Neatishead Baptist Chapel. January 15th 2012

Habakkuk 2:1 "I will watch to see what He says to me."
Opening Theme: Vision.... introduction
If you weren't here last week, congratulations!
Last Sunday, our pastor Sue asked us for our hopes and fears for our church. Would this church still be here, she asked us, in five years time? Agreed, the main concern was where new members will come from. Then Sue asked us for our Godly dreams for Neatishead, what did she hear from us? A deafening silence. OK, someone did pipe up, that we hadn't had enough time to think, even though if you'd been here the week before, on January 1st, Sue had urged us to think through these very questions. So, that's why I said if you weren't here last week, well done. For those who were, a sound ticking off, and I am ticking myself off too, for failing to speak up. So this week we are going to think some more why it is so important we need a Vision for Neatishead. What is a Vision? How can we discover it? And who can have a Christian Vision? That's our focus today.
.............

Are you like this? (put sunglasses on).
Today we're thinking about our Vision for Neatishead Baptist We'll think about what we could mean by a God given Vision. And finally suggestions about what a Vision for our church could possibly contain.
Too many of us Christians are like this with our church. What can I see in these glasses on this dark winter's day in church? I must say you do look rather faint through these glasses. An improvement I might say. But not really, I can't see properly with these glasses, because they're not supposed to be worn in church. And yet how many of us think of church using the wrong eyes, see it merely as another thing to do every week, another place to socialise, another way of meeting er, nice people, well nearly all nice, I'm not looking anywhere now. But I was worried about our failure to respond to Sue's request last week for our vision for this church. Yet to see God's vision for our lives and God's vision for our church isn't impossible, it just needs the right tools, certainly not these sunglasses. Ah, I know, I need better glasses (try other glasses), We can be like this too, trying in a kind of religious panic anything new to try and find God. But though searching for God is laudable, if we want to find God's Vision for our church, desperation is not the way to go about it. So let's start by considering this question:
What is meant by a Vision? Simply put, it's God given, it may be literally something you see, either dramatically, as a vision as with Peter, or more commonly as something you perceive with your eye of faith. Maybe not even see, maybe it's God speaking to you, but however God shows it you, it is always this- a clear and overwhelming conviction that this is of God and you need to share it with others. So, Who can have a Christian vision? Answer please: ......
But not me, you're maybe thinking. But why not you? This is a special gift given by God and He doesn't not always use the most obvious person you can think of. God often chooses the most unexpected people. So don't start by assuming this sermon isn't for me, for God'd never tell Me anything important. God can and does reveal His will to anyone who is in tune with Him.
But, I am now thinking of a more specific vision that is from God that reveals his will for this church. We describe a person who receives such a vision of God's purposes as a prophet. So how do you become a prophet?
There are two ways.
It's a gift from God, as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:28 "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers." God has chosen in his church prophets, but where are they all today? None here it seems, nor in many churches. Yet this is an important role in the church, second only in standing to the role of apostle, by which we understand is the role of the leader, the pastor.
But how could God make it clear to you that this gift is one He wants you to exercise? You'll only know that if you spend time in prayer with God. But though the gift of Visions is one that is God given, there is also nothing wrong with you wanting the gift, even if you don't have it. St Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:1 "set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially, he adds, the gift of proclaiming God's message. In other words, I believe that God WILL impart His gift to some who are earnestly seeking Him. So it could be that God has given you this gift which is latent at the moment because you are unaware of it. Or it could be that you would like to honour God in this church but are not sure how. In this case, earnestly pray for that spiritual gift, and wait on Him. And remember it is a Gift not for your glory but for everyone in the church.
So let's think what happens if you do receive a vision,
How do you know that it is a Vision from God? I've already said that when it is genuine, you get a definite conviction that it is from God. But if you're not quite sure, in 1 Corinthians 12:10 Paul describes being able "to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not." So if you have a vision, you need to test it yourself, ask yourself if it is truly of God, and then ask the advice of our pastor.
Why do we need a prophet here? Sue gave us last week Proverbs 29 "Without a vision, the people perish." She gave us other translations which are "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild,"."Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint." She reminded us that we need guidance as a church, we do need a revelation from Him, and broadest of all we need God's vision, so that we can confidently steer God's course in the coming years. Without a vision, the people of Neatishead Chapel perish.
Last week we heard about a vision Paul had for the church described in Acts 16. I want us to think for a moment about Peter's vision that we read earlier. In Acts 15 we read, "Some men came from Judaea to Antioch and started teaching the believers, You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised as the Law of Moses requires. Paul and Barnabas got into a fierce argument with them about this."
The early Christians were Jews, and quite reasonably had adapted their new found faith in Jesus to their old faith. But did this mean that non Jews had to become Jews in order to become Christians? That was what these people were insisting, against Paul's teaching. These people wanted to maintain the Jewishness of their Christianity, and we must be grateful they did not prevail, otherwise I suppose we'd all have to become Jews today. But they didn't prevail at the special church meeting that followed in Acts 15. How did the group led by Paul win the day? Well, it was largely thanks to Peter's intervention.
Peter's support for Paul was due to one factor alone. Once Peter himself had been opposed to the idea of non-Jews being saved. But then came a decisive moment. We read it in Acts 10, and this event is so important it is repeated in the next chapter, the one we read earlier in our service. That was the vision that Peter received from God, and it forced him to reassess his standpoint. Because he had been brought up a good Jew, he believed that contact with the unclean was wrong. God had to take this drastic action to ensure Peter understood the Good News was for everyone. God can give us such a clear vision of what He wants, maybe in not so dramatic a form, but we need to be listening, to be watching, and when we have received God's vision, then to reflect on it, to test it, to make sure it is not our own idea of a vision, but truly God's vision. St. Bernard calls this "the kiss between the soul and God." That's what we need in Neatishead Baptist, a God given vision of where He wants His church to be in 12 months time, in 5 years time.
But OK, what if there really is none here who receives a prophetic vision? Is all lost? No of course not, though that is the better way. Let me give you an analogy. It relates to another Gift of the Spirit that is sadly not exercised in this church, though how much it is needed! The gift of healing. Now I know that I myself don't have this rare gift, but does that mean I can do nothng for you who are unwell? No, of course I can pray for you. I cannot heal, that is a gift of God, but I can pray. And it's the same with Prophecy. Would that we have a prophet here. But if not, then this is how we can discover God's Vision for Neatishead....
1 we can all pray, yes, in her talk on January 1st, Pastor Sue hinted that must have more Prayer Meetings. Pass that to next Thursday's church meeting please.
2 we can all seek to understand what God's will is through studying His Word. This we do of course.
Though all this may not provide us a direct vision, it will give us important general principles to follow as we move ahead in His Will. Our pastor said much the same last week, She told us we need these God given insights, to help us see how our church might grow.
So what does a Godly vision for this church involve? Why do we need to find God's will for us? It's especially important as we pray for a successor for Pastor Sue's ministry. What sort of person does God want for us? How would the person, whom I shall call P for Pastor, know what we want from him or her? That's not to say we want the new pastor to blindly follow what we have done in the past. Importantly, they should be able to affirm their own God-given vision. But we surely want them to consolidate on what we are doing well.
Take for eample these areas:
The area of Outreach- yes we have Holiday Clubs and we are thinking what Church Without Walls implies. But what is P's own vision of outreach?
The area Finance- OK we make it our rule to tithe our church money, What does P think?
Other areas to consider include Worship, and Midweek Meetings. But perhaps an even more important question to ask ourselves and P is, Who is our church for? Can you answer that? Answers: .....
The gospel is for everyone so everyone is welcome here. However, to take a silly example, suppose you spoke only Polish you'd find it hard to worship here wouldn't you? So perhaps the church is only for English speakers, though I'd hope that were there a group of Poles in Neatishead we would consider ways of welcoming them. But the serious point is this, though we are not exclusive, it is inevitable that by our style of worship we exclude some. That leads to a harder more serious question, is our church for young people? Is it suitable for younger people? Do we need to make any effort to include them in our outreach? What is our view as a church? And what do we want the famous P to do in this field?
So for the final section of this sermon, here are some possible ideas for Vision that we could consider for our church in the next few years:
One, 2 Timothy 2:2 says "take the teachings you heard me proclaim and entrust them to reliable people who will be able to teach others also." We do recognise each other's talents in this church, but we also need to build on them, and above all recognise what Paul describes as reliable people, that includes P, who will build up Neatishead Chapel.
Two: Romans 1:11 "Share a spiritual blessing to make you strong." It is only when we encourage, and are encouraged by others in our faith, that we grow as Christians. That will enable us to achieve
Three: Romans 1:13 Paul writes, "I want to win converts among you." I imagine if I asked you do you want to see our church continue to grow, you'd say yes, or at least nod your head a little. But how to achieve that desired end, is the issue that needs to be thought clearly through. It doesn't just happen.
To move us forward with these thoughts of Vision, let me read to you, extracts of the Vision of an active church, and it is a Baptist church, well under a hundred miles from here:
They have written down these four general points: "We desire to be a family, rooted in the Word of God and prayer, whose love for Christ and for one another overflows in joyful sharing of the gospel with all,
We are a community of people who are committed to following Jesus Christ, and we believe that a right relationship with God is possible only through Him. We believe that God's written word, the Bible, is true and tells us how to know God and live for Hm.
We seek to be a praying community whose members are supported by intercessions that also embrace the needs of the world. We want the habits of prayer and worship to be central to every aspect of our corporate life.
We believe that God is glorified when the gospel is faithfully communicated. We therefore want to be equipped and active in sharing the gospel with our friends and neighbours."
That's quite a general vision,but from another source here are two interesting and challenging ideas of a specific vision:
A Growth in attendance will allow us to expand our offering of worship styles on a Sunday. This growth will stem from the increased prayerfulness of our church, both individually and corporately." Or this:
By planting a new neighbourhood church at the north end of our town, a number of families will come to faith. Worship in an accessible and informal style and a practical concern for the community, and involvement with it, will encourage people into the church. A programme of nurture and teaching alongside a growing fellowship will lead people into a deeper spiritual experience,
If you aren't that familiar with the story of Nehemiah's vision, read Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2 to hear about his vision and just as importantly how he acted upon it wisely. Everyone has it in them to receive this vision from God, remember what St. Bernard called it, the kiss between the soul and God.
To conclude, I challenge you to long to want to discover God's vision for our church. In his commentary on Hosea, George Adam Smith 100 years ago wrote of how Hosea received his vision, "it comes," wrote Smith, "from God himself. It is not something which men can reach by their own endeavours... for it requires God Himself to speak... (it is) not something man finds out for himself, but something which comes down from above."
(Put on spiritual glasses) That's the type of vision we need in Neatishead Baptist. Are you listening? Are you watching? Habakkuk wrote, "I will watch to see what He says to me."

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