WEBVTT 00:00:04.409 --> 00:00:06.990 If the sound system is a little different to 00:00:06.990 --> 00:00:08.849 your ears this morning, there is a reason for 00:00:08.849 --> 00:00:12.269 that. And I mentioned that not only for your 00:00:12.269 --> 00:00:13.949 sake, but for the sake of those that happen to 00:00:13.949 --> 00:00:17.030 be listening by way of the tape that we're making, 00:00:17.510 --> 00:00:20.570 because I'm making the tape myself up here today. 00:00:22.070 --> 00:00:24.250 Someone broke into the church this last week 00:00:24.250 --> 00:00:26.750 and stole about $8 ,000 worth of sound equipment. 00:00:27.389 --> 00:00:30.210 And we have not, of course, been able to see 00:00:30.210 --> 00:00:34.329 that replaced yet. And thus, we are using borrowed 00:00:34.329 --> 00:00:37.689 and rented equipment today. And you may notice 00:00:37.689 --> 00:00:41.049 a little bit of difference. We're going to turn 00:00:41.049 --> 00:00:45.170 together to Acts chapter 9, verse 31, for our 00:00:45.170 --> 00:00:53.950 study. Acts 9, 31. So the church. throughout 00:00:53.950 --> 00:00:58.289 all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:02.490 being built up, and going on in the fear of the 00:01:02.490 --> 00:01:05.769 Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it 00:01:05.769 --> 00:01:10.909 continued to increase. Luke, the beloved physician, 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:16.049 the author of these words humanly, seems to periodically 00:01:16.049 --> 00:01:20.870 write a summary report on the condition of the 00:01:20.870 --> 00:01:24.939 newborn church. He has done that twice, the first 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:29.200 time in chapter 2 verses 46 and 47, the second 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:33.879 time in chapter 6 verse 7, and now for the third 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:38.000 time in chapter 9 verse 31. It may be helpful 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.700 to keep in mind that we are at this point three 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:47.060 to four years after the cross work of our Lord 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:51.340 Jesus Christ and thus also after Pentecost. who 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:53.980 are three to four years after he rose from the 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:56.859 dead and went back to heaven after the church 00:01:56.859 --> 00:02:02.079 began. This verse is a paragraph complete in 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.980 itself. It stands alone between two accounts 00:02:06.980 --> 00:02:12.699 of conversion. The conversion of the person that 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:16.159 we call the Apostle Paul, then called Saul of 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:20.819 Tarsus, and the conversion of the first full 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:28.240 Gentile Cornelius. The most obvious characteristic 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:30.960 of the church at this point is that it is a growing 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:36.139 church. I believe that a healthy church is a 00:02:36.139 --> 00:02:40.759 growing church. Stagnancy in a church is a prelude 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:46.099 to decline and symptomatic of ill health. A church 00:02:46.099 --> 00:02:51.099 growth is a controversial subject among some. 00:02:52.379 --> 00:02:56.620 There are some sincere believers who fear church 00:02:56.620 --> 00:03:00.580 growth, who feel that it threatens relationships, 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:05.520 and who feel that smallness enhances those relationships. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:09.780 There is some truth to that, but I think that 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:13.479 most of us would agree that attitudes affect 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.689 relationships far more than size. There are some 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:21.870 churches of 25 or 50 people that have very poor 00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:25.909 personal relationships within them. Whereas there 00:03:25.909 --> 00:03:28.250 are some churches of several thousand that have 00:03:28.250 --> 00:03:31.250 very deep, meaningful relationships building 00:03:31.250 --> 00:03:34.629 among the people. There are others who look at 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:37.250 church growth and think of it as something that 00:03:37.250 --> 00:03:44.030 is man -made, or mechanical, or man -honoring. 00:03:45.090 --> 00:03:48.360 And I suppose that growth could in fact be any 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:51.520 of those or all of them. But for that matter, 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:56.379 so can smallness or so can the status quo in 00:03:56.379 --> 00:04:00.539 a church. I think it's important for us to see 00:04:00.539 --> 00:04:05.580 church growth in a biblical perspective. It is 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:10.219 the natural produce of spiritual vibrancy and 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:13.939 health. A book I have very much enjoyed reading 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:18.379 in recent days. is the book Let It Grow by Marvin 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:21.220 Rickard. He tells the story of his ministry at 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:24.579 Los Gatos California Christian Church. I would 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:26.279 encourage you to pick up that book. We're going 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:28.220 to get a few copies eventually out here in our 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:30.220 bookstore to make them even more readily available. 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:33.959 An exciting, stimulating kind of a book for reading. 00:04:34.779 --> 00:04:36.879 The kind of book that's easy to read, and a good 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.040 one, by the way, for your summer vacation, I 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:42.970 think. In one of the chapters early on in the 00:04:42.970 --> 00:04:45.430 book, as he begins to explain how church growth 00:04:45.430 --> 00:04:49.250 took place there, he writes, how does a young 00:04:49.250 --> 00:04:52.310 couple with two very young children lead a church 00:04:52.310 --> 00:04:56.790 to change its image, to desire growth, to face 00:04:56.790 --> 00:05:00.110 the great unfinished task that Christ left us 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:06.189 while maintaining harmony and unity? So many 00:05:06.189 --> 00:05:09.180 church growth books flood the market. Not many 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:11.639 ministers have the stamina or boldness of Jerry 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:15.060 Falwell. Not many of us are excellent Bible expositors 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:18.100 like John MacArthur. Few have the imagination 00:05:18.100 --> 00:05:21.040 and flair of Bob Shuler. Most of us aren't able 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:23.459 to relate very well to the graphs and charts 00:05:23.459 --> 00:05:27.459 and diagrams in the church -grown books. It goes 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:30.139 on to say, years ago, I heard Dr. Medford Jones 00:05:30.139 --> 00:05:34.959 say, the church is a living organism. Just remove 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.860 the obstacles. And it will grow because of its 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:43.019 very nature. Since then, says Marvin Rickard, 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:45.879 for the past 20 some years, I have tried to figure 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.980 out just how to remove the obstacles so that 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:52.240 the church will truly be the church in the world. 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:54.740 And in this chapter, the third chapter of the 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:57.480 book, he explains what the first obstacle was 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:00.660 to church growth there. And it was the kind of 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:04.350 nursery they had at that time. And I'm not going 00:06:04.350 --> 00:06:05.990 to tell you what they did to change it, but it's 00:06:05.990 --> 00:06:09.350 a very interesting story. And it produced, they 00:06:09.350 --> 00:06:11.810 changed the nursery, and that in itself removed 00:06:11.810 --> 00:06:14.389 one obstacle to growth in that congregation. 00:06:15.089 --> 00:06:18.670 And the church began to grow dramatically. Now 00:06:18.670 --> 00:06:20.610 when we talk about church growth, we must not 00:06:20.610 --> 00:06:24.089 make the mistake of measuring it only in statistics. 00:06:26.730 --> 00:06:30.089 Statistics can prove helpful, but they sometimes 00:06:30.089 --> 00:06:33.339 are misleading as well. I heard one wagged say 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:36.699 on an occasion that figures don't lie, but liars 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:39.779 figure. And so when you look at statistics, you 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:42.379 have to look at them carefully. We don't want 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:44.660 to make a mistake of looking at church growth 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:48.939 only in terms of statistics. Nor should we think 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:53.399 of church growth as the result of a certain formula. 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:56.759 As though it were a chemistry project where you 00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:59.439 put together certain elements and poof, you've 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.199 got the result. because ultimately church growth 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:07.300 is God's work, whatever the means may have been 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:11.699 to bring it about. We also must realistically 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:17.480 see that growth in one place may mean a certain 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.379 kind of growth, while growth, church growth, 00:07:21.459 --> 00:07:25.339 in another place may mean a different kind. I 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:30.620 think, for example, of a rural ministry. Church 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:34.500 growth there will be defined one way and in certain 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:38.019 terms. Whereas church growth in a metropolitan 00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:42.879 area is measured a different way and defined 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:47.800 in different terms. Despite the confusion and 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:50.500 controversy that sometimes lingers over the subject, 00:07:50.980 --> 00:07:54.899 I believe that God's plan for the church is that 00:07:54.899 --> 00:07:58.480 it grow. As we focus on our text today of just 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.790 one verse, I think that we will learn that church 00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:06.069 growth is, in fact, a biblical concept. And I 00:08:06.069 --> 00:08:08.389 hope that we will see something of what it means 00:08:08.389 --> 00:08:12.810 in a biblical context. First, I'd like to talk 00:08:12.810 --> 00:08:15.850 about an important definition. I'd like to talk 00:08:15.850 --> 00:08:20.310 about the church. What is it? You may have heard 00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:23.810 the Greek term ekklesia, because whenever the 00:08:23.810 --> 00:08:25.709 church is being taught, that is the term that 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.269 is often mentioned. It is the New Testament Greek 00:08:28.269 --> 00:08:32.789 term for church. ekklesia, those who are called 00:08:32.789 --> 00:08:37.169 out, is the real meaning of the word. We find 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:40.289 this word used in the book of Acts in chapter 00:08:40.289 --> 00:08:44.110 7, verse 38. I made mention of this as we went 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:46.289 through the chapter, but look at it once again. 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:51.350 It says, this is the one who was in the congregation 00:08:51.350 --> 00:08:57.480 in the wilderness. The word congregation in the 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:00.860 NASV is this same word, ecclesia, the word church. 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:06.120 It is used here in its common usage in the day 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:09.159 in which Luke wrote these words. It simply meant 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.720 an assembly of people who were called out from 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:17.039 another group. And the obvious reference is to 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:20.340 the children of Israel being called out from 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:23.860 Egypt as a separate entity from that other nation. 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:28.360 And so he uses this common term church, here 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:32.279 translated congregation, to refer to this assembly 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:35.559 of people. That's all that it means here. It 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:39.879 is not used in a technical sense. But if you'll 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:42.259 turn back a couple of more pages to chapter 5, 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:45.879 verse 11, you'll see the word used actually for 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:48.919 the first time in Acts, and here used in its 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:53.360 technical meaning. It says, and great fear came. 00:09:53.629 --> 00:09:58.070 upon the whole church. That is the first time 00:09:58.070 --> 00:10:01.070 it's used in the book. And here it refers to 00:10:01.070 --> 00:10:07.370 that unique body of God -selected people. He 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:09.909 is referring here to those who are called out 00:10:09.909 --> 00:10:14.549 to belong to Jesus Christ. But he has in mind 00:10:14.549 --> 00:10:19.330 only one geographical location. Now the reason 00:10:19.330 --> 00:10:22.470 for that would seem obvious. That is that... 00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:25.730 Most of the believers in the whole world were 00:10:25.730 --> 00:10:29.429 still in Jerusalem at this point. In fact, if 00:10:29.429 --> 00:10:31.409 you'll turn over to chapter eight, verse one, 00:10:31.429 --> 00:10:36.429 you'll see him refer to the church in Jerusalem. 00:10:36.710 --> 00:10:39.269 On that day, a great persecution arose against 00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:43.509 the church in Jerusalem. And so in both of those 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:47.269 places, it's used of the body of people meeting 00:10:47.269 --> 00:10:52.600 in one limited geographical place. They all met 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:57.720 together at this time, for the most part, on 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:02.100 Solomon's porch in the temple area. But now as 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:04.820 we find the word used again in chapter 9, verse 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:10.320 31, it is taking upon itself a broader definition 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:13.899 beyond the boundaries of one geographical area. 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.759 Notice what it says. So the church singular. 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:20.679 There are some translations that have it plural, 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:23.679 but that is not the best reading of the Greek. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.480 It is a singular term, so the church throughout 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:33.519 all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace. 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:36.960 Do you notice that? He's not talking here about 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.419 the church in Jerusalem, that one body of people 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.600 that met together. He's talking about God's called 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:47.360 out people through that whole region. So the 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:50.779 term church here is used to God's people in a 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.500 region as though we were perhaps to speak of 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:58.919 the church in all of Minneapolis, St. Paul in 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:03.639 Minnesota. Church singular. That is all of us 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:06.919 who belong to Jesus Christ in this broader geographical 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:10.399 sense. Now we have studied about the church in 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:13.759 Judea, that's where Jerusalem is. And we've studied 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.840 about the church as it was in Samaria. That's 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.500 where Philip went to preach. There is nothing 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:21.600 in the book of Acts to tell us about what happened 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:25.120 in Galilee. That is outside the scope of Luke's 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.460 purpose in writing. It does not take a great 00:12:27.460 --> 00:12:29.759 deal of imagination to understand how the gospel 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:31.740 got there. Many of those who followed the Lord 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:36.259 Jesus Christ were from Galilee. And so after 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:39.759 his ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.259 on the day of Pentecost, and the birth of the 00:12:42.259 --> 00:12:45.039 church, they went back to Galilee and began to 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.080 preach the good news about the death and resurrection 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:52.080 of Jesus of Nazareth. So that's how the church 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:56.460 began in Galilee. What we have here in Acts 931 00:12:56.460 --> 00:13:01.600 is the brushing aside of previously held distinctions, 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:07.179 prejudices, and bitterness. Remember that there 00:13:07.179 --> 00:13:11.059 was in Judea great prejudice against the Galileans. 00:13:12.179 --> 00:13:16.620 They were the country hicks. They were the people 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:20.240 who were from the farm. The Judeans looked upon 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:26.340 themselves as the sophisticated ones. And then 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:28.679 both the Galileans and the Judeans looked upon 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:32.879 the Samaritans as dogs. They were half -breed 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.450 Jews. and they had absolutely no use for them. 00:13:37.690 --> 00:13:40.250 But now we see a wonderful thing take place. 00:13:40.669 --> 00:13:43.730 All of these distinctions and ill feelings are 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:47.370 brushed aside by the Spirit of God as the Lord's 00:13:47.370 --> 00:13:50.649 people are called the Church throughout Judea, 00:13:50.929 --> 00:13:54.450 Galilee, and Samaria. Here we have an entirely 00:13:54.450 --> 00:13:58.070 new company of people separated from the surrounding 00:13:58.070 --> 00:14:02.149 society. They live within their own cultures, 00:14:02.450 --> 00:14:06.409 yet but as a distinct group, and their common 00:14:06.409 --> 00:14:13.889 bond is their faith in Jesus Christ. And so the 00:14:13.889 --> 00:14:16.450 aspect of the church that is revealed here is 00:14:16.450 --> 00:14:20.610 that which we call the universal aspect. Here 00:14:20.610 --> 00:14:24.629 we see the Catholic Church, Catholic being used 00:14:24.629 --> 00:14:29.370 in the right sense of universal church. It is 00:14:29.370 --> 00:14:33.389 a very exciting idea. that you and I who are 00:14:33.389 --> 00:14:37.029 part of this local church are also a part of 00:14:37.029 --> 00:14:41.330 something that is much, much bigger than our 00:14:41.330 --> 00:14:44.590 local assembly meeting here at B2 and Hamlin 00:14:44.590 --> 00:14:49.610 in Roseville, Minnesota. We are a part of the 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:56.210 worldwide movement of the Spirit of God. Now 00:14:56.210 --> 00:14:59.679 it is true that we normally concentrate most 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:02.259 of our energy and our focus on this local body 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:03.960 because that's where we live and that's where 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:09.419 we are. But while we're doing that we must not 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:13.639 lose sight of the fact that there is a larger 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:17.840 picture to the church. So that whether it is 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:21.679 here or across the street or across the city 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:26.120 or on the other side of the ocean, wherever the 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:30.789 Spirit of God is working. Calling people to faith 00:15:30.789 --> 00:15:38.690 in Jesus Christ, we are a part of that. We can 00:15:38.690 --> 00:15:42.389 rejoice in the victories that our brothers elsewhere 00:15:42.389 --> 00:15:47.490 share. And for that matter, we can share in their 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:51.370 burdens. Isn't this what is illustrated in the 00:15:51.370 --> 00:15:56.250 church at Corinth? When they were exhorted to 00:15:56.250 --> 00:16:00.600 bring together an offering, for the poor saints 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.799 in Jerusalem? Of course it is. Paul was trying 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.500 to help them realize that though they were separated 00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:11.600 geographically by several hundred miles, that 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.440 they were nonetheless a part of the same body, 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:21.039 the same organism, the same church. I believe 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:25.419 that we today need to broaden our perspective 00:16:25.419 --> 00:16:29.639 on the work of God. Beyond what is happening 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.620 in our own small church, as important as that 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:36.019 may be. Beyond what is happening in a broader 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:39.279 sense in Grace Church Roosevelt. To encompass 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:43.960 what God is doing in the world. What we need 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:49.019 is the idea of being world Christians. I did 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:51.539 not say worldly Christians. God knows we have 00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:55.320 enough of those. But I'm talking about world 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:59.029 Christians. That is... Believers who have a world 00:16:59.029 --> 00:17:03.070 vision, who are able to see the big picture of 00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:07.490 things. As a church, we do not have many missions 00:17:07.490 --> 00:17:13.349 and purposes, but we have only one. Sometimes 00:17:13.349 --> 00:17:15.750 folks, I think, get the idea that there is almost 00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:19.730 competition between what we do here and what 00:17:19.730 --> 00:17:23.900 we may do elsewhere in local missions. or in 00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:26.900 foreign missions. Beloved, there is no competition 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:32.119 that exists. What we do here locally to build 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:36.119 up the work of God here only enables us to have 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:41.759 a stronger missions outreach in the future. And 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:47.460 in return, what we do over there in giving our 00:17:47.460 --> 00:17:50.680 thousands of dollars to missions every year only 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:54.859 builds up the work of God here. They are not 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:58.319 in competition. I think it's legitimate to say 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:03.099 that missionaries are really a part -time part 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:07.359 of our staff, that they are staff members of 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:09.680 Grace Church on a part -time basis, though they 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:14.819 minister in a different culture elsewhere. Whether 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:17.299 we are building a building here in Roseville, 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:20.380 as we have done, But we're helping to build a 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:23.359 building in Africa or in Asia. It is all the 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:27.119 work of the Church of Jesus Christ. Whether we 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:29.900 pay for utilities here or we pay a missionary 00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:33.599 salary so that the utilities there can be paid, 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:36.779 whether we buy Sunday school material for here, 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.480 or we buy materials for missionaries to use, 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.839 it is all one. It is the same purpose, the same 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.839 mission of the Church. that is involved. I've 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:52.839 heard people say, well, I don't believe in giving 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:56.759 the missions until we build a stronger base at 00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:59.680 home. I thank God I have not heard that in our 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.200 church, but I've heard people say that. I don't 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.160 believe in missions until we build a stronger 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.400 base at home. Then I've heard people on the other 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.990 hand say, Well, I think we ought to give more 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:15.750 to missions. We spend too much on our local ministry, 00:19:15.809 --> 00:19:19.109 too much on our building. Both of those statements 00:19:19.109 --> 00:19:23.049 are wrong. Because whether we are spending the 00:19:23.049 --> 00:19:25.309 money here or we're spending the money there, 00:19:25.650 --> 00:19:29.210 it is the work of God building up the Church 00:19:29.210 --> 00:19:33.170 of Jesus Christ that is in view. I think if we 00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:36.710 could get a hold of this, it would revolutionize 00:19:36.710 --> 00:19:40.099 our view. on our own ministry and the money we 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:43.740 give and how we spend our time and talents. If 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:46.079 we could see that what we are doing is not just 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:49.019 for here, but it's impacting the Church of Jesus 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:57.059 Christ worldwide. We're not doing our own little 00:19:57.059 --> 00:20:00.240 thing in the corner somewhere, separated unto 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:04.619 ourselves, alone in the battle. But what we are 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:07.500 doing here by the will of God and by the Holy 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:11.500 Spirit complements what God is doing here in 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:15.059 this place and there in that place. So that as 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:17.660 all of us are doing what God is telling us to 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:22.019 do, the Church of Jesus Christ is being built. 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.880 It is a sad thing to see a church that is isolated 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:29.099 and separated from everything else that God is 00:20:29.099 --> 00:20:35.950 doing. I know of a church that... for its first 00:20:35.950 --> 00:20:42.390 15 or 20 years of ministry was taught that they 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:47.589 in that church and one other church in the city 00:20:47.589 --> 00:20:51.609 of Dallas were the only faithful churches that 00:20:51.609 --> 00:20:56.910 there were in the world. They were taught that 00:20:56.910 --> 00:20:59.190 they and one other church were the only true 00:20:59.190 --> 00:21:01.990 and faithful churches in the world. What's more, 00:21:01.990 --> 00:21:06.519 they believed it. Sincerely, I do not fault the 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:08.559 people, I do fault the pastor who taught them 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:12.940 that. They were 11 miles from Dallas Theological 00:21:12.940 --> 00:21:15.960 Seminary, the fourth largest Protestant seminary 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.299 in the world, and they had never heard of it. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.480 Talk about an isolated, separated mentality. 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:28.799 It was a very sad thing to behold. I don't want 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:32.160 us to have that kind of a narrow tunnel vision. 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:37.259 Let's have a world vision. Let us be world Christians 00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:40.720 who are aware of what God is doing throughout 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:44.660 the Church of Jesus Christ in our world today. 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:47.519 That is one reason I'm excited about this missions 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.240 trip, to have the opportunity to see at least 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:53.420 a little slice of what God is doing in a couple 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:55.779 of places and be able to come back and share 00:21:55.779 --> 00:22:00.240 that with you. Now there is an important distinction 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.019 that I want to talk about secondly. It comes 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:11.319 out of our text. It says, so the church throughout 00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.579 all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:20.140 being built up or edified. That's the first thing 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:23.460 I want you to notice. And going on in the fear 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:25.559 of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:29.220 it continued to increase. That's the second thing 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:33.079 I want you to notice. What we have here are two 00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:39.839 phases of biblical church growth. The church 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:45.640 being edified, the church being multiplied. It 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:48.359 is important to distinguish between these two. 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:51.980 The first is what God is doing within the church. 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:56.119 The second, what God is doing outside of the 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:00.089 church and extending it. Both of these things 00:23:00.089 --> 00:23:03.289 may not happen simultaneously in a ministry that 00:23:03.289 --> 00:23:05.750 is suggested at least by the verbs that are used 00:23:05.750 --> 00:23:10.210 here In fact there seem to be overlapping steps 00:23:10.210 --> 00:23:12.849 involved in other words for a period of time 00:23:12.849 --> 00:23:17.509 the church is built up within But then as a result 00:23:17.509 --> 00:23:22.049 of that it extends itself And as a result of 00:23:22.049 --> 00:23:24.309 that extension it needs to build up within again, 00:23:24.329 --> 00:23:27.250 and so it goes through that phase And when that 00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:29.349 basically is accomplished, then the Holy Spirit 00:23:29.349 --> 00:23:32.430 leads it to extend itself even further. And so 00:23:32.430 --> 00:23:36.490 in these overlapping steps, the phases of church 00:23:36.490 --> 00:23:39.029 growth take place. Let's talk about them briefly. 00:23:39.269 --> 00:23:44.029 Within, what does that mean? Church growth within 00:23:44.029 --> 00:23:48.529 refers to the intra -body structure of the church 00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:51.910 being built up. That is, something being put 00:23:51.910 --> 00:23:56.140 on the skeleton of the church. Muscle being added, 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:00.380 in other words. It is the edification of the 00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:04.180 Church that the verb here being built up literally 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:10.460 means to build up a house. It refers to the house 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:14.680 of God continuously being built up by the Holy 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:19.380 Spirit. W .E. Vine in his dictionary says that 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:23.220 metaphorically it means promoting spiritual growth. 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:27.779 and development of character, spiritual progress 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:32.900 due to teaching and example. And so here is the 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:36.380 building up of the church inwardly. It is the 00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:39.099 body coming together. It is the body beginning 00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:42.400 to relate to each other, members of the body 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:46.700 beginning to relate to each other. It is the 00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:49.900 effecting of ministry to one another in the church. 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:52.779 It is individuals in the church beginning to 00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:56.740 exercise their spiritual gifts in the power of 00:24:56.740 --> 00:25:00.380 the Holy Spirit. That is church growth within. 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:04.319 You'll notice that it was in the atmosphere of 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:07.579 peace that this was being done. They enjoyed 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:10.740 peace. And of course, one reason for that is 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:13.400 that their chief persecutor had been converted. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:18.140 Saul was now a Christian. But during this time, 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:21.509 there was peace. This lack of turbulence was 00:25:21.509 --> 00:25:28.210 not necessary for this growth. Structural strengthening 00:25:28.210 --> 00:25:30.690 within the church is not dependent upon outward 00:25:30.690 --> 00:25:35.890 circumstances. You got that? A church can be 00:25:35.890 --> 00:25:40.430 in the midst of turmoil outwardly, under intense 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:44.910 persecution, and yet be built up. I think a marvelous 00:25:44.910 --> 00:25:48.490 example of this. This seems to have happened 00:25:48.490 --> 00:25:53.250 over the last 30 years in China. When the Western 00:25:53.250 --> 00:25:55.509 missionaries were forced out and the church was 00:25:55.509 --> 00:25:57.890 left on its own, there were many who thought 00:25:57.890 --> 00:26:00.190 that the church had died, it had been squelched 00:26:00.190 --> 00:26:03.250 in China, but in fact it is beginning now to 00:26:03.250 --> 00:26:06.650 be realized that the church today, 30 years later, 00:26:06.750 --> 00:26:11.589 is twice as large as the church was 30 years 00:26:11.589 --> 00:26:15.309 ago when the missionaries left. Why is that? 00:26:15.630 --> 00:26:19.049 Well, even during that time of intense persecution, 00:26:19.670 --> 00:26:23.329 there was this building up within the body, resulting 00:26:23.329 --> 00:26:27.769 in the next phase, extension. Let's talk about 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:31.410 that second phase. The growth without, outward 00:26:31.410 --> 00:26:34.569 growth, the extension of the body, evangelism. 00:26:35.089 --> 00:26:40.309 It says it continued to increase. The idea here 00:26:40.309 --> 00:26:45.880 is multiplication, not merely addition. The word 00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:49.400 does not refer only to numbers. Please understand 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:53.359 that. It's talking about fullness, fullness. 00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:58.299 The church continued to increase. Perhaps we 00:26:58.299 --> 00:27:01.140 can draw the distinction between numbers and 00:27:01.140 --> 00:27:04.319 fullness by talking about how we add weight to 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:09.539 our bodies. There are at least two kinds of weight 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:13.720 we can add. We can add fat, which is a lot of 00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:20.329 fun. But that is not going to really help us, 00:27:20.410 --> 00:27:24.470 is it? In fact, it could make us unhealthy. That 00:27:24.470 --> 00:27:28.910 would be simply adding numbers. Or we can work 00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:32.990 out. We can do exercises and build up our bodies 00:27:32.990 --> 00:27:38.609 in muscle. That's fullness. And that is the kind 00:27:38.609 --> 00:27:41.809 of multiplication that's in view here. The Church 00:27:41.809 --> 00:27:46.880 continued to increase... in muscles, in its strength, 00:27:47.380 --> 00:27:51.660 in its extension. This was not flabbiness in 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:54.339 mere numbers being added to the church. This 00:27:54.339 --> 00:27:58.119 was healthy addition or multiplication to the 00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:01.680 church. Should we get the picture? Church growth 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:05.559 takes place in two phases. The inward phase, 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:09.279 followed by the outward. Coming back to the inward, 00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:11.900 then to the outward. And that is the way that 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:17.900 healthy church growth While these two phases 00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:22.980 are distinct, they are not separate. Why did 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:27.759 the Church continue to increase? I think we find 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:32.420 the secret in the last part of verse 31. It is 00:28:32.420 --> 00:28:38.259 because the extension of the Church was directed... 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:43.000 toward a singular purpose. It was not aimless. 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:46.980 Do you notice what it says? It says, going on 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:52.440 in the fear of the Lord. That is a significant 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:59.859 phrase, going on. It suggests a goal or a purpose 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:05.089 in view. It is not aimless wondering. Indeed, 00:29:05.309 --> 00:29:07.890 the verb go here is the same one that's used 00:29:07.890 --> 00:29:11.730 in Matthew 28 and 19 when Jesus said that we 00:29:11.730 --> 00:29:14.329 were to go into all the world, or literally going 00:29:14.329 --> 00:29:18.589 into all the world, make disciples. In other 00:29:18.589 --> 00:29:22.930 words, the church had a purpose in mind. It had 00:29:22.930 --> 00:29:26.650 a goal. It knew what it was doing. And that's 00:29:26.650 --> 00:29:31.750 why it continued to increase as it did. I believe 00:29:31.750 --> 00:29:36.329 it's possible for any church. to get bogged down 00:29:36.329 --> 00:29:42.710 in doing too many good things. There's a wide 00:29:42.710 --> 00:29:46.609 variety of good things that we could get involved 00:29:46.609 --> 00:29:51.410 in. But in trying to spread ourselves too thinly, 00:29:52.289 --> 00:29:57.210 we would become powerless. What is needed is 00:29:57.210 --> 00:30:02.230 a unifying mission, a clear statement of purpose 00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:06.920 to keep us on track. And very frankly, our staff 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:11.079 and our elders have been working on that. We 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:14.440 worked on it rather intensely back in the winter. 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:17.380 We have kind of set it aside for a period of 00:30:17.380 --> 00:30:19.900 time to let that settle down. We're going to 00:30:19.900 --> 00:30:23.000 pick it up again and present it to you as a statement 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:26.599 of purpose in a couple of months as we start 00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:29.700 the fall season. But I believe that statement 00:30:29.700 --> 00:30:32.599 of purpose should identify to us what our main 00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:35.869 focus is. that will tell us what our track of 00:30:35.869 --> 00:30:39.549 ministry ought to be. Seems to me the early church 00:30:39.549 --> 00:30:42.569 had that. It's possible for us to be like the 00:30:42.569 --> 00:30:47.650 cowboy who had a stick of dynamite in his pocket, 00:30:48.430 --> 00:30:51.009 jumped on his horse, and went off in all directions. 00:30:53.029 --> 00:30:55.150 There are some churches that have done the same 00:30:55.150 --> 00:30:57.869 thing, and you'd rather lose your impact doing 00:30:57.869 --> 00:31:00.890 that. Now as you head in that direction that 00:31:00.890 --> 00:31:04.210 God gives you, as you understand the mission, 00:31:04.910 --> 00:31:07.069 what is it that keeps you motivated, that keeps 00:31:07.069 --> 00:31:09.690 you moving? Well, again, he tells us in verse 00:31:09.690 --> 00:31:14.029 31, it is the fear of the Lord and the comfort 00:31:14.029 --> 00:31:19.730 of the Holy Spirit. So I know what my target 00:31:19.730 --> 00:31:22.170 is. I know the goal of our church. I know our 00:31:22.170 --> 00:31:25.329 mission. What is it that's going to keep me moving 00:31:25.329 --> 00:31:28.430 that direction? In the first place, the Lordship 00:31:28.430 --> 00:31:33.710 of Jesus Christ. the fear of the Lord, recognizing 00:31:33.710 --> 00:31:37.269 who He is and living in light of that, knowing 00:31:37.269 --> 00:31:40.890 that He has given us a commission to obey, not 00:31:40.890 --> 00:31:45.390 to choose, but to obey. He is Lord of all and 00:31:45.390 --> 00:31:48.349 He is Lord of our lives. He is Lord of the Church. 00:31:49.990 --> 00:31:53.069 Because the Church is yielded to His dominion, 00:31:53.509 --> 00:31:56.849 is given to His disposal, He is able to keep 00:31:56.849 --> 00:32:03.619 it increasing as it stays on track. people we 00:32:03.619 --> 00:32:12.039 are placed into a weary, wounded world to bring 00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:16.079 the healing touch of Jesus Christ, the gift of 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:20.539 life and of love to people who are empty and 00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:26.099 lost and perishing. As we understand what the 00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:28.920 commission is the Lord has given us and who He 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:33.460 is as the Lord of the Church. that we're going 00:32:33.460 --> 00:32:35.539 to keep on target, keep doing what God's told 00:32:35.539 --> 00:32:39.920 us to do. And then the ministry of the Holy Spirit 00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:44.579 cannot be overlooked. The church was going on 00:32:44.579 --> 00:32:47.420 in the direction God gave it, in the fear of 00:32:47.420 --> 00:32:50.119 the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 00:32:50.180 --> 00:32:53.700 The word comfort means that, but it also embraces 00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:56.859 the idea of exhortation. I think here he's talking 00:32:56.859 --> 00:33:02.319 about the stimulation of the Holy Spirit. are 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:07.079 human beings. And those of us who are saved by 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:10.819 grace nonetheless still have sin in these mortal 00:33:10.819 --> 00:33:14.799 bodies. Sin still indwells us as a power to be 00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:21.099 dealt with. Consequently, it is easy for us to 00:33:21.099 --> 00:33:25.440 become discouraged. It is easy for us to become 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:29.519 cold or insensitive, or shall we say, hard -hearted. 00:33:31.450 --> 00:33:34.609 What deliverance is there for us? What help is 00:33:34.609 --> 00:33:39.009 there for us? It is the Holy Spirit whom God 00:33:39.009 --> 00:33:43.430 has given us. The Holy Spirit is able to bring 00:33:43.430 --> 00:33:47.349 the victory of Jesus Christ against the sin within 00:33:47.349 --> 00:33:52.609 us to subdue it. And He is as well able to keep 00:33:52.609 --> 00:33:57.900 us stimulated inside. Keep us stimulated. so 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:02.200 that the person of Jesus is real to us, so that 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:05.640 our love is rekindled and refreshed and renewed. 00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:10.199 Jesus said before he left, I will not leave you 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:13.559 alone. I will not leave you like orphans, but 00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:18.559 I will come to you. And he did come, in the person 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:22.320 of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is in 00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:25.920 us to stimulate us, to keep us moving, to following 00:34:25.920 --> 00:34:30.590 the will. of our head, our Lord, Jesus Christ. 00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:33.769 That's how we keep doing what God's told us to 00:34:33.769 --> 00:34:37.969 do, by understanding who Jesus is as our Lord, 00:34:38.610 --> 00:34:40.949 and by yielding and submitting to the ministry 00:34:40.949 --> 00:34:45.510 of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. It's not 00:34:45.510 --> 00:34:49.869 enough for us to state the mission. It is not 00:34:49.869 --> 00:34:53.170 enough for us to believe in church growth, or 00:34:53.170 --> 00:34:56.190 even to get excited about the worldwide picture. 00:34:56.329 --> 00:34:59.409 of it all. But we have to bring it down to that 00:34:59.409 --> 00:35:03.710 personal point, for we ask ourselves where we 00:35:03.710 --> 00:35:12.610 individually are in all of this. Where does one 00:35:12.610 --> 00:35:17.570 start to get involved in this matter of a growing 00:35:17.570 --> 00:35:23.110 church having a world vision? It starts right 00:35:23.110 --> 00:35:25.920 where we've left off. by being sure that you're 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:28.639 in a right relationship to Jesus Christ, first 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:34.039 of all. Is He your Savior from your sin? Have 00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:38.880 you trusted Him? If He is your Savior, is He 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:46.340 truly your Lord? Are you living your life under 00:35:46.340 --> 00:35:51.480 His Lordship? And then, are you sensitive to 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:55.730 the ministry of God's Holy Spirit? or have you 00:35:55.730 --> 00:35:59.190 become hard -hearted? Has sin robbed you of that 00:35:59.190 --> 00:36:04.650 sensitivity to God? Let me tell you, God today 00:36:04.650 --> 00:36:09.329 wants you to be a part of this. There's no question 00:36:09.329 --> 00:36:12.989 about that. That is His desire. The question 00:36:12.989 --> 00:36:16.250 is, are you a part of it? Are you a part of biblical 00:36:16.250 --> 00:36:19.849 church growth? Are you a Christian with a world 00:36:19.849 --> 00:36:25.079 vision of what God is doing? Is Jesus Christ 00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:29.500 your Lord? Are you yielded to the ministry of 00:36:29.500 --> 00:36:34.099 his Holy Spirit? I Remind you of what dr. Medford 00:36:34.099 --> 00:36:38.800 Jones was quoted as saying The church is a living 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:42.880 organism Just remove the obstacles and it will 00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:50.719 grow Because of its very nature My life Your 00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:56.360 life is either a channel, a channel for what 00:36:56.360 --> 00:37:00.539 God wants to do, or it's an obstacle to what 00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:10.480 God wants to do. Marvin Rickard tells about his 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:14.340 call to the Los Gatos Christian Church. Listen 00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:19.239 to these words he explains about that. The Little 00:37:19.239 --> 00:37:22.300 Las Gatas Church had 83 members, at least that 00:37:22.300 --> 00:37:28.199 was the number who voted. 65 wanted us. 18 thought 00:37:28.199 --> 00:37:32.840 that they should keep looking. They had come 00:37:32.840 --> 00:37:35.960 up with four possibilities and had met with their 00:37:35.960 --> 00:37:39.139 first three choices. Law and a college professor 00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:43.059 declined the offer, so did another choice. Number 00:37:43.059 --> 00:37:46.619 three couldn't live on $105 a week, so they invited 00:37:46.619 --> 00:37:51.079 me to try out. On a warm June evening, I had 00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:54.480 spoken for a Friday night potluck dinner. My 00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:58.619 subject was the ideal church. And in 25 minutes, 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:00.639 I described the kind of church that would meet 00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:03.940 the needs of many people and would grow. A lot 00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:05.960 of scattered Christian church had experienced 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:09.099 little growth. Attendance was presently averaging 00:38:09.099 --> 00:38:13.059 120 in Sunday school and 150 for worship, about 00:38:13.059 --> 00:38:18.960 45 faithfully gathered on Sunday evenings. That 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:22.500 night in June, after the dinner and my message, 00:38:23.119 --> 00:38:25.980 the six elders had asked me to meet with them 00:38:25.980 --> 00:38:29.440 for the first time. They discussed my youth and 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:32.460 wondered if I had the maturity they needed. My 00:38:32.460 --> 00:38:35.260 wife's piano playing ability was a real plus. 00:38:37.219 --> 00:38:40.280 That's a lot for your ego, doesn't it? Since 00:38:40.280 --> 00:38:42.840 my father was a minister and respected by them, 00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:44.840 one of them said, well, as a preacher's kid, 00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:47.099 you must have gained some experience by observing. 00:38:47.639 --> 00:38:52.039 I had. The electric moment came when I answered 00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:55.880 what seemed to be a reasonable question, especially 00:38:55.880 --> 00:38:59.480 in view of my speech an hour or so before. If 00:38:59.480 --> 00:39:02.659 we call you to this church as our pastor, what 00:39:02.659 --> 00:39:05.519 size do you think the congregation might number 00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:09.639 someday? Innocently enough, I answered his question, 00:39:09.659 --> 00:39:12.300 not aware that I was stumbling into the small 00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:14.599 churches are better and purer than large churches 00:39:14.599 --> 00:39:18.420 debate. So I began. Well, If the church doesn't 00:39:18.420 --> 00:39:21.539 bicker and meets the needs of all types of people, 00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:23.940 I can imagine as many as a thousand people in 00:39:23.940 --> 00:39:26.639 worship on Sunday morning. By the way, now I 00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:29.960 have six or seven thousand. If I was a little 00:39:29.960 --> 00:39:32.059 embarrassed by my own remark, it was nothing 00:39:32.059 --> 00:39:35.300 compared to what happened next. One elder jumped 00:39:35.300 --> 00:39:37.400 to his feet and proclaimed to the rest of us, 00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:41.000 if and when this church reaches 200 people, I'll 00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:43.920 leave. That's as large as any local church should 00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:48.090 ever be. Rickard says, that was his honest opinion. 00:39:48.670 --> 00:39:50.570 In all fairness, I'll have to acknowledge that 00:39:50.570 --> 00:39:52.949 when the time came, he graciously went elsewhere 00:39:52.949 --> 00:39:55.769 to a small fellowship with almost no growth. 00:39:57.389 --> 00:39:59.570 Then he concludes the chapter by saying, it was 00:39:59.570 --> 00:40:02.269 never our intention to build a large church. 00:40:03.130 --> 00:40:07.789 Joyce and I had grown up in very small congregations 00:40:07.789 --> 00:40:10.650 and knew almost nothing of the way large churches 00:40:10.650 --> 00:40:14.590 function. We had no idea what the future held. 00:40:15.930 --> 00:40:20.429 All we wanted to do was reach people for Christ 00:40:20.429 --> 00:40:25.130 and be available to fit into God's plan for our 00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:31.869 lives. As we look at the ministry here, our intention 00:40:31.869 --> 00:40:35.590 is not to build a larger church, but what we 00:40:35.590 --> 00:40:38.849 do desire to do by the will and grace of God 00:40:38.849 --> 00:40:45.489 is to win people to Jesus Christ. and to fit 00:40:45.489 --> 00:40:49.690 our lives into God's plan. I believe that's your 00:40:49.690 --> 00:40:53.670 desire. I trust it to be today. O friend, if 00:40:53.670 --> 00:40:56.610 not, will today you get in line with what God 00:40:56.610 --> 00:41:04.510 says? Let's pray. How God loves you and how patient 00:41:04.510 --> 00:41:09.170 and loving He is to all of us. There may be some 00:41:09.170 --> 00:41:11.050 areas of your life where you're struggling with 00:41:11.050 --> 00:41:17.559 His Lordship today. wherein you have said to 00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:24.440 him, no, I will not do that. And he is saying 00:41:24.440 --> 00:41:32.199 to you, yes, if I am Lord, you will. Now the 00:41:32.199 --> 00:41:35.739 decision is yours. Will you do what he's telling 00:41:35.739 --> 00:41:41.559 you to do? Has your heart grown cold and hardened? 00:41:42.900 --> 00:41:45.219 due to one thing or another, so that the voice 00:41:45.219 --> 00:41:50.420 of the Holy Spirit, that gentle persuasion, that 00:41:50.420 --> 00:41:54.539 stimulating touch of God's Spirit is not felt 00:41:54.539 --> 00:41:58.199 like it used to be. God wants to call you back, 00:41:58.219 --> 00:42:03.480 my friend, to that place where you walk in the 00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:07.460 comfort of the Holy Spirit. Let him have his 00:42:07.460 --> 00:42:18.469 way today. Have thine own way, Lord, have thine 00:42:18.469 --> 00:42:31.949 own way. Thou art the cutter, I am the clay. 00:42:33.190 --> 00:42:58.179 Load me and make me happy. Lord, we do quite 00:42:58.179 --> 00:43:04.519 our hearts. We are still before you. Have your 00:43:04.519 --> 00:43:09.260 way in every part of our lives today. Be the 00:43:09.260 --> 00:43:14.300 Lord. Be the Lord in truth, not just in word, 00:43:15.059 --> 00:43:20.949 but in action. As a result of that, I pray that 00:43:20.949 --> 00:43:24.070 we as individuals, then we as a local church 00:43:24.070 --> 00:43:28.130 and the church in its broader context may be 00:43:28.130 --> 00:43:33.250 edified and multiplied. God, you put us here 00:43:33.250 --> 00:43:39.090 to accomplish a mission in a weary, sin -torn 00:43:39.090 --> 00:43:43.230 humanity from which you called us to be your 00:43:43.230 --> 00:43:46.510 own. God, give us hearts of love and compassion 00:43:46.510 --> 00:43:50.420 to go back. Go back to those friends and relatives, 00:43:51.679 --> 00:43:56.599 coworkers, and to bring the touch of your love, 00:43:58.139 --> 00:44:05.380 your forgiveness to those lives. In Jesus' name, 00:44:06.860 --> 00:44:11.619 amen. Let's stand together and we will sing again 00:44:11.619 --> 00:44:14.599 a cappella without accompaniment. He is Lord, 00:44:14.619 --> 00:44:17.559 he is Lord, he is risen from the dead. and he 00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:20.579 is Lord. Let's stand and sing it together. He 00:44:20.579 --> 00:44:33.639 is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead 00:44:33.639 --> 00:44:59.110 and he is Lord. Every knee shall bow. And to 00:44:59.110 --> 00:45:01.849 the glory of God the Father, may that be lived 00:45:01.849 --> 00:45:05.989 in our lives, really lived in our lives this 00:45:05.989 --> 00:45:08.510 week. God bless you and your dismissed.