Vision: How Do We Get There?

Announcements

(SLIDE)

Beach Baptisms

Next week

1:30pm, right after Church

Corona Del Mar / Pirates Cove

Importance of Baptism

(SLIDE)

Fall Retreat

October 24th-26th (Fri-Sun)

Palm Springs

$235 - Registrations Live

Fundraiser incoming (lmk if you are interested)

God will provide

(SLIDE)

Wednesday Nights

6:30 by fire pit

Demo starts Monday

Introduction

Recap:

Vision Series

(SLIDE)

1. Who do we want to become?

2. How do we get there?

3. What is our purpose?

4. What is important to us?

Who do we want to become?

(SLIDE)

“A family of brothers and sisters committed to: Jesus, each other, and loving our neighbors in high school and beyond”

Last week:

A family of brothers of sisters committed to Jesus

This week:

How do we actually get there?

Short answer:

It’s up to you walking in your giftings and the call of Jesus on your life

Scripture Reading:

(SLIDE)

Ephesians 4:7–12 CSB

7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people. 9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things. 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

Last week we talked about the fact that we are a family with Jesus at the center… but it doesn’t end there

We are committed to each other

And loving our neighbors

And I am inviting you all to play an active role in our mission

So our question this week is: How do we get there?

It’s through you guys stepping up into the call of God on your life

I can lead and foster the environment for it, but it is up to you guys to see this vision accomplished

(SLIDES)

Outline:

You all have spiritual giftings

‘Ministry’ isn’t just what happens at church

It’s all about the building up of the body of Christ

You all have spiritual giftings

(SLIDES)

Ephesians 4:7–8 CSB

7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.

Ephesians 4:11 CSB

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,

As humans, each of us has been uniquely created by God with our own natural talents and dispositions

As believers, each of us has been given the Holy Spirit, to use our giftings (empowered by the Holy Spirit) to participate in the work of God in this world

Verses

“grace was given to each one of us”

“When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.”

And then Paul lists out 5 different giftings that Christ has given the Church to serve as leaders

Apostles

“sent ones”

Prophets

One who speaks God’s word

Evangelist

One who shares the Good News

Pastors

One who shepherds and cares for others

Teachers

One who teaches

But it is not just for leaders, more spiritual gifts in the NT:

Service

Encouragement

Giving

Leadership

Mercy

Faith

Discernment

Each of you are gifted… and it is not a hierarchy

No set of giftings is better than another

I think naturally we idolize leaders and think they are better

Or we think that those with gifts in teaching or evangelism are somehow more important and that is not true

Each of us make up the body of Christ, and we each have something to contribute

Here is the thing: Often God doesn’t give us gifts in their fullest expression

Typically, God gives us these spiritual gifts in the form of a seed

We know what it grows, but we must plant it, tend to it, nurture it, until it grows and produces fruit

My story: Teaching/Shepherding

And you might have an inclination of your giftings, but here at HSM we want to help you grow into your giftings

We want to provide you with opportunity to grow

But it takes time

Just like dedicating yourself to training for a sport, or a musical instrument takes time and intention—you need to spend time investing in your spiritual gifts

And maybe you are here today and you have no clue what you could be gifted in

We are here to discover that with you

What do you want?

God gives good gifts to his Children

He’s not going to give you a gift you don’t want

It is deeply engrained into our character and who we are created to be

So we’ve established that each of you have been given gifts from God.

Secondly I want to talk about how:

‘Ministry’ isn’t just what happens at church

(SLIDES)

(NLT) - Ephesians 4 11-12

New Living Translation Chapter 4

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

I think we’ve gotten a very wrong idea in our mind about Church

That it is the responsibility of those who work at the Church to do the work of ministry

I think it even shows up in the way we talk about church

1st service/2nd service

You go to church to be served by the people who do ministry

What if we didn’t only come to church to be served, but to serve others?

Right here we see the responsibility of church leaders:

New Living Translation Chapter 4

Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work [the work of the ministry]

Look: my job is to serve you

But that is not where ministry ends—it’s not just a one-way street that dead ends

My job is to equip you to do the work of ministry

There is a world full of brokenness, pain, suffering, in desperate need for hope and good news—that is where ministry needs to be taking place

Your families

Your friend groups

Your sports teams

Your teachers

Your enemies

Church is not the only place that ministry happens

There is work to do in the world

What we do here is a gathering to refocus, recenter, equip us, and send us out

The Christian life isn’t about just surviving the hardships of this world—coming to Church to get a shot of the Holy Spirit to keep you alive through the week

The Christian life is bigger than just yourself

It’s about how God can use you to accomplish his work in the world

Lets just stop and glorify God for this

He can do anything

But he chooses to partner with us

Like a little kid working on a car with his dad

The dad can do it on his own—but he want his child to learn from him and work with him

Because it’s not about efficiency—its about relationship

You are all called to ministry

Each and every one of you

God has a plan for your life

God has uniquely wired you and gifted you to be a blessing to those you encounter

And here, our heart is to prepare you for this

Wednesday Nights series

Finally,

It’s all about the building up of the body of Christ

(SLIDE)

Ephesians 4:11–12 CSB

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

What we do here, what we are all about is Jesus

We all share in the life of Jesus

And we are members of the body of Christ

This goes back to our vision statement:

“A family of brothers and sisters committed to: Jesus, each other, and loving our neighbors in high school and beyond”

We are committed to Jesus, each other, and loving our neighbors—and all of this, builds up the body of Christ

(SLIDE)

1 Corinthians 12:14–21 CSB

14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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? 18 But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 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!”

The Christian Life cannot be lived out as a lone wolf

Because our purpose is to promote Jesus and build up the body

A hand has no function if it’s not connected to a body

Each of you are invited play an important role in this local body at Calvary Chapel

But the building up of the body doesn’t only mean strengthening from within

It also entails a growing—an outward focus—bringing people into the body

And again this isn’t just the work of an ‘evangelist’ or the pastor to preach and lead others to Jesus

This is the ‘work of ministry’ that we are all responsible for

We are each responsible for the slice of the pie that we have

We each have our own unique sphere of influence

People we know and trust

You are called to be the light of Jesus in your own context

Listen: You are far more effective at evangelism with your peers than I will ever be

You are being invited to the work of God that is happening in this world, and particularly in the lives of the people around you

Isn’t that awesome?

Conclusion

So as we wrap up, I hope you have a vision of what God is inviting you into

And I just want to ask you two questions:

Where is God calling you to ministry?

Where can we help?

Again this is tied to our vision of who we want to become at HSM

Not just a group of students who sit under a Bible study together once a week

But a family that is committed to a larger purpose

A team where everyone is valued and each persons’ giftings contributes to the whole group

The body of Christ, acting as His representatives to the world

Do you want to be used by God?

(SLIDE)

Jeremiah 1:4–8 CSB

4 The word of the Lord came to me: 5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. 6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.” 7 Then the Lord said to me: Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. 8 Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the Lord’s declaration.

God wants to use you, here in this community

Reflection Questions

(SLIDES)

What giftings do you have?

Where do you feel called to ‘the work of ministry’?

Are you willing to take a step of faith in service to others?