Vision 2020 - Part 3

Intro:

Intro:

Good morning TRC.

Hey, we’re going to jump right into it this morning. If you have your Bible/app, you can turn to .

We’re continuing with our Vision 2020 series. As we start a brand-new year, I want us to understand where we are headed as a church in 2020. And as I’ve mentioned the past few weeks, I believe God wants us to focus on spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, or GROWING IN CHRIST.

And our foundational passage for the year is found right here in chapter 2, where the apostle Peter has a lot to say about the subject of growth. In fact, let’s read it again. Look what he says...

1 Peter 2:1–5 ESV

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[Back to Vision 2020 slide]

In our 3rd year as a church, I believe God wants us to grow both spiritually and in Kingdom impact. And throughout the year, we will use Legos as a theme to help us develop this maturity.

Now, we didn’t read it, but Peter starts chapter one encouraging the church to be who God created them to be. As Christians, Jesus has given us a brand-new identity. We are a new creation. The old has passed, the new has come! But the same was true 2000 years ago as it is today… sometimes the church has a hard time leaving that old life behind and embracing the new things God has for them. And sometimes that transition takes time and effort. If you will, it takes growth!

Here in chapter 2, Peter says, “If you want to grow, you must...”

Get rid of the old life. Leave it behind. It’s not who you are anymore! So, don’t act like it.

Then, we got to add new stuff, specifically the Word of God into our lives. God’s Word is food to the Christian (or milk to a baby). We need it to grow healthy.

And thirdly, we need to focus on Jesus. We are always moving in His direction. We are always becoming more like Him!

And last week, we added “motivation” to our conversation. It’s one thing to know we are supposed to grow. It’s another thing to be MOTIVATED TO GROW. And we saw that God has given us all we need to be motivated!

We have a wonderful future ahead of us! It’s worth growing into!

God has a plan for our lives. We have purpose and make a real difference in the world when we follow Jesus by faith. It’s worth growing to be a part of that!

And God will provide everything we need to get where He’s calling us! God gives us the strength we need to grow into the people He designed us to be!

If you missed that message, you can always find the recorded livestream on FB or the YouTube video on our website.

This morning, I want to begin talking about things we should consider as we grow. Expectations that will be helpful for us during the spiritual growth process. And it’s going to take me a couple of weeks to get through these, but I think it’ll be beneficial and clarifying.

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about running, so let me give you an example of what I mean from my marathon experience. Many of you know running is one of my hobbies. I do it for fun - I know I’m crazy. But it wasn’t always this way. Initially, I started running because it was the best way for me to lose weight. Eventually, I fell in love with the sport. Which eventually led me to run my first marathon last year.

When I began training for the marathon, thankfully, I had experienced people at my side. And from the start, they laid out expectations (tips, or things we should know beforehand) that were clarifying and beneficial. For example, two things they told me were:

You’re going to be super hungry all the time. Feed yourself. You’ll need the energy. Marathons aren’t times to try and cut calories so you lose weight.

You’re going to want to sleep. Do it. Your body needs the recovery.

The reason this is helpful is in my normal life, those are two rules I don’t typically live by...

Because I’ve always struggled with my weight, I don’t usually give myself permission to eat all the time.

Additionally, while I highly believe in adequate sleep, I try not to sleep too much because I feel like I lose valuable time.

So, in this “growth” season (conditioning my body to run a marathon), understanding these two things beforehand was super beneficial. It helped me understand what I was experiencing during the process. And it’s those types of things I’m going to talk about over the next couple weeks. Things we should understand AS we GROW in Christ this year.

And this morning, I’m going to start with two things. First: Growing in Christ takes patience!

Exegesis:

Growing in Christ takes patience.

Look back at verse 5...

1 Peter 2:5 ESV

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, this verse has a lot to say about growth...

We are growing into something beautiful - a spiritual house of God.

We are growing into someone beautiful - a holy priesthood.

And our growth accomplishes something beautiful - worship that pleases God.

But look at this phrase

But look at this phrase, “being built up.” In the Greek language (which is the language it was originally written in), it’s written in what’s called the present-passive.

When something is written in the “present-tense” it usually refers to an action that is continuous and on-going. Something that happens over time.

When something is written in the “passive-voice” it means the action is happening to the subject, from the outside. For example, growth in the “passive-voice” means someone else is causing me to grow. I’m not really the one doing it!

What’s that mean for us this morning? Well, I’m going to bring in a childhood reference that’ll hopefully help us.

When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not just because they were really popular back then, but because my family has a karate background. I connected with it. And in 1990, in addition to the cartoon, they came out with a movie… check out one of my favorite scenes...

What’s that mean for us this morning? Well, I’m going to bring in a childhood reference that’ll hopefully help us. When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not just because they were really popular back then, but because my family has a karate background, I connected to it. And in 1990, they came out with a movie… check out one of my favorite scenes...

TMNT clip

Why did I show you this? What do ninja turtles and nunchucks have to do with growing in Christ? I show you this for this one phrase, “Keep practicing!”

Now, you don’t necessarily “practice” growing in Christ, but practice takes patience. And patience is part of the growth process. As we commit to GROWING in 2020, let me tell you beforehand: BE PATIENT!

God’s work on your life is progressive. It’s going to happen over time. Be patient with yourself. Also, be patient with others you’re in relationship with at church. Everyone doesn’t grow at the same speed and in the same way. This year, we are going to see people make leaps and bounds in their faith. Other times it’s going to seem like their stuck. Be patient. Because here’s the other part… remember the passive!

Because here’s the other part of it…remember the passive!

Again, the “passive” means something happening to you from the outside. And in this context, it means God is the One who is growing you. Paul told the Philippians...

Philippians 2:13 NLT

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Peter is talking about the same thing here (). A major part of growing in Christ does not rely on your action, but on your reception. You just have to be in position to receive it (and yes, that does takes effort and commitment on your behalf), but it is God who is throwing the ball. And God does that in His own timing - at just the right time...

. There is a major part of growing in Christ that does not necessarily rely on your action, but your reception. You have to be in position to recieve it. And for us, that means there will be times when you feel like you’re waiting, in position, and nothing happens. Ex: Gordon Conwell - massive snow - we were going to move in the winter - God didn’t want us there. It wasn’t His timing. We were in position. But God had perfect timing.

…Which means there will be times when you “feel” like you’re waiting, in position, and nothing happens. When that happens this year, remember this: God’s not in a rush.

But not just for you… but for how you treat, view, and work with others.

And I don’t mean there isn’t an urgency to our mission - there is! That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when God says, “Go! Move!” There will be. It just means God does things in His perfect timing, not ours. Which means we don’t need to feel like, “I need to hurry up and grow!” That’s really not our job. Our job in the growth process is to TRUST GOD.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t an urgency to our mission - there is! That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when God says, “Go! Move!” There will be. It just means God does things in His perfect timing, which means we don’t need to feel like, “I need to hurry up and grow!” No, what we need to do is TRUST GOD.

T

If you are a Christian, and genuinely walking by faith, and yet still making little to no visible progress in your mind, don’t assume you’re doing something wrong. Maybe God is moving “slow” for a reason.

In running, there’s a thing called over-training. It’s something a lot of marathon runners have to be aware of. Basically, it’s doing more than your body is ready for. And many times the result is injury.

There’s a similar principle in spiritual growth. If God were to take us immediately into what He’s calling us to, many of us would be, not over-trained, but over-whelmed. We’d explode. We’d spiritually-injure ourselves, because we aint ready. Say “You ain’t ready.”

Don’t get mad about that. Sometimes, that’s the truth, especially when it comes to God’s timing. Sometimes we ain’t ready! I was reminded of this in my devos yesterday. When I was reading, I came across this...

Exodus 13:17 NLT

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

Isn’t that weird? Moses makes it a point to let us know God’s timing was different than man’s thinking. Human thinking says, “Let’s get out of Egypt and into the Promise Land as fast as possible.” But God was like, “You ain’t ready!”

Exodus and Israelites - just reminded of this in my devos. We need grow into those things which takes time.

The Israelites needed time to grow in their faith. Otherwise, they would have turned around and walked away from everything God had for them! Sometimes, God is keeping us from the same type of spiritual dangers.

This year, as we grow, be patient with yourself and others. Growing in Christ is a process. And it’s a process that’s based on God’s timing. Our part is to simply be in position to receive.

Now, if right now you’re honest with yourself and you’re like, “I’m not following God by faith,” and it’s probably why I’m not growing the way I should. Let me give you an easy next step. If we’re friends on FB, you probably saw me post this: surrender. You what’s an important lesson to learn in the spiritual growth process? Surrender. And it’s exactly what we’re talking about. Surrender is understanding God has a better plan than we do, and can do better things with our lives than we can. If we will just surrender and receive, He can do powerful things. That’s what Paul means when he says “weakness I’m strong.”

Over the next year, there are going to be times when all you have is to believe what God says about you. You’re going to feel like quitting. You’re going to feel impatient with your growth. You’re going to feel like a failure. Keeping going because God is working in you! (Philippians?) That’s faith. Believing God. What is one thing God has said to you or about you, that you have trouble believing. Take 10 minutes and see what the Bible says about it. This week, take one step toward believing that. 50 promises? I want you us learn to God to God’s word for help. - Jesus opens hearts and minds through the Scriptures. Meditate on it. The spiritual milk. Say “I feel like this” but “God you say this.” I believe what you say! God’s word is truth. Our feelings, what people think/say about us changes. God’s word never changes. And His love for us never changes. Jeremiah describes God’s love as an everlasting love. Nothing can seperate us ().

Here’s the second thing I want to mention beforehand that I think will be helpful for us: Growing involves mission!

Growing in Christ involves mission:

Just because we are focusing on growing, which can seem very inward-focused, doesn’t mean we forget our mission! We started this church to reach people who do not know Jesus. And by God’s grace, that will ALWAYS be our mission.

I’m not interested in getting Christians, who are already plugged into a good church, to come to our church because they like the music better (or whatever!). Now, if God calls them to our church because He has a mission and purpose for it - that’s different. But we’re not building a Christian Country Club! This church will always be about the mission and message Jesus gave us...

This is the “GO” part of our mission:

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In these verses, Jesus is telling us: Your mission is to GO into the world and tell people that I love them and I have made a way for them to be rescued and restored to God!

And think about it… it makes sense, right? God using and empowering His church to accomplish His mission. That’s why we’re still here! If it was just about forgiveness and heaven, God could’ve taken us directly to heaven the moment we placed our faith in Him. But He didn’t! He chose to partner with us in saving the world.

In 2020, we are focusing on GROWING IN CHRIST. And GROWING IN CHRIST involves participating in God’s rescue mission. It involves telling people about Jesus and inviting them into the Kingdom of God. Peter mentions this too. We saw this last week...

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Check it out: the phrase “that you may proclaim...” is written as a purpose statement. Someone say, “This is my purpose.”

When God grows us into His special people, it’s for the PURPOSE that we would go tell people about God who “called us out of darkness into his marvelous light!”

So, where do we start? Well, let’s look at . Jesus told His disciples...

Acts 1:8 NLT

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Similar to what we read in Matthew, Jesus is giving final instructions about our mission before He returns to heaven. And in it, we get instructions about where to start. Look it says:

Jerusalem.

Judea.

Samaria.

And to the ends of the Earth.

If we looked at a map of Israel at this time, we’d see this...

Map

Think of it this way:

Jerusalem is your immediate community: Your family and neighbors.

Judea is your town: The people you see, work with, go to school with.

Samaria is your region: New England - the towns and states in our region.

To the ends of the Earth is everything “beyond.”

And since we’re focusing on growing (and beginning to grow), let’s focus on small steps. As you GROW and participate in the mission of God, start LOCALLY. Share Jesus with someone you personally know. Because guess what, we no longer live in an age when people just “want to go to church.” Very few take the initiative to go to church by themselves.

Last week, a super-smart person in our church helped us optimize our website so we’d get better Google search results. And in the process, we learned something interesting. We discovered no one is googling “churches in glastonbury” or “glastonbury church.” I’m talking like maybe 10 people a month. And a lot of that is probably church people seeing where their church is in Google rankings! But let’s not focus on that… instead realize this: The personal invite is still the most effective way to tell people about Jesus and invite them into the Kingdom.

In 2016, Thom Rainer found that over 50% of people polled said, “They’d go to church if invited by someone they knew.” 50%! That’s one out of every two people! Those are pretty good chances! However, it’s also said that most people need to be invited 7 times before they actually show up.

Therefore, when it comes to mission, you have two options:

You can invite that person 7 times (and hopefully still be friends by the 7th time!); or...

We can grow together, and be on-mission together, and see something like this happen. Check out this video...

Wayne Cordiero Video.

Isn’t that awesome? And it really does happen that way. God strategically places people into other people’s lives, so He can draw them into His love. Again, God chooses to use His people to participate in His mission. But it requires us to be willing to be used! And that in itself is a process.

So, start small. What is God calling you to do? Who is He asking you to share with?

“proclaim” to speak a message. What’s our message? The gospel. To tell people about Jesus. “excellencies” - all the good things Jesus has done. All the wonderful things about God. Before Jesus left to heaven he said this… . It’s also instructive to us this way: Reach your immediate community (family and neighbors), you town, your region (New England), and the world (missions - beyond). So, since we’re beginning to grow, let’s just focus on small steps. Start locally. Share Jesus with someone you know or personal evangelism.

Evangelism/Personal relationships - googling… no one is googling that stuff. Personal invites are still the most effective mode of that. Evangelism flows out of discipleship. As we grow and share… this is the process that God uses to reach people. It’s said the average person is inivited 7 times before accepting. Now, we can do it by ourselves (and risk being annoying), or we can grow in this together, with each person doing their part. Like this: Wayne Cordiero (Discipleshipft). 20:05 - 23:20 What’s your part? If your faithful with little, God will trust you with more. Will you do the small part?

Isn’t that awesome? Believe me, God does stuff like this all the time! He strategically moves people into position for His purposes. So, what’s God asking you to do? What’s your part in the mission. Don’t worry if it’s something small, like saying, “You should come to church with me sometime.” God can use a small amount of faithfulness to move mountains!

Response: Invite. Tell people what God is doing. Share online. Wear your outreach shirt. Pray for God to give you opportunities. Look for opportunties. God is moving. He is wanting to rescue people. You think it’s coincidence? Neighbors. Friendships. Running. Schools.

Response:

As we close this morning, remember these two things... We’re gonna talk about more things in a couple of weeks… but for today, remember:

Growing in Christ requires patience.

Growing in Christ involves mission.

This year, BE PATIENT with yourself and others as God grows us. GROWING TAKES TIME. If it helps you, remember phrases like, “Keep practicing” or “God’s not in a rush.”

And when you get frustrated because you feel like you’re not growing the way you want to, remind yourself that “You ain’t ready.” If you are following Jesus and it’s not going the way you think it should, you just need to trust His timing.

Now, if you’re not following Him AND not growing the way you think you should, that’s another story. If that’s the case, you need to repent and surrender to Jesus.

Either way, whether through repentance or waiting in faith, our job is to simply be in position to RECEIVE from Him.

I’ve heard it put this way. Sometimes we need to repeat to ourselves: I’m not perfect, but I’m willing to be perfected.

Because you know what this really about? What we’re actually talking about? We’re talking about grace. The more you GROW in Christ, the more you grow in grace! Grace is God’s undeserved favor. And it’s something we need to learn to receive. And it’s also something we need to learn to give, the same way God gives it to us. When we are patient, when we trust God by faith, we grow in grace!

Finally, remember that although this year is about INTERNAL growth, it’s ALWAYS about EXTERNAL mission. We will always be about reaching people for Jesus. So, as you grow in 2020, be on-mission. It is our MISSION to invite people into a relationship with Jesus (to be His witnesses). And if you don’t know where to start, start LOCAL and SMALL. God’s okay with small.

Invite a friend to church.

Maybe it’s finally setting aside time in the morning because getting God’s word - spiritual milk - into you is better than the extra 30 mins, or the extra episode of the office you stayed up watching that made you tired in the morning.

During your break, tell a co-worker what God is doing in your life.

Whatever it is… it’s a process.

Use social media for Jesus! Instead of sharing online poison that causes destruction and division, strategically share HOPE online.

Wear your outreach shirt (if you need one - tell us!).

Pray for God to give you opportunities. God is moving. He is placing people in your life for a reason. You live, work, and go to school where you do, for a reason! It’s not a coincidence! It’s part of God’s plan! So, treat it that way!

I’m going to invite the worship team up and I’ll finish with this. We have an amazing message to share - the greatest message! The gospel! It’s a message that our family members, our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbors need to hear! It’s the good news that Jesus has made a way for us to be made right with God.

We live in an age of depression, anxiety, fears of failure, purposelessness, ultra-criticism, and insecurity. That’s all we hear about! You know what message we don’t hear often? You are extremely valuable and loved by God. When you give your life to Jesus, you are PERFECT in God’s eyes. God has a purpose for you.

That’s a rare message. But we get to tell people that when we participate in the MISSION! But to do that, we have to be willing to GROW in CHRIST.

Pray.

And that’s a message many of us need to hear! That’s a message that our friends and family who don’t know Jesus need to hear.

Over the next year, there are going to be times when all you have is to believe what God says about you. You’re going to feel like quitting. You’re going to feel impatient with your growth. You’re going to feel like a failure. Keeping going because God is working in you! (Philippians?) That’s faith. Believing God. What is one thing God has said to you or about you, that you have trouble believing. Take 10 minutes and see what the Bible says about it. This week, take one step toward believing that. 50 promises? I want you us learn to God to God’s word for help. - Jesus opens hearts and minds through the Scriptures. Meditate on it. The spiritual milk. Say “I feel like this” but “God you say this.” I believe what you say! God’s word is truth. Our feelings, what people think/say about us changes. God’s word never changes. And His love for us never changes. Jeremiah describes God’s love as an everlasting love. Nothing can seperate us ().