Journey Church Vision

Welcome Journey Church I get the pleasure to be the first one to preach for the new year and what a pleasure it has been to prepare this weeks sermon and served as a good reminder to me about what my purpose here is and when I start to feel a little overwhelmed God’s right there to pick up the slack and he feels the gap.

You know this time of year everyone has finished with the holidays and we are coming down from the holiday highs. No more eating extravagant meals no more huge family gatherings and everyone starts to focus on getting back to “normal life”. we pay particular attention to ourselves and setting goals or vision casting our future year, things we would like to accomplish over the next year. Often times we call these new years goals. Whether they focus on eating habits working out at the gym, starting a business, getting our lives together. but whatevery you call it its your vision for yourself for the future. Journey Church is no different we sit down this time of year plan journeys future where we, the elders see journey moving to in the future and honestly the elder team started that several months ago as we started our future pastor search.

And so I thought what great time as everyone is setting goals and vision casting this is a great time to look at what does the bible say we should be doing here in the church and with the church.

A Church That Serves

The big idea for today is that a church grows strong and advances the gospel when Spirit filled believers serve one another sacrificially

Now here is an important part of this that we tend to breeze over... Spirit filled Why because without that we then get fixated on the church name … Remember the fathers day sermon where we talked about hopeful happy, confident and courageous IN GOD...Same idea here

Matthew 7:22–23 NIV

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Today that is what we are going to focus on Spirit filled believers serving one another

So before we dive into the Bible I want be an example and and then we are going to build on it later on so I need a volunteer. haha funny I use that word because we will discuss that later on too… but any volunteers ok come on up

move chair begin story about dust of rabbi and disciples had to do anything except wash feet

we are going to recreate Jesus washing the disciples feet

take of shoes and socks

bring out water and towel and washcloth

tell the story of Jesus washing feet

What better place to look than Acts.

So what is Acts and how does it relate to this. Well Acts is part 2 of a 2 part series Luke being part 1. both luke and acts were written by you guessed it Luke who is a traveling companion of Paul and while he is a disciple of Jesus he is not an Apostle. the book of Luke is all about the beginnings of Jesus and what he began to do and teach, Acts is a continuation of that. Now Acts has a traditional name The Acts of the Apostles, and the apostles do show up from time to time throughout Acts. There is only one person who shows up consistently throughout acts and thats Jesus acting through the Holy Spirit so the book might better have a traditional name of The Acts of Jesus and the Spirit.

Authority equals Purpose, Purpose equals Vision

Ok so back to this Idea of vision for yourself and how Acts fits in… Vision Doesn’t give you purpose

You see to have a Vision you have to have a purpose and to have a purpose you have to know your authority. Acts give us purpose but more importantly it give us authority behind that purpose. Authority equals purpose and purpose gives you vision

You see when we read into Acts which we will shortly, we see that in the beginning of Acts it doesn't open up with a strategy meeting or even a mission statement it begins with the Holy Spirit. And almost immediately the holy Spirit gives authority and power that gets expressed through Service of each other.

Read Acts 1: 4-9

Acts 1:4–9 NIV

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

So Jesus starts it right here telling his Apostles the first thing I know you are excited to get out there and do the vision stuff but first wait… cause you need to wait for the authrority and pupose.

It says they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit and they will receive power and be witnesses to Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

So right here we get our Authority the holy spirit, our purpose be witnesses, and our vision to the ends of the earth.

So now lets skip ahead to chapter 2 because this is just an awesome story of how this all takes place because remember Jesus tells them this is whats going to happen shortly so stay put. and as we read from Acts chapter 2 we see this event take place

Acts 2:1–12 NIV

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

There is a lot here and I could spend an entire sermon on just these 12 verses i wish I had more time to break this down verse by verse but two really big takeaways, First what Jesus said would happen in chapter 1 did in fact happen happened… The Holy Spirit came down and God’s presence dwelled in all of them about 120 and second this is a reminder to Old Testament prophesy and to really understand this think back to old testament and in Exodus where we see Gods presences presented in the tabernacle, in the desert, on Mt. Siani, in a bush as wind and fire then there is a future promise that Gods presence would come and live in the temple the new temple of the messianic kingdom. So here in Acts Gods presence comes to live not in a building but in his people. Luke is telling us that the prophesy has come true and the new temple is the people of Jesus

Ok so now we have our Authority, Purpose and Vision…but what does it look like to put vision into action well the rest of Acts gives us the road map to that and as the title of this sermon suggests specificaly we look at serving each other

1 Serving each other flows from devotion to Christ.

Acts 2:42–47 NIV

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The believers served each other by selling property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. They did this through being devoted to the teachings, to fellowship , breathing of bread and prayer.

You see first they rooted themselves in Christ and from that service flowed it wasn’t forced

the word fellowship its Greek word here is koinōnia- is more than just hanging out together in the same place or sharing space but it is sharing life together

So the big takeaway is that Serving is not a program its a byproduct of a changed heart so if you find difficulty in motivating yourself to serve might I suggest that service is a devotion issue not a motivation issue.

Share story of not wanting to preach???

2. Serving Each Other Protects the Unity of the Church

Acts 4:32–35 NIV

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Unity is talked about all over in the bible but some verses you can look up later on that are.… cause this sermon isn’t about that jsut know God asks for it. col 3:13-14, John 17:20-23, Romans 12:4-5, Eph 4: 3-6 just to name a few

Unity doesn't mean sameness it means shared purpose. So not everyone had the same needs and because of the radical generosity that was exhibited the different needs were met before a complaint even arose and that preserved the harmony of the group.

Luke isn’t describing communism here, there are no forced commands not once did the apostles give the commands to sale your land and give me all your money it was just through God’s grace that those who had sold what they could and gave generously.

Disunity grows when needs go unmet- Serving each other is like being is spiritual warfare with each othe- we guard against Satans attacks when we serve.

our unity grows when we notice needs before they become problems and serving each other is one of God’s primary tools for maintaining peace

3. Serving Requires Organization, Not Just passion

Acts 6:1–7 NIV

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

We get this example here later in Acts that even during this great time life isn’t without problems and its not that the Apostles were greedy evil men we live in a fallen world where problems will present themselves but Acts shows us how solve these problems through serving each other.

the problem was widows being overlooked when food was being handed out due to probably some cultural and language tensions being that we talk about Hellenistic and Hebraic jews. Hebraic lived in Judea and spoke Aramaic and Hebrew and they were influenced by deep Jewish customs and traditions Hellenistic Jews lived outside Judea and primarily spoke Greek and probably didn't know Hebrew and were heavily influenced by Greek culture. So this problem arised and it was presented to the apostles.

What did they do they looked for those who would serve each other… Choose seven among you and we will give this responsibility to them. So everyone has a role to play it wasnt jsut left up to the Apostles or leaders but they picked 7 from the beleivers to oversee and apply structure to the issue everyone is a part of the body Not everyone serves the same way but everyone is called to serve

4. Serving is a Mark of Mature Faith

Acts 20:32–35 NIV

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

This is Luke recording what Paul is saying to us as he speaks to the Ephesian elders. Follow my Example Serve with Humility Work with your hands Give Sacrificially and care for the weak. Paul is the example of spiritual maturity we should all strive for.

Paul is showing us that we can measure our spiritual maturity in how much we give. The more faithful we are as believers the better givers we are. and sorry chris I am not talking about finances here. Sure that is part of it but Christ is looking for time givers, time givers are servers.

Ask ourself these two questions

Who am I intentionally serving? and Where am I giving not consuming?

Member of body???

Conclusion: A Serving Church is a Powerful Witness

Throughout Acts we see this common theme

The spirit falls on a group of people

The church serves

The Gospel spreads

You see serving each other is not optional it is evangelistic

The world does not need a church who knows everything it needs a church that loves well

we have tendency to get hyper focused on great commission we forget about the greatest commandment love thy neighbor as yourself

And so I want to bring this all home for us you remember at the beginning I washed XXXX feet and I told the story of Jesus doing that during it so here is the important part of that story Its not about the washing of the feet.

During the Old Testament they had this term bond servant if you haven't heard that the greek word used is doulos which your bible may translate it as slave or servant but what's being referred to here is bond servant and a bond servant came about in one particular way you had a debt you couldn't pay of went to target put $1000 dollars on the old credit card and then when the bill came due you either paid it all or you went to prison there were no monthly payment plans and so these people would be sitting in prison and someone would come along and pay the ransom for this person and he would become the masters servant and he had to be your servant for 6 years and in the 7th year you had to release him, clear and free no if ands or buts. but occasionally the servant could choose to become a permeant slave and he would become a bond servant its of his own free will and he would basically be like life is so good here the master has treated me so well I don't feel like I have paid my debt and I want to serve you the rest of my life and he would have an awl put into his ear and a mark. This is what Jesus is calling for he wants a bond servant not a volunteer

and Jesus showed us its not about the feet its about the posture of your heart he wants you to have the heart of a bond servant

Jesus tells us this a sign of someones faith

John 13:10–15 ESV

Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Listen here's why this should make you nervous Judas would go on to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver that night you see Judaswas in church he spent 3 years never missing a Sunday he had a question he asked Jesus. he heard countless sermons and not from part time lousy preacher Tyler but from Jesus. He took part in miracles. when Jesus fed 500 it says he put the loafs of bread in his disciples hands so Judas would have held the bread and seen in miraculously multiply the power of Jesus flowed through him in those moments.

but he never surrendered his life to Christ he never became a bond servant. you know how we know that the Bible tells us you see in

Matthew 26:20–22 NIV

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

so one after another the disciples say surely you don't mean me… wants the word LORD Then two verses later they single out one of the apostles Judas and it says

Matthew 26:25 NIV

Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

You see Judas never surrendered his life to Jesus he never became a servant he never surrendered lordship over to Jesus you know Judas would go on to kill himself shortly after this and I don't know if he ever came to surrender to Christ that's between him and God but I do know that Jesus tells us you can do all the things, you can go to church every Sunday and participate and ask questions and you can still not end up in heaven because those are the type of people He will say Surely I never knew you depart from me

So I don’t know all your stories but what I do know is I don't want there to be any Judas’ in the room today I want to see all of you in heaven and if you want to take those steps today you can join us at the prayer table or see me after

Then maybe you have taken those steps and surrendered your life over then i ask you to join me in this three part challenge

So a three part challenge for you guys cause you guys are the church without you I am just some guy who stands up here talking to a bunch of chairs so my challenge… get out your phones a piece of paper and pen

Challenge #1 Serve without recognition

Challenge #2 serve beyond convenience

Challenge #3 Serve Because Christ first served you

Read Mark 10:43-45

Mark 10:43–45 ESV

But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

If Christ the King of Kings, the one who sits on high, who the ground quakes for can come and serve so can we

Prayer