Best Year Ever: Go - Reach and Lead

Went out to our berries....we have about 2 acres of berries we are trying to grow…blue and black…but now they are all dormant....so when I look out and see those dead sticks…it’s kind of sad.

Especially after his last season. It was a rough year and I’m looking forward to this season.

There is something that excites me about the potential of a new crop. I just love those fresh berries…

I was thinking about this the other day when I thought about how God sees us…how he loves us so. How he gets excited for us when we live out his mission. How I believe he wants us this to be THE BEST YEAR EVER…and He is excited about our pursuit of it.

But the dormancy of those plants reminded me of the way we look to God when we have all this promise in us…when we have everything we need in us, but we just aren’t producing fruit... we love him and worship him but we are just not producing fruit. We are living as though there is no life in us.

BEST YEAR EVER...about growing spiritually.

John 10:10 NIV84

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Gather - know God and Connect to other believers

Grow - to be Christlike…Develop His Character in me and discover His CALL on me

GO - serving God’s mission…doing our part…our shape…to reach and lead others into a relationship with Jesus

When we engage the presence of God in our lives, we grow…when we don’t, when we stay put leads to death

It’s like that chair I spoke of last week that I spend way too much time in.

Most of us spend more time sitting in chairs than thinking about chairs, but perhaps we devote even more time to hunting for the perfect chair. Now there's a whole book about that pursuit. It's titled Now I Sit Me Down and it's written by architect Witold Rybczynski (Rib-shin-skee).

+ the modern ergonomic desk chair;

+ the rocking chair that famously helped alleviate President Kennedy's back issues;

+ the dentist recliner that made it easier to treat cavities.

+ the famous barbers chair that is such a collectors item today.

Rybczynski explains that the history of chairs is a social history -- of different ways of sitting, of changing manners and attitudes and of varying tastes. He notes that the ancient Chinese switched from sitting on the floor to sitting in a chair, and how the iconic chair of Middle America -- the Barcalounger -- traces its roots back to an art school in Germany. He even looks toward the future, suggesting we mortals may eventually invent a chaise-like seat designed around browsing a smartphone.

But here's the main point for us: Rybczynski says that the search for the perfect chair will never end -- because humans aren't built to sit. "We are good at walking and running, and we are happy lying down," he writes. "It is the in-between position that is the problem." *Homiletics Online

~~Jesus was not one to spend his ministry sitting around…and he modeled that for his followers.

The Reality - Matt 9:35-38

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”” (Matthew 9:35–38, NIV)

There are needs all around us

Physical…spiritual…that’s what Jesus came for

We are the ones Jesus was praying for here...

That’s who God wants us to be...

But why does Jesus have to pray for God to move us out???

Why aren’t we eager to go out and reach others? What holds us back?

We don’t share b/c we feel like we need to know more

We don’t have anything that would make a difference.

We don’t have the time or energy for this...

We are too busy...

~~WE aren’t the only ones to doubt our call...

God’s Promise - Matt 28:16-20

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:16–20, NIV)

Sure you may have doubts....how to defeat doubts? Focus on what or rather WHO you know?

You know that Jesus is alive.

You know that the Holy Spirit is alive in you.

You know that God will be with you always.

As you are going...

Our SHAPE we talked about last week....understanding God's call on our life.

WE go to serve other, to help others, in order to reach people far from God in order to lead them into a relationship with Jesus…we go as the hands and feet of Jesus...

The reality is, God has given us all we need.

Best Year Ever: Reach and Lead - Philemon 4-6

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” (Philemon 4–6, NIV84)

But all we need to know is the faith we have alive in us…

Share your story....how did you come to believe…

“I was blind and now I see”

“I met a man who knew all about me”

When we reach out and lead others to a relationship with Jesus, our faith grows…because in reaching others…in telling the story of our faith...we remind ourselves of the goodness of God...staying put leads to death

Best Year Ever: Reach and Lead

You see it’s a complete cycle. We gather into a relationship wth God and other Christians…and there, we grow as we engage teh grace of God we develop the Character of Jesus in our lives and discover the call of God on our lives…then this growing is released as we go out to reach and lead others back to gather into a relationship with God and other Christians…then they grow…then they go…It’s why I love this graphic we have been using on our bulletin the last several months of a wave.

When the wave is gathering, out in the deep, you see very little change…but once it starts to you see dramatic changes as it moves above the surface…then when it is released upon the shore it can move with great impact…affecting everything it comes in contact with. That’s the life I want for us…that’s the life I want for you.

Everything you need to live a life of great impact is in you…God’s presence and power…and your story.

I invited the visionary leaders of your church to spend this weekend praying and dreaming how we can take this experience of the presence of God here and allow it to ripple out to impact the lives of people around us.

This is what missionaries do…and we are missionaries…just we are starting right here in our own back yard.

We dreamed of something we felt God calling us to do in the coming year and we are going to begin working toward building a team of 40 people who will, by the power of God, minister to 10 families in need.

You will be hearing about this a lot in the coming year, today I want to pray for those of you who feel God asking you to let go.

It’s time to run ashore…I would love to hear about it. I would love to know that you are sensing God’s work in your life that I might pray for you.