The Vision
Jesus Glorified
1 Corinthians 2:2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Acts 4:8-13
Acts 4:8-13
- To know Him
- To honor Him
- To preach Him
- To make Him known
True Partnership With The Holy Spirit
(Never meant to be doable apart from the supernatural power of God!)
1 Corinthians 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
- Not our thing and His add on!
- His leading
- His way
- His power
- His glory
The Lost & Unreached Saved
John 3:16 “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. 17 God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.
- We exist as a church because there are those who don’t yet know Jesus here
- Our training and equipping, spurring one another on is for the purpose of reaching the lost and unreached
The Church Matured
Eph 4:11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 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.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 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.
- We will not be a church that simply caters to the desires of man, but helps each of us become all that God created us to be
- Solid men/women, husbands/wives, Christians, leaders
- Settling the ‘issues’ of our faith, the basics of what we believe- prayer, faith, worship, giving, serving, living this life for the benefit of the Kingdom of Christ, miracles, salvation
People Invested In Through True Discipleship
1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 13 Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.
- Not simply built around Sundays, but the investment into each of us
- Learning the disciplines of following Jesus
- No ‘cruising Christianity’, but one of depth and breadth
EVERY Priest Walking In Their Gifts
1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
- No one a bystander
- Everyone involved somewhere
- Everyone equipped to live out their ministry, whatever the platform
Wonderful Generosity
2 Corinthians 8:1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. 7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.
- Demonstrating God’s incredible generosity toward us
- Not a church begging for money, but a people stewarding God’s resources well
- Helping with needs globally and down the street
Our Community Impacted
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
- Never to be hidden away and unknown, but known for how we live
- Making a measured difference into our region
- Engaged in our communities
Becoming A Base Church For Reaching The Nations
Antioch, Ephesus, Jerusalem churches served this way
- Not just another local church, but a Base for all that God wants to do with us!
- Equipping
- Sending
- Financing
- Praying
- Going
- Partnering
- Housing
- Hosting
- Planting New Testament Churches
In Partnership with the apostolic to fulfill the Great Commission
Acts 14:21 They preached the gospel in that city (Derbe) and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
- Part of the ‘plan’ of God to reach the world!
- Never meant to do this alone!
Our Call
This is who we are and who we are to become.
It is an incredible call and privilege that we do not embark on lightly or on our own, but we set forth in the power and calling of our God who has commissioned us to reach every precious soul we can with the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the leading and anointing of the Holy Spirit!
The question before each of us now is, ‘Is this where God has called me?’ and, if the answer is ‘YES!’...the next question is ‘when do we get started!?!?’
It is an incredible call and privilege that we do not embark on lightly or on our own, but we set forth in the power and calling of our God who has commissioned us to reach every precious soul we can with the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the leading and anointing of the Holy Spirit!
The question before each of us now is, ‘Is this where God has called me?’ and, if the answer is ‘YES!’...the next question is ‘when do we get started!?!?’