This week, we have been looking at a section of an
account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the gospel
of Matthew, where Jesus provides for us a timeless goal that we should strive
towards that serves as the foundation of the vision and mission that God has
given the church where I serve. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus reveals for us the
reality that just like a city on a hill; just like a lamp that is placed on a
lampstand, as Jesus followers we are to live our day to day lives in a way that
reveals and reflects Christ to those around us. But Jesus does not simply tell
the crowds to reveal and reflect Christ:
Jesus explained that we will reveal and reflect
Christ when we live our lives in such a way that the world around us may see
our good works and glorify God who is in Heaven. Jesus here is calling the
crowds listening, and us here today, to reveal and reflect Christ by how we
love and serve the world around us. Jesus calls His followers to engage the
world by loving and serving those who God has placed around us.
We also talked about the reality that the church is
the only organization that does not exist for the sake of its members. The
church has been divinely designed to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His
Son Jesus to the world. And God places the local church in distinctive
environments to be distinctively different.
God has placed City Bible Church, which is the
church where I serve, in Bullhead City to be a city within a city that loves
and serves those around us. And when we
love and serve others in a way that reveals and reflects Christ, the result is
that we glorify God in Heaven. That is why we believe and are focused on the
goal that God has given us as a church to be a city in a city that is striving
to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city.
We believe that as we live life together in
community with a focus on engaging those in this city in a way that reveals and
reflects Christ by loving and serving those in the city, we will be the vehicle
that God uses to advance His kingdom mission and bring Him glory. Now you might
be wondering “well that’s great Dave, but how do we reach that goal as a
church? And how do I get to a place in my life where I am following Jesus is a
way that reveals and reflects Christ”?
If you are asking those questions, I just want you
to know that they are great questions to be asking. And my answer to those
questions would be this; when we read the Bible, we consistently see that
followers of Jesus who are involved in a growing and maturing relationship that
reveals and reflects Christ invest their lives in three specific ways.
First, we see that those who are involved in a
growing and maturing relationship with Christ invested their time with other
Christians as they gathered corporately for regular weekly worship gatherings
and as they scattered to experience community in homes throughout the week.
Second, we see that those who are involved in a growing and maturing
relationship with Christ invested their talents serving God by serving others
through the exercise of their spiritual gifts. Third, we see that those who are
involved in a growing and maturing relationship with Christ invested their treasure
to support God’s kingdom mission through regular and proportional giving.
And we believe that as individual followers of Jesus
consistently invest their time by being involved in a regular worship gathering
and a community group; as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest
their talents serving God by serving others through being a part of a ministry
team; and as individual followers of Jesus consistently invest their treasure
in order to help create environments where people can explore and grow in their
faith while experiencing community, we will continue to be a city in a city
that is striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city.
We desire that we would be a church that creates
environments where people grow in their relationship with Christ and are able
to move from being consumers who view the church as a place where they receive
spiritual goods and services to being investors who embrace and invest their
time, talent, and treasure to advance the kingdom mission that God has given
us.
And, because followers of Jesus grow and mature in
their relationship with Jesus when they
are investing their time in a community group, their talents in a
ministry, and their treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity
of Jesus, as a church, we believe God calls us to plan for the future with
three specific goals that will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus
from being consumers who are searching and shopping when it comes to Jesus to
owners who own a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus to investors who
reveal and reflect Christ in their character and conduct and who have fully
embraced and are fully engaged in God’s kingdom mission.
First, we have set as a goal for the future that
every regular attender is investing their time, in addition to attending one of
the three worship gatherings that we have on Sundays, in a community group. We
feel strongly about this goal because we believe that transformational
spiritual growth occurs in circles, not rows. And community groups create those
transformational environments where people can develop loving and supportive
relationships that challenge us to take that next step when it comes to our
relationship with Jesus.
Second, we have set as a goal for the future that
every regular attender is investing their talents serving God by serving others
as part of a ministry team. We feel strongly about this goal because we believe
that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging the
spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us in a selfless way
that serves others. We encounter God as we use the spiritual gifts we have been
given to help others encounter God. We experience God’s transformational
activity in our lives as we help others experience God’s transformational
activity in their lives.
Third, we have set as a goal for the future that
every regular attender is investing their treasure in a way that reveals and
reflects the generosity of Jesus. We feel strongly about this goal because we
believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we are leveraging
the treasure that we have been given to create environments where people can
explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience genuine and authentic
community. As followers of
Jesus Christ, we are to be generous because Jesus Christ is generous. And when
we reflect the generosity of Jesus by being generous, we reveal and reflect
Jesus to others.
So, as a church, we have
invited those who attend City Bible Church to plan for the future by partnering
with us in the kingdom mission that we have been given as a church by investing
their time in a community group, their talents in a ministry, and their
treasure in a way that reveals and reflects the generosity of Jesus.
So here are some questions for
you to consider as we launch into 2016: Where are you at when it comes to a
relationship with Jesus? Are you a consumer who
views the church as a place where they receive spiritual goods and services?
Are you a consumer who is shopping when it comes to a relationship with Jesus
because you are searching, seeking, or skeptical?
Are you an owner who owns a genuine and authentic
relationship with Jesus but is simply treading water when it comes to your
relationship with Jesus and are not investing in the mission He has given us?
Or are you an investor who is embracing and investing their time, talent, and
treasure to advance the kingdom mission that God has given us?
And based on where you are at when it comes to your
relationship with Jesus, what is the next step that you need to take in order
to take the next step in your relationship with Jesus? Is that next step to
invest your time in a community group? Is that next step to invest your talent
in a ministry? Is that next step to invest your treasure in a way that reflects
the generosity of Jesus?
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