VISION CAST SUNDAY Sept 2024 INTRO I just need to start this morning by telling you that I do not enjoy this, even though I know that it is necessary I love God’s Word, and the dissemination of that Word to His people (and anyone else who will listen) But today is not that, though you will hear the outworkings of our Christian faith, but in the context of what we believe God has us to as a local church in the year ahead, if the Lord tarries We do this annually to cast vision for the future, but it’s not always accurate because only God knows the future I could stand up here this morning and set before you vision and initiatives for the year ahead, but in my heart, I’d rather be expositing the God-breathed Scriptures to you Nevertheless, this is a necessary reality We who engage with the American Church in this age and iteration of it, are largely not satisfied with success (as we name it) when it comes to evangelical Christianity And the reason for this is simple, in my estimation It is because we have reworked the definition of the the local church to be Man-focused rather that God-focused We’ve taken our cues and marching orders largely from the culture we live in, rather than from the timeless Word of God In short, the Church as it is at this moment in time, needs a strong dose of practicality Dreaming about the future, or what could be, isn’t by necessity a bad or wrong thing But whenever I’m with other pastors, for a meeting or gathering or encouragement, I consistently hear this admonition to be innovative and daring But you know what? I just want to preach God’s Word, which can’t be improved upon, and there are far too many churches that have stopped preaching the Word almost completely But at least that’s better than offering up Man’s best thoughts about God every Sunday But we surely can’t improve upon the Bible, so why try? And yet, many do try… In short, the American Evangelical Church is a hodgepodge of people from every walk of life, with different values and experiences and preferences And that large conglomeration (here in the USA) has decided to be more attractional to the culture (luring them in with novelty) rather than faithful to the Word (and I could name MANY popular pastors who fit that bill) And anytime I think about that reality, it stops me in my tracks, and it makes me sick to my stomach that so many people, in the name of God, are only getting pablum - a sick, soupy, watered-down version of Man’s best thoughts about God rather than the exposition of God’s Holy Word every week And beyond that which I cannot personally change, there are moments when I find myself overwhelmed when I consider the daunting task of pastoral ministry in this local church that I pastor But the Holy Spirit quickly reminds me (usually with a swift kick in the pants) that I need only be faithful before Him, and pray, and He promises to do the rest So the question we’ll start with this morning is… WHY VISION SUNDAY? I don’t know, to be honest It’s something that I used to be passionate about as someone who wanted to innovate and lead my pack of peers in the Church world But all that has changed for me over 25 years of full time Christian ministry, as I see more and more of Jesus’ vision for His Bride instead of my own vision for her, or the hundreds of other options that Evangelical Christianity has churned out Nevertheless, it is still incumbent on the Pastor and Elders of the Church to invest the time and prayer that leads us to the vision God has for us In 2017, the Lord moved and motivated me to plant a church that would, at its core, be faithful unto the Lord as our primary calling But I also, along with our planting team back then, prayerfully asked the Lord to give us impact without any constraints, and what I mean by that is that I wanted God to use Emmaus Road for HIS purposes, and for HIM to receive all the credit and all the glory And He has been faithful to us because He can do no other It is the Spirit’s role to keep us together and unified And we have the honor of working with Him in the world to convict the world of sin and convince the lost that Jesus is Lord What a blessing that this burden falls on all individual churches directly, Our Lord wants us working together in tandem with our brothers and sisters in Christ to see the same mission fulfilled I do strongly believe that God wants to do something spiritually provocative in our community and in the people who live here But this is not for my glory, or even for the glory of this (or any other) local Church, and that is as it should be The glory is His, and His alone And to that end, and because we believe that deeply, we part ways with a good bit of money every year that goes to missions and ministry outside our church And from time to time, someone will come along and ask me why we give away so much of what we receive when we don’t even have a building of our own “Why does ER send so much $$ out the door?” That’s a really simple question that I love to answer The answer is that is all belongs to Him Whatever we have is on loan from Jesus We’ve asked for a permanent facility, and I know I have prayed that again and again We’ve asked God many times…and at this time, it is not His will for us It’s just that simple We don’t work for our fame or our name in this world - we work for His!! And we believe that He is faithful to give us what we need, not always what we want But to work and build on the church that lives in the Stanwood Cinemas building, we need a blueprint - we need some instructions to go by And because we must be able to see it, thus it requires vision Last year we changed our vision statement to say, “Building wholehearted disciples of Jesus” and that isn’t changing - we’re hanging on to that But that vision has to be in front of us all the time, and we need to intentionally work so as to make that vision a reality with the help of the Holy Spirit We need to innovate and utilize all of our creativity, not to grow our church, but to reach our community If we reach our community, growth is an inevitability So engaging with Christ’s mission is essential to what God has required of us, as He leads us into ministry opportunities And the ministries that are impacted from within this church are many! Let me tell you about…GOD’S IMPACT THROUGH US *VIDEO - John Waller - RENEWED LIFE CHURCH, PUYALLUP, WA Pastor Kevin and I had lunch this week with 2 pastors from Immersion Church in Mount Vernon They wanted to thank us (and you) for the support we have given them (financially and in many other ways) over our 3 year commitment And it sounds like one of the 3 pastors there is stepping away from ministry for a season, and so our coaching role with Immersion Church will continue in some form And I love that, because I used to want to be THE GUY! But after raising 3 kids with my incredible wife, Jen, I get to encourage and coach and invest in our kids as well as leaders in the church And I think I enjoy that even more than I thought I would And anytime I get a chance to talk with any of the ministries we support , I take that opportunity I immediately think of the Landrum family, who left Seattle to move to Scotland to take the Gospel there The Gospel had been vibrant there at one time, but it has waned, and it’s influence with it But the Landrums and their kids have a joyous and jubilant presence and have invested in a church there which is beginning to revive, by God’s grace And you and I get to be a part of that I think about Harlan and Josie Lloyd who fly from village to village all over Alaska with their kids in tow, where there are no roads, to take the Good News specifically to children who might not otherwise hear it Your generosity helps support that ministry Right here in Stanwood we support Safe Harbor Free Clinic, who help those who can’t afford medical care We also continue to support Abundant Life, which is a ministry founded to turn the tide of abortion in our nation, and in truth, we don’t simply want less abortions in the US - we want abortion to become unthinkable in our culture Additionally we’re still working with a Christian family in Pakistan who go to the brick kilns where the poorest are forced to work for almost nothing Daniel and Primula bring God’s Word to a segment of that population that would never otherwise hear about Jesus! In fact, I’ll be preaching a 20 min video sermon this week to send to Daniel and Primula to use in a gathering of people who work in the brick kilns there, who don’t know Jesus So if you have given generously to this church, or served at ER, then that glory belongs to you as much as it does to me, though it ultimately belongs to the Lord our Savior! And every time I reach out to our partners and church plants to see how they’re doing, there are always expression of thanks for Emmaus Road Church So thank you for your investment in the Kingdom! Let’s talk about OUR VISION for a moment The French writer, Antione de Saint-Exupery, weighed in on this issue He said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” I think there is some wisdom for us in that We want Emmaus Road to be a church that is consistently Building Wholehearted Disciples of Jesus So how do we do that? We can double down on ship building or we can fall in love with the immensity of the sea To put in Christian terms, we can love things about God, or we can give ourselves fully to loving God Himself OUR VISION REQUIRES… 3 components that are essential: Clarity - Everyone who is here currently or who will join us over the next year needs to be able to understand who we are as a local church and what we’re about This isn’t about rattling off everything that Emmaus Road is and does, but it is having a good grasp of our vision so that we are able to help families and individuals find their place at ER This isn’t the church for everyone, and we’ve seen our fair share of folks coming and going over 7 years We know who we are and who we are not, and in the Kingdom, that’s an important commodity Community - is about everyone taking part in making the vision come to pass Some of that is our job, but there is a piece of it that belongs exclusively to God Himself, and so we pray continually that He would lead us and resource us And if we go off course for any reason, we ask that He would redirect us and set us the path that He has called us to We do a pretty good job engaging our community…when our community initiates (with events) But I would deeply long to see more initiative from us towards our community, and not necessarily in the context of big events, but in evangelism and service and prayer And if that lights your fire, please let me know Commitment - staying aligned and committed to it, even when it’s not new and shiny Jesus wants fidelity from His Church, and this is us this morning agreeing with that We want to be faithful to Christ’s Great Commission until we see Him face-to-face I look at the Vision and I see a clear statement of what we believe Jesus is calling us to - BUILD- there is work to be done The Church is not the building, and in point of fact, we don’t have one, but we rent this space until such time that the Lord sees fit to give us a permanent facility (or comes for us, which would be just fine!) But we are not simply building things, but we are specifically called to build people by investing in their lives, sharing the truth of God’s Word, and challenging and encouraging them to follow Jesus as a first priority above all other things We are called to BUILD DISCIPLES What are disciples? In the Bible, the word was TALMIDIM - learners of a Rabbi (spiritual leader) These were those who committed themselves completely to walk with their Teacher/Rabbi, following not only his steps, but His way of life, and all the way listening to everything that their Rabbi spoke, taking it all to heart And this hasn’t changed (or at the very least, it should not have changed) BUILD WHOLEHEARTED DISCIPLES OF JESUS Here’s where the challenge hits us It seems (and by that, I do not have any empirical data to prove it) that the American Church is largely on life support And I find myself asking the Lord if there is anything that can be done We were such a driving force for the Gospel since 1776, and even before that with those who settled here But it seems the influence and impact in Western Civilization is now waning How do we now attempt to make wholehearted disciples of Jesus? Well, call me old-fashioned, but when I read God’s Word, I see that it says, or testifies about itself that it is sufficient to do all that is has been sent to do In other words, we need to get out of the way and let the Word speak THE PROBLEM Unfortunately, many in the American church come in as merely consumers of religious goods and services For many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, serving one another isn’t a priority - Their attitude is one of “ let the “professional Christians” do that” But that has never been the paradigm that God ordained since the institution of Christ’s Church It has always, and must always be every member a minister (in some capacity) Every person who has been born again has a spiritual gift (even if only one), and is called by our Lord to put it into practice So each of you needs to discover that gift and put it to use for the Kingdom And how do we motivate Christians to finish or complete the Great Commission? Our culture is largely against us Our enemy, Satan, it completely against us Both of those entities are stronger than we are in our flesh We look around at so many who’ve been “Churched” but haven’t really let the Gospel into their hearts We live in a world that is highly preferential about everything, because we have whatever we want at the click of a button (thanks, Amazon!) I’m honestly shocked that we don’t have “Amazon Church” yet! (If you see that, run away!!!) In addition to the atrophy of the American Church, we see the needs in our cities and communities, and they are simply too big to ignore How do we engage with that? Is there even a way to make a difference in our culture? But I think that’s the issue at hand - this isn’t, nor has it ever been about our the strength of our flesh God’s Word has always called us to rely solely on Him, and not to expect the culture around us to do what Christ has called His Church to do THE SOLUTION The only way forward in our crumbling world is to walk in the Light of God’s Word (for the sake of the Church) and then taking that Light to our neighbors…literally Folks, the people around us aren’t going to get Jesus by osmosis We have to open our mouths and tell them about Him We must always be making disciples who make disciples until Jesus comes And if that’s not your cup of tea, then I’m not sure this is the church for you When it comes to PASTORS AND VISION… …normally we think BIG and shoot for the moon As for me? I’m thinking we’re gonna see Jesus soon, and I have, over the years, embraced Jesus’ admonition to His disciples, and by extension to us: (Revelation 2:25): Only hold fast to what you have until I come. And here’s what I think about Church growth: 1 Corinthians 3:6–9 [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. [8] He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. [9] For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. We will grow if Jesus wants us to And there are things we can do to encourage growth, just like a farmer who tends the crops He isn’t the one causing the growth, but he is tending his garden or fields And so must we We need to increase our care for one another And I know a few folks who come to mind in our congregation who are intentional about that, but we can do better, and as the days get darker, we must! TRUE-ISMS TO REMEMBER Our call is to faithfulness - fidelity to our Lord and Master, and nothing else He causes the growth I will not enter the rat-race of church growth at this point in my life - I simply don’t have the energy But even if I did, it wouldn’t honor the Lord for me to push for what I want at the expense of what He wants Jesus wants holiness in His Church, whether there are 300 people in the room or 3 DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT AN OPTION BUT A NECESSITY If you’ve been a Bible-believing Christian for more than a few years, you ought to be coming alongside some younger Believers and spending some time with them Study the Word together with them I’m so excited to be launching a young adult group at Mustard Seed after hours on Thursday nights with Pastor Kevin Pray for that initiative to grow and produce fruit Pray that some high school and college students would find Jesus for the first time Pray that all who come will gain a passion for God’s Word and for sharing that Word with others We absolutely MUST be making disciples who make disciples until the trumpet sounds and we meet our Lord in the air And as always… EMBRACE THE TENSION We are in Christ’s Kingdom, but the fullness of that Kingdom has not yet come So we say that the Kingdom has come, and it is coming (in all its fullness) That’s not always an easy thing to balance, especially when talking with friends and family But it is tension we are called to live with and live in Jesus could have an angel sound the trumpet in the next 5 minutes, but we could also be waiting a little while longer And many of you know this about me, but I believe firmly that we are in the last days, and that we’re going to experience to Harpazo - the Rapture of the Church very soon Nevertheless, we pray and plan for the years ahead of us, as if He weren’t coming So all of our leaders at ER will continue to steer us in that direction And then one day (soon) we’ll hear it and be translated into His Presence, and what a day, glorious day that will be!! Vision is something that provides unity and alignment for all the moving parts of any given local church Vision thrives on an environment of unity and dies in an environment of division So I’m asking you all this morning to be on board There’s not a lot that is changing for us, at least when it comes to our plans Truth is God could blow this place up in the next month, and we suddenly find ourselves overflowing on Sunday mornings Whether He does or not is His prerogative, but we still need to petition Him with our prayers and hopes The French writer, Antione de Saint-Exupery, weighed in on this issue He said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” I think there is some wisdom for us That’s a comfort to me Planning is not infallible, but it is indispensable As I wrap this up this morning, I want to invite you into the mix You’re not just passive recipients of God’s Word on one day every week You are blood-bought, born-again children of God, and you have a role to play What does the Lord want to direct us towards so that we might thrive in the days to come? I don’t have all the answers, and neither do you, and that’s why the Church must come together as a whole Emmaus Road need each and everyone of you And each one of you needs your brothers and sisters in Christ We’re better together SONG???? SONGS???? As we go to prayer this morning, please pray for the days that are ahead of us Our world is changing so rapidly, and it looks like the Last Days are gathering like a storm cloud OUR CALL IS TO FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE Let’s pray together… Oneness at ER Focused on the mission Add to our numbers Bring the lost to Jesus Help us to disciple well Amen! Emmaus Road Church, go and make the vision come alive!