Membership Matters	October 18, 2015

The Glue that Creates Momentum

Here’s where we’ve been the last couple of weeks.

Many in our culture think of church as an event you go to. But as we read and study the Scriptures, we discover a simple, but radical concept - the church is not an institution or a building, but a people gathered to Jesus, who are sent by him into the world to be on mission with him in his great work of rescue.

Last week we looked at the life of Moses and what God asked of him. Moses at first pushed back – he told God why he couldn’t do what God was asking of him. In his pushback, Moses didn’t lie. Moses believed he was too old; that he was a nobody; that he wasn’t gifted. But the longer God talked with Moses, the clearer it became that Moses reasons for not wanting to return to Egypt were essentially excuses.

Finally there came the moment when instead of pushing back, Moses began to

push into God and in faith of and dependence on God he stepped out - and began to do what God asked him to do.

Hebrews 11:27 tells us that the strength… and the boldness… and the perseverance exercised by Moses was because he saw the One who is invisible.

3000+ years have gone by and God continues to invite those who walk with him to step into circumstances and situations that are beyond them. And just like Moses, our first response can be to push back... for any number of reasons.

And just like God did with Moses, Jesus reveals himself and speaks to us the same reality-changing promise – I will be with you - and this convinces us to push into our God and take action.

This seven week series, Membership Matters, is important for us as a church.

There are truths we need to be reminded of – who Jesus is and what he did and continues to do and who we are and what we do because of him.

Today’s teaching is entitled, ‘The glue that creates momentum.’

As we go to our coffee/question time, I invite you to talk with another person about these two questions:

(1) What do you think the “glue’ could be?

(2) In your estimation, what does momentum look like?

Feedback

After his resurrection Jesus remained on earth for 40 days. During this time he interacted with his followers (Acts 1:3) “…proving to them in many ways that he was actually alive… and … talking to them about the kingdom of God.”

Both were important topics. Why did you think Jesus needed to prove he was actually alive?

Wouldn’t touching him settle that?

I believe what Jesus did was what he had done with the two disciples who were travelling to Emmaus. Luke 24:27.

Wouldn’t you have loved to have sat in on those discussions about the kingdom of God? This was a much repeated theme of Jesus’ teaching. Think of all the parables he used to describe what the kingdom was like.

good seed that grows in the midst of weeds– Matthew 13.

a tiny mustard seed that grows to be the largest of the garden plants – Matthew 13.

a hidden treasure– Matthew 13.

a priceless pearl– Matthew 13.

a fishing net – Matthew 13.

a landowner who keeps hiring employees, even at the end of the day – Matthew 20.

a wedding banquet – Matthew 22.

Jesus had announced the kingdom of heaven was near.

His followers were announce it had come.

Acts 1:4 describes one particular occasion when Jesus ate with the disciples.

Around the table, over a meal, he gave them this command.

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The disciples were to wait…for the baptism of the Spirit.

Why was that so important?

Because without the baptism of the Spirit they could never live as Jesus’ followers let alone carry out his mission in the world!

At his own baptism, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus and lived in him “without limit,” as John the Baptist said in John 3:34.

What did that look like in action? What difference did it make in Jesus’ life?

Luke 5:17 - ...and the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.

Acts 10:38 - God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power...and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Jesus knew where to go each day; he knew what to say to every person; he had power to heal any and all sickness; as well as the ability to perform miracles… because the Spirit lived in him without limit.

If that was how it was for Jesus, do you begin to grasp why he so strongly stressed to his disciples – don’t leave Jerusalem until you have been baptized with the Spirit.

It is significant that the New Testament exclusively uses one word when it speaks of baptism – baptidzo. The word ‘baptidzo’ described how a piece of cloth was dyed;

or what happened when a ship sank. If something was baptidzoed, it was immersed in; and saturated by.

A person who is baptized with the Spirit is so saturated with God’s Spirit, that like the analogy used by Jesus in John 7:38, the Spirit then gushes out of them, like rivers of living water.

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

At his very last interaction with them, Jesus again spoke of the Holy Spirit: (Acts 1:8)

“You will receive… power… when the Holy Spirit comes on you;

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After Jesus ascended to heaven, what did his followers do?

Acts 1:12-14 tells us they waited as Jesus had told them to wait, and they prayed…for seven days.

And then, on the day of Pentecost, what Jesus had promised became a reality – the Holy Spirit dramatically came upon them and immersed their lives in his. Acts 2:2-4.

It is significant that the Spirit revealed himself with the sound like that of a mighty windstorm and with fire that rested on but didn’t consume the disciples.

In doing so, the Spirit emphasized that he is not Casper the friendly ghost.

He is awe-inspiring… and powerful beyond anything one could imagine.

As God he is holy and is a consuming fire.

The noise of the wind drew together a crowd of people from many different countries who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover and the Feast of Weeks. But it was what this crowd of people saw and heard that bewildered and amazed them. They heard individuals, who were obviously Galileans, speaking of God’s wonders in the different languages of those who were in that crowd.

Peter filled with the Spirit stepped forward to explain the phenomena they were observing. Peter saturated by the Spirit boldly spoke of the good news concerning Jesus. Peter empowered by the Spirit invited people to turn from their sin and receive Jesus Christ as the Leader of their life and the Forgiver of their sin.

The response that day was incredible. Look at Acts 2:41.

That was just the beginning! Look at Acts 2:46-47. Daily!!

Now look at Acts 4:4. About 5000 men means the total number of believers could easily have been in excess of 10,000. Acts 5:14. Acts 6:1. Acts 6:7.

Can you imagine a church of 120 people in one day growing to 3000? then 4,000, 5,000, 7,000, 10000, 15000, 20000? What caused this? What was the glue that held that church together?

What kept that church from being a group going 10000 different ways?

What aligned theirs lives? Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were one in heart and mind.”

What created the momentum we read of in the early chapters of the book of Acts?

It wasn’t what, but WHO!

It was the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in their lives!

Look at Acts 4:8; 4:31; 6:3; 7:55; 9:17; 13:9; 13:52.

This phrase ‘full of the Spirit,” filled by the Spirit” explains how the Christian life is lived and how the mission of Jesus is carried out – as our lives are filled with God’s Spirit.

I wish I could say to you that once a believer is filled with the Spirit that the presence of the Spirit in them would be constant.

But we can limit the Spirit of God’s presence in us.

We can push him to the edges of our life. How?

Ephesians 4:30 – And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…

How does a person grieve the Spirit? By allowing sin to flourish in them.

That’s the emphasis of Ephesians 4:31-32.

I Thessalonians 5:19 – Do not put out the Spirit’s fire…

How does someone quench the Spirit’s fire? Look at 20-21.

Hebrews 10:29 - …[don’t] insult the Spirit of grace.

How does a follower of Jesus insult the Spirit? Look at v.26 – by deliberately sinning.

By going back to what they had been saved from.

Acts 5:3 – [don’t] lie to the Spirit.

How does a person lie to the Spirit? By giving an opening into their life through the practice of sin that allows Satan to influence them; to be the dominant voice.

Ephesians 5:18 – Do not get drunk on wine; but be filled with the Spirit.

The Spirit comes into the believer’s life to be God’s controlling agent as that believer allows him to be. The Spirit is jealous. He will not share his Lordship with anything else that would dominate us. He will not take second or third place.

All who follow Jesus are a work in progress. We are being transformed.

But God doesn’t that without our willing cooperation.

There are the moments when Jesus fills our mind and he is the passion of our life.

There are the times when we make the right choices or respond like Jesus would.

And the presence of the Spirit in us is strong and his life spills out of us.

But there are also those times when we get distracted; when we respond wrongly; when we make bad choices.

And when we do so, the Spirit moves from the center to the fringe of our life. And his presence becomes more like a faint whisper and his power more like a trickle than a gushing river.

But thank God that his Spirit is the Convictor who uses God’s word and others to call us back to our first love. When we respond to his conviction in repentance, and ask his forgiveness, that wall that has blocked our fellowship with him comes down and he again fills our lives with himself.

So will you let me ask you some questions regarding where you are at spiritually this morning?

Is Jesus the passion of your life?

Or has your love for him become lukewarm, even cold?

Does the Spirit’s presence and power gush out of you like a river?

Is there any other explanation than Jesus that explains who you are and what you do?

The sum total of who we are individually will define who we are as a church.

When people visit with us, is their conclusion similar to that of those who visited the Corinthian church, 1 Corinthians 14:25: “God is really among you!”

If God isn’t among us in observable ways, the unavoidable question is, “Why not?” What has happened that his Spirit has been pushed to the corner or to the fringes?

It is not our buildings; our programs; our talents that will create spiritual momentum and change the DNA of our town and region.

Without the Spirit in our lives in all of his fullness, we will only be as effective as any other social agency trying to make a difference in Sooke. But will the eternal destiny of men, women, teens and children who are far from God be changed? Will we see the gospel being the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes?

It is the Spirit of God who glues our lives to his.

It is the Holy Spirit who glues our lives to one another.

It is the Spirit who glues the mission of Jesus to our hearts.

And it is God’s Spirit who creates and sustains spiritual momentum when he is welcomed as Lord of our lives.

God’s Spirit is here among us this morning.

We’re going to sing in closing a simple song that declares an incredible truth – where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

Do you need to do business with God? Are there things you are holding on to that grieve the Spirit and quench his presence in you?

Will you agree with God this morning to call those thing what they are - sin;

to lay them down; and ask him to forgive you?

If you will do so, you will find mercy. The guilt you have carried will be lifted.

The Father will declare to you his delight in you. And you will in a fresh way experience the great love of Jesus being lavished on you.

The song we’re going to sing also expresses our need of Jesus.

There is no point in our walk with him, when we don’t need him.

Long ago God told Jeremiah in 13:11 – “I created Judah and Israel to cling to me.”

It has always been this way with those who walk with God – we are to cling to him.

As we sing please respond to Jesus; whether that is in your chair where you are;

or come and sit at the front or kneel at the front – pour out your heart to him.

If he has convinced you something has pushed him to the fringe of your life, then lay it down.

And if all is good, then simply affirm to your God and Savior that you love him and your life is his to use however he wants.

Because God is here by his Spirit there is freedom to respond to him.

Freedom Reigns / Breathe

This week’s Life group discussion involves interacting with and discussing our mission and vision statement... that is still a work in progress.

The question is does this capture God’s heart for us as his church in Sooke?

Your thoughtful comments are much appreciated as are your questions.

Call or email me with them.

The Blessing

1 John 4:4: The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

There were other factors in Acts that contributed to the spiritual momentum of that time.

The bold and godly leadership of the apostles – Acts 2-6. But what made the lives of those men so distinct and defining, was the Spirit of God in them. They were just ordinary guys who before the coming of the Spirit messed up a lot.

What else?

The grace of God – Ac. 4:33. Their lives leaked grace. It was upon them; it was in them; it flowed out from them. They experienced grace and they extended grace. Look at Acts 3:17.

The fervent practice of prayer – Acts 2:42;4:23-31; 6:4. Jesus had risen from the dead. The impossible had happened. The future had come into the present. Why wouldn’t they pray and ask of the One to whom nothing is impossible? As they asked, God answered.

The high priority of Scripture – Acts 2:42; 6:4. They were a people of the Book. They read because they wanted to know how to live. They took seriously Jesus’ command to make disciples and to teach those disciples to obey everything Jesus had commanded them. How could they teach someone else to obey if they themselves didn’t obey Jesus in everything?

Those believers played a part in what happened. But it was a supporting role.

Their lives were yielded to Jesus and they lived for him.

The Spirit was at home in them.

Throughout the fall the church board prayed and talked about

what we discerned the Lord leading this church to be and to do.

One of the very first things we did was to prayerfully reflect

on what this church valued.

I want to share with you what the two Boards identified.

Why is this important that we know our values?

They help us to understand who we are and why we do what we do.

Like the North Star, values serve as a point of reference.

They reflect the beliefs that have taken root in our hearts.

Values are like a window that gives us perspective.

They suggest what God wants to do through us.

Like a road map, values indicate a particular direction in which God	has prepared us to go.

For a community shared values function:

…like a homing device that keeps us all on course.

…like a metronome that keeps us all in step with one another.

What values have shaped who Fellowship Baptist is?

We have expressed these values as statements

rather than one word descriptors.

We love God and his word

We are fully devoted to Christ and his cause

We live, serve and act as a family

Every person (child, teen, adult) is of immeasurable worth

One church; many congregations

Prayer is a catalyst for transformation

Excellence honors God and inspires people

Life change happens best in small groups

These values explain why we live in community as we do.

They explain why we serve as we do.

They bind us together.

They impassion us.

If there is inconsistency in our behavior it can indicate to us there is inconsistency in our beliefs and in our conviction.

Please keep in mind that we value

will be expressed in our actions and behaviors.

Some of the values we identified

clearly manifest themselves in our behavior.

Other values were present but need to be championed.

By that I mean, we need to refer to them often so as to reinforce

What we believe influences what we value.

Our values are those deep-settled convictions and assumptions

that are formed out of our beliefs.

When we used to live disconnected from God

what we believed about life; about ourselves,

was formed by our family;

the experiences that happened to us;

the friends we interacted with;

the teachers who taught us,

the books we read,

the music we listened to,

the movies we watched, etc.

But when a person comes to faith in Jesus,

the truth of God begins to inform and shape their beliefs,

which contribute to the development of new values.

All of us have values which influence our actions, our priorities,

how we live our lives.

As a community of believers there are values which influence

the kind of church we are; the kind of church we are becoming.

It is common shared values, shaped by the Scriptures, and embraced by us all that will created the environment

through which the Holy Spirit could so remarkably

and so powerfully work.

But God’s work of transformation is a life long process.

This is why the believer still experiences conflict within themselves.

Old beliefs that used to direct our lives before we met Jesus

challenge the new beliefs being established in us

by the Spirit and the Word.

Old values still exert remarkable influence over our behavior.

There is within our spirit the desire to do what God wants us to do.

And yet, we are shocked and disheartened

that our love of sin is so often expressed in sinful actions.

we still love ungodly things find that we still are prone to do ungodly things, because we still value

within us. fostered the embracing of new values.

And as a result our behavior began to change.

Instead of doing what was right because we had to, or because it served our selfish interests

We put off old sin habits and began to cultivate new habits of godliness

because we began to love what God loved.

What you value is seen by what you do.

You may say, “I value such and such.”

But it is your actions that confirm or deny if you really do value what you claim to value.

As we talk about values, we are not going to engage in a philosophical discussion. We are not going to reflect on theoretical situations or

As a result, our values also began to undergo

a process of transformation.

What happened is that

These beliefs in turn and convictions,

as well assumptions about one’s self, about others, about life.

We need to remember that God’s work of transformation

is a process in which the believer participates.

With our cooperation, the Spirit works to renew our mind.

This work of renewal replaces old values with new ones.

But our old values like old habits can continue

to manifest themselves and influence our actions and our choices.

This is one reason why we experience conflict within ourselves.

This is also a reason why we can experience conflict with others.

Differing values can generate conflict.

Whereas on the other hand, shared values create momentum within a group of people.

Our values are not static. As we interact with the Scripture, allowing God’s word to shape what we love and what we do; as we respond in obedience to God, our values will change. What will happen is that our convictions and assumptions will increasingly be aligned with what God says is good and right.

When I was in my early 20’s, I serviced my own car.

After an oil change I poured the used oil down the storm sewer.

That action was consistent with my beliefs and values.

Today, I would never pour used oil down a storm sewer.

My beliefs have changed.

These changes have led me to value the environment,

which in turn has shaped how I act.

Your values are what you perceive to be of worth.

They are the things you feel strongly about.

Values are the ideas and beliefs that influence and direct

your choices and actions.

Values reflect your convictions and assumptions.

Our vision is a picture of where our values are taking us.

At times we sense conflict within ourselves – conflict between these new values being formed within us by the Word and the Spirit, and the old values which had motivated and directed us.

Our laws come out of what a society collectively values.

But laws can’t make an individual value something.

Every driver knows the posted speed limit on our highways.

But not every driver values that posted speed limit.

Some obey the limit only when threatened

by the presence of a police cruiser.

Laws carry the provision of punishment

when someone is caught breaking the law.

But laws cannot control unsupervised activity.

We know the law about speeding.

But how many of us have sped?

It is values formed from our beliefs and convictions

that govern our behavior.

I will drive the speed limit when…

Here’s what is extraordinary.

When a group of people hold a common belief or a common value,

there is not the need for a law to force people

to live within the boundaries of that belief or that value.

If a person has to be made to do something,

what does that tell us?

That forced behavior is not behavior that is valued by the person.

that tells us is that forced behavior is not that action is not believed to be of importance

it implies they don’t want to do it

What is the difference between a belief and a value?

Values are like the North Star – they are a point of reference.

Values are like a homing device – they keep us on course.

Values are like a window – they give perspective.

Values are a baseline – they inform and correct our behavior.

Values are like a metronome – they keep us in step.

The choices we make are typically consistent with what we value.

Common core values give everyone in a group the same starting point; the same perspective.

When a church makes decisions that are consistent with its core values, there is both synergy, as well as balance and truth.

When the people of a church hold and practice common values, what develops is alignment. They move together. Momentum is created.

Define culture:

The culture of an organization, a church, a community is defined by its values. Whatever is held to be important will influence a person’s or a group’s actions.

Culture is core values in action.

Our Core Values

We love God and his word

We are fully devoted to Christ and his cause

We live, serve and act as a family

Every person (child, teen, adult) is of immeasurable worth

Prayer is a catalyst for transformation

Excellence honors God and inspires people

Life change happens best in small groups

One church; many congregations