BELONG
#BecomingTheChurchHeIntended
I want to start off our time today by reading three passages that pretty much set up where we are heading this morning.
The first is from Isaiah chapter 43…
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
Great advice btw to listen to the Lord, the one who created you…
O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth.
Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’ – Isaiah 43:1-7
QUESTION – why did God create you?
For His glory…
To make a difference
AND – here the next one (it’s about who you are as a Jesus-follower)… NOW – it’s a very familiar passage, but it is till true and still holds power…
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13-16
The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10
AND HERE’S – the last one…
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? – Luke 9:23-25
OKAY – so did you hear what those passages were saying?
AMEN… and may our holy, righteous, glorious and all powerful God…. bless the reading of His living, active and enduring forever Word!
Prayer
SO – on April 28th we set as our destination ‘becoming the church that Jesus intended…’
AND LISTEN – taking this journey requires us to both individually and collectively… figure out where are… and making any course correction as necessary.
AND – this book is our GPS, amen?!
Proceed to the route…
OKAY – let me tell you where we are heading in this series.
FOR - the next several weeks we will be unpacking the truth that the church that Jesus intended is made up of people who are living their lives on MISSION…
I will never forget the first time I was ever introduced to the concept of MISSION. I was 20 years old (just got married) and after 2 years of training in the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program I was reporting to my first Submarine, The USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN 624.
HERE – is a picture of her… Beautiful.
SO in August of 1980. I stepped in the off-crew offices of the Blue Crew in Charleston SC. The Gold Crew was underway with the Sub at the time…
AND – on my very first day I there. Commander Alan Moore The CO of our crew invited me into his office.
I was pretty much, freaking out.
BUT – Captain was a great CO and he quickly made me feel at ease…
AND THEN – for the next 30 minutes he talked with me about THE MISSION of the Woodrow Wilson and what her role was in our national defense.
YOU SEE – since I was a member of the crew I needed to be fully aware of what our MISSION was.
It’s crazy… that was 39 years ago…
BUT – I still remember it like it was last week.
Maple Grove…
Fellow Jesus-followers
WE – are part of Christ’s Crew (if you will)…
AND LISTEN – in His church, in His body and it is imperative that we understand what our MISSION is.
AND LISTEN – as we look into the bible we are going to find that our MISSION as a church… AS – a group of people who have surrendered their lives to Christ…
WE – are going to find out that our MISSION for the most part is in is alignment with the mission Jesus had when he wore flesh and walked the earth… MINUS – the dying for mankind’s sin part…
Seek the lost – make disciples – show compassion
AND LISTEN – here’s the deal…
Living our lives on MISSION is not something that is just going to happen automatically, without intention, without a plan…
NOW – several years ago we with the help of a leadership coach developed a plan… a good plan, a biblical plan, that shows the path for PURSUING a life on MISSION…
AND THIS MORNING - we begin pulling that plan off of the wall and ‘dusting it off…’
UNDERSTAND - a life that is lived on MISSION, is a life that… belongs, grows, serves and engages.
AND HERE’S - the deal if you… if I
IF WE - center our lives (our - focus, efforts, attention and our energy) on those four things our lives will…
• matter,
• they will bring glory to God
• they will be on mission
• and they will be lives full of meaning and purpose.
AND SO - this morning August 4, the year of our Lord 2019 we will are going to talk about the place where living a life on mission (a life of purpose and meaning) always begins…
MG…
YOU – were made to make a difference… and that difference beings with BELONG.
OKAY – let’s do this
NOW – the way I want to attack this conversation is by answering these 4 age old questions…
• why am I here?
• who am I supposed to be?
• what am I supossed to do?
• what is the meaning, not just of life but what is the menaing of ‘my’ life.
UNDERSTAND – these are questions that every single person who has ever sucked air on the planet has asked.
AND – we will attempt to answer those 4 questions by unpacking the following statements…
• Meaning, everyone is looking for it
• Meaning, not everyone finds it
• Meaning, where it begins
• Meaning, how it is sustained.
I. Meaning, Everyone Is Looking For It…
Once upon a time a young camel was trying to figure out meaning of his life – so he went up to his mom and asked.
“Hey mom, why do I have these huge feet with only three toes?” “Well, son our feet are large because they keep us from sinking down into the sand as we travel across the desert.”
Then he asked her another question, “Why do we have such big eyelashes” – “Well son; many times the wind blows hard in the desert; and the sand gets caught up in that wind and blows all around. AND - our eyelashes are long so that they can protect your eyes, they keep the sand from getting in them.”
The young camel had one more question; “why do we have these big humps on the top of our backs” - “Well son; as you know in the desert there is not much water; AND - our humps store water and this allows us to be able to travel long distances across the desert..”
NOW – the young camel pondered all of this for awhile and then said; “okay mom, let me get this straight; we have big feet so we don’t sink into the desert sand, we have long eyelashes to protect our eyes AND we have humps on our backs so that we can travel great distances across the desert.” The mom said, “that’s right son,”
The young camel had a really confused look on his face and finally asked, “Then why do we live in the San Diego Zoo?”
NOW MAYBE – this morning you feel pretty much the same way. I MEAN - you’re thinking, ‘okay, I know that God created me a certain way…
THAT HE - gave me different talents and abilities,
THAT HE - created me to live in this particular time in history, and for at least the time being he has placed me in the state of Virginia.
BUT – why am I really here?
WHY - do I have huge feet, long eyelashes, 2 humps on my back and yet find myself feeling like I am living in the San Diego ZOO?
I MEAN – it seems like I was made for something else, something better, some more.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10
YEAH - the meaning of life…
Wouldn’t you agree that everyone is looking for it?
AND LISTEN – there is a very good reason for that… and yes that reason is ‘God.’
He… has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy. – Eccl 3:11 (Amp)
YOU SEE – this desire, this search for purpose, significnace and meaning (that everyone seems to be on) was placed in our hearts by God…
READ – the verse again…
BOTTOM LINE – we were born this way.
BORN WITH – this desire to have our lives count, matter, to mean something… to be lived with a sense of mission, fullfillment and purpose…
He… has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy. – Eccl 3:11 (Amp)
AND SINCE – that desire is there… and since it is so strong and so unrelenting…
Our world is full of people who with great intensity are looking for anything that will give their lives meaning and purpose…
AND LISTEN – in this search they are chasing after all kinds of things hoping to find meaning, purpose and fullfilment in them. Things like…
• Status
• Success
• Accomplishments
• Pleasure
• Experiences
• Relationships
Meaning, everyone is looking for it…
The NEXT point in your outline is;
II. Meaning, Not Many Find It…
UNDERSTAND…
THOUGH – everyone is looking for it.
AND THOUGH - people are expending vast amounts of time and energy trying to find it…
VERY FEW - ever wind up holding real meaning and purpose in their hands.
IN FACT – even when it looks like have finally taken ahold of it, it turns out to be nothing more than a mirage…
It’s not real. It’s not solid. It’s not satisfying.
AND – many times it’s not even us.
YOU SEE – it is often just what ‘we thought’ we were supposed to do to have our life mean something.
BUT – it didn’t work and deep down inside we know it.
AND LISTEN – all of this is really tragic, because a life without purpose, meaning or mission isn’t really a life worth living.
YOU KNOW – it no coincidence that as our society has become more ‘sophisticated’ and in that so called sophistication has taught us (such affirming things)…
LIKE - we are nothing more than the products of chance organic evolution (pond scum that crawled up on the beach one day and got lucky) that – depression, addictions, violence and the suicide rates have gone off the charts…
UNDERSTAND – whether our culture wants to admit it or not… once you take God out of the equation, you don’t really have very many (‘meaning for life’ alternatives) left, at least not any good or sustaining ones.
AND AGAIN – the things that people do try to grab on to (in order to find meaning and purpose) cannot hold them.
YOU SEE - it’s like falling over a cliff and grabbing on to twigs, no matter how many you grab on to - they can’t support your weight…
BOTTOM LINE…
Man-made purposes can not support my life or yours, at least not for very long…
MGCC – looking for meaning in all the wrong places will always leave us empty and dry…
Which by the way, is what God’s people were doing during the days of His prophet Jeremiah… looking for life, meaning and purpose in all the wrong things…
God says beginning in Jeremiah 2:13
They have turned away from me, the spring of living water.
IN OTHER WORDS – they have turned away from the very source of meaning, purpose, significance and mission…
And they have dug their own wells, (status, stuff, success, accomplishments, pleasure….
which are broken and cannot hold water.” Jer 2:13
(pour water into a cup with holes in it…)
POINT – it does not matter how much of yourself you pour into something, IF that something has holes in it.
AND LISTEN – it does not matter who we are… how smart we are, or how many people sing our praises, looking for life and meaning in all the wrong places cannot, does not and will not work…
CASE IN POINT – Solomon the 3rd king of Israel… a man who dug many wells and grabbed onto a lot of twigs – in his passionate pursuit to find meaning and purpose…
HOWEVER – in the end and who found it all meaningless…
IN FACT - he actually wrote a book about His search for meaning (it’s called Ecclesiastes)
CHECKOUT – some of what he wrote…
I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the `good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2"It is silly to be laughing all the time," I said. "What good does it do to seek only pleasure?"
3After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. While still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me.
8I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me… 10Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors.
11But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. - Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
WHY – do I feel like I am still living in the San Diego Zoo.
TRAGICALLY – our world is full of people who took the same path and feel or felt the very same way…
Many times with tragic results (252 suicides 21st century)
AND – believe me when I tell you, IF looking for life in all the wrong places did not work for Solomon – in the end it will NOT work for us either…
There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. – Proverbs 14:12
Leads to death of God’s dreams, purposes and intentions for us
OKAY – here’s the deal,…
Many people often do get what they wanted (what they went after)… BUT – when they got what they wanted they found out they didn’t really want what they got…
SURE – they gained the whole world (got the stuff, the status, the attention, the whatever…
BUT - they lost so much more in the process…
GET IT?
REMEMBER JESUS SAID….
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? – Luke 9:25
IN – other words…
What good is it to reach all our personal goals, to be a massive success, and to have this world applaud us
if in the end we lose our very self…
if in the end we miss out on the very purpose and reason for our exsistence...
LIKE – does it really matter if we finish in first place if we are running the race on the wrong track?
The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10
• Meaning, everyone is looking for it (including me and you and everyone in this room)
• Meaning, not many have actually found it.
The 3rd point in your outline is;
III. Meaning, Where It Begins
It Begins With God
It begins with the one…
• Who created you
• Who put breath in your body
• Who formed the heart inside your chest that beats 100,000 times every day of your life.
QUESTION – do you think that this All Powerful, Always Existing, Soveriegn Creator God… might just know why you are here?
For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. – Psalms 139:13-16
UNDERSTAND…
God knows every thing about you, He knows when you sit up and when you lay down, He even knows the exact numbers of hairs on your head… and all that you will do before you take your last breath.
You matter to God
AND LISTEN…
TO – the question, why am I here? Why was I born? God’s says to you today… You are here…
• Because I love you
• because I carefully created you.
• to know me & to be known by me
• to have a relationship with me.
You know – I am convinced that IF God were here today (visible and in person) He would look each of us in the eyes and say…
“_______ you are here, you exist, you were born
because I love you and because
I have a vision, I have plans, I have a purpose for your life…”
You are here for a reason, for a purpose, for a mission…
The Bible says this in Proverbs 16.4,
“The Lord has made everything for His own purpose.”
UNDERSTAND - God has never made anything without meaning or purpose. Every star, every plant, every animal – every person (including you) was created with and for a PURPOSE.
AND MGCC – His purpose, His Plan, His mission for you, no matter where - you’ve (been, are) or how you are feeling…
IS GOOD!
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer 29:11
QUESTION – is that good news or what?
R U kidding me?
God has plans, thoughts and intentions for my life…
Here is some more good news… (don’t let these words or the truth they convey ever get stale)
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10
The Bible says this, in Proverbs 9:10
“Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding.”
QUESTION
DO YOU - want to understand the meaning of your life?
DO YOU - want to know your purpose, why you are here and what you are supoosed to do?
UNDERSTAND – you will find your purpose – your mission – your meaning, by getting to know God.
Where does it (living a life on MISSION) begin?
It all begins with God
Look at Colossians 1:16, “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible…everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.”
Got started where? In Him
Finds it’s purpose where? In Him
TELL - 3 people ‘you’ll find your purpose in Him..
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personalfulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's for greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose… We were made by God and for God. (Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life)
To live a life on MISSION
Begins with God… and it…
A) Requires Surrender…
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
(You will find it)
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? – Luke 9:23-25
AGAIN - what good is it to go after, to pursue – stuff, status, success and in the process lose or forfeit your very self.
YOU SEE B/S - in order to find oursleves we must lose ourselves…
SO THAT – God can show us a self, that is NOT about stuff, status or worldly success..
BUT INSTEAD – is about BELONGING to Him, being in a realtionship with Him.
YES – a life on mission begin with God and it requires surrender.
Meaning it begins with God, it requires surrender…. And it is sustained through community.
IV Meaning, How It Is Sustained
They were devoted to the fellowship… All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. – Acts 2:44-46
UNDERSTAND MGCC – we will never live a life on MISSION on our own.
As we have said before – that is not how God wired up the system.
INSTEAD – HE wired it in such a way that we need each other for… love, support, encouragement, accountability.
AGAIN – that is why we do LIFE GROUPS… whose purpose is to share life, pursue God and invest in others
SIGN UP…
We will adding to existing groups and starting new groups in September.
OKAY – let’s bring this conversation home
A life lived on MISSION…
• matters,
• brings glory to God
• is a life of meaning and purpose.
AND – it begins with BELONG…
NOW – I want to close by making a statement… giving an illustration and then offering challenge…
The Statement…
It’s never too late to become who you were created to be and do what you were created to do.
The illustration…
Imagine that you are a hammer, but no one has any idea what your purpose is…
• paper weight
• back scratcher
• comb
• tooth pick
• cane for reall short people
AND SURE – you may have… held down some paper, scratched some itches, pick some stuff from between your teeh, combed some hair….
BUT JUST IMAGINE…
ALL - the nails that you could have driven
ALL – pictures you could have hung
ALL – the homes you could have built
IF – you lived out your true purpose as a hammer
MGCC – you were made to make a difference… you were created for more then a life live for and for your purposes.
AND SURE – you may accomplish some things, have some successs, aquire some stuff, achieve come status…
BUT JUST IMAGINE – all the lives you could have touched and glory you could have brough God is you lived your live on MISSION…
OKAY – the Challenge…
NOW – I realize that all of us here today are at different stages in our spiritual journey.
BUT - that really doesn’t matter… because we are all faced with the same challenge this morning…
To live our lives on MISSION…
It is not an accident that you are here today,
UNDERSTAND - before you were even born he knew that you would be here in this place, at this time… at whatever place you are in this life’s journey… it’s time to make a decision
• Maybe you are here and have never surrender your life to Jesus… so that you could BELONG to Him
• Maybe you are here and you already BELONG to Jesus, and you need to make a decision to BELONG to this church so that together we can PURSUE living a life on MISSION
• Maybe you are here and you BELONG both to God and to this church… and you need to decide that it time for you to really go after that abundantly more life that Jesus came to give you…
MGCC –
What would happen in our generation if Christians were to rise up and show the world what it looks like to have the fullness of Jesus in them? What would it look like for that fullness to overflow into the world as love in action? What if we were to truly embrace the truth that God’s unique personal calling is His gift for equipping us to play our part in His mission in the world
- Todd Wilson (More)
