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How to Change the World – IT STARTS WITH A PLAN Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN Main Theme: Changing the world, transforming hearts, and renewing minds is the will of God! We may WANT to join God in His mission, we may TAKE STOCK of our divine resources, we can discover our SPIRITUAL GIFTS, but if we don’t intentionally devise a plan – we will accomplish very little. Without an intentional plan we will remain busy but have no true impact on our community, and produce no fruit for the kingdom. Nothing brings more clarity to a person’s life that being able to have a PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT for their life, based on God’s revelation of who they are, and who they belong to! 1) GOD’S CALL! Today I’m happy for some of us, and sad for others. Why? Because some of us have hearts that are going to be open to God’s Word this morning! Our “spiritual soil” is rich and fertile, and ready to receive the seed that has the potential to dramatically change our life, bringing a clarity of purpose we’ve never experienced before! …Sadly, others of us aren’t ready for today’s calling – and yet I pray that in time it will come down the road. I say this because for three weeks we have been talking about God’s call to join Him in His mission to CHANGE THE WORLD – working together to renew hearts, and transform lives. We asked the question “Do you WANT to change the world?” and every hand went up. But today we’ll be tested to see if we meant it. For we have 1) investigated that divine calling, 2) checked out the amazing resources available to us, (including the power and wisdom of God Himself), and 3) discovered that we each have a specific and unique Spiritual gift given to us intentionally for the building up of God’s Kingdom. But what good is this knowledge of God’s call unless it inspires us to action? What good are these blessings to a chosen people without a plan? 2) GOD’S PLAN! The fact is, knowledge and resources alone do not change the world! People who intentionally USE His knowledge and resources (according to God’s will) change the world! Only disciples with a clear grasp of God’s “plan” for themselves, AND the desire to actively carry out that plan, actually produce fruit for the kingdom! And you know what? My experience tells me that most Christians do not have a PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT and PLAN for carrying it out. As a result, Christians rarely “look different” from their secular neighbors, who are constantly busy, spinning their wheels, accomplishing very little to better the world. So let me ask you: is the world a better place because you are in it? Do you have a clear sense of God’s VISION for your personal ministry? Do you have a PLAN for serving God? Today, the Lord offers an opportunity to discover his plan for you – and if taken, it could CHANGE YOUR LIFE! 3) VERY LITTLE? One day, God will welcome each of us home, and it’s possible that while He already knows the answer, He will invite us to share HOW we used the gifts He so graciously gave us on earth to serve Him, by serving others. Some of us will hang our heads and have to admit that we spent all our time focused on making a living, trying to be kind to others, and we will hope that attending church might count for something. But we will know deep down in our hearts that we did very little in helping God “change the world” – or produce fruit for His kingdom. 4) GREATER JOY! Others will squeal in delight as they share with Jesus the miracles they saw, tell story after story about lives transformed, and praise Him for the deep joy and blessings that came from being used to share His love with those who needed it most! Which YOU will be, might even depend on the decisions you make today. As I have said before, it possible to be saved and loved by God and still remain of no earthly good to God. It is possible to be a RELIGIOUS CONSUMER of God’s blessings and spin your wheels doing the predictable with limited influence and insignificant productivity. But God’s desire is that you would know the greater joy that comes from taking His knowledge and gifts to produce spiritual fruit! And in order to know that greater joy and produce spiritual fruit, you need a plan! A plan based on a PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT! 5) GOD’S VISION! The King James Version of the bible describes Proverbs 29:18 as telling us: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The NIV says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.” The Living Bible lays down this challenge, “Where there is ignorance of God, the people run wild.” See, God has PLAN for your life! He has a REVELATION and a VISION for your life that He is eager to unveil. God’s vision provides a clear and compelling portrait of a “preferable future” that He conveys to His chosen people! Just as this church has been given a specific and unique calling, so have you! And it gives you direction, limitations, and hope! Most importantly – your vision comes from God! 6) IMPACT! Research has clearly shown that there is a direct correlation between the IMPACT of a church or organization and the presence of God’s vision as the driving force behind their activity that produced fruit. The reason we quoted George Barna several weeks ago as saying that “the typical church is a small group of people that convene weekly but have little impact on the culture”, is because fewer than 10% of the pastors, leaders, and members of Christian churches can articulate God’s vision for their church or individual lives! Where churches and individuals ARE growing and influencing “life-change” – there are people who understand, articulate, and energetically champion God’s vision for their church or individual life! It’s clear: if you and I want to be and do all that God intends, if want to make an impact on the world, we need God’s vision for our lives! 7) ABSENCE!Here’s why many Christian churches and individuals have no impact on the world: 1) There is an absence of God’s vision! Oh sure, we may have our own vision, or a worldly vision, or someone else’s vision – and still be totally ignorant of why God designed and needs us to begin with. Those who DO make a significant impact on the world for God, do so because they KNOW their unique distinctive calling! They know the unique contribution that God is calling them to make! Where there is no impact, there is usually an absence of God’s vision! 8) NOT GOD’S VISION! The 2nd reason for lack of impact is 2) It’s not God’s vision! When the vision you use is NOT God’s – chances are it’s based on selfish and immature motives. How can you tell the difference between human and Godly visions? George Barna says:
When churches and Christian people have no impact on their community, it’s generally because they champion something that is not God’s vision! 9) NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT! One of the characteristics of God’s vision is that when people initially hear it, they laugh in astonishment at the absurdity of such a “wild idea!” …often asking “Are you kidding?!” But understand this: God intends to show His power and His love for you by sending you on a vision journey that is way beyond your capacity. Why? Because in order to make it happen, you will be forced to rely on Him, and the results can ONLY be attributed to GOD! Let’s be clear on this: most of the time God’s vision is probably NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT! Researcher George Barna states this: God’s vision “is not based on human consensus; His vision will stir intense emotion and debate, causing some people to seek other places through which they can serve Him more comfortably, while energizing others. His vision comes at a high cost because it demands significant personal change, is fulfilled only with great effort, produces results in the long term, and necessitates teams of people working together rather than individuals doing their thing in isolation.” If you think you know God’s vision for you – run it through these hallmarks and recheck it. 10) A VISION NOT SHARED! Now that last quote also touched upon the 3rd reason Christian people and institutions have no impact on the world: 3) The Vision is not shared! Everything God involves us in has to do with relationships! Created in His image, we are to have significant, supportive relationships! Fact is, God’s vision for this church and you is TOO BIG for one person to fulfill without the help of others! It’s a part of His grand design! You want to change the world? You can’t do it alone! 11) BACK BURNER! The 4th reason for having little impact on the world is 4) The vision is on the back burner! Sometime you and I can so distracted, so wrapped up in the frantic pace of the world, so busy juggling the multitude of daily tasks that we lose sight of the “big picture”, and therefore relegate God’s vision for our life to the back burner. Reflex actions and routines replace God’s vision as the “primary filter” through which every decision is made. Before we know it, we begin to compromise what we are supposed to be about, and make decisions based on the wrong factors. Every Christian must ask God to develop within them a “Vision filter”. What’s the last major decision you made? (pause) Did it get run through a vision filter? Life is so much clearer, decisions are so much easier to make - if we do. If it meets God’s vision for our life – do it! If not – pass! It’s really that simple! If we want to change the world - don’t leave God’s vision on the back burner! 12) SELF KNOWLEDGE! Now before God can USE you, it’s important He help us know our self! That is, comprehend our strengths and weaknesses, our gifts and abilities, our emotional composure, the nature of our past successes and failures, our relational capacity, and our character flaws. If we are looking at this list and going “ouch!” – fear not! This honest self-knowledge will give us a realistic perspective – AND DRIVE US TO GOD for strength and nurture! Though painful, we must come clean before God about who we really are and what truly motivates us. It’s crucial that we recognize our own inadequacies, and that we fear and trust Him! To admit we are not fit to be chosen to be used by Him, deepens our intimacy with God – and makes Him smile! It is solely by His grace that any of us can serve Him in any capacity! These personal insights can come from 1) talking to friends, 2) through spiritual gift inventories, personality tests, character studies, and 3) prayer! Do you have a plan for developing deeper self-knowledge? 13) KNOWING GOD! To serve God according to HIS VISION, you not only need to grow in SELF-KNOWLEDGE, but you must KNOW GOD INTIMATELY! Christians often take this for granted, assuming that knowledge OF God is the same as KNOWING God! But, I can hire a detective to scope you out and learn all about you, and yet never have met you, or talked to you, or experienced life together in any intimate way. Likewise, you can go to church, sit in a bible study, and serve on a committee and never really KNOW Jesus intimately! Knowing God more intimately requires intense bible study and constant prayer! Not to retrieve “facts”, but to forge a deeper and more passionate bond with the One who will love you more than you will ever know! Do you have a plan for knowing God deeper and more intimately? 14) TEST! And finally, before you start acting upon what you THINK is God’s vision: TEST YOUR CONCLUSIONS! 1) Make sure that every element of your personal vision is consistent with Scriptures! Why? Because God never contradicts Himself nor wishes to confuse His followers! 2) Get objective feedback from wise counselors – people who know you, the Lord, and the context of your life. And then 3) look for open doors or signs placed there by God. Taken together, these safe guards of testing your conclusions are likely to put you on the right track! 15) A PLAN! In your bulletin there is a handout (also at the end of this online sermon) that you will either put in the garbage, or take home and use – thereby possibly changing your life and improving your faith walk in a major way! (See last page of this sermon – past prayers). It’s to help you create a plan, and finally a PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT. Without a clear sense of God’s vision for your ministry, you will accomplish very little for the Lord! Obviously the first page encourages you to discover and use your Spiritual Gift – but nothing will happen unless you ask God to help you create a plan to do this! Knowing you have a Spiritual Gift is not the same as IMPACTING the world around you WITH your Spiritual Gift! You need to make a plan. Without a plan you will wander aimlessly – and accomplish very little! 16) GROWTH! Then the handout reminds us we’re called to a broad mission – to grow in God’s grace through The Great Commandment and The Great Commission! Which, when dissected, calls every Christian to grow in and live out the acts of worship, discipleship, evangelism, fellowship, and service. But without a plan – growth won’t happen! And God’s bountiful blessings will wait the day when you DO make a plan to grow in these areas of our Christian faith walk. 17) STEWARDSHIP! Obviously a question on the sheet exists concerning Stewardship, because everything you have - God gave for a reason! If you do not grow in all 3 areas of stewardship, then the chance of impacting and changing the world according to God’s will is very slim! Without letting Christ lead you in the best use of your time, talent, and treasures, then there will be very little fruit being produced to build the Kingdom. Knowing this, is not enough – but writing down a stewardship plan and then acting upon it will lead you to greater blessings and joy! 18) PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT! Stephen Case once wrote “A vision without the ability to execute is just a hallucination!” Are you living a Christian hallucination? Are you doing “religious stuff”, but having no impact on the world? Friends, God has called you to do more than make a living, “be kind to others”, and attend church! Jesus wants to use you to change the world! He has a mission for the universal church, a more specific vision for All Saints, and a very personal, unique, one-of-a-kind calling for you! Do you KNOW what your specific PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT is for this time and this place in your life? That PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT is not going to be an easy thing to discover or articulate – but when you do, it’s revelation will bless you immensely every day of your life! Don’t rest, don’t stop praying, don’t give up asking God what your PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT is, until it is revealed! Then write it down and look for those daily opportunities to accomplish it! Ask God for the power and strength to accomplish that vision by working together with the Holy Spirit and other Christians – and you will be amazed at how exciting life can get! 19) BENEFITS! The Good News? Christ is here today, to help you explore, pursue, experience the completion of the vision HE has for you. Christ is here that you might receive these visionary benefits:
20) MAKE A PLAN! Friends, if you will struggle over, wrestle with, pray constantly about your PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT – you will be blessed! Christ’s mission is to change the world – with YOU by His side; utilizing His generous gifts and abundant resources! Don’t create your own plan, simply discover His plan! Ask Him to help you base tomorrow’s actions on the specific VISION He is so eager to reveal to you! Write that vision down… make a plan! And know this… just your desire to want to know your specific God-given VISION for your life – well, it makes Him smile! Imagine how His heart will soar, when together you and I are empowered to strive together to make that vision a reality! Praise God! AMEN Sermon/Confessional Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that our daily plans don’t always pertain to your Vision for our lives. Sometime we settle for just existing, getting through the day. Often we have no purpose but to get through the daily routine. Forgive us, and help us to turn to you for the specific Vision that you have for us. Help us to make it our priority and to filter every decision we make through your Vision. Show us the joy we are missing by going it alone. Lord, sometimes we fear the ‘change’ that following your plan for our lives will bring. It shows we do not yet trust you, nor believe that you have our best interest at heart. Forgive us! And draw us closer to you that we may grow together in a deeper, more personal bond! Help us to see that we were designed by you and for you – and that in serving you by serving others will bring us the greater joy and blessings you desire us to have! Reveal to us our divine VISION, nurture it, and empower us to live it out! And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.) (Silence) Lord, you have reminded us that your mission is to change the world – one heart at a time. And you have made it clear that you want us by your side, going where you are going, and doing what you are doing. To know about our spiritual gifts, our resources, our vision is not enough! So let you Holy Spirit live within us that we may have the power, wisdom, and love to utilize our blessings to bless others! In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN Assurance of Forgiveness: Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who provides you with a personal VISION statement and the power to carry it out, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now with God, discover His vision and plan for which you were designed, and rely completely on Him to live it out! You were created to help Him change the world! Praise God! AMEN Opening prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, many of us spent our week simply reacting to what happened around us and to us. Many of us did nothing this week but follow the busy routine our lives have come to know. Many of us can look back this week and see that the world has not been changed for the better by our words or actions. Time slips by, and the broken world around us remains the same. So it is good for us to be here this morning Lord, because we need time to break from our busyness and hectic schedules to rest in your arms and rethink our purpose in this world. We so much want to impact our community in a positive way, but we are weak and not as wise as we would hope. So we humbly ask that you would create in us, what we cannot create in ourselves; a heart that reflects Christ’s love in everything we say and do. Wash away those impurities that prevent us from serving as Jesus served. Build within us a faith that seeks only to make you smile! Align our wills with yours! Teach us to reach out to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers with the same giving love that Jesus has given us! Give us a new plan that fills us with a new and clear purpose. Help us Lord to join with you in changing the world! In Jesus Name We Pray! AMEN! (Information from bulletin handout...) MY PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT AND PLAN: Lord, reveal to me your PLAN for my life as I offer myself in obedient servant-hood. Use me, for I desire to join you in “changing the world” … help me be “intentional” in serving you by serving others. 1. SPIRITUAL
GIFTS:
This is how I specifically plan to use it:
2. WORSHIP:
3. DISCIPLESHIP:
4. EVANGELISM:
5. FELLOWSHIP:
6. SERVICE:
7. STEWARDSHIP:
Lord, I know your specific VISION for my life is interwoven with the visions you have given others in this church – and is focused around “changing other people” through loving actions and words that they may become more Christ-like. You have given me an understanding of the unique contribution that I can make. While it is a work in progress, I offer to you now, my understanding of my life’s VISION at this present time…
MY PERSONAL VISION
STATEMENT:
In case you were wondering… PASTOR CHUCK’S
PERSONAL VISION STATEMENT: …to use my spiritual gifts (a cluster: leadership, preaching/teaching) to lead the amazing family of ASLC through the often painful process of changing it’s “culture” from a “homogenous” congregation into a fruit-producing “parish” church, by empowering it’s leadership and members to discover and utilize their spiritual gifts to reach out in service and love (in creative and Christ-like ways) to a changing community; that God’s lost and wonderfully diverse sheep may find salvation, healing, wholeness, and spiritual growth. |
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