work together, positioned by grace to do good works - as we burn for Christ - knitted together, supporting each other - and - we’re consumed by our All-Consuming Fire - the flames become bigger, the warmth becomes hotter, and people know upon entering this house, the warmth and the glow testify to the fact that there is a God who loves you, who died for you, who took the sins of the world upon Himself so that you could know God personally, intimately, and have purpose and be positioned so that others can know there is a God who loves you, who doesn’t want you cast aside, but desires for you to know Him intimately and personally.
And we sing:
Set a fire down in my soul
That I can't contain, I can't control
I want more of You, God
I want more of You, God
*tap your neighbor on the shoulder and tell them, you’re on fire!
*Sis Yvonne testimony
Example of each of us being knitted together for purpose…
United To Gather
United To Gather
1 Corinthians 12:12–26 (CSB)
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Indeed, the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”
On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, which our respectable parts do not need. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
We are knitted-together for God’s purpose, to be consumed for His glory, and as we do together being Kingdom-minded, the Lord promises there is a reward. There is a reward for those who diligently seek Him, and there is a reward for those who labor for the Gospel - whether in direct speech or in support of that effort.
We are each gifted with a measure of faith, with individual gifts fitted to benefit the body of Christ. No big I’s or little you’s. No, we each have been given talents for the investment of the Kingdom.
Parable of the Talents
Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14–30 (CSB)
“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. In the same way the man with two earned two more. But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
“The man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
“The man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ “His master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy servant! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned. “
‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. And throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
My ability and faithfulness as a steward of what God has put in my hands determines the level of the blessing I will receive.
My will and my priorities affect my ability to steward what God has put in my hands. And my willingness to put the gifts I have been given to work for the Lord affects the return of blessing that comes from Him.
Look, Church, we serve a God of multiplication. If you don’t bring what you’ve got, He can’t bless it. And if He’s the one blessing it, whatever it is is multiplied, and the return from the multiplied blessing is a reward that comes from the Father who owns literally everything.
So often we limit ourselves with the box of ‘my time’, ‘my ability’, ‘my money’, ‘my style’, ‘my preferences’ - and we keep them in that box and it stays buried because it’s mine.
But the Lord says, “What do you have? What’s in your hand? If you’ll bring it to Me, I will bless it.” And He multiplies it.
Don’t you want to be a blessing? This is the kind of Church we are - a blessing to this Community; carriers of the Lord’s presence, interceding for and meeting the needs therein.
This is our focus: Jesus said in Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This is our Jerusalem: the US military community and support network of Aviano Air Base
This is our Judea & Samaria: The overall community of Aviano and Pordenone region
This is our ends of the earth: The literal ends of the earth, as we reach out and send people out there.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Acts 2:43–47 (CSB)
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
We live this out - we seek this out. This is how we bake and break our bread.
we are a family devoted to:
consistent prayer
being saturated in the word of God
actively professing the gospel
faithful in tithing
missionally generous
fasting for breakthroughs
intentionally reflect the love of God
Result of Faithfulness and Generosity - expecting:
100 souls saved in 2024
$20000 towards Missions & Operation Care Force
Fully-funded Building & Renovations
The bread we’re baking:
Hope has a Name