State of the Church Address
Theme: The Lord wants us to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.
Text: Jude 17-25
Here’s a thought: “Society will become increasingly hostile toward Christianity in the twenty-first century.” - William Easum
Lynn Anderson describes in a "Leadership" magazine article what happens when people lose their vision:
A group of pilgrims landed on the shores of America about 350 years ago. With great vision and courage they had come to settle in the new land. In the first year they established a town. In the second, they elected a town council. In the third, the government proposed building a road 5 miles westward into the wilderness. But in the fourth year the people tried to impeach the town council because they thought such a road into the forest was a waste of public funds. Somehow these forward-looking people had lost their vision. Once able to see across oceans, they now could not look 5 miles into the wilderness. May this never be true of us!
The President of the United States traditionally begins the New Year with a nationwide address that evaluates the country's condition and projects a vision for the coming year. I want to do something like this for New Beginnings Church, the church in Canada, and the global church.
I will refer to Jude 17-25 as the framework for my message:
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - 25 to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. NIV
New Beginnings Church has come a long way, and many people have come and gone since our family first met in our living room in August 2004. As the Lord speaks to us about how far we have come and where we are going, consider the ABCs of His mission for us.
The Lord calls us to:
Abide (Jude 17-19)
Jude 17-19 warns us that we will face people with more regard for self than they do for Jesus Christ. The enemy may use people like this both within and outside the church.
They might not admit it so openly, but many churches define unity as “showing up at a building on Sunday morning and being nice to one another.” Unity is committing our time, energy and money to a common purpose or mission.
When signing the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin warned his colleagues, “We must all hang together, else we shall all hang separately.”
We have grown closer as we have built friendships and served together, living out God's vision for us.
We are building a good community reputation, which I value. King Solomon realized this in Proverbs 22:1, “A good [name] is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” NIV
We are not competing with other churches. The Northern Hills, Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County need more Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches.
William Easum writes in "Dancing with Dinosaurs" (page 13) that one of his assumptions about the church is, “Society will become increasingly hostile toward Christianity in the twenty-first century.”
This is happening as we see rapid moral erosion here in Canada. Accompanying this is greater animosity toward the church, even though many Canadians believe in God and pray regularly.
The Apostle John exhorts us to stay on the right track in 1 John 2:24-28:
24 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us - even eternal life. 26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit - just as it has taught you, remain in him. 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. NIV
Folks, we are in for a rough ride, so let’s fasten our seat belts! We will be tested and challenged more and more in the days ahead. The Lord is calling us to respond with His love and compassion.
A boy was asked how he had become such an excellent skater. He replied, "By getting up every time I fell."
We can grow stronger in the face of adversity. God will call upon us to take a gracious but truthful stand on ethical issues. At such times, the church body will support Biblical and practical solutions.
As followers of Jesus in a very affluent and entertainment-oriented society, we must deal daily with activities and possessions that lure our time, energy and money. The kingdom of heaven is calling its subjects to be focused on the King's values and priorities - discipling men, women, boys and girls in the ways of Jesus Christ.
We will face opposition and persecution as we stand for Jesus. Satan and his cohorts would love nothing better than to see New Beginnings Church disappear. Will we abide in the Holy Spirit and, with unwavering commitment, pursue His vision for us?
The Lord calls us to:
Abide (Jude 17-19)
Build (Jude 20-21)
A strong church is built with people that are in a relationship with Jesus Christ and one another. Ministries or programs arise from such people as they are directed and gifted by the Holy Spirit. One day our property will facilitate rather than dictate who we are and what we do.
More leaders are needed for the work to be done. This desire to add to our leadership is not born out of the desire for more bureaucracy, a hierarchy or a pecking order.
The first church in Jerusalem addressed a practical need in Acts 6:1-7:
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 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. NIV
One of our values is the majority carrying the minority. In many local churches, 20 percent of attendees do 80 percent of the work. A congregation is healthy when most people who attend church meetings are actively involved in the church's life and fulfilling their God-given calling. I want to impress upon you the need to be involved in at least one area of service within and beyond the church.
The Bible is clear that service is an essential component of spiritual maturity, and Ephesians 4:16 is just one example:
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. NIV
Jude 20-21 explains that it will take every one of us seeking the Lord for ourselves and on behalf of His work through us collectively. Pray in the Holy Spirit by praying in tongues and allowing Him to direct your prayers.
It will take everyone responding to the leading of the Holy Spirit and functioning in the gifts He gives. New ministries will sprout up in this environment rather than expecting someone else to do it for us. If you feel a growing desire to be involved in a particular area of ministry, I invite you to tell me about it. We will do all we can to help you clarify the call of God in your life, put tools in your hands, and link you up with like-minded people.
New Beginnings is to be a cell-based church because they provide spaces for discipleship. We now have several groups up and running. If you are not involved regularly with a group, I urge you to be. Otherwise, we are very limited in helping each other grow.
Please pray about serving as a host or apprentice group leader. The quality and quantity of making disciples hinges on the quality and quantity of our leaders.
The Lord calls us to:
Abide (Jude 17-19)
Build (Jude 20-21)
Contact (Jude 22-23)
Stop and consider Jesus' promise in Luke 6:38:
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. NIV
My prayer is that New Beginnings Church will live out this divine principle. Others have told us that we have been faithful with a little, and the Lord will give us more. There should always be room for more! We are called to be a base church, sending people out to reach those who do not yet know the Lord and to encourage other congregations. As difficult and painful as this can be, the Lord will honour that by bringing us more leaders and workers.
I know the people of New Beginnings Church have a heart for outreach. Psalm 147:2-3 inspires us:
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. NIV
Jude 22-23 reminds us to be patient with those who do not yet grasp the reality and power of Jesus Christ. We will be challenged to balance the pastoral with the prophetic, where we must show both the soft and hard sides of love. We are called by God to hate the sin but love the sinner.
A motorist drove into a full-serve gas station and asked for 100 dollars in gas. Efficiently, three attendants hopped to work - cleaning the windshield, checking his tires, and so on.
The motorist paid his bill and left.
Several minutes later, he returned and asked, "Did any of you put the gas in my car?" The three attendants huddled together, then confessed nobody had.
• We can get swallowed up by the busyness of "church life."
• But let’s never forget that we are called to contact or reach others with the
Good News of Jesus Christ.
The Lord calls us to:
Abide (Jude 17-19)
Build (Jude 20-21)
Contact (Jude 22-23)
Deify (Jude 24-25)
Jude ends on the note that we, individually and as a church, are called to deify or glorify with a message of thanksgiving and reverence for the one true God.
We enjoy meetings where the expression of gifts is allowed to flow orderly, and music is a vital part of our church life. Our worship leaders and those who choose our songs have sought and will seek to lead the congregation into an awareness of God's presence, resulting in a desire to express worship and praise.
Musicians and singers have played a crucial role in leading God's people in worship for thousands of years. Consider the remarkable result of praise as King Solomon and the Israelites dedicated the Temple in 2 Chronicles 5:13-14:
13 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God. NIV
The church wrestles with the balance between old and new worship forms. These bloopers appeared in church bulletins:
The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.
The music for today’s service was all composed by George Friedric Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.
William Easum writes in "Dancing with Dinosaurs" (page 86):
No [worship] form is inherently better than another. Music is good if it conveys the gospel; it is bad if it does not.
Spiritual giants such as Martin Luther and Charles Wesley showed us the importance of culturally relevant music. They met the needs of the culture of their day by taking the tunes out of bars, putting words to them, and using the songs in worship. They accommodated the needs of people in order to reach them with the message that would eventually change their lives. They did not conform the message, just the package.
Yes, we have come a long way, and I thank the Lord for that. Looking ahead, I ask you to:
Worship with us once a week.
Get connected with one of our groups.
Commit yourself to one area of service within and beyond the church regularly.
Support this work with your prayers and generous giving (at least 10% of your gross income).
Steve Farrar writes in "Standing Tall," Multnomah, 1994, page 220:
I like the perspective characterized by a good ol' boy from the back-woods by the name of Jeb. Wolves were picking off the livestock of ranchers at an alarming rate, so the state offered a bounty of $5,000 for every wolf killed.
Jeb and his friend, Ernie, decided to go into the wolf hunting business. They had been out huntin' wolves all day and into the night, and made camp way up in the mountains near a beautiful little stream. About four o'clock in the morning, Jeb woke up to see their camp surrounded by thirty or forty wolves. In the light of the dying campfire, he could see the
blood-lust in their eyes, and the white of their exposed, razor-sharp teeth. He could also see that they were about ready to spring.
"Hey, Ernie," he whispered. "Wake up! We're rich!”
Now that's a man with a positive attitude!
The Lord calls us to:
Abide (Jude 17-19)
Build (Jude 20-21)
Contact (Jude 22-23)
Deify (Jude 24-25)
The Lord wants us to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.
