Vision 2020
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Well, now that 2020 is upon us and hopefully we have all made it back from vacations and holiday visits, I want to share some vision with the church for this year.
Last year we made a focus of LOVE, GIVE and SERVE — we began changing ministry to join in with our community and encouraging people to individually find places of serving in the community as representing our church. We will not lose sight of that initiative, but want it to become a part of our DNA as a church body.
Many found their way to nursing homes, jails, assisted living, community days, etc to serve in our community representing Christ and Destiny Church.
We believe that this is a year to build upon that in a greater way.
I also believe that our focus must truly be on EVANGELISM this year.
We have prepared our facility, but now we must bring in the community!
This morning we have supplied cards to use to invite someone to church — we have partnered with truelife.org to make a resource making inviting someone to church easier than ever - and we will continue to do so...
However, there is a Biblical purpose behind this practical tool!!! That purpose goes along with three words that the Lord has placed in my heart during prayer for this year.
CONNECTION, COMPASSION and COMMISSION ---
I would like to create a bridge from my message last Sunday to today as well. We spoke in depth last week about being HEALED HELPERS --- part of that was the need to share our testimony and have beautiful feet spreading the love of Christ.
In fact, we looked briefly at the armor of God and the reality that if we are not sharing our faith than we are not fully clothed in the armor of God and therefore OPEN to defeat in our lives.
Eph 6.
15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
TRUTH IS - the church has lost its conviction to take personal responsibility to spread the Gospel even though it is the crux of the NEW TESTAMENT!
From 1993 until now the amount of Christians who believe it is not the individual’s responsibility to reach the lost has increased threefold - to the point that only 2/3’s of Christians believe it is their mandate personally. (REALIZE THAT though 2/3 believe it is their mandate, they are not actively pursuing obedience to that mandate)
IN fact, in addition to not taking personal responsibility is the shifting of responsibility to the job of the “church” not each believer.
Christians have also ceased to share Christ, but are more likely to share personal life choices due to fears of offending others or being rejected. The sense of a greater social barrier exists and many Christians refuse to share with anyone they do not have a personal relationship with, and then that becomes muddled by not wanting to offend that relationship.
Our use of Scripture to define the need to have Christ in our lives has also decreased.
End result is that individuals in the church have become more intentional about avoiding sharing Christ than becoming intentional to SHARE CHRIST!
With this intentionality is a lack of people being saved and having their lives changed.
The church as a whole and individually IGNORING OUR BIONICALLY GIVEN MANDATE to EVANGELIZE or REACH THE LOST!!!
Remember, this is the heartbeat of Christ, the reason He came and His last words to those changed by His grace!
WIth this in mind, let me share my heart with you today -
I believe that God has brought our church to this time and place to be an active force advancing His Kingdom in this region!
I believe time is short before Jesus returns
I believe He has called us to be HIS HAND EXTENDED and to ACTIVELY ADVANCE HIS KINGDOM
16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
1. Connection
1. Connection
Connection with the Lost
There are several things about connection that are vital to the church and reaching the lost.
First, we have to be connected to Christ!
Do we know Him, are we maintaining our communion with Him?
Second, our connection to each other...
Heb
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
We need to be gathering for fellowship, instruction and studying the Word together. We need to build one another up and this comes through being connected to one another.
19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Our connection is NEEDED for the faith of each and every one of us — when we neglect growing together as the body of Christ we miss the strength that comes from being a part of one another that God intended us to have.
Life Groups, Discipleship Groups, Church services, and connectedness beyond these times is so important. To be bound together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
It also prepares us to be ready for those outside the body of Christ to come in! If we are not a home, a family, a place to connect to than when the lost are found - what will they connect to in order to become discipled???
It is not the responsibility of another to make connection - it is up to each of us individually to PURSUE CONNECTION with others in the body of Christ. Stop waiting for others to come to you and go to them! It is not the church’s fault if we are not connected when we are not making efforts to connect.
Let me challenge you - if you have fallen away from connection with the body of Christ - GET BACK TO IT
1 john 3.
1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.
5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.
6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.
8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.
13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.
10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.
13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
1 john
God has also called us to CONNECT WITH THE LOST! This is not optional!!! nor dependent on any other connection.
I am not talking about participate in sin and party with the lost, but make INTENTIONAL CONNECTION to those outside the faith! Intentional connection to bring them to faith!!!
Remember last week the words from Romans
15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
Jesus calls the feet of those CONNECTING to the LOST - BEAUTIFUL --
He has called us to go - He told us before He left to GO!
19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
4 I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon,
5 because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.
God wants us to exercise the sharing of this faith He has given to us — to connect with others
6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.
6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.
7 Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.
6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
it was Jesus job to connect with the lost --- so He desires us to do the same with the intention of them finding salvation
We are all in Christ because someone connected with us!!!
One more verse from last week...
19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
He gave us this message to take and connect with others.
In your hands today we have given you a tool to connect with others - to invite them to church, to invite them to find answers to life’s tough questions - Biblical answers
and a means to CONNECT with someone that you might not even know ---
TO FULFILL the BIBLICAL MANDATE to share the GOSPEL
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
My vision for this year is that we will grow in connection with each other as a church, but most of all we will grow in connecting to the lost around us!!!
Love, Give, Serve was all about us CONNECTING with our community -
How will they find Christ unless we take the message to them??
It is not the job of the church, it is the individual mandate of all believers in Christ!
2. Compassion
2. Compassion
Compassion in our hearts
Do we have compassion for those who are lost???
IF Jesus has saved us and we actually read the Word of God and pray, then we should be developing His heart, right???
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
These verses are direct references for the compassion found from a loving God and His Son our Savior who are moved by the lostness of people! The blindedness of this world and devastation of sin in people’s lives!
I believe this year God wants to bring us to being a people of COMPASSION!
That seeing the lostness and pain of those around us moves us to
“saying - that is so sad”
NO - to ACTION to do something about it!
I have been reading the Gospels since the start of the New Year, just started Mark on Friday.
40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”
42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
What Compassion???
40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”
42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
43 Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning:
44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”
45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.
45 But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.
JEsus ministry centered around healing those demon possessed, bound in sin, crippled, lame and blind --- feeding thousands, and teaching the truth of the Kingdom of God to raise faith for salvation.
What was the motivator - COMPASSION, LOVE!!! Not just his Love and Obedience to the Father, but His love for others.
compassion[kəmˈpaSHən]
NOUN: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others
7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
We have lulled ourselves into thinking everyone is ok and nobody goes to hell, but in this process we have stopped having compassion for the condition of the lost!
Instagram invites, all the dead friends, and I realized how many were in hell...
That is where they are going… HELL
Stop fooling yourselves… if we do not have compassion for the lost, they are going to hell!
What are we going to do about that???
Is it really that hard to invite someone to church, to give them a website to answer tough questions, to share what God has done for you and how He can do it for them...
SO WHAT IF THEY MAKE FUN OF US
SO WHAT IF THEY REJECT US
SO WHAT IF THEY IGNORE US
Have some compassion on them, they have no shepherd, they are lost, they are confused, they are blinded by sin --- YOU HAVE THE TRUTH, THE HEALING, THE SOURCE OF LIFE, SALVATION
STOPPED BEING ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, because if your not ashamed of the Gospel than you just have no compassion!
Now, if JEsus did all these miracles as He ministered to all these hurting people remember a promise He made to us...
12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
We don’t see greater works, because we don’t do His work!
Let’s have compassion on those around us, share Christ, invite them to church, have beautiful feet -
Skip the pedicure, share Jesus!
_________________________________________________
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SO,
Connect with the Lost
Have Compassion for the Lost
Fulfill the Commission for the Lost
3. Commission
3. Commission
Commission Acceptance
19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Connect deals with our willingness to endeavor to reach the lost
Compassion deals with our motivation for reaching the lost
Commission deals with the dynamic of helping the lost....
We often focus on the word GO
Probably because we fail so much to GO
We are reluctant to GO
As a church our commission is to MAKE DISCIPLES, BAPTIZE and TEACH
It is not about a convert, but about mentoring others...
We need to build foundational relationships with the lost and the found to help them GROW in their knowledge and pursuit of Christ.
We often are focused on the end of this commission - - teaching others and fail to effectively GO, but what would happen if we did start to finish??? BOTH!
Being about the Great Commission is taking the lost through to the point of living the Kingdom LIFE!!!
People find Christ at the altar or respond, but where are we going from there???
They never filter into that small group, life group, d group, or learn about prayer, seeking Jesus, serving Jesus.
Our commission is to make disciples.
Are we moved with compassion to be mentors to the baby Christian, to take people through???
To help people understand what God has spoken to them through His Word?
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
My vsion for 2020 is to continue Love, Give and Serve our Community - but to take to the next level
CONNECT with the lost! Make connections with intention to bring people to Christ. To be connected to the body of Christ to create a place for the lost to connect to, and help others to connect to Jesus!
COMPASSION in our hearts for those who are going to hell. I won’t sugarcoat this. We need to wake up and smell the hellfire! We can post about koala bears and kangaroos in Australia, but this could be your neighbor, co worker, friend, family member for eternity! Lord, help us see the need!
COMMISSION acceptance to take people through from start to finish, from discovering faith in Christ to growing their faith in Christ through obedience to what Jesus taught us.