1/18/26 AM Vision
Notes
Transcript
AJ Gordon was a preacher in the nineteenth century
He told a story of going to the worlds fair.
While there he said he
looked across the field and saw a man
dressed in a gaudy colored kimono
furiously pumping water
and the water was spewing out of the pump.
Gordon thought, “I don’t know who that man is,
but I know he’s really pumping water.
I’ve got to see what makes him work so hard.
He said that when he got closer
he noticed that the man wasn’t a man at all.
It was a wooden dummy with a hinged arm
the arm was strapped to the pump handle.
He also saw that it wasn’t an old fashiopned pump
It was an artesian well
and as the water came out of the ground
It was driving the man.
That man wasn’t pumping water
the water was pumping him!
Sometimes when we look at the lives
of those that seem to be blessed of God
They seem fruitful for God
and from them is issuing the sweet water of life
and we say, “Oh, that must be a great man\
or that must be a great church.”
But probably, they are just wooden men
who have learned the secret of
tapping into the fountain of living water.
This morning, as we share some goals and expectations
of what we would like to see
accomplished in the church this year
We all need to remember that
unless the Spirit is pumping us
none of this is possible.
That means that everything we do and plan
must be measured against the standard of God’s Word and command.
Vision
Vision
Everything we do at RCBC should be aligned with the vision and mission of the church
The Vision for the church is given to us by God in Revelation 7:9
9 After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
We’ve shortened this on the banners hanging in the Fellowship Hall
to look like this
Every Nation, Tribe People and Language
This is a reminder of what God will have before His throne in heaven
and what His vision will ultimately look like
whether we are on board or not.
The mission of Riley’s Creek is also from God
It is a co-mission that The Lord has entrusted us to follow as a command
The co-mission is from Matthew 28:18-20
18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19 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,
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We’ve also simplified this into three statements that simply read
Introducing People to God
Developing Followers of Jesus Christ
Deploying them in to the world
That covers Evangelism, Discipleship, and Missions
Worship is the umbrella that covers all of these
and Fellowship is the perk we get to enjoy
while we work together on the co-mission of the Lord
That being said, This morning and tonight
you are going to hear
some of the strategies being set
by some of the leaders of our ministries.
If there is time this morning,
I will share about some of the whole church direction
and if there isn’t enough time
I will share that this evening
In order to make time for those sharing this morning,
I am grateful to have leadership
in two places that are near and dear to my heart,
children and students.
I’ve said before that both of these groups
are not the future of the church
because as far as the Bible is concerned
once a person is saved
they become part of the body of Christ immediately.
Some may not have the experience or the maturity to be chair of the admin
but it is up to the those that do have the experience and the maturity
to raise up those students
to be the next chair of whatever team God wants them to be part of.
That’s where these folks come in.
Luke Huertas is our next generation pastor.
He is the one that oversees every age from birth to college.
He is the umbrella to these different ages
and helps to facilitate all of them.
His main focus is to youth graces 6-12
and young adults.
Our newbie to the group is Julia Harrelson
we’ve been praying for someone that could assist Luke by
taking the weight off
the administration of the children’s ministry.
As God led Julia to us
she is in newly in charge of all our social media presence.
Since the majority of the children’s ministry are her kids
we thought that God’s sense of humor was good
and so He led her to help out.
These are the two you will hear from this morning.
Luke will share the over all
and then Julia will share hers.
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Rather than invent the wheel,
I borrowed a strategy from the Apostles
and specifically Paul for our church.
Seeing as he was the master church planter and builder
and how he has the credibility to write most of the New Testament
I didn’t think anyone would object to Paul’s strategy.
Acts 1:8 Strategy
Acts 1:8 Strategy
I doubt that Apostles would call their strategy the Acts 1:8 strategy
I’m not even sure they would call it a strategy at all.
These men were tasked to build the church
and they didn’t have an example, a guide, or even a manual
on how to do that.
They built the church
based mainly on the Holy Spirit’s direction
based on the mission set forth by Jesus
reaching those that would ultimately fill the vision of God.
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.”
So when we look at a strategy for our local body
we can be confident in being witnesses to
Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Last July I gave the last update of our strategy.
Let’s refresh our memory about what each of these places represent.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
This was a gimme, low hanging fruit
The apostles didn’t even have to go anywhere
To be witnesses for Christ
They could stay right where they were
And reach people with the gospel of Christ
This meant in their own community
they could walk around their neighborhood
They could go out and say hello to their neighbors
Walk across the street to the local shop
Buy a drink and start a conversation
They could go to Brown Dog
they could sit in their local barbers chair
They could be shopping at the Pig or Food Lion
They could be at Jade Garden or McDonalds or Paul’s Place
Or across the street at Rocky Point Auto
Because Lord knows, those people need to hear about Jesus
They would be at Trask or Cape Fear Middle
All of these places were right in their own backyard
Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria
Then Jesus talks about Judea and Samaria
These are two more regional areas
This means they would have to travel, but not too far
Judea we know today as The West Bank
It includes all of Israel and Palestine
We would look at it as a almost a state or group of states
Judea meant moving a little out of their comfort zone
Moving from their neighborhood
But still staying with in vinegar based barbecue, mostly
These people still have a Southern accent
Albeit a Hebraic southern accent in the biblical case
But you understand
Samaria however was a bit different
now we are taking about more travel
anywhere from Myrtle Beach to Virginia Beach travel
To territories outside of vinegar based barbecue
And into the mustard based, tomato based,
No longer pork but beef.
People that didn’t recognize collards kind of travel.
Samaria wasn’t the most liked by the Jewish nation
these were the red-headed step children of the Jews
They’re related but we don’t talk about those relatives
We don’t want to admit they are even part of the family kind of people
These are the outer states without Carolina in their name
These are the Yankees,
Those that have weird northern accents
They pahk their cahr in the yahd kind of people
Now most people from North Carolina
would consider the Northerners, Westerners, and people from Texas and Florida
people from the land of fruits and nuts like California
The utter most parts of the world
And if you’ve never left Rocky Point
That may be your perspective
Why bother going to anyone else?
don’t we have enough people to reach right here?
Hold that thought.
Ends of the Earth
Ends of the Earth
The ends of the earth may seem extreme
let me put that into perspective
for the gospel to reach Rocky Point, NC
we were the ends of the earth to someone.
Without someone willing to reach the ends of the earth
we would never have heard the gospel.
The ends of the earth from the time of the gospel
from Jerusalem to Rocky Point, NC
It is 6,788 miles from here to Jerusalem
about 25 hours by plane
roughly about 13 and a half million steps.
Somebody thought that Jesus command was serious enough
to make the trek from Jerusalem to Rocky Point.
The ends of the earth represent wherever you are
to the farthest distance away.
However, to be strategic in our planning
I also use Romans 15:20 for all our strategic approach
My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation,
So that’s our strategy
our commission to make disciples
is to our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.
looking for places that aren’t already reached
for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is our Acts 1:8 strategy
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