Why does God want to fill His Church again?
For a team to be effective it must have a purpose.
- Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV) – The Lord has a purpose for your life “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Everything is created with a purpose
- Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – 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.
- God has saved us for His purpose – 2 Timothy 1:9 – who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
The Church has lost her purpose.
- Luke 19:10 – For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. – and we are created in His image.
- A Church moved by human reasoning will no longer cut it. The past 2 years needed to happen, we couldn’t complete mission.
- We need to be relational in our purpose – Philippians 2:3 – Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
- We forgot it’s not about building my family, my ministry, my church, but the Kingdom.
We can’t go back.
- There is always a tendency to go back to the familiar – Proverbs 26:11 – As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly. – 2 Peter 2:22 repeats this scripture
- It is said the def of insanity is to do the same thing over and over getting the same poor results
- So why do we drift back? Because the purpose will require a fight
To fulfill your purpose will require a fight.
- Matthew 11:12 – And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.
- Expect opposition to your purpose – Nehemiah 2:18-19
- Wrestle till you got it right. Press on the mark to the high calling. Jacob’s life – Genesis 32
We’ve got to fight to rest.
- Hebrews 3:18-19 – And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
- But we have to fight our way to it – Hebrews 4:11– Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
- Two contradictory words – labor and rest
- And how do we know we’ve entered in, we cease from work of our flesh – Hebrews 4:9-10– So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
- Get to grace via faith – grace makes us free from sin & sinful world – This is Big boy stuff – this is why we must be filled
We win because God wins.
- We can rest in this – Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – GOD CAN WORK THRU OUR MISTAKES
- Proverbs 19:21 – Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
- Sometimes He is just bringing you to a new level, a new place – but the hallways are tough
- God’s Ekklesia prevails – Matthew 16:18