BACK TO THE FUTURE

(WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME)

12/16/2000 AND 12/17/2000

Acts 2

42 ¶ They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Ac 5:42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. {Or Messiah}

Ac 20:20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.

 Ac 28:30 ¶ For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.

Mark 3:14 He appointed twelve--designating them apostles-- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.

1. JESUS’ EXAMPLE

-The pattern Jesus followed to change the world wasn’t based on its largeness but rather its smallness.

-A comedian in the 70’s had a routine called LET’S GET SMALL.

-Jesus wanted to change the world permanently so He preached to the masses but poured His life into 12 men.

-When He would teach He would then take the twelve aside and explain it to them.

-In the early church it says they took note that these men were uneducated and unschooled but they had BEEN WITH JESUS.

-He left His mark on those men and He did it in a small group.

-Jesus would take these men aside and question them.

-Once when they were competing and arguing with each other He got in their faces and asked what they were arguing about.

-Jesus is a pretty good example don’t you think?

-He gave us the pattern of reaching the world….have a big impact by focusing small.

John 17

1 ¶ After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

 6 ¶ "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.

 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

 11 ¶ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.

 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

 17 ¶ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

 20 ¶ "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:

 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

 24 ¶ "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

-Jesus prays for His disciples and all of the people who will be affected by their lives.

-Obviously Jesus planned for us to go beyond the superficial in our relationships.

2. THE EARLY CHURCH

-We already read the Scriptures that showed us they were meeting publicly and from house to house.

-There is something you get from the weekend celebrations that you can’t get anywhere else.

-There is also something you get in the small groups and in relationships that you don’t get anywhere else.

-The New Testament is full of the term “ONE ANOTHER”.

Joh 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

 Joh 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

-It is such a relief to be real. To be transparent before God and man takes a huge pressure off of you.

-The unexamined life is a climate that stunts growth because you are trying hard to put everything in place so you look good.

-Christianity is about God. It isn’t about having everything right.

-The world will know we are Jesus’ true disciples because we love one another.

-The world doesn’t have a great picture of the church:

examples-Jesse Jackson/Calvert-Christian with a gun

-They need to see the power of Christian love and acceptance.

3. THE MODERN CHURCH

-We are in the midst of a revolution.

-It is in process and it is Biblical.

-The church is going back to the future.

-We sing a song about all over the world people just like us are worshipping Jesus.

-The revolution is in response to a problem. The problem is that Christians see Christianity as an individual thing.

-         I read this past few months about Hebrew thought. It was foreign for someone to say what is God’s will for my life. They would say what is God’s will for our people, our clan or whatever. Then the next question is HOW DO I FIT INTO THAT.

-We think Christianity is showing up at church and then going off and personally applying it….rubbish.

-Christianity is worked out in groups/relationships.

-Worldwide there is revival taking place.

-There are churches that are reaching areas and nations.

-Almost without exception those churches are doing some form of small groups or cell groups.

-There is a church of over 100,000 in Bogotá. Its youth ministry fills a stadium every Saturday night. It owes its growth to cells.

-Yonghi Cho is famous for the church he pastors in Korea. He pushes cell ministry.

-John Hagee said he was stagnated at 17,000 in San Antonio and the Lord led him into small groups/groups of 12.

-We are right at 600 on weekends. I believe we owe a lot of that to small groups.

MY EXAMPLE:

I led small groups for years. I met Becky in a small group. Joe and Debbie had a youth small group in their house years ago.

-There were problems because they weren’t always connected to churches and they weren’t supervised properly.

-In spite of that….they are Biblical.

DREAM-1994 example

-We need you/you need us.

-Make a commitment to open your life in 2001 so you can grow and reach as well as help others reach their purpose in Christ.