October 17, 2021 - A Vision of Faith
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I think if you were to put a theme on last week’s sermon, it would be this:
The Enemy We Face
And what we found out was that - in this world - our TRUE enemy is - NOT of flesh and blood.
We saw that our TRUE enemy is - the Spiritual Forces of Evil looking to destroy us - eternally
Our TRUE enemy - seeks our eternal destruction - the destruction of our souls and the souls of our kids.
And the problem with this enemy is that - it has an ALLY...
And its ALLY - is our hearts...
Our HEARTS - by nature - are friends with the enemy - with this world...
And so - THAT REALITY - lead to us understanding - THAT OUR CALL -
…is to PREPARE for battle!
And if we were to continue today - in our trek through chapter 6 of Ephesians - we’d see how GOD equips us for battle...
BUT first, this week - I want to look inward - as a church fellowship.
I want to apply the truth of this PREPARATION that’s needed - and aim it at Abiding Faith Bible Church.
I want to aim it at you… in context of this gathering…AFBC.
Our MISSION here at Abiding Faith - which directly correlates with the VISION for the church...
is this...
The mission of AFBC is to glorify God by honoring His will and His purposes by the making of disciples and by pursuing Christian maturity and a deepening knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ—bringing people to a genuine saving faith and teaching them how to grow in their faith through their relationship with Christ.
We shall faithfully strive to accomplish our mission through the use of our spiritual gifts and talents, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and through the implementation of God’s Word, as it shall not return null and void, through: Preaching and Teaching, Ministries, Evangelism and Missions.
Preaching and Teaching:
Rightly dividing the word of truth, building up and strengthening believers so that they may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Ministries:
Taking advantage of opportunities to do good, especially to those who are of the household of faith to edify the body of Christ, but also with focused efforts of reaching out and distributing to the needs of the poor.
Evangelism and Missions:
Seeking the lost by going out into the world proclaiming the Gospel to men, women, and children to win them to Jesus Christ by personal witnessing, group/corporate evangelism, and the sending out of missionaries.
And so what all do we find in this mission?
We find in our mission:
Preaching and Teaching:
This entails the study of God’s word, both individually and corporately
Weekly sermons
Children’s classes
Youth studies
Bible studies
Discipleship: living life together -
This leads to both:
Training those younger in the faith
Leadership training: Training future leaders in the church
Fellowship:
This entails relationships
Cultivating relationships
Putting out fires within relationships
We find in our mission:
Ministries:
This entails:
Planning / Promoting / Recruiting / Executing Ministry events / Follow-up
Men’s Group
Women’s Group
Food Ministry (on hold due to Covid)
Back-Pack ministry
Music Ministry
We started a Finance Committee
I know I’m missing some obvious ones...
But all of these entail - planning / promoting / recruiting / execution / follow-up
We find in our mission:
Evangelism and Missions:
This entails:
Our annual Events
Community Christmas Event
Thanksgiving Meal downtown
Community Easter Event
Sunday Service Days (which we’d LIKE to get back to)
Night to Shine Event - Special Needs Prom
We’d LOVE to get involved with the local police and fire departments / first responders / military
A ministry to encourage those who serve
We’ve talked a long time about an after-school program - being RIGHT HERE next to the school
We currently support a missionary over in Birmingham, England...
ALL this and more (we didn’t even mention the GENERAL OPERATING of the church) - And all of it entails...
Prayer
Study
Planning
Promoting
Recruiting
Execution
Follow-up
A lot goes into what we DO...
…AND what we HOPE to do in the future...
ALL of that to say - if we were SUMMARIZE all of that into a - MORE concise mission statement…it would be this...
SLIDE:
Abiding in the faith, love, and truth of Jesus Christ, proclaiming Him and all that He is to a lost and dying world.
If someone was to ask me what our mission is at the church - THIS is what I tell them.
The first half of this statement - INWARD focused...
that WE OURSELVES would - ABIDE...
in the faith of Jesus
in the LOVE of Jesus
in the TRUTH of Jesus...
That we would SEEK to GROW in the knowledge of Christ...
WHY?
So we can become SPIRITUALLY OBESE?
NO -
So we can live out the 2nd half of this statement...
So we can ACCURATELY - proclaim Jesus to this fallen world!!
INWARD focused - for OUTWARD IMPACT!
If we want to HONOR God - we MUST do both!
We’ll never IMPACT this community for Christ - if we don’t FIRST - seek HIM ourselves...
And so - this is our MISSION here at AFBC...
Now - understanding THIS to be our MISSION? - - what does the Bible TELL US to do ?
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
We are called - KNOWING what our mission is - to COUNT the cost!
And COUNTING the COST - entails - preparation!
We saw it last week - PREPARE for the Spiritual BATTLE to come!!
Can we even DO this?
Do we have the resources?
DO we have the funds?
Do we have PEOPLE who can LEAD?
All of this - PART OF - counting the cost!
NOW - this passage here - in context - is speaking about - BEING a disciple...
And Jesus says - listen, being a disciple REQUIRES counting the cost....
It REQUIRES something....what is it?
Well Jesus helps us understand by - giving us some analogies...
28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Jesus is saying - Listen - when you decide you’re going to BUILD a tower - YOU NO DOUBT will sit down..
And PLAN whether or not you can ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH it...
BECAUSE _ he says - if you don’t - you won’t be able to complete it...
He then gives another similar analogy...
31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Jesus is saying - If you’re going to go to war -
and you have 10,000 men at your disposal...
You better be sure if you can conquer an army of 20,000 men!
OTHERWISE - your lack of preparation will lead to what?
DEATH
NOW AGAIN - Jesus is speaking (in context) about BECOMING a disciple - a FOLLOWER of Jesus...
And based on these analogies - THIS is Christ’s conclusion...
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
He’s saying - Regarding becoming a FOLLOWER of ME - if you don’t UNDERSTAND that your HEART posture must be such that you RENOUNCE ALL you have...
You cannot BE a disciple of mine...
WHY?
Because Christ KNOWS - if you DON’T sit down and COUNT the cost ...
... in the end - You’ll be the person who CLAIMED Christianity…with your mouth...
…but HELD tightly to this world.
And as we know - Jesus said -
You CANNOT serve 2 masters - it’s NOT possible!
AND SO - how does that fit in - with the Vision of this church - Abiding Faith Bible Church?
I believe this all ties in - because we have come to a point - now - at Abiding Faith Bible Church - that we need to begin COUNTING the Cost - of preparing for the future.
We saw last week - In Ephesians - that we're called to prepare for the battle ahead against the Spiritual forces at work, and I think as a church, we need to start asking some questions, that we haven't really asked yet IN THE CONTEXT of our current state as a church...
SLIDE: Question #1
Do we have a vision for how the church can most effectively impact our community, neighborhoods, state and beyond, for Christ?
This is a question we’ve talked through before as a church, but not as our church is currently constructed…
A question we need to begin thinking about...in the context of our current state as a church.
· I know that we have MANY ideas as to the various ways we can impact the community
· And there are MILLIONS of ways we can do that…
· I’ve been VERY encouraged by the engagement of those here
· With the Men’s Group and Bible Study, we’ve had a large number of consistent men who have dedicated themselves to those things…
And I’ve seen men STEP OUT onto the waves - in faith.
It’s been AWESOME!
· With the Women’s Group – I’ve seen a VERY large number of women attending consistently…
And I’ve heard stories of women STEPPING OUT onto the waves - in faith
· I’ve seen some women coming from OUTSIDE of the church…which tells me that the women are “talking” – spreading the word!
It’s been AMAZING!
· I ALSO don’t think we’re at a loss for coming up with ways to impact the community…
· BUT – some things that we’ve discussed in the past would be:
An after-school program (*location)
A clothing ministry
Community Nights of Prayer & Worship
General office-hours (being available to the community)
· And then of course – all of the different individual ministries that you may have been thinking of starting.
· WHATEVER the details may be – Whatever the area of focus for a particular ministry…AS a church – we should begin thinking about HOW we can MOST [effectively] impact our community for Christ.
· We have a lot more people here now…
· WHICH MEANS – we have a lot more talents…more resources…more MEANS by which to PLAN and carry out the task before us.
· And so WHILE there are MANY – different ways we can IMPACT the community…
· There is a CONSTANT that won’t CHANGE…
· We are a BIBLE church…
· We will ALWAYS keep the WORD of God as our foundation…
· We will seek to ALWAYS let GOD dictate WHAT we do and HOW we do it.
· If you remember a few weeks ago – in Ephesians - we looked at the call of Husbands to create structures in which our wives can flourish under God…
The church actually has the same call.
· We (the leadership here at AFBC) is called to create structures that will allow our members to flourish and grow – under God.
If we as a church decided – NO MORE MINISTRIES…
· We would be declaring – no more paths of discipleship…
· That’s REALLY what ministries are….paths of discipleship.
And so – the church itself – is called to CREATE pathways…structures that promote Spiritual growth!
Spiritual growth - NOT ONLY for the adults - but for the kids as well!!
Which leads to another QUESTION we need to start thinking thru…IN OUR current context
SLIDE: Question #2
Do we have a vision for how we handle the growing # of kids in the church?
We have gained a LOT of kids in the past year. (if we just stop and listen - you can probably hear your child right now in one of our classrooms)
But listen - Those kids are going to continue to grow.
They’re going to GROW UP HERE - in the church!
Do we have a vision that one day we possibly have someone dedicated (maybe on staff, part-time at least), to be able to lead the youth at AFBC (focused on the youth)?
We need to start thinking about these things now, and preparing for them.
WE KNOW - We’re called to PLANT - and WATER - and leave the growth to - - GOD!
Well what does PLANTING imply??
It implies CULTIVATING...
We need to PREPARE the ground…prepare the soil…this is our call
AND MOST OFTEN - preparing to LIVE out a VISION for a church - BEGINS by having someone dedicated to LEADING the charge!
Someone to oversee
Someone who can lead by example
Someone dedicated to keeping the church on the PATH of it’s mission
Now over the years - that person has been me.
Yes - we have an elder group - and we certainly operate as a plurality of elders…BUT
Being the one who preaches week-in and week-out, that responsibility of LEADING the church has fallen on me.
AND SO - while ALL that we’ve talked about SO FAR - is VITALLY important to the VISION of the church moving forward...
Just as IMPORTANT - I believe - is ALIGNING my schedule - with the VISION itself.
For those of you that don’t know - I am currently bi-vocational...
And so I have a job where I work 30-33 hours a week - while also - obviously doing church.
And this schedule - has BEEN my schedule for the past 8 years.
And so understanding what that means -
- It means that the main teaching pastor at AFBC (me), the person who by and large leads the flock (LEADS YOU)- gives direction TO the flock - (of course with help from the elders and leaders, but who by and large oversees all of it),
AND when I say all of it - I mean...
Preaching and Teaching
Ministry oversight
Bible Studies
Evangelism and Missions
Discipleship
Church counseling
Music
The Church website
Facebook page
Graphics for the church
Administrative duties
Church app(S)
And on and on and on -
And managing ALL of it
We need to understand - MY SCHEDULE - means that the main teaching pastor - doing these things - is operating in a way where I squeeze church into my already full schedule....
And so - When I look at the other men in our church, all of which have jobs (outside of church) and kids (outside of church), and are busy (outside of church), I'm reminded that I am just as busy (outside of church), yet I’m squeezing church into the gaps I have in my days and my nights.
And so - a REALITY for us is this...
My weeks, as currently set, are not divided between work and church...
My weeks, from a time perspective, are work-focused...
…and church simply fills in the gaps.
Church is squeezed in - where it can be.
AND SO - even as we operated 4 years ago - that schedule of mine - wasn’t sustainable...
NOW - God has sustained us - HE’s the ONLY ANSWER as to HOW this has happened up to this point!
BUT - add to my current schedule NOW - the CURRENT CONTEXT of AFBC in the past 8 months...
just about DOUBLING in size...
And WITH the church having doubled in size - AND with my schedule the way that it is - i CAN’T IMAGINE my schedule NOT beginning to SHOW ITSELF as we move forward.
Working 30-33 hours every week - having a wife - and having 3 dependent kids...
I’m pretty sure you can imagine when church stuff - gets accomplished within my schedule...
And so - my contention is -
When we think about CASTING a VISION for the church - as we’ve done today...
What do we want the church to look like - a year from now - 2, 3, 5, 10 years from now…?
I DO BELIEVE - for the SAKE of the church - for the betterment of the church....
That thinking through ways to - REMOVE more of my current time dedicated to my job...
And therefore INCREASING more time during my weeks to DEDICATE to accomplish what I BELIEVE I’ve been called to do…HERE at AFBC
Will help the church be able to MORE EFFECTIVELY live out - this VISION of FAITH that I believe we’re all on the same page with.
That THIS would also be part of the VISION!!
That I might be able to be freed up more from my secular job - to have more time to FLY the PLANE…something I believe I’ve been called to do.
Planes with part-time pilots - might not be the safest of places to be :)
What have we seen today?
Well - we’ve asked some big questions today...
SLIDE:
Do we have a vision for how the church can most effectively impact our community, neighborhoods, state and beyond, for Christ?
SLIDE:
Do we have a vision for how we handle the growing # of kids in the church?
Things to consider now - in our current state as a church...
I can’t tell you how AMAZING God is -
I SEE HIM working in so many lives here...
I see FAITH that BLOWS me away...
I see people walking through the DEEPEST of valleys - and yet - STILL CONTENT - IN HIM!!
As the song says - Too Good to NOT Believe!
God is ALL OVER this place…do you SEE HIM?
Is it just me?
The questions we’ve asked today - are meant to challenge us...
They’re meant to CONFRONT us...
They’re meant to CALL INTO question ALL of our possessions...
Our time
Our money
Our resources
Our FOCUS in life
Our preferences
They’re meant to - INVITE us into Kingdom work!
They’re meant to - INVITE us to display the PREEMINENCE of Jesus in our lives - ABOVE all things
Yes - these are big questions we’ve asked today -
Big challenges we’ve heard today - that will COST us...
That will challenge us to COUNT THE COST.... but listen - we serve a BIGGER God...
AND I AM STOKED that I GET TO - serve Him with YOU - beside all of you!
Let’s Pray!!
LORD’S TABLE