GOD SPEAKS TO RANDALL
Revelation 2-3
S: Listening to God
C: Prayer and Action
Th: God Speaks to the Church.
Pr: PRACT – Pray on it; Act on it.
CV: “We will passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus Christ.”
Version: ESV
RMBC 15 March 09 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Is God able to change us?
The answer is “yes” according to the video and according to those that have presented their own testimonies this morning.
There is a “before and after” for the Christian.
Is that true for you as well?
Is there a change in you?
Have you been transformed by the Spirit of God?
Today we finish up a series called “God Speaks to the Church.”
It has been based on Jesus’ words to the seven churches in Revelation.
And we found that…
God speaks to the churches, so it is all about listening (Revelation 2.7, 11, 17, 29, 3.6, 13, 22).
The churches received different messages, but Jesus did say one thing the same to each church.
It was this:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Note this…
It has never been that God is not speaking.
God has always been speaking.
He gives us His Word, which is living and active.
It reaches deep into us.
So deep that it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God has always been speaking.
He gives us a conscience.
Through this, we are able to discern law and morality.
Each of us has been given a keen sense of right and wrong.
God has always been speaking.
To the one who has faith in Him, He has given the Holy Spirit.
When we listen to the Holy Spirit, using Scripture and the conscience, there is an inner voice that directs and guides us.
So, this brings us to the title of today’s message.
If the apostle John were to appear to us today, what would Jesus say through him?
What would God say to Randall?
When we began the consulting process over two years ago, we set up advisory teams – structure, outreach, worship, and spiritual health.
Our concern today is the mandate given the spiritual health team:
“The goal of the Spiritual Health Advisory Team is to evaluate the spiritual health of Randall and recommend a course of action to establish a spiritual vitality within the community both now and into the future.”
This room used to be full every Sunday morning, with three times as many people.
For those of you who remember those times, I am sure that it has been difficult to watch the Randall community go through this slow, but steady decline.
I know the tendency is to think that if we just go back and do the things the way we used to do them, then we will once again be that kind of church.
But in reality, there is no formula for church growth.
The Spiritual Health Advisory Team, on the advice of our consultant, took the following approach.
The team began its work investigating the history of the church, dating back to the 1960s, when Randall was growing and the “cutting edge” church in the area.
We are no longer that.
So, the purpose of the study was to discover what has been happening in the Randall community that has caused the slow, but steady decline since that time.
We examined the pastorates of Pastor Lewis, Pastor Knappen, Pastor Tornfelt and my own tenure here.
What we discovered is that there have been patterns of behavior, by leadership and in the congregation, that are contrary to what we know is God’s will.
The reason we need to pay attention to this is that…
Churches establish patterns of behavior that are repeated generationally.
Have you ever discovered that you have a tendency to be like your father and mother?
You respond to certain situations the same way they did?
The reason is both genetics and learned behavior.
The same thing is true in a church family.
We learn to respond to situations by following the example of our spiritual elders.
We learned good things from them.
We also learned some not so good things.
It is important to identify the negative things because they are repeated, and we want to be the generation that brings them to a close.
Perhaps that sounds idealistic to you, and perhaps it is, theologically, since we are all sinners, and we continue to sin.
But unless we have a goal in mind, we will settle on repeating ourselves and saying, “oh, well – I just couldn’t help it.”
I don’t think that is very pleasing to the Lord.
The point in all of this is that our decline is, at heart, a spiritual issue.
This is why when we developed the theme for the year we said it was “Our Time.”
It is our time to deal with these issues.
It is our responsibility.
Though we understand the patterns of behavior are repeated, we are not placing the blame on anyone else but ourselves.
To deal with these spiritual issues, we have devised a Prayer Action Plan.
Let me first explain what the elements of…
A Prayer Action Plan is…
The first element is…
Renouncement – We have done this sin and we will not do it anymore.
We call this confession.
It means that we are agreeing this behavior is an offense to God and it is sin.
With confession comes a determination.
We call this repentance.
It is the 180 degree turn.
It is going the opposite direction.
It is living the before and after of the placards we observed earlier.
The second element is…
Announcement – This should be the truth about us.
It is incomplete to renounce one thing and not have a direction to go.
So, in response to our renouncement, we have an announcement.
It is the positive opposite statement.
This is the truth that should be lived.
This should be the truth about us.
The third element is…
Affirmation – Scripture speaks truth to our situation.
With affirmation, we agree that God speaks to us through His Word.
God speaks to the church.
God speaks to Randall.
So, when we recognize that, we come to the final element…
Commitment – We dedicate ourselves to a new direction.
This is our…
PRAYER ACTION PLAN:
The leaders of the church have agreed that we have seven spiritual issues that we need to address as a church.
We believe that God is speaking to us.
We believe that God is speaking to Randall and these are issues that we must confess and repent.
Today, we are not covering them in any kind of depth, but enough to give you a taste of the areas we must confront.
The first spiritual issue is…
#1
(Read bold statements together as church)
We renounce pride, superiority, and self-dependence.
When we became a larger church, pride in what we were doing also became larger and was not held in check.
One example of this is that when Pastor Lewis came toward retirement age, it was thought that we needed a “big name” from the evangelical world to fill the pulpit here.
But all contacts that were made said “no.”
The problem is that God was speaking to us as a church, but we were not listening.
You see, our tendency in our pride is to make plans and ask God to bless them.
There are many more examples, but let us continue with the announcement…
We announce our complete dependence on Christ alone.
We affirm that Christ must increase and we must decrease (John 3.30).
And what are we going to do about this?
We will humbly seek God and his will through the Word and prayer.
This is what we can be.
We can be seekers of God that find His will because we humbly seek Him in prayer and by being in His Word.
If we are going to be effective in our mission, we must be this kind of people.
The second spiritual issue is…
#2
We renounce stubbornness and an unwillingness to repent.
One example of this is the pastorate before my time here was short-lived.
It was a time of intense conflict and people lined up in an either a “for or against” mode.
There was sin on both sides of the issue.
Lots of mistakes…no one was innocent.
We are, as a church, glad that we survived that time, but I don’t think we ever grieved over our sin.
Even as I came in, a lot of healing certainly had taken place.
But what I have never really sensed is a brokenness.
Hurt, yes.
Pain, yes.
But not brokenness.
In our longstanding issues of pride, we struggle this.
So…
We announce our need for brokenness and repentance.
And the good news is…
We affirm that God will not despise a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51.17)
So, then…
We will readily yield to the conviction of the Holy Spirit in confession and repentance.
We need revival!
I know that sounds like an old-time word from a bygone era.
But we need our spirits to be revived by the Holy Spirit, and they will be when we are broken before Him.
The third spiritual issue is…
#3
We renounce an oppositional spirit.
As a church, we have struggled with a range of issues.
Whenever a change is made, the one thing that we can count on is the critical remarks that are sure to come.
Now, we are not ignorant that there are two sides to any given issue.
Indeed, I think that sometimes that according to our Baptist heritage, we can come up many sides.
But too easily, we lose sight that God has called us to unity.
This is where God wants us to be, and what God want us to keep in mind, even when we disagree.
Therefore…
We announce a spirit of unity and cooperation in Christ.
We affirm that God desires unity, and that love is the perfect bond of unity (Ephesians 4.3; John 17.23; Colossians 3.14).
So, then…
We will diligently work to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The fourth spiritual issue is…
#4
We renounce sins of the tongue, including gossip, unkind words, and judging motives.
This is another longstanding problem in our fellowship that hurts us.
There is the unwise use of our words.
And when there is conflict, instead of speaking to the person who is involved, we speak to everyone else but.
We need to find this behavior unacceptable.
We need to call each other on this.
We need to stop each other, lovingly and respectfully, when we are getting close to it.
Therefore…
We announce that our tongues are to be instruments of Christ.
We affirm that our tongues were created for praise to God and edification (Psalm 19.14; Ephesians 4.29).
We are to be building each other – always.
We are not be tearing each other down.
This means then that…
We will speak the truth with a positive, affirming spirit to bless others.
The fifth spiritual issue is…
#5
We renounce behavior driven by politics, power, and control.
One of the struggles we have in leadership is that we are a church with a lot of leaders.
But since the lines of authority are not clearly drawn, we end up with a lot of power shifts.
The question of “who is in charge here?” is often expressed.
I realized again we were still in trouble on this when I was giving direction on a certain issue, and I was challenged by this statement, “Pastor, you just preach from the pulpit, and we will take care of the details.”
I believe wholeheartedly that churches ought to be elder-led.
There is not much said about the governmental structure of the church in Scripture, but it is clear that there are people in charge – elders.
And we should allow them to lead.
Therefore…
We announce our submission to the leadership God has provided for our church.
We affirm that we are to obey our leaders and submit to their authority. (Heb. 13.17)
This means then…
We will practice a church life marked by submission and ordered by a Biblical leadership structure.
I was challenged recently with this question: “Why did you ever come to Randall with that structure?”
There was much more to that conversation, but let me say, whether you like it or not, it is an unclear structure, which seeks to balance power, but in the end keeps leaders from leading according to their calling.
This leads us to the sixth spiritual issue.
#6
We renounce inward focus.
One of the major reasons for our steady decline is that we have become comfortable.
We have enjoyed how we have done church through the years.
The problem is that this is not our mission.
We are not supposed to be doing church the way we like it.
We are supposed to be operating in such a way that we are effectively reaching people with the good news about Jesus.
This means then…
We announce God’s command that we reach out with His love.
We affirm that God reaches out with his love and He expects us to do the same (John 3.16; II Peter 3.9).
This means then…
We will eagerly extend God’s love by acts of caring and making disciples.
We want to have an outward focus that represents well God’s heart for lost people.
This is our mission.
This is our God-given mission by which we glorify God.
The seventh spiritual issue is…
#7
We renounce leadership practices that are passive, non-purposeful, worldly, and prideful.
We have not always gotten it right as leaders.
Sometimes, we have been passive.
We have just been rolling along with church, not seeing or directing any purpose.
When we have gotten deliberate, often our practices reflect more of the business world than a dependence on God’s Word.
We confess that this must stop.
We announce leadership’s responsibility to lead actively, purposefully, Biblically, and humbly.
We affirm leadership that immerses itself in the knowledge and practical application of the Word of God (II Timothy 2.15, 3.14-17).
This means then…
We will exercise loving and humble oversight of the flock.
This is our promise to you.
This is the kind of leaders we want to be.
CHALLENGE:
I want to challenge you today to…
PRACT
I know that sounds funny, but there is a meaning behind it.
It is a combination of the words pray and act.
That’s are two instructions for the Prayer Action Plan.
They are in the title…
We need to…
Pray on it…
and
Act on it…
It may seem that this has been a negative message.
I don’t want to be a “Debbie Downer.”
But these are serious issues.
And here is the good news.
I believe with all my heart that if we deal with them in a biblical manner, we will be right with God, and we will be right with each other.
And then we have a great future ahead of us.
For…
We have a great future ahead of us when we are right with God.
We can once again be a place of growth and effectiveness.
We can be that place.
We can be that kind of people.
Let us be absolutely determined to follow our core value:
We will passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus Christ.
ILL Will of God (S)
Will you make this your prayer with me today?
Dear God,
Your will,
nothing more,
nothing less,
nothing else.
Amen.
Let’s pray this together as we prepare for our time at the table.
COMMUNION:
Jesus went to the cross so that this truth would be true for us (I John 1.9):
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
What an absolutely wonderful promise!
(time of silent prayer)
I hope you know Jesus today, for there is nothing greater.
We are here today, because it is all about Jesus.
If you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
We practice "communion" because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
PRAYER
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
PRAYER
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
Deacon offering
BENEDICTION:
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
