Vision 2018: A declaration of dependence.

Link to MP3.

I’ve been reading the Westminster Catechism. And the first question it starts with is this: what is the chief and highest end of man?

That is: why are we here? Why do we exist?

As we look forward to a new year, that is where we will start. Why are we here? What is our purpose?

And then we will think about the church: what is church and what is its purpose?

And finally our vision for 2018. Where are we going this year together as a church, under God. What is our purpose as a church?

1. Why are we here and what is our purpose?

What is the chief and highest end of man?

The answer the Westminster Catechism gives is this: The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

I love that. We exist to bring glory to God. We were created in the image of God to reflect God’s glory back to him. Like the moon reflects the light of the sun, and lights up the night sky, so we should reflect the glory of God.

Ro 11:36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

1 Co 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

But I love that that is not all. It’s not just glorify God but also to enjoy him forever. We were created to enjoy Him. We were created for his pleasure to find our fulfilment and joy in him. He completes us.

Ps 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. 27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Jn 17:21–23 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

The chief and highest end of man – our main goal, our reason for being, the highest meaning in our lives is this: to glorify God and to fully enjoy God forever. Have you ever thought about that?

Do you enjoy God? Do you want to glorify Him? Is your life his? Or is it drudgery and oh must I go to church and must I read the Bible, and must I obey. Yes, to follow Christ is to die to self. Sometimes it is very painful. It is a fight, a battle to the death. But it is also a great joy! We should love coming here. We should love being with each other. I do! I love seeing all of you. I love that God has created a church where there was no church. I love that God has brought each one of you into our lives and into each others lives. I love that here we hear the living Word of God. We get to come and hear the Bible read, and we try to stick to what the Bible says, so we’re not going away empty and shallow and confused – maybe challenged and offended, but spiritually full. Sustained. What joy!

As many of you know, I never had any desire to be a pastor. I am an introvert by nature. It drains me to be with people. I have limited capacity. When I was growing up people always asked me “are you going to be a preacher like your Dad?” and my answer was always “no, I’m going to be an accountant”. Well, I am an accountant, but I also ended up planting a church, and here we are 5 years later. Has it been hard? Oh yes! A lot of work? Oh yes! But has it been a joy? Oh YES! It’s having a front row seat into what God is doing amongst his people. It is thrilling to see the Spirit at work in you guys and to be a fellow-worker with God.

It’s like when my kids were small and baked a cake with Debby. Now Debby was clearly the brains behind everything – she baked a cake. They made a mess and dropped the flour and got butter in their hair. But when the cake was made they could say “I made the cake Dad!”. Because they did. They were part of it.

That’s what serving in the church is like. And all you who serve, from making tea to preaching to teaching in children’s church to giving to babysitting kids to fixing things to driving people around – however we have served we are part of the church of God and can say I did this with my Father. It’s thrilling.

Serving is hard, yes, but it is so rewarding. And you grow. If you don’t know where you can help come and ask me. We’d be happy to put you to work!

It is a joy to work with the Lord. But not just in the church. In every area of life. 1 Co 10:31 whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I had to work as an auditor for a number of years. And I hated that job. It is mind-numbingly boring! Do you know what got me through? Remembering that I worked for the Lord. That he had given me that job, and whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I worked for the glory of God. I represented Him. He was with me. So I drew strength from that, gritted my teeth, and got on with the job, and did the best I could do. I wasn’t exactly happy, but I could do it in His strength. His joy flowed through me, and enabled me to glorify him.

Ps 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

It has been said that we all have a God-shaped hole inside of us. We need him.

Do you desire him, thirst for him? Remember the famous Psalm 42 As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you?

Is that where you are? If not, ask the Lord to rekindle that flame for him.
Here’s two reasons why (thanks to John Piper)

Dt 28:47–48 If you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, 48 you will serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you. Joy is a requirement!

Devil has had more theologically accurate thoughts about God. Satan’s problem is not doctrine, but delight. We need to rejoice in God! Not just think right thoughts.

Our purpose, the reason we are here, is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. That is what we will spend all eternity doing. In glorifying him and in JOY! And we can experience that now.

2. What is church and what is its purpose?

To glorify God and to enjoy him – together! The church, this church, exists for the glory of God. It is not first a self-help club. It is not primarily about us. It is about Him. We gather together to behold our God. We gather together to glorify him. To listen to him. To pray to him. To love and adore him.

I want us to grasp how amazing church is, this gathering of people saved by the grace of God, so let’s turn to Ephesians 1 in our Bibles. I’m going to read from v3-10, and then 21-23.

Eph 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth…21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

We are saved by the grace of God, chosen before the foundation of the world – there is nothing in us that is better than those not saved. We cannot say “I am superior, therefore God chose me”. No, it is by grace! And all things are placed under the authority of Christ, the head of the church. Jesus is in control. This is his church. We are his body to his praise and glory.

But what is church? Church is the gathering of God’s people around God’s word. Church without the Bible is not church. Church where they ignore God’s word is not a church. Because Jesus is the head, we are not free to ignore what he says. If we do, we are no longer a church.

The first “church” we meet in the Bible is in Exodus as the Israelites are gathered around Mount Sinai/Horeb after being rescued from Egypt, and God brings his word to them, the Law. That’s when they become the people of God.
God’s people gathered around God’s word. That’s a church. Sunday meetings and Bible study are churching. When we’re socialising we are the church but we’re not churching.

So that’s what is the church: God’s people gathered around God’s word.

But who is the church? That is every believer. Everyone chosen by God by his grace is part of the universal church. There is only one church in heaven. And on earth each local congregation is (or should be) an expression of that heavenly gathering.
Who is the church? We who belong to Christ are the church. The church is all of God’s people. We are local outpost.

What is the church for? It is a means of God’s grace to us. It is one of the ways he blesses us. It is where we are spiritually fed, it is our armoury for our spiritual battle, it is our refuge, safe place, our family, the body of Christ, and our primary tool for evangelism.

The church’s primary role is to teach. Jesus command to Peter was to “feed my sheep”. The church is where we get spiritually fed. Feed my sheep. That’s why church without bible is not church.

Jn 21:15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

Three times. This is important. And so when we come to Acts what do we see the apostles doing? Teaching and preaching. In fact, when there’s an argument about food distribution – something which could have split the church – they say Ac 6:2–4 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

So if you are upset that you haven’t been visited or got some one-on-one time with the leaders of this church – it’s because our FIRST responsibility before God is to make sure we teach his word. And that takes a lot of time. Because we’re sinners. And it’s a big battle to make sure that what we teach is God’s thoughts, not our own. Please pray for us!

This is where we get spiritual food. There is good supplements to be found on the internet and with guest preachers – but that’s not God’s design for our primary spiritual nourishment. He has given the church local pastors and teachers, men who you know and who know you who can bring the Word of God to bear at the right time and in the right way, in a prophetic way, in the power of the Spirit. Don’t despise the local church. This is where we are nourished in the faith.

This is also the armoury. This is where we get saddled up for the week to come. Strap on that armour and get ready for the fight! Fight sin and put it to death, resist the devil, love the Lord and enjoy him. This is where we gather to be encouraged and to get what we need for the week to come.

Church is also a refuge, a safe place. If any of you don’t feel safe here please come and talk to me. And if I’m the problem, talk to Debby or to Christian. They’ll put me right. This should be a safe place for you, where you are loved. Because this is your family: in Christ we are brothers and sisters. And if you’re not a believer this place is also safe for you.

Because church is also for non-Christians. This is where we share the gospel. As someone put it “The church is the only institution which exists for the benefits of its non-members.” There’s great truth in that. We could just be whisked off to heaven when we believe. But we remain here to give glory to God and part of that is to share the gospel. We’re still here for the sake of the lost. So if you’re not a Christian yet – welcome. You are a welcome guest in our home. Stay as long as you need, and by God’s grace maybe you’ll be adopted into his family!

Ro 10:13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” 14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”… 17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Church is God’s people gathered to hear God’s word. We exist to give glory to God and to enjoy him. And so we first listen to him. The church’s primary role, it’s first task, is to teach the Word, the Bible. And so spiritually fed and armoured up, out we go!

3. Our vision for 2018

Ps 127:1 Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.

I have no big grand plan for this year. I have no idea what this year will bring. There is so much that can happen. So many people just on the outside on the brink. So many of you ready to take the next step on your journey of faith, to grow. I pray that will happen this year., I pray we would grow in maturity. I pray that many would be saved. I hope and pray that we can grow to 100, 200 people. Wouldn’t that be amazing. But I can’t do anything. We might shrink to 20! I have no power. So our vision for this year is to declare our dependence on God. To say Almighty God we are here at you good pleasure to glorify you. Whatever you want us to do we will do. You are good, good father and we entrust ourselves to you. People lie. People abuse. People hurt. People are evil. We are evil. But you do what is good. And you start to change our lying lips to truth, our self-centred hearts to loving hearts, our desire to hurt others to compassion and help. We want to shine like stars in the heavens for you.

In the Bible study on Wednesday we read these words: Phil 2:12 Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

So that’s the first part of the vision for 2018: that we may mature in Christ, working out our salvation for God is working in us. Work out what God has worked in.

And the second part is this:

Matt 9:36-38 When he saw the crowds, [Jesus] had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Lord, let us be those workers. Let us see more this year turn from death to life. Lord Jesus you warned us strongly of the horrors of hell, the pain of an eternity separated from you. We wish that on no-one, but many are choosing that for themselves, imagining that being without you is freedom. It is not freedom but slavery. Slavery to sin, to the terrible pain of ego always thinking about yourself, to being unable to bow the knee to God. Forever cut off from the source of life and light. It is an horrific thing! We plead with you now for those we know.

Let’s pray for those we know who are heading for Hell.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayers.

We are very small and weak. But look at our leadership structure. Who’s church is this? Not yours. Not mine. But Jesus’. He is the head of this church. And each of us has a job to do. This church will not grow if I run around doing everything. This church will grow, people will be saved if YOU work out your salvation, growing in maturity, and sharing the gospel You’ll be amazed at what God will do through little old unimportant you. We are small and weak, but our God is a great big God.

As someone said to me recently “I thought I was a big and tough, but now I realise I’m just a scared rabbit”. We may be scared rabbits – but we stand with a lion. Jesus, the Lion of Judah. Do not be afraid. Serve the lord with joy. Glorify him in all you do, in utter dependence on Him. That is our vision for 2018. May the Lord in his mercy hear our prayer. Amen.