Sermon Cloud

Well, here we go!

New year.  New church.  New Hope!

This is exciting.  Really exciting.  We are lifting off the launching pad right now.  Literally getting off the ground.  This is our first worship service here at Goedecke’s -- a much prayed-for event.

I am thrilled – and I mean it – thrilled to be here.  Diane and I are truly excited and enthusiastic.  The Lord has confirmed to us in many ways that this is where we are supposed to be and this is what we are supposed to be doing.  Pastoring a new church.  Here in New Hampshire.

We just got back from Wisconsin.  Everybody we talked with was supportive.  Every sermon we heard encouraged us.  In many ways, God spoke through people – letting us know that this – all this right here – is His will.  We are here because he wants us here.  

And that doesn’t just go for Diane and me.  We are ALL here because He wants us here.  You, too.  Think about that.  Think how exciting that is.  How exciting to be here.  To know that nothing happens by accident.  All of the events that led up to this were orchestrated by God – transformed by His Spirit – into something He wanted.  We are all – this is all -- His creation.

I think we can all be pretty sure that He created this in preparation for what else He wants to create from this.

In other words, this new church is not a creation in and of itself.  It is part of an ongoing creation.  
Part of an exciting, adventurous, creative process.   God is moving.  God is creating.

It’s all a wonderful echo of Revelation 21:5.  He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Everything new.  That’s exciting.  And Scriptural.  Biblical.  God wants our lives, our experiences, and our hope – all of it – to be new.

Revelation 2:17 a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Revelation 3:12 the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 5:9 NIV a new song.
Revelation 21:1 NIV a new heaven and a new earth.
Revelation 21:2 NIV the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:5 NIV The passage we just read.  “Behold, I am making everything new."

Newness is one of the most outstanding things about Christianity.  Our religion deals with the future in a comprehensive way that no other religion can match.  We often overlook this.  Christianity is all about the future.  Which is why Christians should always be optimists.

Look at it this way.  Some of us – a lot of us – are totally impatient.  
We say, “I want peace, now.  I want joy, now.  I want patience – and I want it right now!”  But think about it.  What we really mean is that we want it in the future.  Perhaps the immediate future.  But the future, nonetheless.

Furthermore, Christianity not only deals with the future – it also deals only with the positive.  Jeremiah 29:11.  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Not only will things be new, they will be good.  That’s different from this world where a lot of new things aren’t so good.  The term buyer’s remorse wasn’t invented for nothing.  There is a reason why warranties and guarantees are needed.  Sometimes the new thing that you want is not always what you get.

But God promises that not only will things be new, they will be good.  Now THAT’S an exciting!

So here we are.  We have an exciting new hope, founded in faith in a Savior Who loves us and promises to provide new, good things.  We are surrounded by boundless opportunity.  God has promised to provide everything we need to take full advantage.  In fact, Jesus goes so far as to say that, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

Without Him, nothing.  With Him, everything.

So the even the sky isn’t the limit.  Our Lord WILL transform Bedford and Merrimack.  
God IS about to turn New England upside down.  And we have a role to play.  A new, good role.  That’s why we were created.  That’s why we’re here.

Now…what to do?  How and where to get started?  What kind of church do we want to be?

I looked to Philippians 3:13-14 for guidance.  Paul had something interesting to say.  Listen.  “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Forgetting the past.  Forging the future.

OK, let’s break that down.  What does he mean, forgetting the past?  Well, it can’t mean actually forgetting. Mentally erasing it.  That’s impossible.  And Paul himself didn’t do that.

For example, he remembered his religious credentials.  And he remembered the various trials and difficulties that he experienced.  He recounted them in his letters.

But the past also has a dark side. The past can be a prison. It’s possible for the past to be bondage.  There are good memories, but there are also memories of failure, pain, embarrassment. Sometimes our memory can haunt us. Our failures cause us to see ourselves as failures, unable to break patterns of failure. We might stereotype ourselves, and put ourselves in a prison. Many people are plagued by their past.

Some even sit in mental hospitals constantly reliving the tragic events. They are trapped by the things that have been.  They can’t see beyond them.

So what to do about the past? There are basically three things. (1) First is that you must recognize the past for what it is, the past. It is over, done, gone, finished, ended, passed. You can’t change it, whether years ago or yesterday. (2) You must recognize satan’s strategy in reminding you of the past. His strategy is to discourage and defeat you. (3) You must recognize what you can do about the past. While you can’t change it, you can change the way you respond to it.

Let’s call it "divine amnesia."
I’m not talking about mentally forgetting the past. There are many things I wish I could forget.  Unfortunately, God created our minds to be incredibly powerful. Even if we don’t remember something consciously, sub-consciously it is always there. Every act, word, event, situation and circumstance -- imbedded forever in our minds. When Paul speaks about forgetting the past, he means that we must forget it in the sense that we no longer allow it to control our lives. It’s no longer an emotional influence.  Unless we do, we will always be on a leash. We will attempt to move forward, only to be snatched back time and again.
Notice that I said emotional influence.  The past should influence us.  We can learn from it.  Be wiser because of it.  Grow in maturity because of our experience.  But we can’t dwell there.  We can’t drive our car with our eyes fixed on the rear view mirror.
We must not only forget the past; but also make a deliberate decision to be active in the present.

Listen again to Paul, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead." In order to deal with the past effectively, we must live in the present actively.
It might sound strange to say, but the way to do this right is to plan.   Either near-term or short-term.  A good approach is to act as though the present doesn’t really exist.  In other words, think about the future all the time – especially the extremely near future.  Think before you talk.  Look before you leap.  Plan before you act.  Consider consequences before you take action.  Look at the future before you act in the present.

Think about the present as only that flash of an instant when the future meets the past.  Looking to the future is the only way to be effective in the present.

When I first talked with the Steering Committee about this church, I asked this question.  What kind of church do you want to be?  How will New Hope Christian Fellowship be different from every other church in Bedford?  How will Bedford and Merrimack be different because we are here?

There are praying churches.  Missions-minded churches.  Evangelistic churches.  Formal, traditional churches.  There are as many types as there are names.  Denominational, nondenominational, interdenomi-national.  Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian.  You name it, you got it.

So we took a long look at the Great Commission.  Turn there, please.  Matthew 28:18-20.  Stare at it with me.  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

There it is.  It doesn’t say we’re to just convert people to Christ -- convince them to accept Jesus as Savior.  It doesn’t say to reform society.  All that is implied, of course.  But it says to MAKE DISCIPLES – first, when they believe, to BAPTIZE them.  Then, after their commitment of faith, to TEACH THEM TO OBEY everything Jesus commanded.

I’m going to submit to you that churches – in general – do an awful job of that.  Many don’t do it at all.  Most baptize infants.  The Bible says to make them believers first.  Then baptize them.  But more.  The Bible says the next step of disciple making is to teach people to obey what Jesus has commanded.  Everything He command-ed.  Here again, many churches do an awful job.

“We don’t want to offend people.  We don’t want to put them off.  We don’t want to create roadblocks for seekers.”  When, in fact, Scripture is clear.  John 14:21.  Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

A disciple knows – and does – the commands of Jesus.  And we are to make disciples.  To teach them to love Christ in their everyday lives, through their obedience.  This adds a dimension of nobility that is encouraging, enlightening and enabling.  And so we New Hope Christian Fellowship will be a discipling church.

What is a disciple?  Webster defines a disciple as one who adheres to the views of Christ.  Who receives instruction from the One he follows.  So we need to ponder what to do about discipling and how to do it.

As you would expect, I’ve got some ideas.  I’m going to share some of them.  But as I do, I want to be very clear that this is not some sort of manifesto.  It’s a proclamation.  I’m throwing out some ideas.

The response I’d like from you is the one that Paul enjoyed from the Bereans.  Acts 17:11. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

I want you to listen to what I have to say.  Of course.  But then I want you to search the Scripture.  See for yourself if you think the Bible says.  And not just for this morning.  Do that every Sunday.  I will in no way be insulted.  Just the opposite. I will be greatly encouraged.

Now.  What is a disciple?  What do we want to teach people to be?

First of all, a disciple knows.  So he or she must be taught.  Not just learn on his own.  The Great Commission says we are to teach.  The emphasis is on us as teachers, not them as students.

My dream is that each and every one of us will undertake a teaching ministry.  A discipling ministry.  Myself included.  I intend – as quickly as possible – to put practical material into your hands so that you can teach others.  A simple study guide with questions to ask, Scripture to review and topics to discuss.  

Over a course of six to eight weeks, each of you will be able to make a disciple out of a believer.  Enabling that person to know and obey Christ.  Enabling that person to live a Christian life under any and all circumstances.  Enabling that person to disciple someone else.

I hope no one will ever be admitted into membership of this church without being properly discipled into the Christian faith.

If you do the math, you will see how effective it is to teach others how to teach others.

If the thirty of us begin discipling someone, after 8 weeks, there will be 60.  In another eight weeks, 120.  In another 8 weeks – 240.  That’s only 24 weeks.  Six months.  After about a year, there will be 60,000.

Where in the world will we put all those people?  I don’t know.  But God knows.  They can’t all join this church.  

But I firmly believe that shortly after He puts all those people exactly where He wants them, there will be a revival the likes of which New England has never seen.

That’s the upside.  The downside is that much of it will not happen if you – yes you -- don’t disciple someone every eight weeks.  If you tell yourself that you’re too busy.  Or it’s just not your gift.  Or if you’re frightened.  Depending on when in the process you go absent, literally thousands of disciples will be lost.  Because your multiplying effect will be gone.

So we have decided to become a church that teaches others to teach others.

Then what? Well, Jesus calls us to follow Him. The Christian life is a commitment to do something as well as be something. The Christian life has been likened to a walk, a race, a fight. Those are all action terms. When Jesus calls us, He calls us not simply to believe in Him intellectually, but to follow Him in our lives. Its possible for you believe in Jesus intellectually like you believe in Napoleon or George Washington. You can hold an intellectual belief without committing to it. But that is not biblical faith. Faith in Jesus means we trust Him. With our lives. We commit to live for Him – each and every day.

Since we all should be doers of the word and not hearers only, we should help others to help others.  Not just help others.  That’s easy.  I’m talking about helping other people to learn how to help others and enabling them to do it.

This might be a new concept to you.  So I want to explain it carefully.  It’s not enough for us to hear much but do little.  We have to multiply the cause of Christ by helping other people in their service, generosity, evangelism, whatever.

Perhaps this would be more clear to you if I describe a typical time of sharing during a worship service.  Don’t we often hear the pastor invite everyone to share what the Lord has done for you?  Then people talk about the Lord’s blessing or His power.  Fine.  I have no problem with that.

But how often do we hear pastors ask for a different type of testimony?  How often does he ask for a testimony like this:  What have you done for the Lord in the past week?  

I know.  People don’t want to appear boastful or proud.  But don’t we all freely admit – and truly believe – that apart from Christ, we can do nothing?  Then why should we be embarrassed to share what the Lord has done – through us – as we have placed ourselves in His service?

What an encouragement that would be!  Think of all the practical wisdom and insight that would be shared!  Think of all the good that would be done!

There are many ways to do this.  But it has to come from you.  It has to come from inside out, not imposed upon you by others – me or anybody else.

Just a few suggestions.

We need chairs.  Why not have everyone buy a chair for each member of your family – and two more chairs for the people that you’re going to pray for and invite?

We need evangelism.  My father in law has bought 1,000 pens for us that say Jesus loves you – along with four Bible references.  Take a bunch when they come.  One to use and the rest to give away.  Give the pens to others and encourage them to give the pens away.

Never give them one pen.  Give them several – one to use and the rest to give.  Somewhere.  To someone.

We want to support missionaries.  But we have no budget.  OK, so let’s take a small offering during Sunday School.  Buy whatever a missionary says he needs – whatever we can afford.  Then send it.  Or have it delivered through an organization like Partners International or Samaritan’s Purse.

We might not be able to offer financial support right now.  But we can help in many practical ways – in addition to prayer.  We’d be helping the missionary to help others.

Take this as far as you’d like.  Look for problems and think about how they could be solved.   Look for needy people and think about how they could be helped.  If you’re ambitious, start a food pantry.  Or a clothing ministry.

I don’t care what it is – large or small.  Complicated or simple.  Traditional or completely new.  I’ll support you, I promise.  I’ll do everything I can to help you.  All to help you help others.

Let me leave you with this thought.  Paul didn’t just write letters.  Every one of the letters followed specific direct action on his part.  Establishing churches.  Discipling new believers.  Proclaiming Christ, and teaching others to do so.  Encouraging every believer.

I think we should follow his example.  Since Paul didn’t stop with just writing letters.  We shouldn’t stop with just  reading them.

OK.  Here we go.  We’ve already heard the countdown.  Ten nine eight seven six…three, two, one.  We’ve already lifted off.  Now let’s put ourselves into orbit.  By forgetting the past (not allowing it to control us).  And forging the future.  By making disciples all over the town.  Teaching them to teach others. Helping them to help others.

This is exciting.  This is going to be very, very exciting.

Let’s pray.