Standing On New Ground
(This sermon was preached the day before we constituted as a new church)
Intro: Show a clip from the Wizard of OZ where Dorothy and Todo are whisked away by the tornado. Stop the clip after she says, "We’re not in Kansas anymore."
Transition: Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of a change or transition and we have said like Dorothy and Toto, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
In Genesis chapter 6 through 9 you find one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Now if we are not careful we miss out on some very important truths. It is a very sobering story about God’s judgment on man’s wickedness. As the story goes Noah (who seems to be the only righteous person on the earth) and his family are spared from a catastrophic flood that wipes out everything on the planet. Noah is commanded to build a huge ark for he, his family, and a pair of every living creature on the earth. He does what God tells him to do and finally the rains come down. Everything outside of the ark was destroyed—men, women, boys, girls, trees, etc. For over a year Noah and his family and all these animals set sail not knowing where they are going. After the water recedes they come to rest on Mount Ararat. When everything is safe and o.k. God calls them out of the ark. They step out and they are in a new place.
Transition: Sometimes we find ourselves standing on new ground. We find ourselves in a place or situation we are not used to being in. Or we find ourselves standing before a new opportunity that God has given us. Whether we arrive there via tornado, boat, job transfer, loss of a loved one, we all go through transitions in life. Many of you will find yourselves standing on new ground when you are deployed somewhere else. Others of you will be standing on new ground when that new bundle of joy comes. We can’t forget that we as a church will be standing on new ground after tomorrow evening when we constitute as a new church! It is exciting but it is also unfamiliar. As many of you know New Community Church was started over 18 months ago. Man, I was so excited and yet so scared about what was going to happen. I knew this was a God thing but it was new to me. It was also new to several of you who became a part of NCC in it’s early months. I know many of you were wondering like I was how this was all going to work out. Yet, we are able to look back on these 18 months and see how God has taken care of us.
You see, that is important to remember when you are facing something new, a transiton, something outside of what you are used to. There might be a lot of things different about your situation but there will always be some things that remain the same. For instance, if you move you will probably take your family with you, your favorite recliner, etc. Those are some things you can count on. You might not know how that new job is going to work out but you do know there will be some kind of normalcy. Well, here are some things you can count on in the midst of a transition.
You can count on God’s promises and care. Read with me Genesis 6:18, 8:1. Noah and his family didn’t know what to expect while they were in that ark but they did know God was going to take care of them. Now this is important to remember because things can get pretty hectic and crazy during transitions. Let’s be honest, it was a tough year for Noah and his family. They didn’t know what kind of timeline they were on. They didn’t know where they were going to end up. Let’s be honest to, that ark must have smelled horrible! Yet, they knew God cared for them. I would imagine based on what we know about Noah that Noah was the one to remind his family of God’s care. Even after they saw that the ground was drying they had to stay in the boat unto the Lord called them out. Why did he do that? Because he was watching out for them and keeping them from harm.
God has certainly cared for us at New Community Church for these 18 months. He has cared for us by answering our prayers, by blessing us with great people, by giving us awesome resources. He has blessed us by giving us open doors for ministry in places like Bridge Pointe Landing. He has blessed us with an incredible opportunity to own a very expensive piece of property for almost nothing!
Another thing you can count on is that God has a purpose. It might seem difficult or different but keep reminding yourself that God has a purpose for your life he wants to fulfill. But that purpose can’t be fulfilled unless you get out of the ark! If you look back at our text you will see that in 8:15-7 God commands Noah, his family and the animals to leave the ark. They had a purpose to fulfill. They were to inhabit the earth. They were to multiply and start again what God commanded Adam in Genesis 1:28. God has a purpose he wants to fulfill in your life. But you have to meet him half way. You’ve got to one to come out of the boat in your life. God has a purpose for New Community Church. When people ask me, what is your vision now that you are going to constitute? My answer is, the same vision and purpose God gave us when we started. What is that vision and purpose? Does anyone know the 5 purposes of NCC?
“Because our purpose in life is to glorify God New Community Church exists to introduce people to Christ, bring them in to a family of believers, develop them to be more like Christ and equip them to use their gifts to impact the world!” We’re to bring in, build up, and send them out!
If we had to change locations—this would still be our purpose.
If every single one of you had to move to another state because of a job transfer—this would still be our purpose. Why? We didn’t create this purpose we only discovered them.
God has created us to worship him. To experience and show our love to him and for him. We want people to experience what they have been created for. We want people to drink deep drinks of God.
God has commanded us to tell others about him. We will never stop preaching about the cross here. It’s the only way you will get to heaven. It’s the greatest news ever on this planet. That you can be forgiven of your sins! ILLUSTRATION: if you had the cure for cancer, wouldn’t you want to share that cure with every person diagnosed with cancer? By the way this month we will be offering Class 401 which talks about how to share your faith. You say, “well, I already know about that.” Let me ask you something: when’s the last time you told someone about that Lord.
God wants our church to be a place for new believers of all walks of life to come in. He wants our church to be body, a family, a flock. We want you belong here. I would rather someone decide not to come back to NCC because they didn’t like my preaching than because no one spoke to them here. By the way, we did have a couple who were here twice who that happened to.
God wants us to be a place where every person grows in their faith. We want to help you grow. Get plugged in to a life group. Get plugged in to a women’s Bible study.
God’s purpose is for every member to be a minister. He wants you to be equipped to serve. If you aren’t serving get involved. Start somewhere. You are ready to serve if you don’t want to serve just anywhere.
A purpose is not just to be discovered but it is meant to be lived out. Notice what Noah does in verse 20-21. He worships the Lord. He presents his body and soul before God and says in essence I’m ready to do your will. Are you living out God’s purpose for your life? As a church how well have we been doing fulfilling our purpose? Remember we don’t have to create our purpose we only discover God’s purpose for us. And when we discover God’s purpose it’s up to us to commit to doing it. I pray you will do that in your own life. And I pray that it will always be the commitment of New Community Church.
