Sunday Messages

Shift: Jesus-followers grow in spiritual maturity by accepting a Kingdom Assignment: experiencing its power, and entering fully into its life by participating in its blessings.

The little things do matter…

Shifts not only have a big impact in the crust of the earth, but also in every area of our lives. By making these small adjustments in the right places, we can set off a chain reaction – much like the earth’s seismic forces that result in an earthquake – but in this case small changes can make a BIG difference in the most important areas of our lives. 16:Shifts can take place almost anywhere: in the workplace, the school, the family, the church, the community, and in our spiritual and personal lives. In our last message, God disclosed to us the importance of Shift #1: The Shift from Infancy to Adulthood.

SHIFT #2: The Shift from Gathering to Scattering

I grew up in the church and was raised upon the truth of God’s Word. But church was boring and irrelevant so I had the tendency to “act up” during the service. I remember one Sunday morning when I was “acting up” during the service. My parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally, in tow, my father walked me sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the narthex, I called loudly to the congregation, “Pray for me! Pray for me!”

I grew up believing the Christian faith was only about getting to heaven. As an active child, I had no interest in death and dying, let alone heaven. In fact, our pastor asked the congregation a question on another Sunday morning, “how many people want to go to heaven?” I didn’t raise my hand. He said, “Bobby, don’t you want to go to heaven when you die?” I replied, “Sure I do, but I’m not ready to go right now!”

As a child I pictured heaven as a big, expansive place where God lives. It was a place with fluffy white clouds, harps, angels (not Los Angeles Angels), that kind of thing, and I believed it held little relevance whatsoever to my life as a young boy. No surprise that church attendance was not a priority for me back then. But thanks to my parents, they kept me close to the church, waiting for the time when the Holy Spirit would capture my heart for Jesus. As a young adult, church became a significant part of my life as a Jesus-follower. No longer was it boring and irrelevant.

The kingdom of God is a world that emulates heaven; God’s reign as king over all the earth. The “kingdom of God” also refers to the “kingdom of Jesus.” Jesus talked often concerning the kingdom. How people related and worked and played and loved one another in the kingdom. Jesus emphasized that being his close follower wasn’t merely getting to heaven, although that was a benefit. He affirmed the truth that the kingdom is a reality that begins deep within us as we give our lives over to him. The benefit of kingdom living can be realized now, without another moment’s hesitation.

George Eldon Ladd describes the essence of the kingdom of God as he writes…

An initial manifestation of God’s Kingdom is found in the mission of our Lord on earth…We may therefore now experience its power; we may know its life; we may enter into a participation of its blessings. If we have entered into the enjoyment of the blessings of God’s Kingdom, our final question is: What are we to do as a result of these blessings?

At the conclusion of this message I want to come back to this question concerning kingdom living: “What are we to do as a result of these blessings?” I want to offer to you a kingdom assignment—an opportunity to experience its’ power, know its life, and enter into a participation of its blessings.

For now, let’s look at one of the small changes that can make a big difference in the most important areas of our lives—the switch from gathering to scattering.

The early church was born in the first-century. The account takes place in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers at Pentecost—fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We might say that the first seven chapters of the book of Acts describe a gathering church.

This gathering church was based upon the gathering of the believers in Acts 2:42…

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2 affirms the fact that all the believers were together and had everything in common as they gathered together in worship, study, fellowship and service. Even though the Lord added to their number those who were being saved, they were by-in-large a gathering church.

However, an amazing shift took place at the beginning of chapter eight. The church moves from a gathering church to a scattering church due to persecution. Persecution isn’t a user-friendly word. It means to chase, harass, hunt, pursue, and single out.

This gathering church changed suddenly, dramatically, and tragically in Acts 8:1, 4…

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria…Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

As a result of this calamity Jesus-followers began to scatter. Scatter means to disperse, and it’s an old word found in the New Testament only in Acts 8:1, 4 and 11:19. These were moving out! Their bags were packed and they were catching the next Metrolink leaving town! What once was the first church to exist was no more. Down from thousands to a few. God knew what he was doing. Since the time of Acts 8, the church has scattered worldwide.

Today we need to scatter rather than merely become a gathering of Jesus-followers always living together and spending all our time together. While it’s enriching to spend the bulk of our time in worship, study, fellowship and service together, it doesn’t accomplish all of God’s will. That’s what was happening to Jerusalem so God scattered them!

As a congregation, even though we meet together a few times a week, we’re scattered. We represent a portion of our community. We’re strategically located, probably where God wants us to be, for the purpose of sharing Jesus. We don’t need to scatter to accomplish God’s purpose. In a real sense, we’re already scattered in our community.

However, we also need to know God’s will and respond to it in a meaningful way. We need to see in this incredible passage during this daring and difficult time, that the church prospered! The church in Acts 8 was scattered, and in a real way, we too are scattered about our community from Covina throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles.

Accepting a Kingdom Assignment

It is easier to live in a gathering community. But now we must consider our responsibilities as we’re scattered. We must be a sharing people. Wherever these early Jesus-followers were scattered to, they preached the Word. Our founding brothers and sisters went out and preached Jesus. What’s happened to us? What’s become of our enthusiasm to share Jesus?

Jesus talked about the importance of living with a Kingdom Assignment in Luke 19:11-26. This parable of kingdom living described a case of off-site ownership and on-site management. Actually, it reflected the government in Palestine, in which Rome “owned” the region but left it in the hands of local governors, such as the infamous Herods (see Acts 12:1-2).

The reason that Jesus told this story is that the kingdom of God would be delayed, and he wanted his followers to know some of the implications of that delay. This parable illustrates certain facts of living with a Kingdom Assignment perspective.

1. A Kingdom Assignment tells of the king’s trust

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'

Footnote: [a] a mina was about three months' wages.

The king gave his servants the money and then went away and left them to use it as they could and as they thought best. He did not in any way interfere with them, or, stand over them. He left them entirely to their own devices. That is the way in which God trusts us. The nicest thing about God is that he trusts us to do so much by ourselves.

Chief among the implications is that we have a job to do. We’ve been given resources to manage until the Lord returns. These include our skills, jobs, time, wealth, mental capacities, physical bodies, and so on. Eventually we all will give a full accounting for how we have used these resources for kingdom purposes.

2. A Kingdom Assignment tells of the king’s test

14 "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15 "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

This trust was a test, of whether or not a servant was faithful and reliable in the little things. There is no example of this test than like Jesus himself. Of his thirty-three years of life, Jesus spent thirty in Nazareth. Had Jesus not discharged with absolute trustworthiness the tasks of the carpenter’s shop in Nazareth and the obligation of being the breadwinner of the family, God could never have given him the supreme task of being the Savior of the world.

We’ve also been given a test of faithfulness and reliability in the little things so we may be trusted with greater things. We have no excuses to justify inefficiency in carrying out the tasks assigned to us by God.

3. A Kingdom Assignment tells of the king’s reward

16 "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 " 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 18 "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19 "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' 20 "Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' 22 "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' 24 "Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 25 " 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'

The reward that the faithful servants received was not one which they could enjoy by sitting down and folding their hands and doing nothing. One servant was placed in charge over ten cities and the other servant five. The reward of work well done was more work to do. The greatest compliment we can pay a person is to give even greater and harder tasks to do. The great reward of God to the one who has satisfied the test is more trust.

God will reward us today when we desire to move out and share Jesus with those around us in our “oikos”—extended households. We have 3-16 people with whom God has given us the test, and trust to share Jesus. We have been given the responsibilities, not merely to serve one another, but to share Jesus within our web of relationships with family, friends, neighbors, work mates and school mates. Each one of us today will receive a “My 3—16” prayer card. Write down the names of people in your “oikos”—extended households—and pray for them in the days ahead. Place it in your pocket or purse, and pray that they may come to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior.

Jesus concluded this parable by saying that we have been given a kingdom assignment to share God’s resources with others until he returns. The inescapable law of life is described by Jesus in the final verse of this passage… 26 "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

There is no such thing as standing still in the Christian life when it comes to kingdom living. We either get more or lose what we have. We either advance to greater heights by intentionally scattering—sharing Christ, or slip back by merely gathering—serving ourselves.

Our culture today is already being primed for sharing our available resources with others in need. "Oprah's Big Give"™ is a new primetime series that airs on March 2. Ten contestants make dreams come true for total strangers and prove that one person can make a huge difference. It's a brand new primetime series. Viewers can watch the drama and emotion unfold in this unprecedented competition as determined contestants from all walks of life transform the lives of others. Millions of dollars are given away in this intense cross-country adventure that twists and turns in ways that test the nerve, passion and stamina of each contestant. Each week, a mystery challenge is unveiled, and in order to win, contestants must out-give one another. Big-name stars join "Oprah's Big Give"™ as the stakes get higher and the emotions intensify in every episode. The judges continue to make the tough call of who will go home before the final episode, when the Biggest Giver is named and the surprise ending is revealed. If our culture is sensitive to sharing with others in need, then how are we as Jesus-followers going to respond to kingdom living?[video clip]

Now, let’s seek to understand the dynamics of kingdom living by returning to the question: “What are we to do as a result of these blessings?” Let’s consider together a Kingdom Assignment—an invitation to experience its’ power, know its life, and enter into a participation of its blessings.

Kingdom Assignment… All we have this morning is a gift from God. It’s up to us to invest those resources in the kingdom and watch the King bless us in the process. This can be a parable that we will never forget. Let’s pause now for a moment and consider the words of Jesus again—a king’s trust, test, and reward. (pause). I need volunteers for a Kingdom Assignment. I’m serious. I need twenty-five volunteers (Twenty-five adults from each service. We are also inviting children and youth to join us). A total of fifty adults, ten youth and ten children who will be willing to accept a Kingdom Assignment. Who will join me at the front of the worship center right now and accept a Kingdom Assignment? (initially wait for volunteers to come, then go out into the congregation and personally invite others to accept the Kingdom Assignment.)

The guidelines of this Kingdom Assignment number three:

Recognize that your resources do not belong to you; rather, they belong to the King. They are God’s resources.

Realize that you are being trusted to invest God’s resources in a way that will extend God’s kingdom. Whatever you do is between you and God.

Resolve to return in ninety- days and share the results of your investment with our congregation.

Each of you as a volunteer will be given a packet. This packet will include a book, a wristband, and a personal letter. Use these resources as an aid in carrying out your Kingdom Assignment.

Maybe there are those of us in the congregation who have not come forward that may want to add to this investment in the days ahead because we are anxious to have a part in this Kingdom Assignment. But after ninety-days we are all going to gather as a congregation on Wednesday evening, May 28 to share and to celebrate what God has done through us with the investment of kingdom resources.

Shift Suggestion: In the coming weeks—whether or not we have accepted a Kingdom Assignment—we need to take note of any way we share our resources with others. We can specifically think of our money or material goods. Are we sharing freely? Are we looking for ways to help and support others? If we are, then we celebrate this and pray for strength to continue. If we sense we need to grow in our ability to share, then we pray for courage and generous hearts.

Prayer: Gracious God, you have blessed me with the opportunity to be a vital part of your blessing to other people. I commit this day to you, the resources you have given me to be sensitive to the needs of others around me. Free me of preoccupation with myself and my own needs. Help me to remember that people will care about what I know when they know I care about them. I accept this Kingdom Assignment. Fill me with your presence in these days ahead as I live for Jesus through the sharing of the blessings of kingdom living, and become a worldchanger.

From an old collection of tales comes this story:

In a town in Holmes County, Ohio, the world’s largest concentration of Amish settlements, there is an Amish pastor who disappears each Friday morning for several hours. His devoted disciples boast that during those hours their pastor goes up to heaven and talks to God. A stranger moves into town, and he’s skeptical about all this, so he decides to check things out. He hides and watches. The pastor gets up in the morning, says his prayers, and then dresses in peasant clothes. He grabs an axe, goes off into the woods, and cuts some firewood, which he then hauls to a small cabin on the outskirts of the town. There an old woman and her sick son live. He leaves them the wood, enough for a week, and then sneaks back home. Having observed the pastor’s actions, the newcomer stays on in the town and becomes his disciple. And whenever he hears one of the townspeople say, “On Friday morning our pastor ascends all the way to heaven,” the newcomer quietly adds, “If not higher.” This story is an interesting Kingdom Assignment story about an Amish pastor who represents God’s kingdom through loving others. It’s a weekly sharing of God’s resources with those in need.

Perhaps the greatest wonder of representing God’s kingdom is that God trusts so much to us, and then gives us the freedom to use what he has given as we choose in sharing Jesus with others. God just doesn’t stand over us, but makes his presence known alongside us. God lets us have the pleasure to share in the blessings of kingdom living. God lets us have the delight of taking the initiative, the joy of achieving. God gives us the freedom and support, and while he does hold us responsible, he wants us to be faithful in the carrying out of our Kingdom Assignment. It’s a shift from gathering to scattering! Amen.

[listen to the podcast]

The Big Idea: A healthy church has spiritual vitality that reveals the vital sign of a structure for renewing priorities—a blood pressure regulated by a clear purpose.

We enter our final week in a four-week series on Vital Signs of Life. Like the physical body, a healthy church has certain “vital signs” of life which can be observed, measured and monitored. This will enable the assessment of the level at which the church is functioning. Normal ranges of measurements of vital signs change with age and health condition of the church. Vital Signs of Life is designed to be a catalyst for Christ First Baptist church to develop our own strategy for being the church and reaching the Covina Valley and beyond for Christ.

God disclosed to us in our last message the second essential vital sign of revealing a strategy for reaching people. Changing our worlds for Christ is a necessary means toward spiritual vitality. This final message focuses on the third essential vital sign of revealing a structure for renewing priorities. A structure for renewing priorities includes ways to effectively minister in the twenty-first century. This structure is concerned with how the church can establish a purpose that will keep everyone in tune with the overall direction of the church, harnessing its God-given resources.

This essential is likened to the vital sign of blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls. Each time the heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries, resulting in the highest blood pressure as the heart contracts. High blood pressure, or hypertension, directly increases the risk of coronary heart disease (heart attack) and stroke (brain attack). With high blood pressure, the arteries may have an increased resistance against the flow of blood, causing the heart to pump harder to circulate the blood. Churches with high blood pressure have not developed a structure for renewing priorities. There is an increased resistance against changing the governance or structure of the church which cause the church to work harder to effectively meet its purpose.

We were created for a purpose. The purpose of our lives is far greater than our own personal fulfillment, our peace of mind, or even our happiness. It’s far greater than our family, our career, our ministry, or even our wildest dreams and ambitions.

Purpose =

“Living in a manner that counts, that stands for something,

that makes some eternal difference that you have lived at all”

Accepting God’s purpose for our lives challenges us to have a desire to go beyond where we are now. It requires making a personal decision to move out of our individual comfort zone, existing status quo, or any kind of mediocre mentality that might hold us back. It is only after the fire of our desire is ignited that we will be ready and able to live with spiritual vitality and minister with a purpose.

Rick Warren writes about purpose in his best selling book entitled The Purpose-Driven Life…the easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the creator of it. The same is true for discovering your life’s purpose: ask God.

The Message paraphrases Paul’s affirmation that life all starts with Christ in Colossians 1:16…

For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible… everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.

As we continue to journey with God as Jesus-followers, he will help us to realize that building our lives around ourselves instead of Christ will only lead to emptiness and meaninglessness. We were made by God, and we must desire to discover our purpose in him.

The Message also paraphrases the importance of building our lives around Christ in Ephesians 1:11…

It’s Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ…he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

Paul sets before us the divine pattern and power in order to minister with purpose in Philippians 2:12-18…

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

We observe in these verses that God works in and we work out his salvation. No Jesus-follower should be satisfied with anything less than the total benefits of the gospel. God’s action cannot be frustrated, nor can his purposes remain half-finished; they must be fully effective.

Ins and Outs of Purposeful Living

The Christian life is not a series of “ups and downs.” It is rather a process of “ins and outs.” God works in, and we work out. We cultivate spiritual vitality, as individuals and in the church, by responding to the divine provisions God makes available to us.

Ministering with a purpose embodies a three-fold sequence:

1. God isn’t finished

12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

There is a purpose to achieve. This purpose to achieve is the working out of salvation. Salvation comes by faith—God working in. However, salvation is exhibited by works—we work out. We work out this salvation with fear and trembling. We don’t have the desire of grieving God. When we really love in our relationships, we are not afraid of what people may do to us; we are afraid of what we may do to them. The Jesus-follower’s greatest fear is of crucifying Christ again.

God is not finished with this process of the ins and outs. Paul already noted in his first chapter to the believers at Philippi that God “who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). God isn’t finished with us yet in his desire to use our lives as instruments to proclaim his salvation. In fact, every Jesus-follower can say, “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet.” First, there can be no salvation without God. It is God who works in us the desire to be saved. Second, what God offers us we must receive as a gift. It is never God who withholds salvation; it is always the hardened heart of those who deprive themselves of it by refusing to accept that gift of salvation.

A young man once lost his job, and was growing somewhat desperate about his dilemma. So he went to see an old preacher that he knew. As he poured out his heart to the preacher he angrily declared "I've begged and begged God to say something to help me, preacher. I’ve lost my purpose for living. Why doesn't God answer?" The old preacher, who was sitting across the room, spoke a reply so quiet the young man was unable to make it out. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, again in a soft tone. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "So we will move closer to hear him."

God is not finished with us yet. There is a purpose to achieve as God works in us to will and to act in accordance to fulfill his good purpose. We must be willing, individually and corporately as a church, to get so close to God that we can hear him when he speaks. So let’s move closer to hear God. This nearness is often accomplished through prayer.

2. Faith isn’t futile

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

There is a power to receive. This power to receive is the opportunity of sharing salvation with those in our personal worlds. It is the proclamation of the offer of the gospel in words which are clear and unmistakable. We shine in a crooked generation like stars in the sky. As we hold firmly to the word of life we witness a life which illuminates wholeness in a world which is fragmented by darkness. Jesus-followers offer and demonstrate integrity in a broken world and light in a dark world.

The story is told of a little boy, on his way home from school, and he arrived late at a busy pedestrian crossing and found it unattended. Several cars pulled up for him, but he hesitated to cross such a wide road by himself. The fourth car in line was a police car with a megaphone attached. The policeman saw the little boy hesitating on the curb, so he flicked a switch and said, "The boy at the curb can cross now." Slightly bewildered, the boy looked around, and then hurried across the road. When he got home, his mother asked him how he’d got on. "All right" he said, reaching for his apple. "When I got to the intersection crossing no one was there, but God told me I could go across."

When living in a bewildering world, God tells us that we have the power to “go across.” There is a power to receive that enables us to experience the understanding that we may have the joy of knowing that we have not run or worked in vain. So Paul’s uses the object lesson of athletic runners. His prayer is that he may not be like an athlete whose training and effort have gone for nothing. For him the greatest prize in life was to know that through him others had come to know, to love, and to serve Jesus Christ.

3. Failure isn’t fatal

17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

There is a promise to believe. This promise to believe centers upon a living faith that makes a difference with our salvation. Paul here looks upon the faith and services of the Philippians as a sacrifice to God. He was perfectly willing to make his life a sacrifice to God; and, if that happened, to him it would be all joy. He calls on the Philippians not to mourn at the prospect but rather to rejoice. To Paul, every call to sacrifice presented the opportunity to believe the promise of God’s love. To toil was a call to his love for Christ, and therefore, he met it not with regret and complaint but with joy.

Again and again Paul takes pictures from the ordinary affairs of the people to whom he was speaking. He has already taken a picture from the athletic games of not running in vain. Now he takes one from heathen sacrifice. One of the common kinds of heathen sacrifice was a libation, which was a cup of wine poured out as an offering to the gods. Every heathen meal began and ended with such a libation, as a kind of grace before and after meat. Paul knows that that his death may not be very far away. He is quite ready to be poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of faith. Paul wants us as well to offer our lives as living sacrifices to God. Our Christian fidelity and loyalty are already a sacrifice to God.

If death for Christ should come to us, we must be willing and ready that our lives should be poured out like a libation on the altar on which our sacrifices are being made. So even the mistakes we make in life cannot be compared to the offering of our lives as living sacrifices to God. The world sees sacrifice as failure, but God sees sacrifice as obedience to the call of faith. The mistakes we make aren’t failures, and they are worth the risk. We know that Paul himself encountered mistake after mistake in his ministry.

Former champion hockey player Wayne Gretzky expressed so well what it means to risk failure in order to believe in the promises of God. He said, “You miss 100 % of the shots you never take. You will never make a goal if you don’t risk taking some shots at it.”

If what we have been doing to change our worlds for Christ isn’t working, then we need to risk trying something new. We don’t become afraid of a few mistakes along the way.

So it takes faith to believe that God’s promises are true and that they are going to work in our lives just as they worked in Paul’s life. God works in us through his Word, and we work out his purpose in daily living and service. Life is not a series of disappointing “ups and downs.” Rather, is a sequence of delightful “ins and outs.”

Moving to Ministry Teams

It is important that every church operate from a clear purpose and established values that keep everyone in tune with the overall direction of the church. It is equally important to have a clear structure so that the church can harness its God-given resources and talents to accomplish its unique mission.

A structure for renewing priorities is concerned with how the church can better work together so everyone has a part and everyone is working towards the accomplishment of the mission of the church. Five crucial areas are part of this structure:

Developing ministry teams rather than departments

Establishing clear lines of communication between the teams

Maintaining accountability through leadership participation

Allowing decisions through purpose driven policies

Focusing upon spiritual growth rather than organizational maintenance

When such a structure is put into action, it will bring focus and clarity to everything the church desires to do. The structure adopted for renewing priorities cannot be a substitute for God’s blessings or power. Any purpose in ministry is dependent upon God’s working not our strength or enablement.

This truth of allowing God’s blessings or power to be central to ministering with a purpose is illustrated in the Scriptures from the book of John. Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus in John 3 about being “born again.” He cannot understand the “born again” experience. This command strikes the scholar with the response: what’s my part? “God works and we trust”; not “God trusts we will work.” Such a thought troubles Nicodemus. So Jesus comforts the visiting professor from the Torah—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—Nicodemus’s favorite portion of Scripture.

Jesus uses an Old Testament story to reveal a New Testament reality in John 3:14-15…

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."

The backdrop to this illustration is found in Number 21. The wandering Israelites were grumbling at Moses. “Why would God bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness?” Because of their bitterness and unbelief, God sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. So Moses was instructed by God to make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and those who were bitten, when they looked at it, lived. This passage was a prophecy to Jesus’ words to Nicodemus.

Now the medical profession uses the symbol of a stick with a snake curled around a staff to represent healing. This staff is called the rod of Aesculapius (As_Cul_A_Pious), the ancient Greek god of medicine. In reality, Aesculapius may have been a real person who was renowned for his gentle, humane remedies and his humane treatment of the mentally ill. His followers established temples of healing.

The simplicity of John 3:16… “that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” troubles many people. We expect a more complicated cure, a more detailed treatment. But every day we trust power we cannot see to do a work we cannot accomplish. Jesus invites us to do the same with him. Just him. Not Moses or any other leader.

Ministering with a purpose is to know that God isn’t finished, faith isn’t futile, and failure isn’t fatal. In reality, the only difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary life is that little extra effort, that little act of faith. The key is to do what we can do today to come closer to our potential tomorrow.

Today is the day to begin living with spiritual vitality. It is an opportunity to begin to live as a church ministering with a purpose. It is the day to begin living in God’s image as we were created to be, moving from ordinary to extraordinary, from one level of spiritual vitality to another, from glory to glory.

The following Scripture from 2 Corinthians 3:18 reveals…

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

By ministering with a purpose, our lives will surely count for something and make a difference in the lives of those around us. So there is a watershed question concerning the ministry of Christ First Baptist Church.

“Do we believe that our best years at Christ First are behind us,

or do we believe our best years are yet before us?”

Let’s believe that most of our congregation would respond hopefully to this watershed question! Amen.