SERIES: “THE GROWTH FACTORS”
TEXT: ACTS 2:17-21; PROVERBS 29:18
TITLE: “THE EXPECTATION FACTOR”
INTRODUCTION: A. Lynn Anderson:
About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of
America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town
government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles
westward into the wilderness.
In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they
thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a
wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?
Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean
and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able
to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear
vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it,
we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.
1. Last week, we started the series, “The Growth Factors”
2. This second message is called, “The Expectation Factor”
a. What do you expect that God will do at FCC – Washington?
b. Do you have a “vision” for what God wants to do through this congregation?
B. What is vision?
1. Dann Spader: “Vision is that compelling conviction which determines where you
are headed. It is that tangible expression of purpose which ignites your passion for
progress.”
2. George Barna: “Vision for ministry is a reflection of what God wants to
accomplish through you to build His Kingdom.”
C. Why is it important?
1. Thousands of churches struggle from week to week with no vision and no dream
for the future.
--They just plod along.
2. Too many congregations major in mediocrity and specialize in status-quo.
3. When there is a lack of vision within a congregation, it makes what should be the
exciting work of the kingdom of God seem mundane
4. Helen Keller was once asked, “What would be worse than being born blind?” She
answered, “Having sight without a vision.”
B. When I was first interviewed for the position of Sr. Minister here at FCC, I was
basically told by the board that this congregation needed someone who would take the
initiative to lead this church in a different direction
1. As I researched the congregation and its ministry in Washington, I found that this
congregation had been in a certain box for too long
2. FCC had been doing the same things the same way for the same reasons for so
long, that nobody knew how to get out of that box and go into new territory.
C. It all boils down to the fact that we have lost our vision of what God wants to do
through us.
--Dangers of lack of vision:
1. Fosters a “What’s in it for me?” mentality
a. Can become an “entertain me” mind-set
b. This attitude produces apathy where there should be a contagious and dynamic
zeal for kingdom work
2. Fuels bitter feuds over needed change
a. Produces painful conflict over even the smallest changes
b. When there is a lack of vision, individuals usually evaluate change according to
personal preference rather than powerful purpose.
3. Promotes unwise decisions that affect programs
a. Vision provides a way to determine whether programs are beneficial to the
purposes of the church
b. Changes to programs can then be explained to affected parties based on
faithfulness to the vision
4. Produces inaccurate evaluation
a. It’s impossible to evaluate progress without knowing where you’re going
b. Vision provides the bench-mark for evaluating whether or not we made progress
in accomplishing the purposes of the church
5. Promotes the loss of leadership
a. Without vision, those in leadership tend to become bored and unchallenged
b. Sometimes good leadership drifts away because there was a lack of vision
--No one will stay with a task if they believe their labor is not connected to a
vision that moves the purposes of the church according tot he will of God
D. Let’s look at the biblical idea of vision and what we need to learn so that we can
become effective in the work of the kingdom.
1. Peter, quoting from Joel 2:28-31, says in Acts 2:17-21 – “This is what was spoken
by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I
will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders
in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of
smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming
of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved.’”
2. Prov. 29:18 – “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
but blessed is he who keeps the law.”
--“revelation” rendered as “vision” in some translations. Vision comes from God’s
revelation
I. SEEING THE POWER
A. The vision of God is powered through the Spirit of God
1. As we hear the prophecy from Joel in Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost and we read about the
incredible response to that sermon, we have to ask ourselves, “What made it so powerful?”
a. God was in it.
b. His Holy Spirit led the way and won the day
2. Talking about the Holy Spirit makes some people very nervous.
--They’d rather just pretend that He didn’t exist.
3. But we have to understand one crucial thing: There is no power of God without the work of the Holy
Spirit in what we do.
--Eph. 5:18 – “be filled with the Spirit.”
4. Here’s a very important thing to remember about the Spirit of God: The Holy Spirit is always a
promise and not a command.
a. If you’ll just do what God say, He will add His blessed Holy Spirit to your life and to the ministry of
this church.
b. God gives His Holy Spirit “to those who obey him” Acts 5:32
B. Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost was powered through the Holy Spirit.
--The first century church saw the power of the Holy Spirit as it marched its way across Asia and Europe
with a supernatural force that made Rome sit up and take notice.
1. Without the benefit of cell phones, computers, fax machines, video players, or any other articles of our
modern technology, the church grew in an explosive way.
--They grew because of their reliance on the power of God through the Spirit of God.
2. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that penetrated paganism, healed the sick, raised the dead, drove out
demons and shook whole cities with the gospel.
--The church in the 21st century needs a renewal of first century power.
C. Jesus Christ did not design His church to operate on modern marketing techniques or slick gimmicks.
--He designed it to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit
1. A man on death row was walking toward the electric chair for his execution. All the appeals had
failed and this was the final walk. As he walked past the other prisoners, each one of them tried to give
him a good word as a farewell.
One said, “Goodbye, Joe.” Another said, “Keep your chin up, Joe.” Still another one said, “Take it
on the chin, Joe.” But one guy couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “More power to you, Joe!”
2. That probably wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say to someone headed for the electric chair, but it
is appropriate for God to say to His church: “More power to you.”
II. SEEING THE PURPOSE
A. God has a vision for this church as set forth in the purposes for the church
--let’s recite them together
By the grace of God and in faithful obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we exist to:
1. EXALT GOD
--through worship
2. EXPRESS HIS LOVE TO OTHERS
--through ministry
3. EVANGELIZE THE LOST
--through outreach
4. EDIFY THE SAVED
--through fellowship
5. EQUIP THE SAINTS FOR MINISTRY
--through discipleship
B. Satan also has a vision for this congregation:
1. To Disunify our Fellowship
a. You can just mark that down.
--Any time the Lord is busy at work in a place, you will find that the devil gets busy in that place,
too.
b. And when there is love and unity in a fellowship, don’t you know that the devil is going to do his
best to mess that up?
c. Let us be alert to that fact.
--And when we see the first signs of it - let’s not proliferate it or escalate it, let’s eliminate it!
2. To Divert Our Energies
--The Lord has called us to do certain things.
1. We have, from God, the resources to do those things God has called us to do.
--We have enough people power and the talents and the skills and everything we need to do; the
things that God has called us to do.
2. But the devil would like us to do something other than what God has called us to do.
--We cannot allow our energies to be diverted to something else.
3. To Dilute our Message
a. I don’t see any problems looming on the horizon in this area.
b. But I know that, if he has the opportunity, the devil would like to do just that.
c. Let’s stick with the Book, be founded and grounded in the Book, so that this Word is the Final
Word on what we believe and teach and think and say at First Christian Church
4. To Destroy Our Love
a. This platform goes along hand-in-hand with the issue of fellowship and unity in the church but it
also affects our homes and our communities
b. We can get to the point of going through the motions - and fail to love Jesus, and fail to love our
families, and fail to love people, like we ought to do.
III. SEEING THE PROVISION
A. There’s an old story about a preacher who spoke about the financial needs of the church
--He said, “The church needs to walk.” The people said, “Let it walk, preacher.” The preacher said,
“The church needs to run.” The people said, “Let it run, preacher.” The preacher said, “The church
needs to fly.” The people said, “Let it fly.” The preacher said, “For the church to run and fly, it’s
going to take money.” The people said, “Let it walk, preacher. Let it walk.”
1. To give or not to give – that is the wrong question!
2. As you examine the first century church, there was a spontaneity in giving that never caused the
church to lack for funds.
--Acts 4:32-35 – “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his
possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles
continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There
were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold
them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to
anyone as he had need.”
3. vs. 33 seems to be a throwaway verse but sandwiched between the description of the generosity of
the first century church to the work of God it explains: “With great power the apostles continued to
testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”
--New Testament church growth was funded by sacrificial New Testament giving.
IV. SEEING THE PROPAGATION
A. God is not concerned with the size of any church as long as it’s a growing church.
1. A large church that isn’t growing is just as much an abomination to God as a small church that isn’t
growing.
2. God intended the church to grow. He created it to grow, designed it to grow, equipped it to grow,
empowered it to grow, SO IT OUGHT TO GROW!
--The only thing that will keep it from growing are the people in the church
B. Growth progress reports in Acts:
1. Acts 2:41 – “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to
their number that day.”
2. Acts 4:4 – “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five
thousand.”
3. Acts 6:7 – “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and
a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
4. Acts 9:31 – “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was
strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”
5. Acts 11:21 – “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to
the Lord.”
6. Acts 12:24 – “But the word of God continued to increase and spread.”
7. Acts 19:20 – “...the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
C. John Maxwell defines vision in a three-fold manner; "The ability to see---awareness. The ability to
believe---attitude. The ability to do---action."
--We can see the vision and believe the vision. But the vision is worthless unless it’s acted upon
1. There is a Japanese proverb that says, “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is
a nightmare.”
2. Marvin Phillips: “I was in a church growth seminar in Abilene, Texas. And under the big tent, I was
looking at all the books and ideas on church growth. I came across a little book entitle, ‘How to
Grow a Dynamic Church’! I grabbed it up. I’m interested in that! It was a thin, anemic little book.
It didn’t have any pages inside. But in bold type were the words on the inside covers, ‘GO TO
WORK!” That’s the best book I’ve ever read on church growth.”
--(from “The Joy Factor of Church Growth”, Howard Publishing, West Monroe, LA)
D. What can I do to work?
1. Pray for God to work the purposes of the church through you and this congregation
2. Prepare for the work involved in accomplishing the purposes through study
3. Participate in accomplishing the work of the five purposes
E. A great church is a people involved in a great work exalting a great Savior.
1. Do you see where God is moving among us?
2. Are you sharing God’s vision?
3. Have you accepted His invitation to join Him in what He is doing?
--Or do you need to get on board?
CONCLUSION: A. Bob Moorehead:
O God, this is the church. Let her have done with sight walking, low living, empty
talking and tame plans. Lord may the church put on the coat of courage, the pants of
power, the bonnet of boldness, the shirt of surety, the jacket of joy and the sandals of
certainty.
Lord, trim off the church the fat of folly, fickleness, fuzziness, ferment, and frailness,
and teach her to flex her muscles with the power of the Holy Spirit. And Lord, before
You come to get Your bride, make sure she has stood tall, knelt low, lifted high, and
proclaimed broad. Amen.
B. When he was 88, the Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes found himself on a
train. The conductor called for tickets, but Justice Holmes couldn’t find his and seemed
terribly upset. He searched his pockets and fumbled through his wallet without success.
The conductor was sympathetic. “Don’t worry, Mr. Holmes,” he said. “The
Pennsylvania Railroad will be happy to trust you. When you reach your destination
you’ll probably find the tickets and you can mail it to us.” The conductor’s kindness did
not put Holmes at ease. He said, “My dear man, my problem is not ‘Where is my ticket?’
It is ‘Where am I going?’”
