The Spirit in the Church address
Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ
May 19, 2002
Those of you who know me well know that I really like politics. Some people chart March madness and the sweet sixteen. While I chart who is ahead in the presidential primaries. I am probably one of just a few people who really anticipate the state of the union address. When that day comes I usually get a big bowl of popcorn and sit back wit a soft drink. I like to know where we are as a country and where our leader is planning on taking us in the next year of his term.
But I’m not the only one who likes to know the plans that that are in the forecast. If you follow Wall Street you will find that there are a number of people who devote their lives to discovering what the stock market will do. What is in store for our future financially? Or perhaps that’s not your thing but one thing is sure. We like to know as much as we can possibly know about tomorrow. You don’t have to look any further than your own local weather service to find that out. In fact we make plans based on what the weather is going to do. If we were to get a report that it was going to snow tomorrow some of you would cancel plans you have made and some of you would pack up the snowmobile and anticipate one last ride before the summer. If it’s suppose to be a nice day you may have plans to go to the park and grill out while spending some time with the family.
The bible is clear that we do not know what the future holds but we can be certain in the one who does know what adventures, dangers, and obstacles tomorrow will bring. While we have this confidence in God, the Bible also reminds us that we are not to become lazy. That we need to seek God’s guidance, wisdom and insight and listen to the plans he has for our future.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. 9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
The bible is packed with people and churches who God wanted to use. And while we are to be ready because the day of his return may come at anytime we are also not to become lazy, passive or apathetic. So we are to consult God to impart His wisdom to us and be ready and involved to carry out His plan for our future. I hope you have consulted God about your future. But I also want to take some time to lay out what we believe to be God’s direction here for us as a Church unit. Then once we understand what His desire is the next thing we must do is to commit these plans to him.
Psalm 20:4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.
One of the great texts of the bible is found in Jeremiah 29 Where God is reassuring His servant about his future .Jeremiah 29:11 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.
God’s blessings did not stop with Jeremiah. We believe that God has great plans for the future of this church and everyone in it.
Over the past year we have seen some incredible growth here in Farwell. We have seen growth in almost every way that it is possible. I want to say right up front that I am glad to be a part of what God wants to do here and is doing here but the reason we have seen so much growth is because the Spirit of God is alive and well in this church today. My fellow followers today the Spirit in this church is strong!!!
In the past year we have seen numeric growth across the board from our worship service to bible studies to areas of Christian service. We have seen growth in our leadership as Christians have matured and join the ranks of those who are on the front wall of defense, decisions and policy making here at the Farwell. We have seen a personal growth as people who once were strangers are now being accepted as friends and close family in the fellowship of believers. We have seen our minds expand as we looked for ways to broaden our ministry impact in this local under churched community. And we have seen personal spiritual growth as people really grasp onto the vision of the church and strive to become more like Jesus.
In the past year a lot of good things have been happening here as we stand shoulder to shoulder with other followers of Jesus. We have entered into the land of plenty. The land that God wants to lead us into as his people. There will be struggles ahead, hardship and controversy but we can be certain that with Jesus leading us, we will be a voice of reasoning in our community. When people think of the church here it is our prayer that they think of Christ. The reality is that has already begun to happen.
The exciting thing is that’s where we’ve been as a church. But there are more exciting challenges that lie before us as a church.
One of the things that I am most impressed with is your desire to say “yes” we need to add more staff and we are willing to do whatever God desires to make it happen. Some of you said designating extra money is going to be tough but we are committed to making sure that it happens.
I have to tell you, this is the first time I have ever been on this end of a minister search. And though we are waiting for God’s leading it’s sometimes difficult to be patient as we wait for Him to reveal the right person to work with our youth.
There is currently a team that is working hard to find the right person for the Job. We are doing our best to comply with the leading of God and bring the person here that He wants. There have been setbacks. We are convinced that God does everything in his time so we encourage you to stay the course. I really believe that the right person is not far off.
We need to stay committed to this plan as a church. We must continue to pray, continue to search, continue to give, and be patient as God brings us the right person.
A few months ago I stood up here and did one of the most uncomfortable things in my life. I preached a sermon about money and giving for the purpose of expanding our ministry capabilities. I said that if we are going to pay for a youth minister we need offerings to rise from an average weekly offering of $1600 to $2000. which worked out to 400 a week. When our leaders sat down with the numbers we found that adding retirement, health care, and other necessities, that our offerings needed to be $2200.
To date we are averaging around $350 a week in designated offerings and for the last 3 weeks our total offerings have been right at $2200. Because of your commitment to follow Jesus as he leads us, giving has increased by 35%. Also a couple of weeks ago our total designated fund for a youth minister went over $10,000. Our goal was to have $12,000 in the bank when we hire and as you can see we are not very far off.
But that’s not the only thing we have been doing.
The community appreciation dinners have been a large success. When people who normally get little or no recognition come into the building and are treated well they leave with the message of kindness in their hearts.
Although the title may say “hospice appreciation” or “fireman appreciation” I hope you have not excluded yourself from these dinners. When we have a special dinner we want you to come and welcome those that are with us. Who knows you may even make a new friend.
We constantly get letters of appreciation expressing people’s gratitude for the warm reception at our dinners.
One of the messages that we have tried to stress this last year is that church is not just Sunday morning. I hope you come and are refreshed, it is my prayer that you leave feeling like the message, the songs, the prayer time fills up your soul. But we also hope you come just to worship. Just to pour yourself out before God. What an incredible way to start the week. To leave everything at the door and come in to praise God. Those of you who do that, I know that you are filled when you leave. Because God promised in the Psalms that when we pour ourselves out he will refresh us.
It is my goal that everyone in this church gets involved in a small group or bible study. That’s where the meat and real nourishment comes from.
I try to offer good stuff in these messages but your spirit needs nourishment more than once a week. I really want to encourage you if you are not involved in something that is feeding your spirit, get involved. Weather it’s a small home group, Sunday night study or a Sunday morning class.
One of my goals for this year is to start more growth opportunities to get close to God. In the near future we will be offering a Wed night bible study here at the church.
It is my conviction also that every Christian should know what their spiritual gifts are. Not only for the purpose of general knowledge but also for the part of service.
Here at Farwell we are striving to make this church the Church that Jesus wants it to be. He made his desire for the church very clear.
This church already is a loving community. However we need to strive to make inroads and make new friends. We need to be a close knit group who is going to find the essence of community and fellowship in the church. We must care for one another and love each other.
One of our members told me of a pact they made with someone else to keep them accountable for church attendance.
We all need to learn this buddy system. But it’s not just about attending on Sunday, It’s also about how you live on Monday.
Over the last year we have done a lot of talking about vision and goals. Hopefully you are sitting here today and you can identify that vision. Hopefully you can identify some of our major goals as a church.
If someone comes up to you and asks you what is your church all about what would your answer be. I know most of you can tell others exactly what we believe about baptism or the trinity.
Someone was telling me a story recently that goes to the heart of what we’re all about. Someone here was recently approached by a friend and the conversation turned to church topics and the person was asked “what’s your church all about” The reply was right on the money “we’re about Jesus”
That’s exactly who we are as a church we are all about Jesus. We are about taking His love to a world that learns to live in hate. We are about offering Christ as the answer in a world filled with tough questions.
We are about creating a nurturing loving environment where no one gets left behind. We are about Jesus. Our whole goal here is to point people to a relationship with Him.
I Hope you are sitting there this morning thinking 2 things
First I hope you think that we have a God sized vision?
Proverbs 29:18 tells us that without vision people perish
I hope that the prospect of what God wants overwhelms you.
Michael Slaughter, Minister at Ginghamsburg church says that when we Catch God’s vision it’s obvious that no human could accomplish it so when the dream is realized all the credit goes to God.
Also it is incredibly exciting to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves. That’s where true fulfillment comes from. Being part of God’s team.
We need to have goals that are so big that “Only God Can accomplish them”
So I hope you are overwhelmed by what God is doing here. I think once you are you will want to be here every week because being here is an adventure.
The second thing I hope you are thinking is “What can I do” All of this is a lot to take in and it seems to be a tall order so how can I help? How can I find my place in a growing community?
There are a number of things you can do to help this church move forward into God’s plans for our future.
1. Get involved
The only way that the mission of God will be accomplished in this church is if we all decide to get involved in it and begin.
Which is going to mean investments of time and energy. It’s going to mean building friendships and striving to become the community that Jesus wants us to be.
2. Give
Your generosity is to be commended. But we sometimes need to hear that all is going well and sometimes we need to hear some encouragement about continuing in generosity. You have been gracious with your giving in support of God’s goals let’s keep it up
3. Grow
Find a way to get spiritual nourishment. When we do not grow we wither up and die spiritually and then we wonder why the excitement is gone or why we don’t feel God’s presence in our lives. The apostle Paul said “Fan the flame the gift of the Spirit” Use what God has given you and find a way to grow. The consequences of not growing are dire. If you refuse to find some other source of spiritual nourishment, at some point you are going to be left feeling empty and drained and you will lose your enthusiasm for what God is doing through your life.
There is no substitute for a life that is lived in carrying out God’s dreams. We did a series called enlarge your tent. I hope you all found ways to grow through that. But I know personally if you don’t find a way to grow church becomes boring and it loses its priority. But if you grow with a group or personal study Sunday is a vibrant day and when you miss a Sunday it just doesn’t feel right
4. Be patient
Living out God’s dream takes time, and to be realistic God sized dreams are not lived out in one day. On the day God created the earth Jesus was with Him and God had a plan to send Jesus from the beginning but it took 4500 years before Jesus came. God’s timing is Just that. God sized visions will take time.
5. Be positive
One of the things we don’t realize is how much we influence those around us. If you are negative about what is happening here others will sense it and God’s work could easily be hindered.
One of the reasons we are in the position we are today is because people have been responding positively and you are talking about this church positively in the community.
In the past week I have heard positive comments about our worship service from people who are not regular attendees. People who are looking for a church home and want to come somewhere where the Spirit of God is active and working. One of the ways he works is through the positive words of people.
The spirit of God is amazing. The apostle Paul tells us not to quench the Spirit. It’s obvious that the Spirit is live and well here but I have noticed that it does not take much to quench the Spirit’s work in the life of a single person or in the life of a single church.
I have seen first hand in other churches when a spirit of cynicism, pride and complaining took over. And almost overnight the Spirit of God was chocked out.
6. Be prayerful
Pray for the direction of the church and the discretion of the leadership. The Bible tells us that in everything prayer in the underlining factor that assures us of God’s presence.
The verse we started out with said commit your plans to the Lord. Prayer is the best way to commit to God
7. Be peaceful
Finally do your best to live peacefully. We need to have a peace that the leaders are making right decisions, and we need to keep a peace for the sake of unity among ourselves.
Ellen
I started out by saying that we need to put our lives in the hands of God because he knows our future.
Perhaps that’s something you have never done personally. Perhaps you need to make a decision today to accept Jesus into your life. You might be looking for a dream that is bigger than you, and you think you have found it with a bunch of people who really care about you
If you need to make Jesus Lord of your life. If you are ready to find God’s vision for you, and be a part of a church that is committed to God’s plan for us, you are invited to come as we stand and sing.
