ILLUSTRATION- I am a sports fan. Hockey is
good; but baseball is better.
By
the way, that is a shameless plug for our next series here at the Ridge.
Beginning next week, we are going to be
looking at selected verses in the Bible with the word Better in them; because
good is good, but better is, well, BETTER.
I’m
excited for what God will teach us as we begin this summer series.
As I said, I’m
a sports fan, and the sport I enjoy the most is baseball. I could sit and watch
baseball for hours.
There
are at least 3 things you should know about my love of baseball.
I pull for the Toronto Blue Jays; I despise the New York Yankees and
detest the Boston Red Sox.
A
good night of sports for me is having the Jays win, hearing that the Yanks
lost, and that the Red Sox imploded.
If
you wanted to know if the Jays won their game on April 17th, I can
go to the calendar in the kitchen and tell you that they did in fact win that
game.
I keep track of
the results of each game so I can gauge how the Jays are doing throughout the
season.
Today, I would
like to take a few minutes andarrive how our "season" is going.
I believe, as
the video just season that “We have something great going on at this church; people’s
lives are being transformed by God’s love…”
And Friends, I
want that something great to continue, and I believe that we need to take a few
minutes and hear this report.
It has been 6
months since I stood before you and asked 3 very important questions. These
questions served as a launching pad for 2012.
The questions
that I asked that first Sunday in January are:
1.
When was the last time that someone came to faith in
Jesus because of MRWC?
2. When was the
last time that we filled that tank and baptized people as part of our Sunday
morning experience?
3.
If MRWC were to close her doors in 2012, would she—we—be
missed?
Those questions
startled me; but they also lit a fire under me and because of them, I came up
with the 20x20 in 2012 challenge.
I’m trusting
God for 20 salvations in 2012.
I’m trusting
God for 20 baptisms in 2012.
I was then—and
still am today--- expecting God to show up at MRWC in crazy and awesome ways
and change people’s lives!
So, I want to
give a progress report and I also want to issue a challenge.
ILLUSTRATION- I was listening to the radio the other day and the topic of conversation focused on the “why” of business.
The
commentator suggested that businesses should focus more on “why” they are IN business,
rather than focus on “how” they will do business. (ON PPT)
The
how matters, he said, but not as much as the why.
Why businesses are doing what they are doing should be the number one
question that all leaders ask themselves. (CBC radio one, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012)
Why take 20 minutes on a Sunday morning
and issue a mid-season report?
Why?
Jesus,
in Luke 19, gives His reasoning for going to Zacchaeus’ home; which is also the
reason He came to our home, planet earth:
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
(Luke 19:10, NIV)
Jesus’
sole purpose in going to Zacchaeus’ house; His sole purpose in coming to this
earth was to bring people to God.
Jesus didn’t come to be famous,
popular or rich, Jesus came to snatch you and me from the pit of hell.
Why
are we taking time on a Sunday morning to hear a mid-season report? Because
Jesus came to find lost people. And the Church should be finding lost people.
Pastor
Rick Warren recently said: “The church that isn’t passionate about growing is saying
to unbelievers ‘you can go to hell’” (Twitter)
Why
take time on a Sunday morning to issue a mid-season report?
Because, as President Gorveatte said
last week: “we
are a people with a purpose!”
We
have been given a purpose, and that purpose was given by Jesus to everyone who
professes to be a follower of the God Most High.
Jesus
said in Matthew 28: “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.” (Matt.
28:19-20, NLT2)
Why take time on a Sunday morning to
issue a mid-season report? Because, and say it with me: “Found people find people”. (Perry Noble)
So: a reflection, and a challenge.
I rejoice that, since January, 6
people have come to faith in Jesus Christ because of our church!
I rejoice that 10 people have been
baptized since January. If we factor in that we had a baptism last summer that
total jumps to 13!
Hear me friends, I love reporting
these figures! I rejoice in these numbers, because every number is a name, and
every name is a story of a life transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ.
But, I am also challenged by them.
I’m challenged because there is more to come.
I believe that there are people in
this room TODAY who have not surrendered their life over to Jesus Christ.
I beleive that there are people in
our CHURCH TODAY who have never been baptized.
But even more than that, there are
still people outside these walls who do not know of the saving power of Jesus
Christ.
There are still marriages that are
falling apart; there are still drug addicts who need to be set free; there are
still lost people who don’t come to our church and as such, we have a job to
do.
For all the good that has been done;
for all the steps forward that we have taken, there is still more to be done,
there still is room for improvement.
We must not dig our feet in the ground
and sing I shall not be moved.
We don’t have the right to tell the church to
stop moving forward.
We don’t have the right to tell the
church to do things my way, because the church isn’t about you, the church isn’t
about me; the Church is ALL about Jesus Christ.
We can’t stop moving forward because there are people who
will drift away into a Christ-less eternity unless Jesus, through this Church,
reaches them. (REPEAT and write this down)
This is what drives me. This is what
challenges me. This is what makes me cry out to God, and ask Him to do
something crazy awesome, something that has yet to be seen, because lives are
yet to be transformed.
I believe it was Paul who said in
Eph. 3: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we
ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” (Eph. 3:20-21, NIV)
This verse tells me that God wants
to move in our church. God doesn’t want this church just to survive; God wants
this church to Thrive!
God wants to change people’s lives
because of this church, God wants us to ask for, and dare I say, expect greater
things!
God tells us in Isaiah 43:"Forget the
former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing
a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in
the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Is. 43:18-19, NIV)
God
wants to do something new in our day, but, here’s the deal: “You can’t do
what you’ve always done and expect what you’ve never had”
We
can’t do things just because we’ve always done them, and expect them to work,
when they haven’t worked in 50 years!
We’ve
got to be in the position where we take some God-sided risks and unless God
bails us out, we’re sunk!
We’ve
got to keep going forward, we’ve got to keep praying for changed lives, because
there are still people in and around our church who don’t know the saving power
of Jesus Christ!
Friends,
I envision the day that 200 people in church is a normal Sunday.
I
envision the day that we have to run 2 services, because if people can’t find a
place to park, they aren’t coming to church.
I
envision the day that our youth ministry attracts teenagers who are in need of
the grace of God.
I
envision the day that our children’s ministry is crazy awesome, and, that kids
are inviting other kids to come to church with them, because it’s off the
charts.
I
envision the day that baptisms are the norm, and people are coming to Jesus on
a regular basis.
Jesus
made it very clear in Luke 19:10. His purpose in coming into Zacchaeus’
world---into our world---was to rescue sinners from the pit of hell.
It
is the purpose of this church to “Know Christ and to Make Him known”
This
is our why.
We’ve
got one story to tell, His Name is Jesus, and He has come to save people from a
life time of eternal separation from Almighty God.
We’ve
got a job to do, and that is to reach people for Jesus Christ.
This
is—and must continue to be—the focus of this church.
Nothing
else should matter as much as the “why”. We must look for new and exciting ways
to reach people for Jesus Christ.
This
is why we are taking a giant step of faith and hiring Pastor Mike to be our
family life pastor. Pastor Mike believes that God will change lives through this
church.
Friends,
God is not done with MRWC. The best is yet to come! The Why is Jesus; but the “how” is you.
God,
in His infinite wisdom, decided that human beings would take His message of hope
and holiness to the world.
God
decided that the life changing message of Jesus Christ would be shared by every
day, ordinary people who have experienced His life change.
We
are responsible to take this message to the world. The Why is Jesus, the how is you.
So,
how are we going to do the why?
I
once heard that before God gets ready to do something great, He calls His
people to prayer.
So,
I have placed cue-cards on the altar, and in just a few moments, I am going to
ask several of you to join me in taking “the why” to the world.
I’m
going to ask you to take a cue-card and write down the names of 3-5 people that
you would like to see come to faith in Jesus.
The
names that you write down could be your best friend; they could be a family
member or they could be your worst enemy. BUT: They CAN'T GO TO ANOTHER CHURCH
Whoever
they are, I want you to write their name on your card.
Then,
you’re going to ask God to soften their heart. You’re going to begin praying
that they will come to faith in Jesus Christ.
You
will look for ways to share the Good news of Jesus with them, you’re going to
look for opportunities to invite them to church…. the why is Jesus, the how is you.
Friend,
I believe with all my heart that God is not finished with our church. I believe
that the best is yet to come.
So,
I’m making a commitment to you that I will do everything that I can do to lead
our church in the direction that God wants us to go.
I commit that I will be prayed up,
studied up, and fired up to lead MRWC to greater things in 2012 and beyond!
God still has work to accomplish in
my life; God still has work to accomplish in your life; God still has work to
accomplish in the lives of those people who aren’t here yet, and He wants to do
this work through this church.
The Why is Jesus, the how is you.
If you want to see God continue to
move in MRWC, I’m going to ask you to come up to the front and get a cue card,
and take it back to your seat and begin to think of 3-5 people that you want
see come to faith in Jesus Christ.
I will ask you to stick this card in
a prominent place in your home; a place where you will be reminded to pray for,
and to reach out to, these people.
(BAND TO COME)
Matthew chapter 4 records for us the
calling of the first disciples:
“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of
Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a
net into the water, for they fished for a living.
19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show
you how to fish for people!”
20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers,
James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their
nets. And he called them to come, too.
22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their
father behind.” (Matthew 4:18-22, NLT2)
Friends: the
calling is still the same: we are called to follow Jesus and fish for people.
Will you step up
and step out and ask God for the greater things that He has in store for MRWC?
Will you begin
trusting God for changed lives because of the ministry of this church?
If so, grab a
card, write some names down and begin asking God to help you to fish for
people, because the why is
Jesus and the how is you.
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