Shownotes
What is the mission of the Church? Listen as Pastor Ronnie shares God’s plan for the church, how it runs contrary to much contemporary teaching, and one key litmus test you can apply.
Scriptures Referenced
Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 10:39, 16:24-25, 28:19-20; Romans 8:28-30; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 4:3; 1 John 3:2
About Springhouse
If you’re looking for a church in Smyrna, TN that is focused on Loving Big, Living Truth, and Healthy Family, we’d love to connect with you. We are home to a vibrant children’s ministry, powerful middle school and youth ministries, and incredible ministries for men and women of all ages. Our local and global outreaches include partnerships with missionaries in the US and abroad, Isaiah 117 House, local retirement communities, and more.
Additionally, we are home to Springhouse Theatre, an award-winning theatre in the Nashville area. Through the theatre, we serve both the greater Nashville theatre community, and thousands of patrons each year, and we are expanding our vision to impact the culture through the arts into additional mediums and through an expanding network of relationships.
We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.
Additional Resources
- Follow the podcast to listen on the go
- Tithes & Offerings
- Join our livestream
- Church website
- Download the church app
Gathering Times
- Sundays, 9:00 AM
- Sundays, 10:30 AM
Contact Info
Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
CCLI License 2070006
Transcripts
[ Music ]
Speaker:>> Now for a wonderful part that I'm sure all of you came for,
Speaker:the Word is going to be brought by our own Pastor Ronnie,
Speaker:and I'm so encouraged by the Word that he's bringing.
Speaker:[ Applause ]
Speaker:>> Morning, Springhouse.
Speaker:>> Morning.
Speaker:>> I-- wow, that's pretty good, you guys.
Speaker:A couple of months ago, actually I know
Speaker:that Kevin didn't just leave today because I was speaking.
Speaker:He-- several months ago when he set up this particular Sunday,
Speaker:and he said the topic is going to be his church,
Speaker:and he gave me the topics for the first two weeks,
Speaker:and he said, "What do you want to do on the third week?"
Speaker:And bam, I want to talk about its mission.
Speaker:The church's mission is not well understood,
Speaker:and it's often misrepresented, which is very unfortunate.
Speaker:In fact, oftentimes it kind of seems like the mission
Speaker:of the church is actually the church itself,
Speaker:and that's not really the case.
Speaker:Back in 1964, October 25, 1964, how many of you remember
Speaker:that day?
Speaker:Okay, yeah.
Speaker:I didn't remember it either,
Speaker:but I remember what I'm getting ready to tell you about.
Speaker:There was a professional football player named
Speaker:Jim Marshall, and he was with the Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker:one of the purple people leaders defense, and he was--
Speaker:he's probably the one player who isn't in the Hall of Fame
Speaker:who should be in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker:I mean, he was that good.
Speaker:But on October 25, 1964, he recovered an offensive fumble,
Speaker:and he ran the ball all the way back, crossed the end zone,
Speaker:threw the ball in the air in celebration.
Speaker:It went out of bounds.
Speaker:He thought he had scored a touchdown,
Speaker:but he had just scored a safety for the other team
Speaker:after a 66-yard run.
Speaker:And the reason that I mention that is
Speaker:because if we don't really know what the mission is,
Speaker:if we're focused on-- see, the enemy doesn't care
Speaker:if you're trying hard.
Speaker:He doesn't care if you're running the ball hard.
Speaker:He doesn't care if you cross the goal line as long
Speaker:as you're going in the wrong direction,
Speaker:as long as your focus is not on the right thing.
Speaker:So would you stand with me and let's read a passage
Speaker:of scripture that is hopefully becoming very familiar
Speaker:at this church.
Speaker:It's been read quite a bit lately.
Speaker:So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets,
Speaker:the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip his people
Speaker:for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built
Speaker:up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge
Speaker:of the Son of God and become mature,
Speaker:attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Speaker:Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth
Speaker:by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching
Speaker:and by the cunning and craftiness of people
Speaker:and their deceitful scheming.
Speaker:Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become
Speaker:in every respect the mature body of him
Speaker:who is the head that is Christ.
Speaker:From him, the whole body joined and held together
Speaker:by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself
Speaker:up in love as each part does its work.
Speaker:Father, I thank you for your word.
Speaker:I thank you for the life and the power that are in your word.
Speaker:I pray that the presence
Speaker:of the Holy Spirit would inhabit each person here so that the life
Speaker:and power of the word would be manifested in us.
Speaker:In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker:Mission and vision, those are two different words.
Speaker:They're often, it's often a little confusing
Speaker:as to which is which, you know.
Speaker:What is your mission statement?
Speaker:What is your vision statement?
Speaker:And what is the difference?
Speaker:But it's kind of important to know what the difference is.
Speaker:And let me say before I get into this today,
Speaker:because it would be kind of easy
Speaker:to be misunderstood about some things.
Speaker:What I want to share today is not a, it's not a slam
Speaker:about any other churches or what anybody believes
Speaker:or anything like that.
Speaker:But it's information that I've carried for years
Speaker:and that the Holy Spirit has used in my life.
Speaker:And I think it's information that he could use
Speaker:in your life, hopefully as well.
Speaker:Because if we don't know what we're really about,
Speaker:then we can be very easily misled, very easily blown here
Speaker:and there by every wind of doctrine
Speaker:and the deceitfulness of clever schemers.
Speaker:Anyway, mission is what you're doing right now.
Speaker:Vision is what you're aiming for in the future.
Speaker:So that's the difference.
Speaker:The vision should direct the mission.
Speaker:What you're aiming for should be a powerful influence
Speaker:on what you're doing.
Speaker:The mission impacts the vision.
Speaker:The mission is what you're doing should be all about,
Speaker:let's go for this vision.
Speaker:Let's go there.
Speaker:Let's aim for that.
Speaker:And Ephesians 4, 11 through 16 is God's mission statement
Speaker:for the local church.
Speaker:It's God's mission statement and it contains a strong hint
Speaker:of his vision for the individual believer.
Speaker:So what is the mission of the church?
Speaker:If you were to ask, if you were to be asked,
Speaker:well what's the mission of the church?
Speaker:I mean for a lot of people it'd be crickets, but you know,
Speaker:and understandably so if you haven't really thought about it,
Speaker:if you haven't really put some thought into it,
Speaker:probably most people would jump to Matthew 28
Speaker:and the great commission.
Speaker:Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
Speaker:in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Speaker:and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you
Speaker:and surely I am with you always to the end of the age.
Speaker:This is what Jesus told his disciples to do
Speaker:and by extension it's what he's told us as individuals to do
Speaker:because we are disciples.
Speaker:Yeah. Notice he didn't say go and make believers.
Speaker:He didn't say go and make converts.
Speaker:He said go and make disciples.
Speaker:That's what we're supposed to be doing.
Speaker:Well why does the local church exist?
Speaker:If that's my job, I had a friend of mine who made a comment
Speaker:at lunch, I don't know, a year or two ago we were at lunch
Speaker:with some people and he said, you know, one of the things
Speaker:that I've noticed about Pastor Ronnie is that he doesn't seem
Speaker:to be preaching to get people to come and be saved.
Speaker:He seems to be preaching about people who already are saved.
Speaker:And I went yeah, yeah, you get it.
Speaker:My job as a believer is to maybe bring people to Christ.
Speaker:My job as a pastor is to pastor people who are believers
Speaker:and there's a good reason for that.
Speaker:Why does the local church exist?
Speaker:Last week Justin confused everybody by preaching
Speaker:about three churches.
Speaker:Actually it wasn't all that confusing
Speaker:but I heard a person or two, what was that all about?
Speaker:It's actually pretty simple.
Speaker:I want to preach about the church,
Speaker:the church and the church.
Speaker:And he mentioned what they were, the universal church.
Speaker:Universal church is everybody who has ever been a believer.
Speaker:Everybody who belongs to the body of Christ.
Speaker:It's not just those who are alive right now.
Speaker:It stretches back to I don't know where it stretches back,
Speaker:at least to Abraham and probably to Abel and even before that.
Speaker:And it goes probably into the future of some people
Speaker:who aren't here yet.
Speaker:And so that's the universal church.
Speaker:And then you are the church because you are part
Speaker:of that universal church.
Speaker:So you as an individual are the church.
Speaker:But what's this local church thing?
Speaker:I mean what is that all about?
Speaker:Well the primary mission of the local church is you.
Speaker:That's what the primary mission is.
Speaker:Well how can it be about me when it's supposed
Speaker:to be about Jesus?
Speaker:I didn't say it was about you.
Speaker:I said you are the mission.
Speaker:You are the mission but what that mission is is what it's
Speaker:actually about and that takes us over into God's vision.
Speaker:That's the vision statement.
Speaker:What is God's vision for you?
Speaker:What is God's plan for you?
Speaker:Well it tells us over in Romans 8 29 for those God foreknew,
Speaker:he also predestined to be conformed to the image
Speaker:of his son so that he might be the firstborn among many
Speaker:brothers and sisters.
Speaker:God's vision is for you to be like Jesus.
Speaker:That's God's vision for you.
Speaker:A disciple is one who is in the process
Speaker:of becoming like the master.
Speaker:Now none of us are there yet.
Speaker:In fact most of us are pretty poor imitations
Speaker:at this point in time.
Speaker:But we have this promise.
Speaker:Over in Philippians 1 6 and if you don't have Philippians 1 6
Speaker:highlighted in your Bible you need to get your Bible
Speaker:out right now and highlight Philippians 1 6.
Speaker:It's a very important passage of scripture.
Speaker:It says being confident of this that he who began a good work
Speaker:in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Speaker:He who began a good work is going to complete it
Speaker:until the day of Christ Jesus.
Speaker:God's vision for you, the work that he began in you is for you
Speaker:to look like Jesus and he's given the local church the
Speaker:mission of working out that vision so that we will all
Speaker:attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Speaker:You may go that's crazy talk.
Speaker:What are you talking about?
Speaker:I mean me, the fullness of Christ, I can't do that.
Speaker:Right. You can't do that.
Speaker:But he can and he's the one who has the vision and he's the one,
Speaker:he's the one who made the promise.
Speaker:And he's the one who's doing the work.
Speaker:God did not just save you to go to heaven.
Speaker:I mean he didn't, he didn't, he didn't, he didn't save Cole
Speaker:because he went, oh, I want Cole up there in heaven.
Speaker:No, because, you know, I mean, you're okay Cole.
Speaker:You ain't that good.
Speaker:I mean, you know, that's just, I mean, he didn't save Ronnie
Speaker:because he wants Ronnie up in heaven.
Speaker:He saved us so that he can make us like Jesus.
Speaker:He didn't just, he didn't just save us to give us dominion
Speaker:over the earth.
Speaker:Oh, we lost the dominion and Christ came back
Speaker:and retook the dominion.
Speaker:And now he's given it to, now he's given it to us.
Speaker:Now he's given it to you.
Speaker:What would a bunch of knuckleheads like us do
Speaker:with the dominion?
Speaker:We'd just build another subdivision.
Speaker:We'd just tear down a bunch of trees and put some concrete
Speaker:down, I mean, that's what we do.
Speaker:I'm not, I mean, I know, you know, you got to live somewhere,
Speaker:but I'm just saying almost everywhere I drive
Speaker:in Rutherford County and I look out at those beautiful fields
Speaker:and I always think, I wonder how long that's going to be there
Speaker:because, you know, it's all kind of going away.
Speaker:So, I mean, why would he do that?
Speaker:No, he's conforming us to the image of Jesus.
Speaker:And then all this other stuff can get done.
Speaker:In our culture, I feel like that large portions actually,
Speaker:or portions for sure of the American church,
Speaker:have jumped the tracks and are no longer working toward the
Speaker:mission for which the local church was created.
Speaker:And as a result, we see believers blown here and there
Speaker:by every wind of doctrine and the cleverness, clever teaching
Speaker:of people and their deceitful scheming,
Speaker:not just inside the church, but outside the church as well.
Speaker:I mean, you know, clever deceitful schemers aren't just
Speaker:teachers in the church.
Speaker:They're out there as well and, you know, we see people just
Speaker:kind of blown everywhere.
Speaker:The American church would have us believe as a general rule
Speaker:that your job is to do something.
Speaker:But God's mission is for you to be something.
Speaker:Be something.
Speaker:We focus on doing God's work before we allow him
Speaker:to do his work in us.
Speaker:And we are his workmanship.
Speaker:Yes, we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
Speaker:but he's got to do a work in us first.
Speaker:I've shared this before.
Speaker:Back when Michelle and I first got married, she washed her car.
Speaker:And our grandsons live next door.
Speaker:And one of them was, I think, five, and the other one was six
Speaker:at the time, and they helped her wash the car.
Speaker:Now, if you've ever washed a car with a five-year-old
Speaker:or with a six-year-old, then you know that's a futile exercise.
Speaker:It's going to take a long time, and it ain't going to get clean.
Speaker:You're going to get messed up, but the car isn't.
Speaker:And it's the same thing.
Speaker:It's the same thing with God.
Speaker:We think, oh, I've got to go do something.
Speaker:God needs this.
Speaker:I better go do it.
Speaker:And God's going, wait a minute.
Speaker:No. I've got to work.
Speaker:I'm doing it.
Speaker:You just stand over here and watch me do it.
Speaker:Recently, I feel like the American church jumped the
Speaker:tracks on all this in my lifetime.
Speaker:It's been, it's always been not just the American church.
Speaker:This stuff's always been with us.
Speaker:But in my lifetime, the American church really jumped the tracks
Speaker:back in the '70s by emphasizing some other things
Speaker:instead of Christ.
Speaker:Maybe you'll recognize it.
Speaker:By emphasizing culture, politics, growth,
Speaker:personal growth, church growth.
Speaker:That was, and Jesus was kind of back there
Speaker:in the background somewhere.
Speaker:He was, he was sort of the wallpaper on the back
Speaker:of the real apps that we were all working on.
Speaker:We live in a consumer culture,
Speaker:and everything's geared toward our comfort and our,
Speaker:to be conformed to our desires.
Speaker:And so, in the process, we lose ourselves.
Speaker:We lose ourselves.
Speaker:I believe this really started with the prosperity message.
Speaker:And in our culture, the prosperity message was
Speaker:like shooting fish in a barrel.
Speaker:I mean, because that's, that's, who doesn't want
Speaker:to be prosperous?
Speaker:Who doesn't want to have more?
Speaker:Who doesn't, who doesn't want to be successful?
Speaker:And so, the Lord kind of gave me a litmus test.
Speaker:And those of you who've been here for a while,
Speaker:have heard this story, but it's real good.
Speaker:It's worth hearing again.
Speaker:Back in 1975, when the litmus test came up,
Speaker:I had been a prodigal.
Speaker:I grew up in a church, but I've been a prodigal
Speaker:for six or seven years.
Speaker:And I came back to the Lord, and when I came back
Speaker:to the Lord, man, I was on fire.
Speaker:You know, I wanted, I wanted to be
Speaker:in a service every day, every night.
Speaker:You know, and, and I, can you imagine a bunch of,
Speaker:a bunch of young people in their, in their early
Speaker:to mid-20s getting together every night,
Speaker:and just partying down with the Bible?
Speaker:Come on, what's your favorite song?
Speaker:Everybody, let's go around.
Speaker:Everybody share their favorite song.
Speaker:And the first time I, the first time I did that,
Speaker:it had been so long since I'd read the Psalms,
Speaker:I was going, oh God, I wish I had a favorite song.
Speaker:I guess it's Psalm 23, because it's the only one I know.
Speaker:But I, I've known, I've known a bunch since then.
Speaker:And so, I was, you know, I was wanting
Speaker:to be somewhere every night.
Speaker:And some friends of mine said, hey,
Speaker:there's this service going on at the House of Blessing.
Speaker:And it's going to be a blessing.
Speaker:So, let's go to the house.
Speaker:And so, we, we went to the House of Blessing that night.
Speaker:And the, the guy got up to teach.
Speaker:And, and you know what?
Speaker:You know what I learned that night?
Speaker:I learned that by faith, he claimed
Speaker:and God gave him a brand new Lincoln.
Speaker:It's God free.
Speaker:No, yeah. And not only that, that's not all.
Speaker:His son, who played the drums on the worship team,
Speaker:this is a young guy, he claimed and believed a brand new Lincoln
Speaker:and he got one too.
Speaker:And I left there thinking, and everybody was excited.
Speaker:Oh, great, hallelujah.
Speaker:Everybody was excited.
Speaker:And I left there thinking, this doesn't, what?
Speaker:This doesn't feel right.
Speaker:What's wrong?
Speaker:And the Lord just sort of clicked in my mind,
Speaker:if you leave thinking about something other than Jesus,
Speaker:that's what's wrong.
Speaker:Because that's supposed to be the focus.
Speaker:That's supposed to be where your focus is taken.
Speaker:Today it isn't just about money.
Speaker:You know, it's about, it's about looking good.
Speaker:It's about losing weight.
Speaker:It's about, it's about, where's your waistline?
Speaker:I mean, is it right here or is it supposed to be,
Speaker:somebody told me it was right here and that's just wrong.
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:You know, it's got to be, it ain't the belly button.
Speaker:I'm just telling you, you know, you're supposed to look good
Speaker:and feel good and just be prosperous and stop,
Speaker:well, don't stop me if you've heard this.
Speaker:Have you heard this?
Speaker:And reach your full potential to be all that you can be.
Speaker:Anybody got their litmus paper out yet?
Speaker:God's plan is not to make you a better you.
Speaker:That's not God's plan.
Speaker:God wants to make you like Jesus.
Speaker:And in the process, we find our true selves.
Speaker:Jesus said over Matthew 10, 39,
Speaker:said whoever finds their life will lose it.
Speaker:What does that mean?
Speaker:Whoever finds their life will lose it,
Speaker:but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Speaker:So why is it that we think that we're supposed to think
Speaker:that the mission of the church is self-improvement?
Speaker:I think that might be another phrase for finding your life.
Speaker:Jesus said again, Matthew 16, whoever wants
Speaker:to be my disciple must deny themselves,
Speaker:take up their cross and follow me.
Speaker:For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
Speaker:but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Speaker:Now, yeah, if you follow along and read, it's got their take
Speaker:up their cross, not their sword.
Speaker:That's not in the Bible.
Speaker:But I made that up and I put it there and I put it in italic.
Speaker:So, you know, it's just it's just me.
Speaker:But I mean, we are so ready to go fight for Jesus.
Speaker:Now, I'm going to I'm going to run to the battle for Jesus.
Speaker:Jesus never asked us to run to the battle.
Speaker:Jesus asked us to take up our cross.
Speaker:He didn't ask us to go and win.
Speaker:He asked us to go and die.
Speaker:For him, you know, I used to I used to read that passage
Speaker:and and it would say whoever loses their life for me
Speaker:will find it, and that just kind of reinforced that idea.
Speaker:Yeah, I need to I need to go out there to the battle and and die
Speaker:for Jesus now.
Speaker:No, what he's saying is if I will lay my life down,
Speaker:if I will give up my life.
Speaker:For him. Then I'll get his life
Speaker:of giving up my life for his life, my life isn't found
Speaker:in a store.
Speaker:My life isn't found on a car lot.
Speaker:My life isn't found online.
Speaker:That's where fake me lives, where fake you lives
Speaker:as well online.
Speaker:My life is not found in my fears, my phobias, my neuroses.
Speaker:I got all of those things and they itch sometimes.
Speaker:And it's not well, if I can just change my if I'm
Speaker:on work on this fear, if I if I work on this fear
Speaker:and I overcome it, then I'm going to be more like Jesus.
Speaker:You ain't ever going to be more like Jesus
Speaker:because you're you're running in the wrong direction with the ball.
Speaker:If I focus on Jesus.
Speaker:Then guess what happens to my fears?
Speaker:Guess what happens to my my phobias?
Speaker:Guess what happens to my my neurosis?
Speaker:I can't change myself to be like Jesus,
Speaker:but God can change me.
Speaker:This was the devil's message to Eve from the very beginning
Speaker:in the garden.
Speaker:He said, you know, it sounded like a good idea.
Speaker:It sounded like, wow, it would be pretty it'd be pretty
Speaker:beneficial to know the difference between good and evil.
Speaker:So I should probably eat this.
Speaker:And you know what?
Speaker:If I do, this guy says I'll be I'll become like God.
Speaker:Is anybody tracking with me here?
Speaker:OK, good. Sometimes silence is good and sometimes it's just silence.
Speaker:Yeah. And so if I will do something, I can become like God.
Speaker:And God says it doesn't work that way.
Speaker:It doesn't work that way.
Speaker:My life's also not found in my job or my accomplishments.
Speaker:A lot of you know that I have done a bit of acting
Speaker:in my day.
Speaker:I when I was in my prodigal years, I
Speaker:majored in theater and started doing a lot of theater.
Speaker:And, you know, I'm a pretty good actor.
Speaker:But I didn't like to go see plays.
Speaker:And there were two reasons why I didn't like to go see plays.
Speaker:I mean, I like to go be in them, but I didn't like to go see them.
Speaker:And one of the reasons was if I if I went to see it and somebody was
Speaker:was not very good, I would sit there the whole time thinking I knew I'm better than that.
Speaker:I knew that better.
Speaker:Or if I saw them and they were really good, I like that even less.
Speaker:But after I came to Christ, after I gave my life to Christ,
Speaker:you know, one of the one of the interesting things was I started liking to go see plays.
Speaker:Because it was no longer about me.
Speaker:It was no longer comparing myself to anyone.
Speaker:My life wasn't on that stage or it wasn't in that audience.
Speaker:My life was in Christ.
Speaker:And it's the same thing when I when I was no longer a pastor
Speaker:and I am no longer a pastor, so call Kevin, call Barbie, call Alan.
Speaker:You know, and if I hear about it, I'll pray for you.
Speaker:But but but when I was no longer a pastor, it didn't change
Speaker:who I was because my life was not in being a pastor.
Speaker:My life is in Christ.
Speaker:And whatever it is you do, whatever your whatever your job is,
Speaker:whatever your passion is, you may be a you may be an engineer, you may be a
Speaker:a coach, you may be a a medical worker, whatever your job is.
Speaker:That's not who you are.
Speaker:That's not where your life is hidden.
Speaker:You know, the idea is not for people to see
Speaker:how good we are, how rich we are, how prosperous we are, how
Speaker:how good good looking we are and and be attracted and go,
Speaker:oh, I want to I want to go where where they want to go.
Speaker:No, the idea is for people to see Jesus
Speaker:and they can't see Jesus unless God's people
Speaker:allow themselves to become like Jesus.
Speaker:Because when he is lifted up, then he will draw all people unto himself.
Speaker:And if we will lose our life for him, we'll find our real life.
Speaker:OK, well, let's let's get let's get over to the other stuff that people really
Speaker:enjoy hearing, talk about the mission of the government, the culture,
Speaker:the mission of the church isn't to change the government or to change the culture.
Speaker:It's a change you.
Speaker:It's the change be, you know, and
Speaker:especially in our culture, especially I mean, it's an election year, right?
Speaker:Crying out loud.
Speaker:I mean, we're supposed to come church and find out about this sort of stuff.
Speaker:No, we're not.
Speaker:The only political stand Jesus ever took.
Speaker:You know what the only political stand was Jesus ever took?
Speaker:And he was kind of forced into that.
Speaker:He was kind of pushed into it.
Speaker:The only political statement.
Speaker:That Jesus ever made, unless you count, you know, my kingdom is not of this world.
Speaker:If it were, my servants would fight to
Speaker:to keep me from being captured by the Jews, but my kingdom's from another place.
Speaker:Now, the only political statement he made was pay your taxes.
Speaker:That's it.
Speaker:So if you want to be in the on the Jesus party
Speaker:and make this thing political, then you need to start a party called
Speaker:Pay Your Taxes.
Speaker:You ever want to sign up for it?
Speaker:The apostles never took a political stand.
Speaker:Or about social issues, you know, it kind of go,
Speaker:well, are you you saying sins, OK?
Speaker:No, sin's not OK.
Speaker:Sin's not OK. And self righteousness isn't OK.
Speaker:There's just so much. It's not OK.
Speaker:I mean, God, God isn't going to fix this thing.
Speaker:He's going to destroy this thing and bring in something completely new.
Speaker:That's that's what he's doing.
Speaker:And OK, let me let me just dive into the deep end of the pool here.
Speaker:It isn't about Israel either.
Speaker:You know, and that's such a hot topic right now.
Speaker:We we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Speaker:I personally love God's chosen people,
Speaker:but that's not what the church is about.
Speaker:And if that's what we leave thinking about.
Speaker:Then the litmus test should tell us something.
Speaker:Your stand on any particular issue really has no bearing on whether or not
Speaker:you are becoming like Jesus.
Speaker:I have heard people say.
Speaker:I've heard people say, I don't know how anybody can be a Democrat
Speaker:and be a Christian.
Speaker:I have also heard people say, I don't know how anybody can be a Republican,
Speaker:be a Christian.
Speaker:And what I say is, what's that got to do with anything?
Speaker:Really? What does that have to do with anything?
Speaker:But the American church is many places made it about issues,
Speaker:about where you stand on on this particular social issue
Speaker:or that particular social issue or where you who you're going to vote for or.
Speaker:And if it's not a social issue or political issue, it's a doctrinal issue.
Speaker:Well, what do you believe about tongues?
Speaker:You know, well, how do you baptize?
Speaker:You know, we need to grow up.
Speaker:Because the mission, the vision, the idea is for us to become like Jesus.
Speaker:The main mission of the church also, let me just say this local church,
Speaker:the main mission isn't actually to win the lost.
Speaker:It's to prepare God's people.
Speaker:To live the kind of lives that the lost look at,
Speaker:and they are attracted to this beautiful, wonderful savior
Speaker:that we have and go, I want to know that guy.
Speaker:I want to know him.
Speaker:That's what I want to do.
Speaker:And when we bring these other things in,
Speaker:we're just joining the fray, we're just we're just
Speaker:we're just joining the the flow, the river of things, you know?
Speaker:Well, you know, if you come to Christ, you will prosper.
Speaker:Yeah, well, if you'll follow this plan, you will prosper, too.
Speaker:And if you'll invest over here, you will prosper.
Speaker:Well, you know, if you come to Christ, you can be healthy and wealthy.
Speaker:Well, yeah, if you join Weight Watchers, you become healthy
Speaker:and all if you just eat right.
Speaker:I mean, you know, it's all it's there's only one unique thing we have to offer.
Speaker:And that's Jesus Christ.
Speaker:That's the only thing that we have.
Speaker:And Jesus Christ, guess what is enough?
Speaker:He's enough.
Speaker:Well, you know, are you sure we're not supposed to be, you know,
Speaker:using some of these methods that I mean, it sounds like a pretty good idea.
Speaker:Paul wrote to Timothy and he said,
Speaker:a time's going to come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.
Speaker:Instead, to suit their own desires,
Speaker:they'll gather around them a great number of teachers to hear what they're
Speaker:what their itching ears want to say. Yeah.
Speaker:one of the one of the verses that.
Speaker:one of the verses that we really like these days,
Speaker:and you hear quoted often is Jeremiah twenty nine.
Speaker:What was it? Verse eleven?
Speaker:Yeah. Twenty nine. Eleven. Yeah.
Speaker:OK. And it says, I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord's
Speaker:plans to prosper you.
Speaker:Yeah, that's great verse.
Speaker:That's great verse.
Speaker:But the context of the verse.
Speaker:He's talking to the Jews who are in Babylon, they're in Babylonian captivity.
Speaker:And they had gathered around themselves, a group of teachers
Speaker:to say what their itching years wanted to hear and what their itching years
Speaker:wanted to hear was, you're not going to be here long.
Speaker:God's going to deliver you.
Speaker:You're going to be you're going to be sent back to Jerusalem.
Speaker:We're going to we're going to win this thing.
Speaker:And it's going to be great.
Speaker:And what God is saying in that verse is, no, it ain't.
Speaker:No, it ain't. You're going to be there 70 years.
Speaker:So just just cool your jets because I'm doing something.
Speaker:And so they were where they didn't want to be.
Speaker:And and we're going, oh, we're going to we're going to advance and go forward.
Speaker:And that's no, you're going to stay right there.
Speaker:Because I know the plans I have for you.
Speaker:Because I know the plans I have for you.
Speaker:You see, the reason they were in captivity.
Speaker:This is good. I mean, this is I didn't put up my notes, but it's real good.
Speaker:Listen, the reason they were in captivity was idolatry.
Speaker:They had been they were worshiping.
Speaker:They were idol worshippers.
Speaker:And that's why they were sent into Babylonian captivity.
Speaker:And God was saying, it's going to be 70 years.
Speaker:I'm doing a work in you.
Speaker:I'm working something out.
Speaker:And when they came back after 70 years, 67 years, actually, I mean, prayer,
Speaker:God answers prayer.
Speaker:But when they came back, they never had an issue with idolatry again.
Speaker:Because when God fixes something, it gets fixed.
Speaker:When we fix it, it's fixed until it gets broken again.
Speaker:And that's usually not a very long period of time
Speaker:before it gets broken again.
Speaker:And so when we're when we're working on this stuff, you know, in our life,
Speaker:that's where our focus is. Oh, I got that fixed now.
Speaker:I can be like, oh, OK, well, maybe it's not actually fixed.
Speaker:But if we let God, if we'll focus on him,
Speaker:you see, we become what we look at.
Speaker:What we've what the focus of our lives is, is what we become.
Speaker:And so the idea isn't you say, well, I shouldn't be concerned about this.
Speaker:Yes, but that's not how you fix it.
Speaker:Fix it by focusing on him and letting him fix it.
Speaker:It's not easy sometimes.
Speaker:I mean, sometimes, you know, you have to stay in a church with some stinky people,
Speaker:because that's where God's put you.
Speaker:But sometimes you have to do some things you didn't want to do,
Speaker:because God's doing a work inside of you.
Speaker:It's not easy, but the end result is so worth it.
Speaker:You know, I read earlier Romans eight twenty nine.
Speaker:Romans eight twenty eight goes before that.
Speaker:You need to put them together.
Speaker:And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him,
Speaker:who have been called according to his purpose.
Speaker:Man, I thought that that verse has come to come to my rescue so many times in my life.
Speaker:You know, there have been so many situations that I've been in and I've kind of gone,
Speaker:oh, this ain't good.
Speaker:And then the Holy Spirit brings.
Speaker:And we know that in everything God is at work for those who.
Speaker:OK, but I never really put it together with the next verse for.
Speaker:Therefore, if you want to.
Speaker:For God. Those God foreknew,
Speaker:he has predestined to be conformed to the image of his son.
Speaker:That he might be the first born among many brothers and sisters,
Speaker:and those he predestined, he also called and those he called.
Speaker:He also justified and those he justified.
Speaker:He also glorified.
Speaker:So that's what's meant by in all things.
Speaker:God is at work for our good.
Speaker:It's not that, oh, it's going to it's going to be better tomorrow.
Speaker:Well, it may not be better tomorrow, but God is work.
Speaker:God's doing something.
Speaker:He is working something out of what he is doing is he's conforming us
Speaker:to the image of his son.
Speaker:So in everything, God is at work.
Speaker:His purpose, his vision is to make us look like Jesus
Speaker:and what's going on right now.
Speaker:And the writer of Hebrews says.
Speaker:That Jesus was made perfect by his suffering.
Speaker:It doesn't say he was made perfect by his blessings.
Speaker:Oh, that hurts.
Speaker:I like my blessings much better than my sufferings.
Speaker:But he doesn't say he was made perfect by his blessings.
Speaker:He was made perfect by his sufferings, and he's making us look like Jesus.
Speaker:And the end result of that process is something called being glorified.
Speaker:And before you get there, just in case you're wondering,
Speaker:things are going a little early today.
Speaker:I'm not going to go I'm not going to go real long.
Speaker:I'm I'm not one of those preachers who just goes on and on and on and on
Speaker:and talks about stuff just to make it long enough.
Speaker:Anyway. Oh. So, yeah, you worship guys, you get yourself back here.
Speaker:The. In the process of getting. Oh, not yet.
Speaker:I said back here. Yeah.
Speaker:Oh, OK. Glad to know
Speaker:y'all are still awake.
Speaker:In the process of getting from here to there, some other things happen.
Speaker:You know, I talked about the fears and the phobias and the
Speaker:and the neuroses and everything.
Speaker:You think Jesus was ever afraid?
Speaker:I don't. I don't think he was ever afraid.
Speaker:Distressed? Yes.
Speaker:Pressed in difficult situations?
Speaker:Yes. Afraid? No.
Speaker:Fear not. Storm about to over flood the boat.
Speaker:Don't be afraid.
Speaker:Here comes the people to arrest them and and take them to the cross.
Speaker:Not not put your sword away.
Speaker:How is this scripture going to be fulfilled?
Speaker:And Jesus wasn't afraid.
Speaker:So as we become like Jesus.
Speaker:Those fears. Begin to leave us.
Speaker:Think Jesus was ever worried?
Speaker:You think you think the guy who said, don't worry about tomorrow?
Speaker:Tomorrow's got enough worries of its own, so don't worry about tomorrow.
Speaker:And in fact, God, he he he closed the lilies of the field.
Speaker:He feeds the birds.
Speaker:He's going to take care of you.
Speaker:I don't think Jesus worried.
Speaker:I don't think Jesus was afraid.
Speaker:I don't think he was threatened by the actions of others.
Speaker:So when others would come against him, he didn't have to.
Speaker:He didn't have to react.
Speaker:He didn't have to defend himself.
Speaker:He could move in grace and love and mercy and wisdom.
Speaker:Oh, you're going to throw me over the edge of this cliff?
Speaker:I don't think so.
Speaker:Yeah, my time has not yet come.
Speaker:No fear. And so as we are, if we will allow God
Speaker:to do this process in us by focusing on Jesus,
Speaker:then these things that we think we got to fix, but we can't fix them.
Speaker:Will get fixed.
Speaker:And then beyond that,
Speaker:this this this thing called glory, being glorified,
Speaker:the the Hebrew word is kabod, and it means means two different things.
Speaker:One aspect of the meaning is is weight, strength, power, ability.
Speaker:Kind of doesn't sound like me, well, it may not sound like you.
Speaker:It sounds like Jesus.
Speaker:And that's what he's conforming you to.
Speaker:Weight, strength, power, ability.
Speaker:The other is honor, magnificence, dignity, splendor.
Speaker:Some of you, the devil has told you and he's used people
Speaker:throughout your life to tell you that you don't have any dignity.
Speaker:You don't have any worth.
Speaker:God goes to Jesus to us.
Speaker:Come on, let me make you like him.
Speaker:Let's focus on him, shall we?
Speaker:No wonder, no wonder, Paul says over in Second Corinthians
Speaker:for our light and momentary troubles are achieving
Speaker:for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Speaker:He doesn't say our light and momentary blessings.
Speaker:He says our light and momentary troubles are achieving.
Speaker:So when trouble comes, you kind of go, wow, achieving for us
Speaker:an eternal weight, eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Speaker:So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
Speaker:Not on my troubles, not on my failures, not on my faults.
Speaker:But on the invisible God.
Speaker:On Jesus. Since what is seen is temporary.
Speaker:But what is unseen is eternal.
Speaker:OK, guys, you come on out now.
Speaker:OK, now I'm going to say something.
Speaker:And for some of you, it's going to be what you're going to leave here thinking.
Speaker:I'm not really a big King James Bible fan.
Speaker:Now, if you leave here thinking that
Speaker:pastor didn't like the King James Bible, that's on you.
Speaker:That's not on me.
Speaker:But I love the phrase that the King James Bible uses in this passage.
Speaker:It doesn't say an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Speaker:The phrase that it uses is an eternal weight of glory.
Speaker:A weight of glory.
Speaker:Weight of glory.
Speaker:What a what a magnificent phrase.
Speaker:I don't know how it's going to happen.
Speaker:I mean, I know we're in process right now, but someday we'll get there.
Speaker:I don't know how it's going to happen, but I know it will happen.
Speaker:Because first, John three tells us.
Speaker:Dear friends, now we are children of God
Speaker:and what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that
Speaker:when Christ appears, we shall be like him.
Speaker:But we shall see him as he is.
Speaker:That's some pretty good stuff, huh?
Speaker:Are you guys going to do the same song you did at the end of the service?
Speaker:We can. You are.
Speaker:Yeah. OK. Yes. No.
Speaker:Normally, if I'm going to be
Speaker:speaking, I'll kind of go, what song should we use?
Speaker:I couldn't think of one this week.
Speaker:I couldn't think of one.
Speaker:And so, lo and behold, they sang the perfect song
Speaker:from how many years ago was that we used to sing that song?
Speaker:And we haven't done it in six or eight years.
Speaker:Maybe, maybe, maybe longer than that.
Speaker:Yeah. I don't have to be strong.
Speaker:Where he is my strength.
Speaker:I don't have to hold on.
Speaker:Because he won't let go.
Speaker:I trust him. I trust him.
Speaker:Trust him. Would you stand?
Speaker:We're going to worship for a little while.
Speaker:We have brothers and sisters who are going to come down to pray with people.
Speaker:And if you're here, if you came, you need you have a prayer need.
Speaker:They'd love to pray with you.
Speaker:That's a nice worship. Yeah.
Speaker:[MUSIC PLAYING]
Speaker:[The spendthick scott axe has nothing left]
