From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
March 12th and March 13th, 2005
Introduction
This is the weekend that we are celebrating 20 years at the church here for Becky and me. It is a good time to think back and remember where we have come from. It is an especially good time to consider the possibilities of what God may have planned for our future.
Of course we know from the bulletin that our purpose and values are listed. Our vision is “growth”; growing up in Jesus as His disciples, growing together in our relationships with each other because we only really love God as much as we love each other, and finally to grow out in our local area and to the world as God directs.
Acts 1
8 /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.” [1] /
We have been busy defining our four areas of outreach; locally in East Central Missouri, church planting out of this church, Europe/Haiti/Czech Republic –our Samaria and finally with Aims and others to the unreached, the uttermost parts of the earth.
We don’t have to dream up a plan. We just have to hang out with God and His Word and discover and obey His plan for us. I am convinced we are in the will of God as a church.
But we aren’t finished. We are just hitting our stride.
Example
About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.
In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?
Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.
Lynn Anderson.
Example
An interesting map is on display in the British Museum in London. It's an old mariner's chart, drawn in 1525, outlining the North American coastline and adjacent waters. The cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored. He wrote: "Here be giants," "Here be fiery scorpions," and "Here be dragons." Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800s. Scratching out the fearful inscriptions, he wrote these words across the map: "Here is God."
Our vision remains growth. It is to grow into all we are meant to be and are capable of in Christ. It means to develop and grow in relationships and have the courage to face character flaws as they come up and keep being friends with people. It means reaching out in places we never thought possible…Haiti…..China…who knows.
So when I use the term from here to eternity I am saying we are heading for eternity with God-heaven. In the meantime I want to abandon myself to the plan of God to keep as many people as possible from going to hell. I told the staff the other day that I have this very strong sense that the choices we make in the immediate future will determine whether several thousand people go to heaven or hell literally. That is too important to spend time fighting about parking spaces and rude people and whether or not we sing your song enough. An immature church only gets limited results but a mature church gets unlimited results.
Vision is the ability to understand the history, the present condition, and the potential of the church, and to conceive a plan for action that will maximize the ministry potential. More often than not, vision is a result of having spent much time absorbing the facts about the community, knowing the resources upon which the church can call (people, funding, facilities, equipment, etc.), and devising sound but creative strategies for moving forward. Vision always entails progress: it is never satisfied with the status quo.
George Barna, How to Find Your Church, p. 104.
Ephesians 4
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 /Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. [2]/
-There it is; growth. Let’s look at and talk about why and how for a few minutes.
-I am going to use the phrase you saw on the wall as you came in. I believe it was inspired.
REAL PEOPLE/REAL GOD/REAL ANSWERS
-Notice the word REAL.
-One of the things that is a vital part of this church is reality.
-I wrote down in one of my Bibles in the early days: “Be transparent before God and men.”
-Ted Haggard says to live your lives as if there are no secrets.
-In eternity we are going to know even as we are known….let’s start now as much as we can.
-The thing I hated so much about my self before Jesus was my fakeness.
-When the Bible uses it word hypocrite it uses a word that comes from the Greek theatre. The actor would hold up a mood mask.
5273 ὑποκριτής [hupokrites /hoop·ok·ree·tace/] n m. From 5271; TDNT 8:559; TDNTA 1235; GK 5695; 20 occurrences; AV translates as “hypocrite” 20 times. 1 one who answers, an interpreter. 2 an actor, stage player. 3 a dissembler, pretender, hypocrite.[3]
Real People
-What does a real Christian look like?
-To the world it often looks like we are people projected that although we are saved we could have done it by ourselves.
-This is when we have the courage to let people see our vulnerabilities and scars.
-Like the president who was getting his picture taken and the artist asked if he should clean up the picture. The president said; “No, paint it warts and all.”
-Tell someone-you have warts.
-Tell them…. “I know a great wart remover.”
-People need to know you can relate to them.
Hebrews 2
17 /For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for f the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. [4]/
-Jesus came to this planet from eternity to be like us so He could save us. That is a big step.
-When I became a Christian one of the barriers that held me back the most was the fear of what I would have to do culturally.
-Was I going to have to wear a black suit with white socks and slick my hair back with brylcream while listening to the Blackwood Brothers?
-That was my version of Christianity. Your may have been Pentecostal or old church cold stone buildings and rituals.
-Religion is man’s idea of how we should come to God. The truth is; GOD CAME TO US WITH SKIN ON.
-You have to understand who you are talking to or else you will be irrelevant.
-Like any good fisherman knows; You can’t clean the fish first….you have to catch them.
DVD “This is Who I am” (8 minutes)
-Religion builds a wall to make you conform while Jesus breaks through the wall to get us and plant the seed of ZOE-eternal life inside us.
-Fish symbols and Michael W. Smith music has its place….somewhere.
Real God
-The purpose of nature, the Bible, especially Jesus and hopefully Christians as well is to reveal God.
-God is not hiding. He is trying to get the message out about who He really is.
-We are going to have to be creative and think differently.
-If you are a real person loving God then you will automatically reveal Him to others through your God-given personality.
Hebrews 1
1 /In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,[5] /
-Jesus personified and perfectly expressed the Father. Jesus: God in action.
-He is the mind, emotions and actions of the Living God expressed to men.
-We can’t present the real God through religion.
-The primary weapon of the devil:
Greek: 1228. διάβολος diabolos; from 1225; slanderous, accusing falsely:— devil(34), malicious gossips(3).[6]
-The devil is slandering God and our purpose is to completely counteract that.
-You have to know Him in order to reveal Him properly.
-God is real to you. You and I have experienced Him. We have had dramatic and sometimes supernatural things happen.
-How can we get that information to others?
-How can we tell others about Him better?
-My life now is a quest to make that happen.
-I am celebrating others when I see them do it.
-I love what Hillsongs is doing in Australia. I love what Equip is doing with leaders. I love what GPN is doing with churches and leaders.
-I am happy when any church that preaches salvation through Jesus grows.
Real Answers
-This is taking time to know people and helping them to apply the truth of the gospel to their lives.
-Often times the church in America is a VIRTUAL REALITY CHURCH.
-We have the recreation of Christianity but it is like a flight simulator.
Example
One of my favorite things to do right now is to ride the virtual reality NASCAR cars at the Mills mall. They seem real. The only thing that is missing when you wreck is the pain. It seems real…but it isn’t.
-Let’s stop hating the world and start loving the world….not the system of the world but the people of the world.
(John 3:16)
κόσμος [kosmos /kos·mos/]
6 the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.[7]
Read “Fish Wars”
-Of course we are being silly.
-You have to address people where they are.
-They need a chance to soak in the truth. Their questions are real….they deserve real answers.
-That is why I love Alpha so much. It lets people be honest. We are going to have another one in the fall.
I will talk more next week about Being Real People presenting a Real God who gives Real Answers.
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[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ac 1:8). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Eph 4:11). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
n n: noun or neuter
m m: masculine
TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
TDNTA Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume
GK Goodrick-Kohlenberger
AV Authorized Version
[3]Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G5273). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.
f Or and that he might turn aside God~s wrath, taking away
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Heb 2:17). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[5]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Heb 1:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6]Thomas, R. L. (1998, 1981). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition (H8674). Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
[7]Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G2889). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.