Gtcotr/ss082408
Every journey demands someone take the first step.
1 Kings 17 NKJV
8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying,
9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 "For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’"
This poor little widow was unaware that God had chosen her and had already enabled her and had commanded her to provide for this prophet. However, this would take a miracle of faith on her part.
She may not have realized that God demands we participate in our miracles. As with every other miracle of faith, someone had to take the first step. In this case, life demanded this little widow take the first step. God had done His part, the rest was up to her … could she muster the courage to do something no one else was being asked to do? Could she take the first step?
This is what we faced as a church each time we decided to commit to a new project, when we decided, for example, to:
* Pay off the outstanding church debt in 1988
* Start a World Missions Ministry sending and supporting missionaries all over the world.
* Plant a Church in Russia
* Birth many other Churches in our local communities
* Teach people how to witness effectively with RU100%SURE?
* Operate a faith based counseling clinic and international school
* Reach every nation on planet earth with the Gospel message
* Open a medical clinic to serve the needs of our community
* Partner with a Theological Seminary to provide education
* Drill water wells for children and families at risk & in need
* Broadcast the Gospel 24/7 to every country, city and home in the world
* Assist in bridging the gap between Christians and Jews
* Given hurricane and disaster relief to tens of thousands
* Provide funding and staffing for humanitarian needs globally
* Create an International Church Management and Consulting group
* Begin a gospel outreach to the people of Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Thailand and the Philippines by offering affordable opportunities to learn English as a second language in their city.
The list could go on and on and on. In some things we were successful and in others we failed, but we never failed to faithfully follow God into the unknown. Remember, all of these things were done above and beyond the regular Sunday morning and Wednesday evening church services which are the extent of many other church’s total activities. We accomplished all of this, not by taking special offerings, but through stewardship of our regular weekly offerings.
What kind of people would ever attempt such things? What kind of people does it take to take that first step? Let me tell you … it’s People with a Pioneer Spirit and Golden Triangle Church On The Rock is a Pioneer Church filled with people who possess a Pioneer Spirit.
You see, God has already done all He is going through the Cross and has made all grace abound toward us so that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us … we are more than conquerors.
After His death on the cross, His resurrection and subsequent ascension into heaven, Jesus sat down and His Disciples went forth. They immediately became Apostles, ones who are sent with a message, and the Spirit of the Lord worked with them and confirmed the Word with signs following. This has been our testimony as well.
We have done well. We now have 20 years of service and credibility behind us. However, we won’t stop here at the 20 year mark. We thank God for including us and giving us a chance to participate in His plan, but our hearts yearn to press onward and upward for the cause of Christ. I’m not ready to retire yet! Sinners are being born every day and we must reach every house on the road with the Good News before we can say we have reached the last house on the road.
Our vision stretches forth into the future and for as long as the Lord allows we will continue to be pioneers … those who take the first step, pay the highest price and often seemingly go it alone … alone that is, except for Jesus and that great cloud of witnesses who went before us with the same spirit of faith we now possess.
Men and women who fought battles, built arks, crossed seas, conquered enemies, established nations and won souls. We too have pioneer spirits that do not allow us to rest on our laurels but demands we go boldly forward, blazing a trail for others to follow.
At times in the past we have gone down the road to get to the end of the road and at times we have followed God down the road to get to the fork in the road. Each time we have embraced a new vision and begun our journey, only the Holy Spirit has known what the final outcome would be … we have simply followed by faith.
In all of our past years of service together we have held to a few basic truths, a few dynamic principles of the Kingdom. When I say a few principles I must confess, it started out to be a few, but through the years the list kept growing and now there are 457 points of truth. We often rehearse these points together so that we may never forget what the Lord has taught us on along the way.
Allow me this morning to share 5 of those first few principles God gave us 20 years to guide us as we began our journey. These foundational truths still hold a special place in my heart and in our history. I still use these principles as a guide for our church.
1. Don’t judge success on a weekly basis.
* Never allow yourself to be impressed or depressed by numbers and/or nickels.
* Life is a script which only God can write.
* Be great in your ordinary. It is the ordinary that prepares us for the extraordinary.
*The journey is your friend.
2. Give others as much room to fail as to succeed.
* Raise up runners for the next lap.
* Allow others to ride beyond your reach.
* Reproduction is the single limiting factor to Kingdom expansion.
* Build a tier underneath yourself; replace yourself; promote above yourself.
* If you are really that good at something else, you may find yourself doing it for someone else … delegate!
3. Church growth is a by-product of what we do, it’s not our vision.
* Church growth is God’s responsibility, Kingdom enhancement and advancement is our responsibility.
* The only marching orders God ever gave the church was to go into all the world and make disciples.
* Our vision is to expand the Kingdom of God.
4. Accept every resignation.
* You will never be able to lead those whom you are unwilling to lose.
* Both heaven and earth choose aggressive, decisive and determined individuals to lead the defining battles of life.
* If people are looking for authority, give them responsibility … authority should be given only to people who are responsible.
5. Count bad decisions, wrong decisions and even costly mistakes as a part of the process, not the problem.
* Don’t take a temporary situation and create a permanent problem.
* What you are going through is not punishment for your past but positioning for your future.
* Failure is not defeat.
* Your greatest day is yet ahead.
* Life is not always all about you!
In all of these past twenty years we have both grown up as a church and have reached the whole world with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Today we touch our proverbial Jerusalem, Judea Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world together with caring hearts and helping hands. Well done, good and faithful servant of the Lord.
If you have ever been a goer, stayer, prayer or payer in this vision, believe me when I tell you, and you know who you are … we could not have done it without you.
Thanks to my wife, our children and their families, my eldership, and all of the tremendous and capable staff who have served me, the church and the congregation over these many years and to all of the precious individuals and families God has sent to and through our church since August 28, 1988, of whom I will stand before God and give an individual account of …
It is still our firm belief that:
God has a plan, He will succeed, and we still have a chance to participate!
Again, thank you for being the church and the people I so proudly Pastor. You mean the world to me!
