1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,400 face challenges and attacks. 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,900 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory 3 00:00:04,900 --> 00:00:09,400 through our Lord Jesus Christ if we will but claim it. 4 00:00:10,900 --> 00:00:13,720 In the interest of claiming victory, 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,820 it's important to be transparent with you 6 00:00:15,820 --> 00:00:17,160 and I need to share with you something 7 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,000 that happened in my childhood 8 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,720 that I've never told publicly before. 9 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,560 When I was 11 years of age, I was invited to go out hunting 10 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:29,880 with a pastor, a friend of mine, and another person. 11 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:32,040 And we were quail hunting and as we were out 12 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,720 in the pasture hunting the quail, the quail flushed 13 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,400 and I turned and I shot and I peppered my pastor 14 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:41,440 with bird shot. 15 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,040 Now that's been 49 years ago, but I felt I needed 16 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,480 to be honest with you about it unless it be found out 17 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,360 and I be called a task in the press. 18 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,120 And so now it's all out in the open 19 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,280 and I feel so much better about it. 20 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,620 Thank you. 21 00:01:02,620 --> 00:01:04,160 Well let's turn on our Bible's please 22 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,800 to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and by the way 23 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,120 that was a true story. 24 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:12,360 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse four. 25 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,640 Where Paul says there are different kinds of gifts 26 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,320 but the same spirit. 27 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:23,800 There are different kinds of service but the same Lord. 28 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:25,920 There are different kinds of working 29 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:30,680 but the same God works all of them in all men. 30 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:32,400 Want you to notice the emphasis here 31 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:37,400 upon different and same, different and same, 32 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:39,960 different and same. 33 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,840 Don't you love those advertisements 34 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,720 that say one size fits all. 35 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,280 I have asked myself why is it that I am usually not 36 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,760 among the all in the advertisement. 37 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,160 Just as people come in different shapes and sizes 38 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,920 and personalities, so do churches. 39 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,640 There are differences among us 40 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,920 but we have the same Lord who oversees us. 41 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:14,000 Churches are made up of people. 42 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,080 Churches like Los Gatos Christian Church 43 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,880 are people who share a common profession 44 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,080 and that profession is that Jesus Christ is Lord 45 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,480 and that he is worthy of our devotion. 46 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,960 We call ourselves Jesus followers. 47 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,520 That is not a one time experience of following Jesus 48 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,480 but rather it is a lifetime journey 49 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:46,040 that leads us to spiritual maturity and fruitfulness. 50 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,400 It is a journey that leads eventually to heaven. 51 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:54,400 We are on a journey as a body of people and as individuals. 52 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:57,600 Unfortunately there is something else 53 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,400 that churches like ours share in common 54 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,120 especially here in the Western culture 55 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,160 and that is a state of stagnation 56 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:11,160 and decline really that threatens our future. 57 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:16,160 One survey says that nine out of 10 churches in America 58 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:20,200 is either in decline or plateaued. 59 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,160 That is true in the face of a prediction 60 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,760 by one church growth expert who says 61 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:31,160 that our culture is moving to large things 62 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,520 and he says that that has implication for churches. 63 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:36,760 For example, we go to church churches 64 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:38,560 and we go to church churches 65 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,520 and that has implication for churches. 66 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,680 For example, we go to large malls, large stores. 67 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:49,120 We're looking for larger things in our culture 68 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,240 at the same time that many churches 69 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,440 are moving in the opposite direction. 70 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,280 This expert says that the future of the church 71 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,360 in the Western culture is going to be found 72 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,040 in what he calls mega, mega churches. 73 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,240 That is churches of tens of thousands of people. 74 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:11,240 Well, maybe he's right, the future will tell. 75 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:13,960 But at the same time that that person 76 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,480 is predicting that kind of future, 77 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,760 there's another reality that is present in our culture 78 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:25,720 and that is a significant movement of professing Christians 79 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:30,720 towards alternative kinds of churches, of house churches 80 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,120 or what they call cyber churches. 81 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:40,120 As a matter of fact, one George Barnas 82 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:44,840 whose name is I was trying to think of, 83 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:49,840 George Barnas says that 70% of believers in America today 84 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,000 choose to express their faith 85 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,680 in a traditional local church like ours. 86 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:01,560 But he predicts in light of the trends 87 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,680 that are taking place away from the traditional, 88 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,440 institutional, program-oriented church, 89 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,440 by the year 2025, only 30% of professing Christians 90 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:20,400 will express their faith in a local church like ours. 91 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,960 Ideas like this and projections like this 92 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,400 threaten the future of churches 93 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:30,840 like Los Gatos Christian Church. 94 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:34,000 So what does the future look like for us? 95 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:39,000 Should we intentionally try to become a mega, mega church? 96 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,680 Or should we adopt the model of some church 97 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,080 in Southern California or maybe in Chicago, Illinois 98 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,360 or in some other city of our nation 99 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,200 and say let's imitate them, 100 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,800 let's become just like they are 101 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,680 and we too will grow maybe. 102 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,680 To me the real issue is in neither one of these directions. 103 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,280 The issue that we face is what kind of a church 104 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:12,760 does Jesus call us to be? 105 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,360 The bottom line is not whether we're big, 106 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:20,000 as some count big, or whether we're small. 107 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,600 The bottom line is not whether we use this form 108 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:27,240 or that form, but the bottom line is 109 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:32,240 being spiritually alive and healthy as the people of God. 110 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,720 And as a result of being healthy, 111 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,560 taking on the size and the form that pleases our Lord. 112 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,320 Survival in the future for the church of America 113 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,660 is not found in imitating another ministry. 114 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,760 It is not about finding some quick fix 115 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,200 for issues that we may be facing. 116 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,280 We're not in a reality game show 117 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:04,600 that can be solved in a few easy moves 118 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,120 or in 60 minutes of time or a season of broadcasting. 119 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:15,760 We're in a reality that goes from generation to generation. 120 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,640 Can a church that is in decline 121 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:25,640 or a church that is stagnant reverse its reality 122 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:31,920 and grow healthy and grow in size again? 123 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,520 I believe this, that survival is about the long-term, 124 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:45,440 fruitful, healthy future of our church. 125 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:47,960 That's what survival is about. 126 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:50,720 It's not about a quick fix, 127 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,960 it's about the long-term, healthy, 128 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,440 fruitful survival of our church. 129 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,960 And it involves a number of different things. 130 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:03,560 Number one, it involves re-envisioning ministry. 131 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:06,600 Someone has said that the church 132 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,080 is the only social group in existence 133 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,520 that exists for the sake of its non-members. 134 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:15,240 But too easily do our ministries 135 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,040 begin to be focused inward 136 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,320 and revolve around ourselves. 137 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,600 A church that allows that to happen 138 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,760 is a church that will inevitably stagnate and plateau 139 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,120 because it's unhealthy. 140 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:35,160 By design, a church exists for the sake of those 141 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,680 who are not a part of its membership. 142 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:41,680 We exist to reach out. 143 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,400 And so for a church to have a long-term, 144 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:47,920 healthy, and fruitful future, 145 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,680 ministries have to be re-envisioned 146 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,000 from time to time. 147 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,120 A new vision so that the arrows begin to point outward 148 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,440 rather than inward toward ourselves. 149 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,680 Secondly, a church that is going to have a long-term, 150 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:07,560 healthy, fruitful ministry, 151 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:10,880 must re-engage with lost people. 152 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,080 There is a tendency in churches to grow inward 153 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,040 and closed as social units, 154 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,640 and for believers to fellowship with each other, 155 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:23,800 which we ought to do, 156 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:25,120 but in the process of that, 157 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,280 to lose contact with the lost world around us. 158 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,480 Our social contact, our friendships, et cetera, 159 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:34,080 focus on one another. 160 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,880 When that happens, a church will inevitably plateau. 161 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:43,720 In order for a church to have a long-term future, 162 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,800 it must re-engage with lost people. 163 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,880 Third, our church in particular, 164 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,600 but all churches for that matter, 165 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,160 need to reinvest in their campus. 166 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,720 A church's facility naturally ages over time, 167 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:01,520 just like we do. 168 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,240 And if it is well used, as ours is well used, 169 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,920 then it is going to slowly deteriorate. 170 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:10,440 And so as congregations, 171 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:13,320 we need to reinvest in our facilities 172 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,080 that God has given us, 173 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:20,080 in order for them to be both practical and beautiful 174 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,800 in order to attract the community 175 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:24,480 and meet the needs of ministry. 176 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,600 A church that has a long-term, 177 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,080 healthy and fruitful future 178 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,640 must also reconnect with one another. 179 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,920 In other words, the infrastructure of the church 180 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,800 that provides for relationships 181 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:42,520 has to be solid in place 182 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,800 so that when people come in to that church, 183 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,520 they have a place to connect, 184 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,760 a place where they fit, a place where they belong. 185 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,760 If that doesn't happen intentionally, 186 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,440 a church will grow downward to the size 187 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,400 where everybody is connected. 188 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,360 If we don't intentionally plan for ways 189 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,040 to people to connect as we grow, 190 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,600 then the opposite will happen. 191 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,400 And so to have a growing, healthy, fruitful future, 192 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:20,400 we need to be involved with reconnecting with one another 193 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,600 and assimilating new people that come into our church 194 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,160 so that they simply don't come in and visit and say, 195 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:32,720 well, I can't find anybody here who is interested in me. 196 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,200 I don't see a place where I fit. 197 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,200 I'll try the church down the road. 198 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,280 And finally, to have a long-term, fruitful, 199 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:44,240 healthy future, a church must renew 200 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,480 its passion to Jesus personally. 201 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:53,480 There must be a passionate commitment to Jesus. 202 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,000 We must not become like the church in Ephesus 203 00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,920 that was doing lots of good things 204 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:03,680 but had lost its passion for Jesus himself. 205 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:06,200 You say, is it possible? 206 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,800 Is it possible for a church to survive 207 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,000 from generation to generation? 208 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:16,560 Is it possible for a church to have a future 209 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:19,680 that is fruitful and healthy and long-term? 210 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:24,440 Is it possible for a church that is in decline 211 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:28,200 or in plateau to reverse its course? 212 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,440 Statistically speaking, it's very difficult 213 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:38,440 because three out of four attempts at this fail 214 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:41,960 for one reason or another. 215 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,200 But we're asking the question, is it possible? 216 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,440 And the answer to that is, it can happen. 217 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,560 And it must. 218 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:55,760 It must happen. 219 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,160 It must happen here at Las Gatos Christian Church. 220 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:01,560 What is it going to take? 221 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:04,920 How can we avoid being among the statistics 222 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:09,920 of that three force who may see the need to turn around 223 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,280 but can't pull it off? 224 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:19,000 How can we be in what is currently the minority of churches 225 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,040 that are plateaued or in decline 226 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,840 and see ourselves healthy and fruitful 227 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,680 and growing again long-term? 228 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:30,920 How can that happen? 229 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,640 Well, let me recap some of what I've already said. 230 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,960 It can happen, first of all, by our repenting 231 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,240 of the toxic values that arise from our culture. 232 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:46,960 We live in a dangerous world spiritually. 233 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,760 There are toxins in our culture that leak through 234 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,960 into our lives and our experience. 235 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:59,960 We need to repent of the poison of thinking about church 236 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:03,360 like a consumer, where we think the church exists 237 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,200 to meet my needs. 238 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,720 We need to repent of the noxious waste of expecting 239 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,240 to be entertained when we come to church. 240 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,200 Where we come because we want to have fun 241 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:20,960 and go away feeling good. 242 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:25,960 We need to repent of the contamination of seeing life 243 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,960 in separated cubicles as though we lived in compartments 244 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,400 and what we do on Sunday doesn't affect what we do 245 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,080 on Monday through Friday. 246 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,160 But rather we see life as a whole under the Lordship 247 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:39,000 of Christ. 248 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,360 We need to repent of the deadly virus of loving things 249 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:44,800 more than God. 250 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,200 In this culture, there is such a terrible 251 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:53,200 pressure to become the servant of the things that we own. 252 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,960 In order to get more, in order to maintain what we have 253 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,920 in our toys, we have to work harder. 254 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,280 We have to invest in doing this and that. 255 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,920 Things that may be good in themselves, 256 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,080 but which take away our focus from God. 257 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:17,080 We need a toxic cleanup through repentance. 258 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,080 Secondly, we need to transform our attitudes about church 259 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,080 and our participation in the life of the church. 260 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,080 The questions that are so common today among people, 261 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:29,080 well, why should I join? 262 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,080 Or why do I need the church? 263 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,080 Those kinds of questions are not the same. 264 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:42,080 Those kinds of questions need to be faced and answered. 265 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:46,080 The fact is that we all need to be part of the life of the 266 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:50,080 church in order to grow up. 267 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:55,080 We need the benefit of interaction with and interdependence 268 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,080 with other people. 269 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,080 God has made us that way. 270 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:04,080 Made us to belong, not to be peripheral in the church. 271 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,080 When you and I are involved in the church, 272 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,080 when you and I are a part of the life of a church, 273 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:15,080 it brings a certain spiritual protection to our lives. 274 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,080 We need that. 275 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:22,080 And so in our culture, as we hear all of these ideas about 276 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,080 the church and why it's unnecessary and why it's irrelevant, 277 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,080 we need to transform our own attitudes, 278 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:34,080 our own participation to be in the life of God's people. 279 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,080 Having said that, we also need to be open to change. 280 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:44,080 From the institutional, program-centered ministry of our past 281 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:50,080 to a relational model of ministry that is a part of the future. 282 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:55,080 People are looking for relationships, not programs. 283 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:59,080 We need to write that into our hearts and our minds. 284 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:05,080 Thirdly, we need to lower the age of Los Gatos Christian Church. 285 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,080 We talked about this very specifically one Sunday. 286 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:14,080 We must do what is necessary to intentionally welcome young 287 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,080 singles and family members. 288 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:22,080 We must do what is necessary to intentionally welcome young 289 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:26,080 singles and families into our church. 290 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:30,080 We need to offer the kinds of ministries that will help them 291 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,080 in their very real challenges in our world. 292 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,080 We need to listen to their heartbeat. 293 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,080 We need to encourage them. 294 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,080 And as we do this intentionally, we can lower the age of our church 295 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,080 from where it's at. 296 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,080 Fourth, we need to do our part to make our campus 297 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,080 an attractive and practical place once again. 298 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:57,080 How can we do that? 299 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:02,080 Well, those of us who are here this morning can treat it with respect. 300 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,080 We can pick up after ourselves, for example. 301 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,080 We can make less work for janitors. 302 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:15,080 We can treat the building, the facility itself, with respect. 303 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:19,080 In addition to that, however, we need to do something about 304 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,080 the appearance of our church. 305 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,080 We have started that in a variety of places, and thank God 306 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,080 for what has taken place. 307 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,080 But right now we have a group called the Building Renovation 308 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:35,080 Team, or committee, which is working on a plan, 309 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,080 a master plan for the renovation of our whole facility. 310 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,080 It's something that will require probably a lot of work 311 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:48,080 and will require probably several phases to accomplish. 312 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,080 But this is our task. 313 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:56,080 If we're going to have a long-term, fruitful and healthy ministry 314 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:01,080 here at our church, we need to understand our responsibility 315 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:07,080 to reinvest in the campus that has ministered to us and to our families 316 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,080 and seek with God's help to make it attractive and practical 317 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:13,080 for ministry to our community. 318 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:17,080 And I invite you to pray for this team of people. 319 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,080 I invite you to pray regarding a financial campaign 320 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,080 that will be necessary probably in the fall as we get started 321 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,080 on the first phase of whatever this plan is going to be. 322 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,080 In the meantime, we can volunteer to help with intermediate 323 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:38,080 projects that will improve the attractiveness and the efficiency 324 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,080 of our campus. After the first message when I talked about this 325 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,080 a few weeks ago, one of our life communities stepped forward 326 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:50,080 and said, tell us what we can do as a project, as a group of people 327 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:54,080 in our church before Easter, something that we can come and do 328 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,080 in a day to make a difference on this campus. 329 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,080 Fabulous! That's great, wonderful response. 330 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,080 And we need more of that. 331 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:08,080 If we want to have a long-term, fruitful, healthy ministry as a church 332 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,080 this is part of it. 333 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,080 And then finally let me say that if we want that kind of a ministry 334 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,080 in the future, if we want to see a turnaround, then we must become 335 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,080 vitally connected ourselves on three levels. 336 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:28,080 The worship connection, the fellowship connection, and the growth connection. 337 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,080 These are the three kinds of connections that we've talked about 338 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,080 just a couple of weeks ago. 339 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:41,080 I urge you to find your place in one of the life communities of our church. 340 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,080 One of the mid-sized groups of our church where you can enter into 341 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:53,080 relationship with others that will increase your sense of connectedness here. 342 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,080 Now I'm talking to some people who are already vitally connected. 343 00:20:58,080 --> 00:20:59,080 Thank God for you. 344 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,080 But there are others of you that are not. 345 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,080 And you come on Sunday morning only. 346 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:09,080 I urge you, I urge you in the name of the Lord 347 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,080 to find a life community where you can invest yourself. 348 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:19,080 You can become a part and use God's gifts to you to minister to others 349 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,080 as they in turn minister to you. 350 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,080 I urge you also to become a part of a small group. 351 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:32,080 Currently we have more than 300 people in our church 352 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:38,080 who are participants in some kind of a small group doing biblical studies. 353 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:45,080 It's in the small group that spiritual growth really takes root. 354 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,080 And you can sign up even today for a small group. 355 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:55,080 A group of maybe two or three others or a group of seven or eight or ten others 356 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,080 who will meet on a regular basis to study the Word of God 357 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,080 and to encourage each other. 358 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,080 You can sign up today out of the lower foyer. 359 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:09,080 If you're not a part of that kind of ministry, I urge you to do it. 360 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:14,080 If we want to have a future as a ministry, as a church, 361 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:21,080 it's absolutely vital that we become connected on all of these levels. 362 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,080 God will bless that. 363 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,080 But now I want to shift from what I have said 364 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:34,080 to what I want to really focus on as I close this message. 365 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,080 And that is going to the core of things. 366 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,080 Because here is a reality, folks. 367 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,080 We can do all of the things I just talked about. 368 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:55,080 We can do all of those things that I just said and still fail to survive. 369 00:22:56,080 --> 00:23:00,080 I believe all of those things are absolutely vital to us 370 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,080 or I wouldn't have talked about them. 371 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:09,080 But we can do all of those things and still fail to survive. 372 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:14,080 You see, we Americans are very keen at putting into place strategies 373 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,080 and plans and visions and action steps. 374 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,080 And I'm not knocking those things. 375 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,080 Those are part of it. 376 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,080 But it takes something more than that. 377 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:33,080 It's not about our strategies and action plans. 378 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:35,080 It's not about that. 379 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,080 It's about seeking the face of God. 380 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:44,080 You see, at the core, what is needed in any church 381 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:50,080 that is going to turn around is the manifest presence of God. 382 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:56,080 It is God moving into that congregation 383 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,080 and doing a new work in our hearts. 384 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,080 This is what is absolutely critical. 385 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:10,080 Now there is one sense, of course, in which God is omnipresent. 386 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:15,080 That's one of his attributes, is God, that he's everywhere present. 387 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,080 He's present here this morning, 388 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,080 but he's present everywhere in the world this morning too. 389 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:22,080 He's God. 390 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,080 What we are talking about here is what might be called the manifest presence of God. 391 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:34,080 It is a way in which God demonstrates His holy presence by powerfully working in our hearts. 392 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,080 God has done this in some very spectacular ways in the past. 393 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,080 You remember the stories out of the Pentateuch, 394 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,080 of the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire? 395 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,080 The one that was in the Bible, 396 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,080 the one that was in the Bible, 397 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,080 the one that was in the Pentateuch, of the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire, 398 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:03,080 in which God manifested His presence to His people by that physical symbol. 399 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:09,080 And it created in them this sense of awe 400 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,080 and reverence and fear of God. 401 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,080 Do you remember when the temple was dedicated in Solomon's day? 402 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:24,080 When the shekinah of God appeared? 403 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:30,080 They had this amazing ceremony that lasted days of time. 404 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,080 Thousands of animals were sacrificed. 405 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:40,080 This structure that was one of the marvels of the world was dedicated to God. 406 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:46,080 And then King Solomon prayed. 407 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,080 And God appeared to him. 408 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:57,080 Now God had appeared in his glory on the first day of that dedication. 409 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:02,080 He had caused fire to come out of heaven and lick up the sacrifice. 410 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:09,080 And then the whole building was filled with this amazing shekinah, 411 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:18,080 this cloud as it were, this sparkling effervescence that was visible. 412 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,080 That was the presence of God there. 413 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,080 And God appeared to Solomon and he said, 414 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:34,080 Solomon, if my people in the future depart from me, 415 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:40,080 and if I send upon them the judgments that I've threatened that I would, 416 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:44,080 I want you to know that there's a way back. 417 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,080 There's a turnaround. 418 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:54,080 I want you to know that I will hear their prayers if they do certain things. 419 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,080 What we need today, folks, is the medical care. 420 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:04,080 I'm not talking about this place being filled with that visible effervescence of God. 421 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:10,080 I've only heard about that happening once in my generation. 422 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:16,080 I heard about one pastor in Southern California 423 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,080 who was seeking the face of the Lord. 424 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:27,080 I heard about one pastor in Southern California who was seeking the face of God. 425 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:33,080 And he went into his auditorium one time during the week all by himself. 426 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:42,080 And in this auditorium there appeared this amazing manifestation of God being right there with him. 427 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:49,080 I can almost hear some Americans say, oh, cool, man, cool. I'd love to see that. 428 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:52,080 Let me tell you something. 429 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:58,080 If you saw that, you would do the same thing he did. He fell down on his face. 430 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,080 And he couldn't move. 431 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:07,080 Because he knew he was in the presence of the Holy God. 432 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:12,080 You see, God's manifest presence doesn't have to be visible. It can be. 433 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,080 But when God manifests Himself in the way that I'm thinking about, 434 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:22,080 it's always with a keen awareness of His holiness. 435 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:29,080 When God makes Himself known in this way, it creates a sense of our own humaneness and our sinfulness. 436 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:34,080 And the response inevitably, whenever this happens in scripture, 437 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:41,080 is fear and people falling on their faces and they're crying out to God for mercy and for forgiveness. 438 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,080 And then comes the supernatural blessing of God. 439 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:53,080 In 2 Chronicles chapter 7, we have this text that I was talking about earlier with Solomon. 440 00:28:54,080 --> 00:29:00,080 God says to him, when I shut up the heavens so that there's no rain or command locusts to devour the land 441 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:06,080 or send a plague upon my people, God says, if then my people who are called by my name 442 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:14,080 will read this with me, humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, 443 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:20,080 then will I hear from heaven and will forgive them and will forgive them. 444 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,080 And I will be called by my name, and I will be called by my name. 445 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:30,080 I'll show you some of these tales. Then will I hear from heaven 446 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:35,080 and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 447 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:41,080 I understand the context of this verse. I understand it as a promise given to Solomon 448 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,080 for the people of God in the old covenant. I understand that. 449 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:50,080 But I believe that God is laying down a principle here. 450 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:59,320 reverse ourselves. A pathway for a fresh and new working of God in our midst. And I believe 451 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:06,160 that still today, if the people who are called by God's name, who say they're the followers 452 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:18,160 of Jesus Christ, that if we will humble ourselves, and if we will pray, and if we will seek 453 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:28,320 His face and then turn from our wicked ways, God will manifest Himself in a fresh and powerful 454 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:36,120 and new way, and we will experience the blessing of God like we have never known it. What we 455 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:41,440 need is to seek the face of God. That's the part of the verse I want to emphasize before 456 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:50,320 our close. That we be a people who seek the face of God. That we desire intimacy with 457 00:30:50,320 --> 00:31:02,880 Jesus above all else. That we be eager to sit at His feet and worship Him before doing 458 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:13,360 His work. His work must be done. It needs to be done. But that we first sit at His feet. 459 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:22,640 That we seek His face. Survival, as I'm defining it, is about the long term, fruitful, healthy 460 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:30,200 future of our church. I'm not talking about a survival that's a quick fix. I'm not talking 461 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:36,640 about a survival that happens in 60 minutes of time. I'm not talking about a survival 462 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:42,280 that comes because of five easy things we can do. I'm talking about survival that is 463 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:53,760 a long term, fruitful, and healthy future for our church. That kind of survival can happen. 464 00:31:53,760 --> 00:32:03,120 It can happen. And not only can it happen, folks, it must happen. We must hunger for this. 465 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:11,880 We must desire it so that we are willing to make some affirmations together. The affirmations 466 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:20,360 I'm thinking of are threefold this morning. The first one is simply this. We will seek 467 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:27,520 God's face. What I mean by that is that we will direct our thoughts in such a way so 468 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:33,920 that Jesus is the one constant that is there. Lots of things move into and out of our lives 469 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:40,760 and ideas and thoughts. But what we want is to have one central focus that stabilizes 470 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:47,600 everything else, and that is that we are seeking the face of God. Will you say with me this 471 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:57,120 morning that statement? We will seek the face of God. Let's say it again. We will seek 472 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:08,880 the face of God. The second affirmation follows on it. It is this. With God, we can. Can we 473 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:14,840 turn around? Can we survive? Can we see a long term future for this church that is healthy 474 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:24,640 and fruitful? With God, we can. Say that with me. With God, we can. Again, with God, we 475 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:32,960 can. That is an affirmation for our future together. And then there is one third affirmation. 476 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:41,440 One third affirmation that is critical. Whatever it takes for Christ and His church, say that 477 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:50,480 with me. Whatever it takes for Christ and His church, Jesus Christ was the atoning sacrifice 478 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:59,280 for our sins. He calls you and me now to be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to 479 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:06,240 God, which is our spiritual act of worship. What this statement says is, Lord, I am a 480 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:13,880 living sacrifice and whatever it takes of me, I am willing to give it for you and for 481 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:24,240 your church. I am willing to say, Lord, whatever it takes, then do it. Do it in me, through 482 00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:31,280 me, from me, whatever it takes, Lord, for you and for your church. Let's say it again. 483 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:38,480 Whatever it takes for Christ and His church, you see, it is those affirmations that will 484 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:47,880 provide the intention and the urgency about this. Sometimes I think that we imagine things 485 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:54,520 are just going to work out okay. Whether we are very intentional or urgent about it or 486 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:58,280 not, that somebody is going to rise to the occasion, somebody is going to take care of 487 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:08,960 it. Folks, is there a long-term future for this church? The choice is yours and mine. 488 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:16,960 It's not somebody else. It's how I choose, how you personally choose to respond to what 489 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:23,440 God has said to us during these weeks. Is there that future for us? Is there that turnaround? 490 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:29,440 Are we going to be among that minority that actually, by the grace of God, pull it off 491 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:38,320 with God we can? It depends upon the choices that you and I make. How we will follow through 492 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,080 with what God has spoken to our hearts in these days. I invite you to bow with me in 493 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:58,480 prayer. If you are a part of this church, I'd ask you to do something. I'm going to 494 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:07,240 ask you to look in your own hearts and ask yourself, am I willing to make these affirmations 495 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:24,360 and live them out? Is this something that I will do? Am I willing to speak the face 496 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:42,240 of God? Am I willing to say, by faith with God we can? Am I willing to be a living sacrifice 497 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:50,800 and say, Lord, whatever it takes, whatever it takes for Christ in this church, it's yours. 498 00:36:50,800 --> 00:37:00,800 If that's something that you feel impressed by God to say, that's me, that's where I'm 499 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:08,840 at. I'm willing to put it on the line. I'm going to be part of the solution, not part 500 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:15,840 of the problem. Those affirmations, I'm asking God to write into my heart. I will seek Him. 501 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:21,680 I will live by faith and say with God we can do this. I will say whatever it takes for 502 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:28,440 Jesus, for a church. If you're willing to make that kind of commitment as a part of 503 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:34,440 this church, would you simply and quietly just stand to your feet right now? And don't 504 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:40,240 do it because somebody else is doing it, but do it because you sense God writing that on 505 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:54,200 your heart. Oh God bless you. Thank you for responding to God. Father, we stand on our 506 00:37:54,200 --> 00:38:04,680 feet right now with intention. We do it with a little bit of fear because we know that 507 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:10,480 if we truly speak your face you're going to show up. And it's going to change us and 508 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:16,800 it's going to cause us to give up some things and add other things to our lives. It's going 509 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:25,280 to humble us. But God, we're going to speak your face. Lord, we're going to have a positive 510 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:32,320 attitude. We're going to believe you. We're going to say that with God all things are 511 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:42,520 possible. Lord, we are willing to say whatever it takes from us. Terms of service, in terms 512 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:50,720 of time, in terms of money, in terms of effort, in terms of goodwill, in terms of cooperation, 513 00:38:50,720 --> 00:39:00,000 whatever it takes, Lord. We're on our feet because we want to give that. Because we believe, 514 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:09,920 we believe that you have called us to this. And we urgently and intensely hunger for you 515 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:18,840 and for a future to your work in this congregation. Until we give ourselves and we sing this final 516 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:27,480 song of dedication to you, even as a prayer from our hearts. Now let's all stand together 517 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:29,720 and sing. Let's give it a name.