Church vision Three C

Church Vision

(Part 1)

Celebrate

MATT 16:18 AND I SAY ALSO UNTO THEE, THAT THOU ART PETER, AND UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH; AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.

INTRODUCTION

There are so many different opinions and ideas about what the church is supposed to be. What did Jesus really have in mind when he said, “I will build my church?”

As we looked into the story of the first church as recorded in the Book of Acts we came up with a definition of the church as “...

a community of Christ-followers, empowered by the Spirit to participate in God’s mission in the world.”

The form that the church takes will be different in different cultures and contexts but these ingredients are the essential ones.

Jesus gave us a lot of freedom in regards to the shape, the structure and the form of His church.

After all, it takes all sorts of different churches to reach the different types of people in our world ...

Applying this to our own lives personally, we can ask ourselves four key questions:

(1) am I a part of the church community, (2) am I following Christ as one of his disciples,

(3) am I being empowered daily by the Holy Spirit, and (4) am I participating in God’s mission in the world?

I trust that you can answer ‘yes’ to each one of those important questions. If not, you need to take a steps towards making that a reality in your life.

Luke tells us what church life was like back in the first century

ACT 2:41 THEN THEY THAT GLADLY RECEIVED HIS WORD WERE

BAPTIZED: AND THE SAME DAY THERE WERE ADDED UNTO THEM

ABOUT THREE THOUSAND SOULS.

ACT 2:42 AND THEY CONTINUED STEDFASTLY IN THE APOSTLES'

DOCTRINE AND FELLOWSHIP, AND IN BREAKING OF BREAD, AND IN

PRAYERS.

ACT 2:43 AND FEAR CAME UPON EVERY SOUL: AND MANY WONDERS

AND SIGNS WERE DONE BY THE APOSTLES.

ACT 2:44 AND ALL THAT BELIEVED WERE TOGETHER, AND HAD ALL

THINGS COMMON;

ACT 2:45 AND SOLD THEIR POSSESSIONS AND GOODS, AND PARTED

THEM TO ALL MEN, AS EVERY MAN HAD NEED.

ACT 2:46 AND THEY, CONTINUING DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD IN THE

TEMPLE, AND BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, DID EAT

THEIR MEAT WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART,

ACT 2:47 PRAISING GOD, AND HAVING FAVOUR WITH ALL THE PEOPLE. AND THE LORD ADDED TO THE CHURCH DAILY SUCH AS SHOULD BE SAVED.

No doubt, the church was an exciting community to be a part of in those days ... and it should be the same today too.

I want you to think about how crazy people celebrate, and how wild and excited people get when they become fans.

FANS- Webster definition: a person enthusiastic about a sport, performer, etc.

F.anatical—unreasonably enthusiastic, overly zealous

A.ctive—causing motion or change, lively, quick, etc.

N.otorious- widely known

S.aints- a child of the living God, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, not of this world.

Do we have any fans in the house tonight?

We are that way because what Jesus has done for us, and how He has loved us and taken care of us. He is our all in all. He is the apple of our eye, He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

He is the Lamb of God that takes away all the sins. He is the great healer. He is my comfort, my strength,

He is the King at hit home runs, He is the star quarterback on my team, He is the greatest lineback on my defense, He is the best three pointer shooter.

Without Him I can not make it>

JOHN 15:5 I AM THE VINE, YE ARE THE BRANCHES: HE THAT ABIDETH IN ME, AND I IN HIM, THE SAME BRINGETH FORTH MUCH FRUIT: FOR WITHOUT ME YE CAN DO NOTHING.

He is my life and I am one of the greatest fans of all time. I am fanatical, I will be active, I want everyone to know that I am a fans of Christ, I am a saint, a child of the living God, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, I am not of this world.

Without Him I can not do anything.

Are you a fans? As fans, we celebrate.

Celebrate—to remember with a ceremony or festivity, to honor publicly.

As we reflect on this, we see that there are three key experiences that are an important part of a growing relationship with Jesus:

(1) Celebrating the love of God and his work in our lives as we gather together for worship,

(2) Connecting with other people in order to grow spiritually and build meaningful relationships,

(3) Contributing to God’s work on the earth by using our talents, time and resources.

So the church started in Jerusalem with a bang and God was at work doing some amazing things.

From this point forward the church continued to grow beyond Jerusalem to other parts of that region and eventually to other places in the Roman Empire including Antioch, Ephesus, and Rome.

Despite its rapid expansion, the early church was not without its problems – including persecution from without and issues such as conflict, division, heresy, false teachers, and sin within.

Over the next number of decades, many believers who had started following Christ with great enthusiasm started to pull back and even fall away when times got tough.

We as Children of God, we will have some hard times, But the important of this is to have a understand that we will triumph.

2COR 2:14 NOW THANKS BE UNTO GOD, WHICH ALWAYS CAUSETH US TO TRIUMPH IN CHRIST, AND MAKETH MANIFEST THE SAVOUR OF HIS KNOWLEDGE BY US IN EVERY PLACE.

Three Important Reminders

The author of the book of Hebrews wrote to followers of Christ in the first century who were experiencing a crisis of faith because of the difficult times they were facing.

His message was all about the superiority of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us through the New Covenant.

After unpacking this message in-depth, he gave them three very important reminders

LET US DRAW NEAR TO GOD!

Do you ever feel a sense of guilt or shame for things you’ve done or said that you know are wrong?

Do you ever experience a cloud of condemnation hanging over your heart and mind, making you feel unworthy and unacceptable before God?

Do you ever find your heart wandering away from God and yearning for other things, yet in pursuing them, they never quite satisfy?

Because of Jesus and what He has done through shedding his own blood, we can receive forgiveness and complete cleansing from all guilt and shame.

HEB 10:19 HAVING THEREFORE, BRETHREN, BOLDNESS TO ENTER

INTO THE HOLIEST BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS,

HEB 10:20 BY A NEW AND LIVING WAY, WHICH HE HATH

CONSECRATED FOR US, THROUGH THE VEIL, THAT IS TO SAY, HIS

FLESH;

HEB 10:21 AND HAVING AN HIGH PRIEST OVER THE HOUSE OF GOD;

HEB 10:22 LET US DRAW NEAR WITH A TRUE HEART IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH, HAVING OUR HEARTS SPRINKLED FROM AN EVIL CONSCIENCE, AND OUR BODIES WASHED WITH PURE WATER.

We can go right into God’s presence – at any time and in any place – with boldness and confidence. We don’t need to be ashamed or burdened by guilt and condemnation.

What amazing grace is available to us every moment of every day. Pursue God. Hunger and thirst for Him once again. Run towards Him!

LET US HOLD TO THE HOPE WE PROFESS!

Do you ever have doubts? Does your faith ever waver?

Do you ever wonder whether God is real? Has life left you disappointed or discouraged?

Have you ever lost a sense of hope?

God is faithful and can be trusted to keep His promises.

HEB 10:23 LET US HOLD FAST THE PROFESSION OF OUR FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING; (FOR HE IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED;)

He is the source and foundation of our hope. We can bring our doubts and our disappointments to Him. He is sovereign and in control of everything, even the difficult and painful experiences we go through.

Yes, our hope will come under attack and it can easily slip away in the face of obstacles and challenges.

We can choose to hold on tight and to not allow our hope in God to waver. We can bring Him our doubts and our fears. He keeps His word and he fulfils his promises in his way and his time.

LET US THINK OF WAYS TO MOTIVATE EACH OTHER AND LET US NOT NEGLECT MEETING TOGETHER.

Do you ever lack motivation for spiritual things? Do you ever feel like giving church meetings a miss and just staying home?

Do you ever find the world’s values creeping in on you and your desire to pray and read your Bible fading a bit?

God works through both our personal relationship with Him and our community with other believers. Both are important. As followers of Christ, we need each other.

The Christian faith is something we do together. That is why gathering together regularly is important so that we can encourage each other.

HEB 10:24 AND LET US CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER TO PROVOKE UNTO

LOVE AND TO GOOD WORKS:

HEB 10:25 NOT FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER, AS THE MANNER OF SOME IS; BUT EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER: AND SO MUCH THE MORE, AS YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.

It is interesting to observe how creatures gravitate towards a habitat where those of ‘like kind’ gather.

In the same way, followers of Christ want to be with other followers of Christ. Even Jesus made weekly attendance at the local synagogue, with other people of faith, part of His own priorities.

LUKE 4:16 AND HE CAME TO NAZARETH, WHERE HE HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP: AND, AS HIS CUSTOM WAS, HE WENT INTO THE SYNAGOGUE ON THE SABBATH DAY, AND STOOD UP FOR TO READ.

When the church began in Jerusalem we see the believers gathering regularly for teaching, for fellowship, for praise and worship, to participate in the Lord’s Supper, for prayer, to serve one another, and to affirm their God-given purpose as a faith-community.

They did this with great joy and with a sense of personal motivation.

Gathering together with other believers on a regular basis is important.

But, just turning up to a meeting is one thing but how we come is even more important.

If we want to see gatherings where God is at work then we need to come with a sense of expectation and faith, and a willingness to respond and to participate in what is happening.

Church attendance is something that we are to engage in with all our heart and soul … and like most things in life we tend to get out of it what we put into it.

Two people can attend the same meeting and receive totally different things. Often this is based on their own approach or attitude to the service.

LUKE 18:10 TWO MEN WENT UP INTO THE TEMPLE TO PRAY; THE

ONE A PHARISEE, AND THE OTHER A PUBLICAN.

LUKE 18:11 THE PHARISEE STOOD AND PRAYED THUS WITH

HIMSELF, GOD, I THANK THEE, THAT I AM NOT AS OTHER MEN ARE,

EXTORTIONERS, UNJUST, ADULTERERS, OR EVEN AS THIS

PUBLICAN.

LUKE 18:12 I FAST TWICE IN THE WEEK, I GIVE TITHES OF ALL THAT

I POSSESS.

LUKE 18:13 AND THE PUBLICAN, STANDING AFAR OFF, WOULD NOT

LIFT UP SO MUCH AS HIS EYES UNTO HEAVEN, BUT SMOTE UPON HIS

BREAST, SAYING, GOD BE MERCIFUL TO ME A SINNER.

LUKE 18:14 I TELL YOU, THIS MAN WENT DOWN TO HIS HOUSE JUSTIFIED RATHER THAN THE OTHER: FOR EVERY ONE THAT EXALTETH HIMSELF SHALL BE ABASED; AND HE THAT HUMBLETH HIMSELF SHALL BE EXALTED.

Let’s believe together that this year there will be an even greater sense of God in our lives as we gather week by week ... with a sense of faith and expectancy ... to celebrate God and to grow together!

Because that what we are doing here at Southpointe, we celebrate the presence of God in our life.