Vision 2020: Relationships

Acts chapter 4

At the beginning of a new year, it seems like it's a very appropriate point for us as a church to stop and to reflect on where we've been and to also think about what's coming up next. And so that's what we're going to do today. Now earlier this week. If you're on our Facebook group, you'll know we're not going to do our livestream today. I also said that we weren't going to record. However, we have several people who are out with sickness and so we will be recording today just so that we can all be on the same page as we think about that. Like I said where we've been and where we are going together as a church and then I just feel like now is an appropriate time to stop and to Define church, right and to think and to remind ourselves of what church is now if you are a guest of ours and not been here with us at Red Hills before you may not have heard this if you've been here before, And like every other thing I say you've just kind of tuned it out. Let's just refresh for just a second on what church is church is not a building, right? If not these four walls, right? It's not the parking lot church is not a 501 c 3 organization registered with the state at church is in our way of looking at things as we consider the New Testament teaching churches a group of Christ followers committing to follow him together. Church is a group of Christ followers committing to follow him together, right? That's what we are right. We are a church in the sense that those of us who consider ourselves part of Red Hills are seeking to follow Christ and we're doing it with one another that's pretty simple. That's not super complicated. Right and that's been our commitment as a congregation for the last three years has been that we wanted to be people who kept it simple. We wanted to have Jesus is Lord and Obey him together. And so that's what we've tried to do a few years ago. We we settled something we saw the year 2020 coming up and it's just too good of an opportunity to pass up right as a church. We set Vision 20/20 cuz you know the whole 20/20, you know, you guys get it. Anyways, we saw Vision 20/20 vision is by the year 2020. We will adopt love God love others and make disciples as our vision statements right as our purposes of church. We want to obey Jesus and we looked at Jesus's teachings. We said these teachings are summed up in these three commands love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind with all your strength, right? Love your neighbor as yourself go and make disciples. And we said those three commands some of everything else. He said to be a disciple to be a Christ follower has to obey him. Boom. That's what we're going to do where to adopt those three commands. As our vision and so together we did. We formally as a group of Christ follower said this is what we're committing ourselves to love God love others make disciples with we also said that we're going to go beyond that. We're going to submit everything we do to the word of God. So we were going to as a church not rely on tradition not rely on the way. We've always done things. But instead we were going to look at the word of God and say what did Jesus intend for his church to be and so we rewrote our documents our Constitution are bylaws all that fun stuff. And we said, okay, let's go through this and let's look at how does this look for us to be a church that submits everything to the word of God, right? And we did that we walk through that process Elaine sat on the committee. How much fun was that Elaine? Yeah, right, but as fun as it was we we did that together as a church and we said week we unanimously said yes, we're going to adopt this new document this new way of doing things submitting everything. The word of God was that we would pay off our debts that we owed on this building in preparation for future Ministry. Whatever doors the Lord would open and by God's grace we've done those three things. We we adopted love God love others make disciples as our vision. We did submit everything we do to the word of God and that's a continual process. Right? We don't think like just cuz we did it once we're done and now we can just kind of Coast we want to continually be doing that but we did update our documents to our best understanding of what it meant to submit everything to the word of God and we paid off our debt and we're ready for those next Ministry opportunities. And so that took place before 2020. So what do we do then? Well last year, we looked down the road. We said the pastor's got together and we said, okay. Well, we've kind of done that. So how do we expand Vision 20/20 and we came before you last year's we said. Hey, we feel like we need to be people who pray together. We need to be people who are connected to one another outside the walls of this building. We need to be people who are making a difference in our community Through Outreach and through gospel Ministry, and we we set those things. We had three different ways. We were going to do that. I under prayer. We said that we were going to emphasize prayer in our services. We said that we were going to have prayer regular prayer Gatherings and it we would do a better job with prayer updates now if you signed up for our prayer updates, you know that we have gotten better with doing that. We send a text message out as per request comes in or come in tall is Simon send those out and you can get signed up for those if you're curious about that. You want to know how to get signed up on that. You can email me or you can email our secretary Nicole secretary at our HSBC. Org. So we're doing that in prayer Gatherings we've done. Okay. Listen to be real honest look at how we're doing. And so I don't want to toot our own horn here too early because if we made maybe six out of R12 regular prayer Gatherings, but we made an effort in that direction and prayer in the service. We've been trying to ease that we can do that better. So we're not there yet on that one. I'm Fellowship on connecting with one another outside the walls. We said we need to have a Basics class. We need to have something in place where we are coming together and saying hey, this is who we are as a group of Christ followers. Let's make sure others to join us who come into this Fellowship that they know.

Again mix mix success on that we had a welcome lunch. We've done that some we're looking at other ways to do that coming up in the future. We we said that we were going to start small groups and we did that. We had two rounds of small groups last year if you had an opportunity to participate in one of those I hope it was a blessing to you will have more of those groups kicking off this year. I will start that in the spring and fall again. I Lord willing and then we also said that we were going to create a fellowship area up here on the main main level. Well, we didn't do that yet, but we are going to be talking about that in the near future. We got a mission team that's going to be coming out to join with us in April and they're bringing about 60 people 60 people and they saying hey put us to work and so we'll have some ready hands. We just need to tell him. Well, this is what we're going to do it. We got some ideas that we've been kicking around but at our next membership meeting with Don't have on the calendar yet. We'll talk about that and that might include maybe some fellowship area options in that the final area that was in our Outreach want to have monthly opportunities for outreach again, like the prayer. I think we hit maybe six of those opportunities just where we are going out in the community opportunities to meet our neighbors and to share the gospel is Christ gave us that chance. We did pray share disciple is a church board to your right as you come in the doors of the main entrance and there's all these clothespins up there with pieces of paper and there's a prey and a share and a disciple and this is names that people in our congregation are praying for to hear the gospel. People that they I have shared the gospel or sharing the gospel with in the center. And then those who have responded to the gospel who are being discipled in the in the third one. And so you walked by that and I and I'm afraid like many things when they're when they're there and we see them all the time. We just got to get you some if you seen that and you didn't know what it was or if you forgot what that was. That's what that is. It's to remind us of our need to intentionally pray for those who do not know Christ to share the gospel with those who do not know Christ and then to disciple of those who come to know him. And so that was part of expanding Vision 20/20 Linda the final thing was that we wanted to be a part of God starting a new work in this area God planting a church somewhere. We wanted to be a part of that. So we started meeting down in New Harmony with a small group there. And we started focusing our eyes on Enterprise town of about 1700 West of us that does not have any evengelical church. God has answered that that request from us that desire from us not in the ways that we always expect. We have a small group that meets the New Harmony but that small group is not a church. Right? Does that mean we failed in that? Yes, if our goal was to plan to church. However what I think may be needed to be reinvent reimagined was whether or not the goal should have been to start a church, but do we have a group of people meeting in New Harmony who are intentionally thinking about how to engage their neighbors and bring them into fellowship and bring them into a connection with Christ followers. Yes, we do. We don't have a church there but we have people who intentionally seeking to make disciples in New Harmony. I'm good with that. Alright in Enterprise. We thought we were going to go out there and we were going Do this thing kind of solo? Well, first off we never do anything solo anything that we can accomplish on our own without God going before us without God doing it for us probably isn't going to last the second of all we need to be mindful of the fact that God may be answering that prayer in a different way than we imagined. And so we have people with a heart for Enterprise, but we have a church right there in Beryl Junction. They have this Vision to reach in there about 10 minutes from Enterprise. We're 45 minutes from Enterprise. And so maybe that looks like us partnering with them to make disciples there rather than starting our own work. We don't know yet. We're still exploring. We're still waiting to see what God does but that's where those things stand. So that's where we've been.

Where do we go from here? We're not done like we're not done with this. I would not say that as I look at us as it is a congregation. I would not say that we are a people who are absolutely devoted to prayer. I don't think that an outsider coming in to Red Hills would say these are people who are devoted to prayer. So we have some work to do there. I don't think there's somebody coming in would say these are people who are devoted to one another to the fellowship. Right? And he's these words devoted to this is this is Stefan pulling from Acts chapter 2 the end of Acts chapter 2. You should go read that sometime. It's exciting at the description of the early church. They devoted themselves to prayer they devoted themselves to fellowship and so as we look at 20/20 and as we think about where do we go from here God? What I feel burdened to bring to you. Is it where we go from here is we focus on relationships in 2028 and 2020. We focus on relationships. I think I took my eye off of the ball. I took my eye off the ball last year. I got so excited about you know us adopting that vision statement read redesigning our documents and paying off the debt. I got so excited about that. Then I thought man, we'll just kind of throw anything out there and this church is going to do it right? It's just going to happen. We're going to plant churches and we're going to do all this cool stuff. When I took my eye off of was it the way God does all that cool stuff. Is not with an organization. Not with Administration. He does that through people. And and we need to have that connection. We need to have that understanding we need to understand too that I need to understand why I say we sometimes it's a substitute for I I need to understand that nothing valuable is going to be accomplished in 2020 by this group of Christ's followers gathered here unless we are connected relationally with God. Unless we are plugged in with him. Unless our life is in him. It doesn't matter how many good ideas or visions or programs. We start if our relationship with God is missing. Nothing else of value will take place likewise if we accomplished great things for God, but we burn Bridges with the people around us and we leave behind those who are weak.

We've missed the point entirely how Jesus did Ministries that's not what Jesus would call his followers to do right? That's what being a Christ follower means. It's doing what Jesus would do if he were you right? That's what it means to follow Christ. And so if we follow Christ in our heads and in the programs that we do it in the organization that we form but we don't do so in a way that keeps us connected with God and connected to one another we've missed the points and so in 2020, I want us as a church to focus on relationships right now that does not. inspire Right, especially for the guys in here, right? This sounds a little bit too. Touchy-feely for the guys in here. We're not too sure about all of this relationship language, but let me tell you your Eternal salvation rests on relationship. Let me tell you your happiness rest on relationship. Let me tell you that your success in business as a husband as a father and I know some of you women to really I don't know about this relationship thing. So is a mother as as a wife as a friend as a teacher as a whatever you are. It hinges on relationship. We cannot neglect this aspect of things until going forward in this 2020. I don't want us to lose sight of New Harmony and making disciples there. I don't want us to lose side of Enterprise and making disciples there. I don't want us to lose sight of our Partnerships in Kenya and Ecuador. But I also don't want us to lose sight. Of The God Who desires a relationship with us. I don't want us to lose sight of the people. God has put beside us that we're to follow Christ together with so let's focus on relationships earlier. I asked you to turn to Acts chapter 4 I think that a lot since then did I ask you to turn to Acts chapter 4 turn to Acts chapter 4

and we see this the first church really right at you have this really interesting Dynamic that takes place in the New Testament. You've not had a chance to read the New Testament. Here's my advice to you this week pick up a Bible and turn to the Gospel of Luke and read the Gospel of Luke from beginning to end. All right, and in there you'll see Jesus doing things in in the Gospel of Luke, you'll see Jesus ministering to people in Jesus teaching people in Jesus Calling others to follow him and then you see Jesus die. And then you see him rise again. And then when he rises he ascended to heaven and he says to his followers. Wait a second. Don't do anything. You're going to be my witnesses around the world, but stay in Jerusalem. All right, then you go to the book of Acts. And this is why I say turn next after you finish Luke then read acts and see what happens. The book of Acts shows us Jesus doing stuff. Through his church. It's inaugurating when the spirit comes in and Powers his people right and so in Acts chapter 4, we see what it looks like for Jesus to still be working even though he's ascended we see what it looks like for Jesus to move through the spirit to empower his people we see frankly what I would hope to see from us. We see people who are connected with God and connected with one another and by golly if they didn't just change the world as a result of those two relationships their relationship with God and their relationship with one another by one has to look at Acts chapter 4 The problem was that the rulers in Jerusalem the religious Elite in Jerusalem didn't like Jesus. They were the ones who pushed for him to be killed and they accomplished it and then when he was dead, they thought all right, we're done with the whole Jesus thing will then 40 days later this group of people who'd walked around with Jesus when he was alive started talking about it. Like he was alive again and started causing all sorts of problems for them. They started saying Jesus is not only alive. He is the Messiah that the Jewish people have been looking for all this time. And they say wait a second. We thought we stopped us and we killed Jesus we better put a stop to this and so they call a couple of the guys in Peter and John. Did Peter and John is they've been going about the city? They've been preaching Jesus and they've been doing the works of Jesus. They killed a guy. And the leaders are really starting to freak out there. Like these people won't go away. And so they call them in. And they say you need to knock it off. And I imagine even though it's not necessarily here in the text. I imagine there was this kind of reading between the lines that they wanted Peter and John to do like we killed Jesus the one you're talking about we can kill you.

Peter and John knew that they couldn't do that. They knew that Jesus had told them tell others about this tell others about this truth. And so the leaders warn, then we could we kill Jesus we can kill you too, and then we pick up in verse 23 of chapter 4. When they were released they went to their friends and reported with the chief priests in the elders had said to them and when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said Sovereign Lord who made the heavens and the earth and the Sea and everything in them through through the mouth of Our Father David your servant said by the Holy Spirit, why did the Gentiles rage in the people's clot In Vein the kings of the earth set themselves on the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed for truly in this city that were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Now Lord look upon their threat grants your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus and when they had prayed the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak. the word of God with boldness

That's a prayer. That that that most of that that we just read is a prayer that the people of God prayed under attack from the elite under attack from the rulers of their Community. They did not go out of that Peter and John did not go out of that back to the rest of the Apostles and say hey guys. We just need to try really hard. We need to grit our teeth and we need to come up with a great vision and we need to come up with a plan and we need is somebody to administrate this plan and we need to have this organization that's formed so that we can take the gospel out like Jesus told us to know. That's not what they did. They left that threat don't speak anymore in this name or we'll treat you like we did your master will treat you like we did your teacher treating you like we did Jesus they left that threat and they prayed. They knew that their strengths and their wisdom and their good plans were not enough to accomplish the task that got a given them. Do we know that? Do we know that there will not be a single soul saved in New Harmony. There will not be a single person repent of their sins and Trust in Christ in Enterprise. Unless God does it do we know that?

I know it.

But I'm not sure that I always believe it. I like to imagine that a good idea and a good plan and and and some good organization can just accomplish all this but it can't Church what we need in 2020 is not. more efforts what we need in 2020 is prayer prayer like what we see these christ-followers do a prayer that focuses on God's power. Right. They didn't say God. We're so amazing.

They said God you're so amazing. You made everything everything happens. According to your plan. I love the word that they use in in verse 24 Lord. What's it mean for the Lord to be Sovereign? It means he's in charge. It means nothing they do is going to matter if the Sovereign lord of the universe doesn't say yes. That's what I want you to do church. Will it be that we are focused on God's power on God's Authority and not on our own. Cuz there's two ways that can we can go if we focus on our power one is we can get puffed up and prideful the other way as we can get depressed. Right? And actually it's usually both we get puffed up and prideful and then we will try to do God's work in our own strength without God's power and then we get depressed because it doesn't work. They focused on God's power. We need to focus on God's power instead of saying God hears our plans bless them. We say God do your work. Let us be a part of it if that's okay. If you want to use another church, we're cool with that too. But do your work that you said you were going to do God said he is not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance. Right. God said that the Sovereign god of the universe says I want people to come to know me.

He invites us to be a part of that. He doesn't wait for us to accomplish it invites us to be a part of the choice is not whether or not we're going to do God's work. The question is are we going to do God's work in our power and get burned out and stressed out and depressed. Are we going to do God's work in God's power. We look at these church and they say we need your power God and God gave the his power the place where they were at was shaking and they continued to preach the word with boldness. What did they ask? Let us preach the word with boldness. What is the spirit do for him? Let them preach the word with boldness. We need to submit our hopes and our dreams from making disciples to God's power. They focus on God's promises, right? They said this is what you said you were going to do they quote from the Old Testament and they say this is what you were talking about. You were talking about Jesus and you did it. You fulfill that promise and so for us today, what are the promises of God of the promise of God is that there will be a great multitude from every tribe from every time from every nation standing Before the Throne of God saying, holy holy holy. Is the Lord God we know this to be true? We know he's going to save people we focus on that promise that frees us up. It's no longer our effort. That's for true status. Give me the the power of God. It's the promise of God. It's going to be fulfilled. Do we have a role to play? Absolutely? But it's not that of author. It's not that a primary motivating power. It's simply that a tool or instrument. That's what we are. That's what the apostles were praying. Is it God use us cuz we know you're going to do it. Anyways, let us be a part of it because we don't want to be on the outside looking in of The Greatest Story Ever Told they focused on God. That's what prayer is meant to be prayer is meant to be this focus on God and church if we are not a church of Prayer.

I'm not sure how long we can be at church.

If we're if we're not a people who are focused on God if we're continually just focus on our own abilities on an our own desires or wishes that will inevitably fail. But if we focus on God God, could you hear what he did there? As many came to Faith in joined with this Kingdom efforts that was going on. What's the result of all of this their prayer that focuses on God and not themselves. It was that they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

And at the Spirit empowered them for that work, we we misunderstand sometimes what filling with the spirit means we make filling with the spirit this kind of internal thing like fill me with your spirit so that I can feel you know, goosebumps fill me with your spirit so that I feel good about my life and my relationship with you, but the primary mean the primary thing for the spirit is doing here in Acts chapter 4 is he's empowering them for the work.

That's not the only thing he does but that's for the main thing. We see him doing here empowering them for the work until we cannot be people of prayers. They give us the spirit if we're not also willing to join him in the work. So we focus on relationships prayer is our relationship with God. Prayer is our relationship with God. We focus on that in 2020. We see what God will do what we're going to do not what our best plans are. But we see what God will do in 2020. I think we also need to focus on our relationship with each other. We need to focus on our relationship with each other. I say this because immediately after were told about the disciples relationship with God their submission to him their prayer for him the boldness they have in joining him in his work immediately.

Shifted to focus on the relationship the disciples had with one another look at chapter 4 verse 32 now the full number of those who were believed were of one heart and soul and no one said that any of the things that belong to him was his own but they had everything in common and with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them. All there was not a needy person among them for as many as were owners of lands are houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold in late as the apostles feet and it was distributed to each as any had need now. Yes. You are sitting here and you are a western cultured American. Two things are true when you read that Passage. I'm guessing anyways. I'm guessing that when you read that passage, if you're familiar with it, you just kind of shrug and say yeah, okay, I get it that's a description of the early church and there might be some of you who the second thing is true. You look at it and think play I'm glad we don't have to do that today.

They didn't consider anything their own but they shared everything they had with one another.

communist

But that's not what's being talked about here. This is not communism. This is not socialism Instead This is a recognition of a vital truth when we receive God is our father through the sacrifice of Jesus when we submit to Christ as Lord God becomes our father, that's what we're told several times in scripture, but I think about it and Romans especially that we have the spirit within us now that cries out Abba Father right to God. Jesus is done that but we sometimes neglect for the corollary to that which is it in having God for our father through Jesus Christ. We now have every other Christ follower as brother and sister. Write my son cannot just choose to relate to me as father and pretend like his sisters have nothing to do with him. As much as it would be tempting been to do that from time to time. Right by accepting this relationship. This relationship is also encumbered upon us. And so when we say God, you're not my father through Christ, we have to recognize that the people we sit next to on Sunday morning are now our brothers and our sisters. That's what they recognized here. This is a very different day and age a day and age in which the individual did not reign supreme. This was a culture and I think that Jesus himself points us to the church every establishing this culture wear instead of this being every man for himself. She is creating a new family. He is creating a new social structure and it's not a church in the sense of 501 c 3 organization. It's a family. Just finished a book by a guy named Joseph hellerman. He's a pastor somewhere in California. I don't know. Where do you write a book called when the church was a family and he looks back at Jesus is teaching on this and he looks at the teaching of the rest of the New Testament looks at the early churches practice. He says it's really hard to argue. This is what they were. They were a family They recognized this as a matter of fact, one of the early church fathers went so far as to say, no man can have God for father who does not have the church. He wasn't thinking the organization was thinking about the group of Christ followers. No, man can have God for father who does not have the church for mother brother and sisters. When we submit to Christ, it's not just me and Jesus hanging out for the rest of my days when we submit to Jesus. It's accepting the fact that I now have this family responsibility to these people around me the early church recognize that in the way that they did it was they met each other's need. If somebody needed something they took care of it. This was not an obligation. That's why I say it's not communism right? There was nobody sitting above them who said you have to do this. They just recognized because we now have God is Father through Christ. We not have these people as brothers and sisters and their need is my need my families in need.

This changes everything. This changes everything and yet we treat Christianity we treat our faith is something that's just between us and God, but it's not. We are meant to live this kind of Life today. I'm convinced of it. Is it going to look different in the 21st century? Yeah, probably. Does that change the reality not even one bit we need to be a group of Christ followers open and Jesus together and committed to meeting each other's needs. The early church was not just United in praying for God's power. They weren't just United in sharing the gospel. They were United relationally. They were United financially. Do you understand what that means? I don't think I do. I'm probably not supposed to admit that right. I don't think I've ever seen this on a church-wide level and there is a part of me frankly that stands up here this morning and is like I am terrified because I have no idea what this means. 4 Red Hills Southern Baptist Church. I have no idea what this means for 2020 if we're going to focus on relationships and this is what God does when he create the family.

But if you're willing to explore this if you're willing to focus on relationships with me this year, let's see what God might do. Let's see what this might look like. If instead of saying this is mine. And that is yours. We said Hey brother, this is ours. Let's see what God might do with our houses with our cars with our jobs with our finances If instead of treating it as mine. We said God is there a need in this church community that I can meet. Is there any too often we we have this hierarchy kind of thing going on and we've been we've been groomed this we've been pushed into this because we're Americans because we're individualist only that were Western Americans, right? Where these rugged individuals who don't need anybody we pull it ourselves up by your own bootstraps. That's not the picture. The following Christ that we see in Acts. We see a body of people who needed one another who received from one another who gave to one another. That's what we see. It's not about the individual. It's about the snoo family that's been created. It's about the relationships that they have won it with one another and what's the result of that? This is interesting in this is why would I read earlier didn't match what was on the screen? Because remember when we were reading the Bible reading something has been translated from Greek, especially New Testament reading something translate from Greek into English and there's decisions that have to be made in in Greek.

There's a very clear connection between how they lived with one another relationally meeting each other's needs and the success that their mission had couldn't pull that back up Acts Chapter 4 verses 32 to 35 in The New American Standard in the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul not one of them claimed anything belong to him was his but all things were common property to them. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection Lord Jesus and abundant grace is upon them. I'll stop right there back to 33. Alright, great tower. The apostles were giving testimony. cool Right. There was some good sermons being preached. No, I don't actually think that's what he's talking about. The gospel was being shared and lives were being transformed by the power of the Gospel. Right and abundant grace was on them all not just on those who receiving the gospel, but on those who it already received who are part of this family. They were experiencing Grace. So the mission was going forward and Grace was the reality that the people lived in that's their experience. Why looking for 34 for there was not a needy person among them. 4 because here's why this thing was true because this thing was true. The reason there was a bunch of Grace. The reason that the apostles preaching was met with such widespread acceptance was because of their radically read rearranged relationships with one another

this was the instrument. That pushed the gospel forward in that context. And if you fast forward it a couple years some of you aren't history bus. That's not your thing. I get that. But if you fast forward it a couple hundred years from this point, you know what you'd see you would see the Roman Empire. completely rearranged and Christianity far from being a small little group of people huddled in Jerusalem. You see it become the official state religion of Rome. Almost historically speaking overnight. This is huge. Do you know how there was not a needy person among them the lifestyle that they lived in community with one another gave Credence to the message. They preach Together made other people say there's something to that I need to follow up on this. I need to know more about this damper. There's Emperor Julian the apostate rights back after a Christian become the official religion release date and acceptable religion. This this guy is like no no, no go back to get anybody to worship Rome's God. They keep worshiping this Jesus guy because Jesus is people don't just take care of their own. They take care of our own. They don't just meet the needs of their sick. They're taking care of our sick when everybody else is rushing out of the plague strike and cities are rushing in. their lifestyle Gave their message its validity gave their message its power. Church, I don't want us to lose sight. Of our call to go out with the gospel. But I want to save this Our Gospel will be believable only to the extent that our fellowship is radical. Our Gospel will only be believable to the extent that our fellowship is radical I would say this the gospel moves only as far and only as fast as The Fellowship of the church I will say this if our fellowship is week Our Gospel Proclamation, whatever effort we put into it will be weak.

Doesn't mean that God can't do things his own way doesn't mean that it's not his power. But he uses the Fellowship of the church to validate the message that we Proclaim and in 2020. I want to see the us as a people. Have a stronger Fellowship than we do to see church not being a Sunday morning Gathering where I show up and it recognized that guy. Don't remember his name.

I think I know her but maybe I'm thinking of this other person. I want to see us change that from being someplace Church being someplace we come on Sunday to church being something that we are everyday of the week because as we pray I have a relationship with God is strengthened as we commit ourselves to this together. The gospel goes forward. That's what we saw in Acts chapter 4 as we commit to relationship with one another the gospel goes forward as we commit to one another relationally and financially and and just in life the gospel moves forward. That's what we want. We want to see disciples made. We want to see the gospel go forward, but we can't do that if we don't focus on our relationship with God and our relationship with one another Sue in 2020. That's the mindset.

That I have going forward. That's the mindset. I would ask you to join me and when we have opportunity, let's pray we have opportunity to meet one another's needs and the fellowship together. Let's do it because those things are gospel things and gospel things are worthy things. Let's pray.