Riding the Winds of Change II, Life On the Growing Edge

One of the founding principles of the life of this church, and I can take you back 13 years to the meeting where this was first discussed, was wholeheartedness, wholehearted devotion. That was what we were about. And because a number of people had that conviction and it's grown without any sense of planning in the early years, it just happened. We were given opportunities by the Lord to continue to see the ministry handed off and passed on. And we're facing something now that is an opportunity once again for our wholeheartedness to emerge as a people. Have you ever wondered why sometimes things don't happen according to your timetable? And you say, God, I don't understand that. Why isn't this happening? It's supposed to happen now. How many of you believe there's purpose in divine delays? Now, I believe that, but have you found it sometimes very difficult to know why? You just don't know why. Something happened in the last month that fits that category of life that I want to share with you right now. We, as you all know, back in the fall, determined based on your responses and where we were as a total church that we were going to go ahead and proceed with the construction of our facility and raise up the worship room and some of the meeting places all around it. And then, of course, the classrooms for the kids and some office space. But we knew at that point that to build the family ministries wing, which is a multipurpose kind of room, gymnasium size and all that, but with lots of different uses and applications, we just weren't going to be able to do that. Now, our plan at that time was to say, well, we just can't show up here next September and have nothing for teenagers and kids. So we'll use some of the space that was in that office and classroom wing for the kids. Just leave it open. That was plan A. But when we submitted the plans to the approving agencies, they said, no, that space isn't designed for that. You can't use it for that. They shut down plan A. Plan B then was to take that steel building that's there on the front of the property. You know what I'm talking about? That gorgeous piece of architectural that you all see. We wanted to take that. It was small, but we thought remodeling and outfitting it properly, it would work for the kids. But early on in the process, we realized it really didn't accommodate that many kids. And if we were to grow a youth ministry, it wasn't going to work. And so we found ourselves in a frightening place. And that was we didn't know what we were going to do with our kids. And if push came to shove, we were going to find somewhere, somehow, to do it. But we didn't know how. Then came this protracted weather delay. And I said, Lord, what is this all about? This is costing you money. I told the Lord, that wasn't me. It's costing you money. Lots of money. And someone came up to me about a month ago and said, Pastor G, I just think we should pray and ask God, why is this happening? What's the reason for this delay? And what took place in the next few days was astonishing, because what happened was it became evident to us that maybe God was saying we hadn't trusted Him enough in the initial plan, and that we were given a window of opportunity once again to trust Him to do what He had told us to do initially. And so we went back, sat down at the table again, and said, well, how can we do this Family Ministries in a way that's less expensive, but still will meet the needs of our kids and give them a suitable place? And some great ideas began to flow. We began to see that there were some ways that we could cut the cost down substantially and still make it appealing and usable. We found out that just by having the construction people on site and not bringing them back later, we could save about $80,000 of costs of recycling and setting up and all that kind of stuff again. And then someone came up with the idea, well, why don't we use a less expensive kind of roofing material and all the steel and so on involved in that? And we have a design to show you. We came up with this idea of using a Teflon roof like they do in a lot of these domes around the country these days. And so if you look at the blue screens, you can see pictures, some of these TV monitors, of some of these domes around the country. As you can see, they're fully insulatable. You can heat them, air condition them. They're quite large in some places. They are not full of holes and leaky and so on. They're very appropriate, quite attractive. And you can see, as we get to this last slide, they can be made suitable for all kinds of activities, even including things like this. There's Tonya Harding. See her right there? Working out. And so where we landed, Church, is this. We came up with a number to do this project, to have a family ministries wing for our kids. The total number that we were able to whittle it down to was $275,000 over and above where we've been. And we have an overhead that says that. With the Teflon roof, which is good, I've been told, by Jack and Roy and some of the other men in construction, it's good for at least 10 years, maybe 15 years. Then we can go back and put on a permanent roof and all that kind of stuff. We were able to take $100,000 out of the existing budget to cut that cost down, monies we had put in there to renovate that steel building and so on. And before you put the next one up, what really got me believing that maybe, just maybe God was in this, that a family came to us and said, we think you haven't trusted the Lord enough, and we want to give $50,000 to that project. And that really humbled me. And this isn't a family that just, you know, lives somewhere on an island in the Caribbean and just sent us money. These are people who've saved, worked hard and sacrificed. And they said, we believe in kids. We believe in the ministry of North Way to kids and youth. And since that time, we just talked to a few other people and another $25,000 has come in from just several families, not a whole lot of people. Why? Because people here at this church believe in kids. And they believe that our kids deserve a space that's theirs to which ministry in the whole community can take place. So folks, that leaves us, if I did my math correctly, needing about $100,000. The difficult part is we need those commitments in about a week. Now before you throw your Bible at me and say, you didn't plan this, you're right. I didn't plan this. What I'm saying to you is because the delay happened the way it did, God said, you've got a window. The reason why the March 6th date is there is because we need to tell the construction people yes or no while they're out there, because as you saw, the steel's going up now. That means the concrete work and the foundation, all that has to be done. Now, what does that mean? That means that when you leave here today, you need to seek the Lord and decide, is this something that's on your heart? Is this something that you believe we can do? Folks, I want to say to a lot of the new people that weren't part of opening our doors, this would be a wonderful way for you to get on board and make a very specific contribution, something very achievable. Now, the money doesn't need to be in hand for six months. The commitments need to be made in a week. We don't need the money until the 1st of September to do it. And I'm believing that God will speak to many of your hearts. One last thing I want to say about this. I know it's difficult for some of you to even imagine doing this, but a lot of people came to us and said, you know, I'd like to give something in memory of a loved one. One person told me, I had a grandmother that loved kids. She'd do anything for kids, and I want to give some gifts in her name. And so we're going to open up a specific avenue of contribution in memoriam on this Family Ministries wing, and we're going to appropriately acknowledge all the gifts that come in in memory of a loved one for whom kids were very important, someone you'd like to remember and acknowledge for the next generation. Folks, I don't know where else to go. I mean, we don't have a foundation. I can't get on the TV and ask people to give money. I don't really want to. But I can come to you and say, what can we do? $100,000, it's not that much. We can do it. If each one of us look into our hearts and say, God, what would you use me to do? Wholeheartedness. That's what got us here. That's what's going to get us on to where we need to be. I'm going to ask you to stand and pray with me right now. Pastor Scott, come on up here real quick, please. I know this is something that's on your heart. Having five kids that need a space, he has a real vision for this. Would you join hands, and Scott's going to lead us in a word of prayer. Believe God for this. Father, I'm amazed what you can do through a body that is united, and one in spirit, and one in heart, and one in service to our Lord, our Master, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, I thank you for this body right here. I don't know what our potential is as a body, but you do. And I don't know what the potential of our children is, but you do. And I don't know what all we could do in this city and these communities that surround us in your name and for your glory, but you do. And so, Father, whatever you are capable of, we ask that you would release that blessing and that provision through the ones that we touch right now. We are your body made for your glory. Would you touch our hearts to do what you want to do in this church? In Jesus' name, everyone said, amen. Amen. And before you're seated, let me just mention to you what you can do before you leave today is take your communicator, and just say, I'm praying about it, or say, well, the Lord spoke to me. I want to do this. But we need to know. If you put it off and you say, well, I'll let you know the middle of March, it'll be too late. We need to know so that we can go to the bank and let them know what we're planning and praying to do, and we can go to the contractors. This isn't much time, but we can do it. Just let us know. Give us a call. Use your communicator. We're available if you want to talk through something. If you say, well, how can I set this up in memory of one of my loved ones? We'll help you do that. It can be a great, great blessing. Amen? Let's be seated. Thank you. Now, I want to shift gears with you, and I want to look ahead. How many of you took your drive-by to Marshall Middle School? Ooh, impressive. How many really don't know where it is yet? Let me see your hands. We're going to help you this morning. We're going to take you on a virtual reality experience of the road to Marshall Middle School. Now, I know these monitors aren't that huge, but I think you can all see one. If you forgot your glasses and want to slide up here to the front, we've got some empty seats. It would be really good for that. Those of you way in the back there, if it's hard for you to see, please feel free to stand up and see these screens. The purpose of this video is to help you get a feel for what it's going to take to get to Marshall and just to identify the landmarks along the way so you won't get lost next Sunday morning when we meet there. Are you ready? Are we ready, Dean? Let's get all the lights and let's experience the road to Marshall Middle School. Well, there you have it. Now, do you all know exactly where you're going? I want to thank Jeff for his... Oh, Jeff, just step in my glasses. No problem. I'm sorry. He's looking at me rather puzzled because this wasn't a planned thing here. We have one more potato to fit in your bag. Did I crunch him? You have to be up here, though, for this. One of the hallmarks from the beginning of North Way was we always had to be flexible. Flexibility and creativity. And even today, Jay's got to be flexible because he thought he was going to preach right now, which he's going to, but we're delaying him just for a second because this is a milestone. And we think it's a biblical principle to celebrate milestones and to express certain feelings and emotions. So we've got two things we'd like to give to you today, Jay, to honor you. We'd like to honor you as our pastor, the one who's provided the leadership through these years, and really through honoring you, who you represent all of the leadership of North Way, and we want to do that. Now, there are two things. This one actually began as a joke, but it turned out so nice that it's not a joke anymore. We wanted to have some memento from this building for Jay to have. So we got a piece of carpet out of his old office when they took his old office apart. We got a piece of carpet and with Ronnie Riley's skill, it has the... These are the dates of the first meeting in this building and today's date, the date of the last meeting in this building. So it's a memento of this building. It's carpet from your office, and it's not a joke because it might be the only carpet that you get. It's a joke. Okay, and for those of you who have never been to a SALT meeting, that's the Servants and Leaders Training Meeting, every month at the SALT meeting for the last few months we've had the Servant of the Month, and we've given them a plaque which honors their service for the sake of this body, and Jay, we've had this plaque. I've got only one hand available, so you can do the work of opening that. It's actually a special version of the same plaque that we give to the Servants and Leaders on a monthly basis. Oh, wow. It's from the Wendell August Forge. It's an eagle soaring above the cliffs, only this time we had the eagle made in pewter added to the bronze plaque. And I'll just read the inscription on the back. This is to Jay and Carol, Pastor, on today's date. And then a paraphrase of Philippians 1, 3 through 6. We thank our God every time we remember you. We also pray with joy because of our partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in us will carry it out to completion. With great love, the Pastors, Elders, and Wives. Thank you. That's very beautiful. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, thank you. I don't usually feel like this. It's more like the turkey kind of gobbling to get off the ground oftentimes. It's very, very meaningful. Thank you for what this represents, of your love and support, because it's an honor to serve you. I mean, it's a privilege. And I should be giving this to you. Let's be seated so I can do what I have to do here. I can't be that flexible and creative. And Carol, now that I remember, Jack told me to make sure Carol's here, and I didn't do that today. She'll be here at the second service. So don't tell her. That would be a surprise. Because she'll cry. I like that carpet. That's going to be... I'll have warm toes, if nothing else. All right, I'd like just to share for a few moments as we end the service today. But you don't need to turn your Bibles. What you need to do is to take your North Way notes and pull out the little teaching outline in there. It's blue today. And while you're doing that, I want to remind you that on your chair were these new flyers we produced to help you in the process of getting acclimated to Marshall and to invite some others. So take these with you as an invitation. I'll maybe mention these a little bit later. Don't leave them on the seat. They're not meant to be seat decorators. They're meant to be invitations. And then some of you, a handful of you in each row, got these copies of the notifier, which will be coming to all of you in the mail. This gives you a complete update on everything that's going to be happening as we move. Would you read with me now, please, the passage of Scripture out of Luke chapter 5 that I've taken out of a new translation called The Message. Read it out loud with me. After this she went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, Come along with me. And he did, walked away from everything and went with him. Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and sinners? Jesus heard about it and spoke up. Who needs a doctor? The healthier the sick. I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders, an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out. I don't know that a sermon is really necessary today, because I think what we've seen before us really is what Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians. He says that you are our testimony. You're written by the Holy Spirit on the tablets of human hearts. Changed lives, folks, is what we're about here at North Way. And I pray that you don't just see that as something I'm saying to the new people who are first coming to Christ. I'm going to believe you're always called to be growing and changing and developing. When you stop growing and changing and developing, you're dying. It's a time for us all to grow and to change. And I was saying, Well, what do you want me to do to talk to the congregation this morning about this huge change that we all as a church are going to go through? And to my surprise, it wasn't to take the course of talking about, Well, here's how a church should go through an exodus. He led me to this passage where we look at one person going through a dramatic change. His name was Matthew, or Levi. And I want to just have us feel this story for a couple of minutes today, and then make an application. That's all we have time to do. I was surprised about this. But I believe if every person hearing me today will let God speak to your heart about your own personal change, then the transition of North Way as a church will take care of itself. Now, this story is very familiar, isn't it? I mean, how many have read this at least 50 times? It's in all three Gospels, the Synoptic Gospels. It's a story about Matthew, the tax collector. And as the story goes, Jesus walks in. He turns to him and says, Follow me. How many of you are wondering really what happened in that transaction? Follow me. And he got up and did it. And notice what it says. It says that he left everything. Aren't you glad we're not talking about stewardship today? He left everything to follow Jesus. Now, my own little personal side is I think probably Matthew had sat on the periphery of some of the other talks that Jesus had given, the teachings. Maybe he was there at the Sermon on the Mount. We don't know. But I believe something happened prior to this that when Jesus said, Now's the time, Matthew said, You know, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. And he gets up. He walks out. He becomes a believer, a disciple, a follower of Jesus, a changed person on the inside. Now after this conversion, he hangs out with Jesus. He gets to know the other disciples. He starts to become friends with Peter, James and John and the guys. And we don't know how long it is. We don't know the time between the first paragraph and the second. But probably a few weeks later, he has this thought in his mind. Wait a minute. I forgot to take care of business when I left my tax collecting job. I need to go back there and tie up some loose ends. So he walks down to the tax collecting office. He goes in. I don't know how you picture it, but I'd picture he goes into it and finds his cubicle, takes his wife and family picture off the wall and puts it in the cardboard box, gets his calculator, picks up his little five-year plaques and trophies and puts it all in his cardboard box. And he's getting ready to go out and check out of his tax clinic. And he looks down this way and sees all the cubicles and all of his fellow tax gatherers looking outside, waving goodbye. And then he looks down this way and sees the same thing. And he gets this lump in his throat all of a sudden because he realizes that he's leaving these fellow tax collectors, people that he'd talked with at lunchtime and hung out with after work and bet on the Steelers with and stuff like that, he's leaving them forever. And these were people who were his friends, his friends. And he didn't know what to do with it. So he goes home and he sits back and he says, God, wait a minute. What am I going to do about these friends of mine, these people that I care about? I've got to let them know what's happened to me. And he thought of a few options. Option A was, well, maybe I ought to go back and invite them all to go down to the temple with me and they can hear the scribes and Pharisees teach about the law. Now, wait a minute. That's not what got me where I'm going. No, that won't work. Well, how about this option? Maybe I should go back to my cube, get a milk carton, stand up and preach to them. Well, wait a minute. I don't have much experience preaching. Plus, if they ask me any questions, I'm dead. I mean, dead in the water. I can't do that. What am I going to do? Well, I guess another option, Daddy, is I just don't go back at all. I mean, I could just avoid the whole issue. I mean, hey, you took care of me and I'm on the road. I mean, I know I'm going to be with you forever. I mean, after all, I mean, it's every man kind of has to watch out for himself, don't they? I mean, really, when you get down to it, gee, it's not my problem, really, is it? It's not my problem. But they were his friends, you see. And so he said, Well, God, how am I going to communicate this change? What am I going to do? What do I do well, God, that you might get behind in you somehow to impact my friends for eternity? Maybe to move them along the continuum somehow toward faith in Christ. And I know what I do well, God. What I do really well is I throw great parties. They call me a party animal, you know, God, just in case you're wondering. But no, I don't know about that. That doesn't seem to work. How about, what else do I do? I mean, I tax collector. I was going to, but wait, I'm not doing that. And his mind went back and he said, Wait a minute. Throw a party? What if, and the wheels are turning now, what if I were to throw a party that had a purpose built into it, a spiritual purpose? What if I were to invite all my tax collecting buddies and also invite Jesus and his disciples and some of those who are following him and let them kind of rub shoulders together for an evening and let some spiritual sparks begin to fly and maybe some things would begin to happen in the lives of these people. Maybe some conversations would get ignited and maybe they'd have the faith experience that I have. Well, Matthew wonders about this and he thinks about it. He finally goes to Jesus and says, Jesus, I don't know if this is off the wall or not, but what would you think if I come into a party to meet some of my friends? Well, all we know is that Jesus must have said yes because look what happens. Matthew or Levi gave a huge, one of the Bible translations says, a huge dinner at his home for Jesus. And you know why I know it was a great party? Look at it. It says not only did the tax collectors come, but a whole lot of other what? Disreputable characters. That's like some of you. Tax, you know, crooks and sinners. Party bastards came. You know, they heard it was a great party. Matthew, he throws a heck of a party. Let's go crash it. So they're all there together. And I wonder what Matthew's thinking. He's back in the back of the room and he sees these people gathered together. He sees John over here with three of his tax collecting buddies from the next door cubes and they're talking and he's thinking, Oh, John, go for it. And then he looks over here and here's James and he's got a couple of guys around him. He said, James, just tell it like it is. Go for it. And over here he sees Peter with three or four guys. He says, Peter, don't mess it up. Just keep it in neutral, Peter. Just easy does it. And then he sees this crowd gathered around Jesus. Let me just stop here. How do you think Matthew's feeling right now when he sees all those that he cared about talking, rubbing shoulders with godly men? How do you think he feels? I think he feels totally alive. He feels energized. This is something he dreamed about. Well, just then the religious heat show up, better known as the scribes and the Pharisees, and it says religion scholars here. And they walk in and they fold their arms like this, look around the room and say, We don't think that Christian cocktail parties are the right way to do a vandalism. And they start to get on Matthew's case, and don't delay a minute to go right up to Jesus and put their finger in his face and say to him, You claim to be the Son of God, and you're hanging out with crooks and sinners? And you have to understand the scribes and Pharisees, when they showed up in a place, especially a Jewish place, I mean, they were the event. And the whole place became silent. And they're waiting for Jesus to respond to this accusation. And I sense it this way. This silence, you can almost cut it with a knife when you hear Jesus say, You know, with all your knowledge and your teaching and your religion, you all just don't get it, do you? You think that these people, these crooks and sinners and tax collectors, you think that they don't matter to my Heavenly Father. You think that somehow they're outside of His love. And I want you to know, they do matter to me and to my Father. You see, you read worship rules and fast and read the Bible out loud and all those kinds of things and all these strict disciplines, but you don't have a clue about how I feel about people. You don't know how my Father loves these people. And I'm here to tell you tonight, I came to seek and to save those who are lost. And I love this translation. I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders, to a changed life. Family of North Way, listen to those words. Outsiders. Jesus says, Well, let me give you a metaphor, just in case you don't get it yet. Let's just imagine that all these people have a terminal illness, and I'm the only doctor on the planet with the cure. Where should I be? Off on my own in some kind of hospital? I should be right there with them, helping them to find the cure. Well, the scribes and the Pharisees say, Well, I've heard about enough of this. And they wheel around and walk out and say, You'll be hearing from us. And all the guests kind of look at Jesus and they look at Matthew and they think, What was this all about? And I can just see Jesus kind of lifting His arms and saying, It's okay. It's all right. I'm used to it by now. Party on. Well, it doesn't say that exactly, but you get the feel. Go back to it. And all the guests, you see, now begin to really buzz about, Well, who is this Jesus? What is this really all about? In my mind, I see this party going on for a couple more hours and the guests kind of slowly drift away as they do with these kind of things. And finally, it's just Matthew and Jesus. And Matthew, politely as he should, walks Jesus out to the curb. And he turns to Him and he says, Jesus, thank you for coming to this party tonight. Thank you for what it meant to me and my friends to have you here. And I just want you to know, Jesus, I'm sorry for what those scribes and Pharisees did. When they pointed their finger in your face, I just wanted to die. Jesus said, Matthew, don't worry about it. It comes with the territory. And then He said this. And I picture Him maybe even putting His hand out on His shoulder and saying, Matthew, there's two things I want you to remember. I'm going to tell you two things. I want you to take these things to your grave with you. Number one, Matthew, I want you to know I love your heart. You've got a wonderful heart for people. You haven't had any training in evangelism, no courses, no pastor beating on you. All you did was to see the people in those tubes and in your neighborhood, to see their need. And you invited them to come and to rub shoulders with those of us who know. And Matthew, I just want you to know, your heart was soft, and I love a soft heart. Matthew, there's lots of people who call me Lord whose hearts are stone cold for those on the outside. But yours isn't like that. Yours is sensitive and caring, and I love your heart. And number two, Matthew, I want you to know, I love your courage. Matthew, you're a risk taker. I was there with my Father in spirit, watching you dealing with this whole question. And you didn't get that in a book. You didn't read that somewhere. You just said, What can I do to make a difference in someone's life? And you knew it was innovative, and you knew that the high probability of failure was there. And you knew you might be misunderstood having this party, but you did it. Matthew, lots of people call me Lord who risk resources for financial gain. They risk their social reputation to climb a little bit in the neighborhood. They'll do what they can out there to gain advantage somehow, but they don't risk anything, time or talent or treasure, for me or my kingdom. Matthew, I love your heart, and I love your courage. And never, ever let them go. And at that, Jesus turned and walked away. Folks, from this day on, all we need at North Way Christian Community is heart and courage. What we're going to face together is going to require heart and courage. As all the forms change, the Spirit will remain the same. But I fear, as the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 3, that some of us have drifted from our pure and simple devotion to the heart of God and the faith of the Son of God. And I know the pressure on all of our lives to just kind of get sort of in the holy huddle and sort of just keep to ourself on the inside. And hear me well. The only reason I stand up here and appeal to you for support, the only reason why we do what we do to get beyond these walls, listen, are for the outsiders, those outside the family of faith. Frankly, I could retire right here. This is enough room for me. These are enough people for me. But God says to us and has said to us over the years, don't ever get comfortable. You've got a change coming. Let me ask you just kind of candidly, how is your heart today? How do you feel about the condition of the outsiders around you? Do you see them as God sees them? Do you love them as God loves them? Or are you kind of put off by their attitude? I mean, let's be honest, folks. Most of the people out there in the world aren't all that lovable. I mean, they put you down. They tear you up. They'll eat your lunch if they can. They'll make fun of you. Everything seems to be going their way. You can't figure it out. But all along, we have to understand something. God sees them as outside the family of faith. And I believe this. When you peel away sort of the macho-ness and all that kind of stuff, what you have are people who are afraid, people who are lonely, people who don't know what to make of their successes, if they have them, and they need the Lord. And the only reason I'm convinced that God required us to not build the building behind this one that we tried to do four years ago, the only reason why He led us to those 12 1⁄2 acres right on Route 19, where we're going to just let this light shine, is because He knows there's a whole lot of people on the outside that He wants to bring on the inside. It's the only reason. And it wasn't the cheapest way. It wasn't the easy way. I don't know what happens to you, but I get affected when I meet parents of my kids' friends, married three and four, five times. I don't know what happens to you when I see kids, you know, in the malls and at the games and in the movie theater lobbies, you know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of kids kind of trying to make lifelong course-setting decisions in their life with no context of God. And I think, I remember the statistics that Campus Crusade puts out that says 85% of all decisions for Christ happen before the age of 21. If your heart is soft, you see, this transition is going to be easy because you know God's in it, and He's going to use it to bring the outsiders in and let them rub shoulders with you.