Ten Truths For the New Millennium I, Essential Truths For the 21st Century

2.5 million dollars the Catholics are very concerned about this, and they've raised four hundred thousand dollars Evangelicals have raised zero nothing and There is still this Mentality that somehow that's not our problem See this is our problem. This is the gospel. This is the Foundation of the family as Defined by the Creator in the beginning. So as you can see in here There's a real concern that we just kind of stick our head in the sand and hope for the best As we enter the new Millennium Church, it's not going to work You know, I was praying about this and the Lord impressed me with a very clear thought You know for four years this church facility sat here on this piece of property Surrounded by woods in fact It was so pretty that you could get up and walk in the back and we had a little Little prayer walk up in the woods and it was just kind of its own campus a refuge if you will and Now, you know every day there's something else being moved around and there's all kinds of construction going on and it's going to keep happening and the Lord really clearly spoke to my heart and he said I'm making your campus a Parable I've placed you in the middle of life Where business and recreation and residences Will spring up But you'll continue to be my church in the center of life You see the Lord wants us here with all that's going on around us and even though we might want wish that we could get off somewhere and just kind of be in a little quieter setting and all This and all that the Lord wants us to be right here where we'll represent to everyone who drives into all the townhouses and apartments and all the retail places and all the Recreation places that there is a God and he is alive and in this parking lots full of cars people are gonna come and say wow Maybe there is something else to do on a Sunday morning besides shop or go golfing and that's the whole point We're to be a testimony and a witness Now, how are we going to do that? How are we going to go forward into the next century? Well, let me give you just quickly four things that every one of us is going to need number one We're gonna need a power to live on There's so many things that drain life of energy and strength How many of you just get tired by the end of the week, huh? I mean by the end of the week man You are just so glad you don't have to get up one more day and go to work And for some of you that day doesn't even come Life can be very draining change causes us to lose energy stress drains energy Conflict boy if you're in conflict, you're you're constantly dealing with things that are pulling energy out of your life delays frustrations Inadequacies, I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to take care of this. Where do I go to get this answer? Just everyday work can drain energy out of your life Not long ago I had three evenings in a row that I went out and that was a Friday morning men's group that I'm part of and I Was supposed to teach and Friday morning. I my alarm went off and I never heard it. I Woke up after the study had already started nothing. What day is this? Oh my gosh It's Friday and it's already seven o'clock and I missed the Bible study and I realized why was it? Not because I'm not a morning person because I was so tired. I just I was out of gas and I heard about it from my group Now they loved me through it it's no surprise little interesting statistic I just read 1973 the average American worked 40.3 hours 1998 with all of our technology with all the help that we're getting through the info age guess how many hours we worked and saved None, we worked 50.6 hours on average. So no wonder we're tired and That's going to continue as we move forward into the next millennium Some are looking for ways to pick up their energy so they get onto a different diet and that's great diets can help The same diet seemed to kill other people. It's just man. How can you possibly just eat protein and survive? Exercise therapy self-help and all that kind of motivational stuff But you know, I found just one thing keeps me going when I feel my power being drained off one thing and that's to focus On Jesus look at this just on your outline. Just look at the top verse there Keep your eyes on Jesus who both began and finished this race were in Study how he did it when you find yourselves flagging in your faith go over this story again and again And read the next sentence with me and that will shoot adrenaline into your souls. I Love that you see keep your eyes on Jesus Study how he did it and that'll shoot adrenaline in your souls when you're feeling like it's just not gonna happen today How did Jesus do it? Focus on him just a little bit realize that all power in heaven and earth comes from him Ephesians 1 says that he is the center of all power and if you're lacking in power There's only one place to go to find it on a consistent basis and that's at the throne of Jesus There's a word for this focusing on the Lord. There's a word that we ought to use when we say focus on Jesus You know what the word is? It's not on your outline. It's the word worship Write that down someplace worship worship is simply Focusing on the Lord. That's what it means to worship The reason why we spend 25 minutes in a service Worshiping today is so that many of us could get our heads out of the stuff that we brought in with us how many of you came in today with some kind of like bothersome issue in your head and you were like man, I just and You find yourself as we were singing beginning to let that thing go and see your mind start to focus on it Isn't that a great moment? that's why we do it because it takes the focus off the problem as Diane was saying and the focus off the issue and puts it on the solution who is Jesus Christ and next week We're gonna spend the entire message on this truth About the power of worship to free us from the draining issues of life I think you're gonna find it a very practical message on a subject and most people think it's just a religious thing Worship is a very practical reality. Look at Isaiah 40 31 look at it in your outline, please even youths grow weary and Tired and vigorous young men stumble badly I can witness to that. Yeah Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength read this with me I want to hear you read it Please they will mount up with wings like Eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary That's the promise of God's Word as we learn to wait on him so if you're fatigued today if you're Frustrated if you're just feeling at the end of your own resources if you need power because life is tough and getting tougher stressed out and getting more stressed out The demands are getting heavier and heavier then stop a moment step back and just Praise God in the midst of your problems Just turn your worries into worship and you'll find an energy will come into your life You know last Sunday evening And it's no big secret But I've shared for years that I made a practice 20 years ago to have a date night with Carol more than that actually And it's usually Sunday evenings. It used to be another night, but we've moved it to Sunday evenings for many years now And so when the celebration of unity was on Sunday night I had a decision to make Do I go on a day with my wife or do I go down to the Civic Arena and have the celebration of unity? Being the godly man that I am We went to a movie no I'm just kidding we went we went down to the celebration of unity and I have to admit to you by Sunday We traveled that week. I was pretty tired and I remember going into the Civic Arena thinking well, okay Lord I mean, I know you've got purposes But after those couple of hours of watching our people and I want to say our people along with many others But I you know, I saw our people. I'm not sure about the rest. I saw our people serving. I saw our people worshiping I saw Then the larger body of Christ entering in and many other things I could describe in detail. I left those two hours energized Energized and Just excited that God had allowed me to experience his presence with so many people. It's a great great thing I hope some of you took the time to do it second thing that we all are going to need the new century is People to live with as important as power is fellowship is equally important because you were made for relationship You need power, but you need people as well one of the great listen one of the great Miscalculations of spirit-filled or charismatic Christians in the last 20 years has been all I need is Jesus There's a little course is all I need is all I need Jesus is all I need You know what that may be true and a salvation sense, but it's not true in a living life sense You need people. I Created and put in the garden. What was the Garden of Eden like what would be a word to describe the Garden of Eden? Perfect that's right. It was perfect. It had everything you needed He even walked with God and yet the Bible says that the Lord looked at that situation said you know what it's not good for Man to be alone We were created for fellowship Look at Ecclesiastes 4 9 2 people are better than one because they get more done by working together Community and the need for transcends all ages and backgrounds and economic and intellectual status and so We need to be in community. It's interesting as technology increases even the people who design websites fabulously successful websites like eBay, which is a is an auction website on the web where you They have created what they call now an eBay community Where there's a little there's a code of ethics, and there's ways that they communicate and it's really interesting when your whole community is just simply your keyboard and That's how you know people by your keyboard But nonetheless they even advertise the community part of a website It's important. They've touched on that reality people need it listen church isn't something you go to Church is something you're part of church isn't an event on Sunday morning at 11 o'clock Church is the people the family that you share life with Jesus looked around when when his mother Mary and brothers came to visit him in Mark chapter 3 I don't want you to turn there. They stopped him in the middle of his teaching. He said Jesus Jesus your mother's here Your family's out here, and Jesus stopped and looked around and he said who are my mother and my family and my brothers He said those who do the will of God And father and brothers to me, that's my rough paraphrase mark chapter 3 you read about it mark chapter 3 verse 34 I Want to give a word of caution this morning to those of you who are really involved in lots of great things I've had lots of conversations several recently with people who said you know We just had to drop out of a few things because we've just gotten over extended And it's been curious to me that the things that folks choose to drop out of usually have something to do with God Well we dropped out of our small group because we're into too many other things or we dropped out of our ministry If you get up and walk out and look in the bins where these name tags are out there and some of you I know just forget to pick yours up I wish you wouldn't because it just helps us to know who you are right Dom just to see that name But it's scary to look in there and see the number of people who just well today wasn't their day to come to worship We're moving into a culture. We're coming to worship is more of an optional thing friends I Just call that sort of thinking relational skimming When you skim from God some of the time because you're just too busy to spend some relationship with him you skim from your small Groups because really I don't have time for a group right now because I'm you know really involved in this activity or that I don't really have time to go to church every week. I mean, what does God expect every week? And I just have to ask the question and I don't ask this harshly, but I do ask it forcefully What could be more important in your life? Than spending time in relationship with God and his people You tell me I mean over the long haul is that soccer league or hockey league or dance ballet lesson or? Gymnastic thing or shopping trip that you have to make or whatever it is. I don't have anybody in mind here Whatever it is. Is that more important and people think well, you know Church will be there next week and it'll be there a few I'm just in a season right now It'll be there in a couple years when I get through all this. Well, you know, that's a presumption And I often say to people just use this little litmus test if what you do and your participation in Relationship with God's people if that's what everyone did what would happen to the church? Well, if I'm not in a small group, I guess the small groups would stop meeting if I only came to worship once a month I guess gee, there probably wouldn't be enough there to support it If I only gave once a month, I guess the church probably wouldn't have the resources to keep the ministries going Friends it's time as we go into the new millennium to shed some of those attitudes and realize that we need people And we need to make a commitment to be with them I believe God would have us to leave the old problems in the old millennium and start the new one With a fresh attitude. We have two opportunities for those of you who have not gotten connected yet Pastor Scott and I met a couple of times We've talked about forming what we're gonna call new millennium action groups or mag groups for short We're gonna we're gonna give you opportunities to be part of a small group That's going to meet for a defined period of time around specific topics I'm going to talk about that in week four of this series It'll start in January the new year and closer if you've been coming and a lot of you've been coming for more than a few weeks I'm not talking about those of you who just check in our church or really checking out the Lord Perhaps you've not even made a commitment to Christ and you're wondering about all this But those of you who've been around for months and not yet made a commitment I want to encourage you to consider the discovery course that's coming up in just two weeks That's a six-week course to help you get down into the foundations of what this church believes in where we're going You need people to live with Look at Hebrews 10 says let's not neglect our meeting together as is the habit of some Let's not do that. Number three. You need principles to live by Principles to live by the basis of our faith dear ones is a relationship of grace We've made that clear over the many years. We've been together, but there are Specific things that God's Word Commands us to do and I'm going to spend a good deal of time in week five and six of this series talking about How this book becomes for us this source of wisdom and guidance and life How many believe that there's something that happens after this life's over You know, there are lots of people that I talk to people who don't know the Lord You say when I ask them the question, what do you think happens when you die? The the prevailing answer is this one Lights go out It's over and I always sit in just a bit of wonderment at that and say wow That is a terribly sad thought to me One that doesn't make a lot of sense, but a lot of people believe when the life is over It's over and I usually say to them Well, you know Can you point to anyone that you know that could verify that that attitude is right or that way of thinking is right? No, I really just kind of that's where I'm at. I said well, you know Could I talk to you about somebody who lived and died and came back from the dead and said no That's not the way it is Can I talk to you about somebody that said that there's an eternity out there? And you are basically making a decision about all of your eternity based on something You haven't really even thought about very carefully and they usually say boy. You're getting a little pussy here aren't you pastor? No, I'm getting a little bit honest with you This life is a test. It's only a test and you know all of your eternity and how you spend it and where you spend it is going to be determined on what you do in this life and That is such a huge truth for the new millennium. Look at the first scripture under Roman numeral three There's going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done Everyone's work you might want to underline that because that might include you Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value I'm so excited for some of you. Your best day is going to be judgment day because God's going to reveal to all of the masses of the family of God that you are a faithful servant who prayed and Loved and gave and cared and witnessed For others of you It'll be a very shocking moment And there might even be some for whom it will be a moment of catastrophe when Jesus says I never knew you Something we must consider and take seriously as we go into the new millennium. We need principles to live by Next verse. I'm a pilgrim here on earth I need a map and your commands are my chart and my guide God's Word tells us how to live our lives functionally About money and about power about sexuality about priorities our culture won't agree You know what? I found is almost every single value that I have The culture seems to have the opposite thing. I mean the culture talks about You know the clip that we saw sexuality express yourself have experiences understand all this early on nine year olds and so and the older you get the more you should experiment, but just be safe about it blah blah blah and My value system says preserve yourself for one partner for your lifetime the world's value system says make all the money that you can as fast as you can and put it anywhere you want it to Be and live the life that you want don't let anyone else get near it God's value says system is let me bless you and let become a conduit that I can flow Resources through and you can enjoy the blessing But let me flow through you learn to be a giver and I could go on down the world's system says Be an authority over people rise to the top and tell people what to do and don't have anyone tell you what to do God's authority system says I'm going to be your servant Ron. I'm going to serve you and It's all backwards And we're going to look at those principles to live by Because they just don't make common sense to the average mind, but they make great God sense And I trust that all of us You know what it really is It's just learning to be holy Living by God's principles is just holiness and the final essential is first power to live on people who live with number two and principles to live by and finally a purpose to live for and all I want to say about this point in closing is that Everybody needs a purpose People find something, you know, you know what word they use when they talk about their purpose. They say I'm into Hey, I'm really into politics I'm really into fitness or I'm really into golf or I'm really into music Or I'm really into old cars, so I'm really into Decorating or whatever it is Well, you know what that's good, but that's not a purpose to live for you know, the old thing I live for the weekend Now what a pathetic purpose for life that is in it I hear people say that all the time how many believe there's something much more to live for and God gives us the opportunity to have incredible purpose and meaning in life. Look at the scripture Acts 20 The most important thing Paul writes is that I complete my mission the work The Lord Jesus has given me to tell people the good news about God's grace. That's what he lived for For we're God's workmanship the verse above it created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do Friends we're gonna look at that in weeks eight nine and ten of this series There's a lot more to life than just getting ready to retire Ten years ago Michael and Susan gear left this church with a dream No real guarantee of anything and it's a wonderful blessing to see them involved in a ministry now that touches so many lives statewide But you know what Your purpose might simply be to share the love of Christ as one High school girl did just three weeks ago with another young girl that she brought to the service and when I gave the invitation This 16 year old girl came forward and said I want to I want to know this Jesus you're talking about. I Want him in my life and now one other life you see each one reach one has been changed That's what it's about. Let's stand. Let's confirm together that this isn't about us It's about Jesus. It's about his purpose. It's about our destiny in him We're gonna lift our voice together and sing that little chorus. It's all about you Jesus.