Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Bullseye: Proverbs That Hit the Target: The Way, 8/16/15

Sermon 8-16-15  Proverbs 29:18-23  vision

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.
20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.  22 An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.  23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

What is the vision of WCC

Why is this discussion important?  With no vision, people perish.  They die on the vine.

If the trumpet would not give a clear call, what would the army know what to do
if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 1 cor 14:8

Bill Hybels – vision leaks

Our mission statement is connecting people to jesus Christ
Have them say it with you.
Everyone should know it or learn it

I love it because it does two things………
 Points to jesus
Word connecting is intentionally vague.  It recognizes that people come to Christ in various ways

Consequently, we are going to be a diverse church.   Lots of different kinds of people.
Republicans, democrats …………. Etc
This is what th e kingdom looks like.

Three kinds of churches
Cruise ships, battle ships and aircraft carriers

The life saving station
On a rocky seacoast , where shipwrecks were frequent there was once a ramshackle little life-saving station. It was no more than a hut and there was only one boat, but the few people who manned the station were a devoted lot who kept constant watch over the sea and, with little regard for themselves and their safety, went fearlessly out in a storm if they had any evidence that there had been a shipwreck somewhere. Many lives were thus saved and the station became famous.
As the fame of the station grew, so did the desire of people in the neighbourhood to become associated with its excellent work. They generously offered of their time and money so new members were enrolled, new boats bought and new crews trained. The hut too was replaced by a comfortable building which could adequately handle the reeds of those who had been saved from the sea and, of course, since shipwrecks do not occur every day, it became a popular gathering place-a sort of local club.
As time passed the members became so engaged in socializing that they had little interest in life-saving, though they duly sported the life-saving motto on the badges they wore. As a matter of fact, when some people were actually rescued from the sea, it was always such a nuisance because they were dirty and sick and soiled the carpeting and the furniture.
Soon the social activities of the club became so numerous and the life-saving activities so few that there was a showdown at a club meeting with some members insisting that they return to their original purpose and activity. A vote was taken and these troublemakers, who proved to be a small minority, were invited to leave the club and start another.
Which is precisely what they did-a little further down the coast, with such selflessness and daring that, after a while, their heroism made them famous. Whereupon their membership was enlarged, their hut was reconstructed.. and their idealism - smothered. If you happen to visit that area today you will find a number of exclusive clubs dotting the shoreline,. Each one of them is justifiably proud of its origin and its tradition. Shipwrecks still occur in those parts, but nobody seems to care much



we must constantly fight the temptation to make it about me – cruis e ship.
We must never beat people up – battle ship
We must actively work to remain outward focused……… aircraft carrier

From the book – the barefoot church primer       Pg 154

Paradigm shift
Old way                                                                                                         healthy way
Pastors serve the congregation                                                                 pastors equip the congregation to serve
                               
People learn about Jesus                                                                             people learn to live on mission for Jesus

Pastors providing services, programs and events                              pastors exposing need and people engaging the need

Pastors trying to motivate people to grow spiritually                       people taking initiative for their own personal growth

Our values
Joy authenticity and excellence.

Joy = kindness.  Positive.  Constructive.  Playing well with others
Even in times of stress and change……..

Authenticity = be who you are.
No pretending.  What was jesus like?
Honest.
You are expected to think.  No easy answers.
A faith that is not satisfied with going thru the motions……… ask the hard questions……….. real change

Excellence……. It’s the most difficult
Excellence does not mean perfection but………..
Constantly working on how to make things better.
That is painful.
Because we must address difficulty
If you don’t, trouble is on the horizon
You lose good people
Conversely, great people want to be a part of something that is exceptional

And so we spend a good deal of time
Applying our resources to whatever is the challenge of the moment.

Rick warren on vision………..
Very little of Saddleback’s ministry was preplanned. I didn’t have any long-range strategy before I started the church. I simply knew God had called me to plant a new church built on the five New Testament purposes, and I had a bag of ideas I wanted to try out. Each innovation we’ve developed was just a response to the circumstances in which we found ourselves. I didn’t plan them in advance. Most people think of “vision” as the ability to see the future. But in today’s rapidly changing world, vision is also the ability to accurately assess current changes and take advantage of them. Vision is being alert to opportunities.

We have tried to stay focused
We have tried to remove barriers to growth
We have tried to apply our abilities, gifts and resources to the needs at hand
And so the game of vision is hard to paint into a picture of a 3 year 5 year, 7 year plan

Results of all of this……….
I have painfully enjoyed the chaos that takes place in a church when people hear Gods call and act to live it out in their lives…….

The pain of change…….i hear about it
I know it………..
But we have a choice, either fight to keep it the same, and die, or allow the spirit to lead us.
Lead us out of Egypt, into the wilderness
Out of our comfort zone, to a land that he will show to us.

David hyatt and the church near st Louis that wanted to win young people

The results of all of this is A church that has grown……
outside of our comfort
welcoming many more over the years – on a mission for god
A church that deploys people in mission

Close………
I invite you to understand what we are trying to do
I invite you to join me in a fight against what comes naturally to us, which is to make it bout our comfort..
I invite you to join me in connecting people to jesus Christ
In fulfilling our potential to do that in every way that we can.


Without a vision the people perish, but when we let go of our preference and follow the holy spriti, god can do great things.

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