"The Vision" Part I

Intro.   On Sunday Oct. 7th we will celebrate 66 years of ministry to this community. There has been a lot of changes over these 66 years...location...buildings... people... pastors and methods...BUT there is one thing I  pray has not changed and must always stay a constant at MWC...our desire to be a light to this community by drawing attention Christ and His cross.

In the message today I want to share with you The Vision of MWC.  To those of you who have been with us for a year or more you should already be familiar with our vision.  To those who are new among us I want you to know what we are endeavoring to accomplish as a church. 

Vision Defined:   Note with me first the definition of vision and the importance it has played in the past.  Vision is “an experience in the life of a person whereby a special revelation from God was received."

The revelation from God had two purposes.....

First, a vision was given for immediate direction, as with Abram, in Genesis 12:1-3 ; Lot, Genesis 19:15 ; Balaam, Numbers 22:22-40 ; and Peter, Acts 12:7 . 

Second, a vision was given to develop the kingdom of God by revealing the moral and spiritual deficiencies of the people of God in light of God’s requirements for maintaining a proper relationship with Him. The vision of prophets such as Isaiah , Amos , Hosea , Micah , Ezekiel , Daniel , and John are representative of this aspect of revelation .”  ( Holman Bible Dict.)

The Value of Vision:  

Pro. 29:18  Where there is no vision, the people perish:”  

Vision Con't: The ability to anticipate (to feel excited, hopeful, or eager about something that is going to happen)  possible future events and developments.  

To accomplish what God has called us to accomplish we must have the ability to look beyond what is, whether good or bad, and see the future according to His Word / promises. 

Hab. 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”  

Message Bible: “ And then God answered: “Write this.  Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run.  

Seed The Vision: Isa. 54:1-3 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. ²Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; ³For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Message Bible:  Spread Out! Think Big!  ¹“Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby. Fill the air with song, you who’ve never experienced childbirth! You’re ending up with far more children than all those childbearing women.” God says so! ²“Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep ³You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities. ⁴Don’t be afraid—you’re not going to be embarrassed. Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short.”

The Vision: I envision Messenger Worship Centre daily striving to become a church that has purposed to promote Christ, not a religious concept:  promote relationships, not religion:  promote the power of God, not programs. (Note:  Each has their place but should be but tools to promote Christ.) 

In accomplishing these brief purposes I believe we will become a body that will make all that come through the doors of our church feel they are L-0-V-E-D.   This should be the aim of every child of God, to let people know God and loves them and so do we.  To purpose anything less is to fall short of God’s intent for His church.  

In truth LOVE should be the foundational stone of all visions (The basic content)!  It is God’s love that has brought us to where we are today in Him and it is God’s love, shared by you and I, that will  produce full altars.

L - Loving the Lord and others. - Matt. 22:37-39

O - Outreach to our community and world. - Mk. 16:15

V - Victorious living as mature disciples who reflect the true meaning of Christ.- I Jn.4:4

E - Equipping the saints/leaders. - Eph. 4:11-15 

D - Developing  youth/children. - Pr. 22:6 

"Living....Prepared For His Coming"

Intro.  There should be no doubt in the minds of any child of God here today that we are living on the threshold of the coming of the Lord.  Daily we are being bombarded with evidence that this world is on a collision course with it’s destiny of doom.  This week one of the major parties in our political system voted to remove two elements from their platform that clearly shows the level of decay our nation has fallen into.  One, they left out of their platform the fact that Jerusalem is the capitol of Israel; two,  they exchanged one G word with another g word.  They took God out and added gay marriage in.  Each of these decisions are blatant slaps to the face of God.  

Note: After realizing the negative effect it was producing they voted to rescind this action but the vote itself shows just how blatantly anti-God this nation is becoming. 

The speed that man is falling from the soaring heights of righteousness that once filled the halls of government and the lives of many within our shores is boggling to the mind.  What those who are making theses decisions are failing to remember is that there will come a day that every man will stand before God and at that time the knee that, in the past, has felt no need nor desire to humble themselves before God, will bow and acknowledge Who He is now and forever more. 

With all of this going on around us many that have a Christian view of life and are doing their best to live according to the dictates of His Word are passing through each day with almost a “shell shocked” look on their faces.  

Many are infected with fear...a fear that traps them in an attitude of defeat.  An attitude that says, “what is the use”.  But today I want you to know that God is not in the dark about this day.  He has seen it coming and He has given us the way to live through these turbulent times that precedes His coming.  Today I want to minister on “Living...Prepared For His Coming.”

In Heb. 10:19-25 we find five things that gives us instructions on how to live. v19“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, v20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; v21And having an high priest over the house of God; v22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. V23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) v24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: v25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”

1. Boldness To Enter His Presence, v.19-21: Doing so not because of our worth but because of our   

    right..a right He paid for with His blood.

2. Drawing Near, v. 22:

    a. In faith.  To do so meant overcoming the fear of the consequences of the law of  

        the past. A law that in truth made it close to impossible to earn a position in the   

        presence of God.  But now, through Jesus, we have the right to enter into His 

        presence without fear of condemnation.

    b. With purity v. 22: Entry into God's presence has always demanded purity and the 

        new did not negate this element of the old.  The lack of desire and demand for 

        purity is what has brought us to the precipice of self destruction many within the 

        church are standing on today.  "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."  Heb. 12:14 

 Note: Sanctification/Holiness, is a process not an overnight accomplishment.  Salvation is not an automatic end to your self-life.    It takes times for people to grow to the place that brings us into maturity and perfection.  This is an error that has been a detriment to many in the church over the years.  In truth it has been a stumbling block to many outside of the church also because they have been made to feel it was impossible to live up to the rigidity imposed by the church.  There is not a person here today who isn’t in the process of becoming what God has purposed us to become.  I think there are times we need to be a little more transparent and let people see that we don’t always have it together. There are times we slip up but slipping up is not the end of the story...it is but a continuation of a pursuit for perfection in His eyes. 

3. Holding Fast To Hope....For God Is Faithful, v. 23:   Hope: to cherish a desire with anticipation: to desire with expectation of obtainment: to expect with confidence.

    Why? God is faithful...He keeps His Word.  Heb. 6:17-20, ? “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: ¹⁸That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: ¹⁹Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,  both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; ²⁰Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

4. Consider One Another, v. 24: It was Christ considering our need above His own that enabled us 

    to become who we are....He was and is the reconciler...God has also given us the 

    ministry of reconciliation. II Cor. 5:18, “And all things are of God, who hath 

    reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of 

    reconciliation; We do so by "doing/considering others not simply by acknowledging 

    their needs”

5.  Not Forsaking Assembling Ourselves, v. 25:  Heb. 10:25, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Conc.  God never intended us to fight this fight alone...nor to have to fight it in fear.  He, in these words has given us some directives on how live until His return.  Living for Christ should not be difficult but one of the most rewarding lives lived on the planet.  I close with these words, Lk. 21:28, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

John Rhodes Blog: Who Is In Your Boat?

John Rhodes Blog: Who Is In Your Boat?