Moses Mwalye is a representative of Food for the Hungry from Marare, Uganda. Our church has had a relationship with them since 2009. Moses last visited us in 2011. In today's message he speaks on Matthew 6 and also talks about the gratitude of the people of Marare for God's mercies in their lives. Pastor Mike Wiens delivered a message from Acts 1-13 challenging believers to 1. care and serve one another, 2. to challenge each other to grow spiritually, and 3. to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. It may be a small step that makes a huge impact in someone's life. New Beginnings First Draft April 23, 2017
It is a really exciting time to be an Edmontonian. Our team is in the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. People that don’t actually even like hockey…like my wife are interested in how they are doing…she actually watched an entire hockey game last week. People want to jump on board. People want to become a part of what is going on here because it is something so much bigger than ourselves. There is an energy flowing through our city as we rally behind the Oilers. We get to rallying behind a common purpose. Now this has always been a little confusing to me. Don’t get me wrong…I love hockey. It is the best sport in the world, but we get so into something that we can’t really control. I was sitting in front of the TV the other day trying to will the puck into the net. My heart would be faster, and I would be joyous when they scored and upset when they were scored on. But in complete reality, my emotions have no bearing on whether the Oilers will win or won’t win. I have zero control sitting in front of the TV on the outcome of the game. And yet, more and more people come together for each game to rally around their team. But the fact of the matter is, that we are on the sideline. We can’t just jump into the game whenever we feel like it. And the thing that makes church community different than cheering for the Oilers, and different than being part of a social circle where we come together to watch a game is that the church is called to be a community with a mission led by the Holy Spirit. We are actually a part of the game. We aren’t called to be on the sideline, but Jesus actually wants to work in and through each one of us. We are a community or a family with a common purpose, which is proclaiming the Gospel, and spreading the love of Jesus, and building each other up, being led by the Holy Spirit. And therein lies the difference. I am sure we have all been a part of something bigger than ourselves, like cheering for the Oilers, and talking about our excitement about our favorite hockey team…but the thing that makes church community so different is that we are called to be led by the Holy Spirit. We aren’t just a little social club meeting together. We are in the game. We aren’t on the sidelines. We have a purpose greater than ourselves that surrounds around a Savior who came to give His life so that we can have life. And as we read through the book of Acts, we get a picture of something absolutely amazing. We get a picture of Jesus ascending into heaven, and of the Holy Spirit pouring Himself out over those who have given their lives to following Jesus. We get a picture of love, power, community, obedience, sacrifice, and transformation all led by the Holy Spirit. We get a picture of the Apostles wholly surrendering themselves to the will of the Holy Spirit, putting Jesus far ahead of themselves and their pride so that they could see Jesus glorified…so that they could see people come to the life that could be found in Jesus alone. In Acts 2 we see the disciples stand up in front of a crowd, and allow the Spirit of God to speak through them and the Bible tells us that 3000 were added to their number that day. And the Bible tells us as the church continually gathered together, more and more were added to their numbers. The Holy Spirit transformed their lives. The book of Acts is challenging and it is inspiring because these people lived out what they believed, and they did life differently than the culture that surrounded them. There is so much that we could talk about in the book of Acts, but this morning, I really want to focus in on one specific thing…and as I am sure you have probably gathered by now, that thing is community. The book of Acts is filled with the type of community we need to be pursuing as the church. And every time I say church I am referring to the body of believers…I am referring to people not a building or organization. There is a picture of the early church community that we find in Acts 2…and it may be a familiar passage to many of you, but I want to start off by reading this passage together as we dive into what community looked like for the early church throughout the book of Acts, and what it could look like for us as we move forward. If you have your Bible turn to Acts 2:42-47. “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” The church is called to live in real, authentic community. Authentic community is one of our values at Northgate. It is something that really matters to us. Now, Northgate truly has some amazing things happening. I have experienced and witnessed some amazing community at Northgate. Northgate has become a family for my family and I. We feel blessed to be a part of this community and we truly love you all. I could talk about stories of community that I have seen and experienced for a long time…and I hope to share some of these stories this morning. But at the same time, I also know that there are people here that feel like they don’t have any community whatsoever. I was listening to a podcast the other day and heard a stat that 70-80% of people that go to church feel like they do not have real community. That is something that breaks my heart. We were created for community. We were created for relationships; this is something that we all need to be fighting for. Community has been something on my heart for a while, and I have a desire to see people find authentic community with each other. Not just a social circle that they can gather every once in a while, but communities that go deep. Community with a purpose led by the Holy Spirit…community that doesn’t just meet in their house once a week, or community that sees each other every so often in this building, or community that just talks about the weather or the hockey game but community that serves each other, and others, community that is diverse and inclusive rather than exclusive, and when we really think about it, I think that we can all admit that community is something that we can always do better. The Church is called to incarnational community not organizational community. Our community is supposed to look like Jesus, not the world. So what does that look like? What does incarnational community look like? It looks a lot like the early church that we find in the book of Acts, that you would have read about if you are following along in the Story series that we are in right now. It is easy to glorify the early church, and to talk about it like they had it all figured out…and that just isn’t the case. The fact of the matter is, that it was hard. They had struggles, they had disputes, but at the end of the day, they let go of control, moved forward with an open hand, and were willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. These were people that were willing to give everything for God. Everyone was involved. There weren’t people on the sidelines. If you gave your life to Jesus, you were at risk of death. It was a big deal. This wasn’t an individualistic faith. This was a faith that was filled with community. When these people gave their lives over to Jesus, they entered into a community of people. We want to learn from them…learn from the way they followed Jesus, and lived incarnate lives, how they were led by the Spirit and sensitive to the calling on their lives. So for the rest of the morning I want to outline just a few of the things that early church was about when it came to living out this kind of community. It isn’t an exhaustive list, but I hope it is something that will challenge you on your journey. As the church we are called to care for and serve each other. Authentic church community doesn’t look like consumerism… play church hunters video Now that video is obviously hyperbolic, but the reality is, that it is easy for us to fall into a consumeristic mindset. That is what the world teaches us. But the kind of community we are called to isn’t self serving. It isn’t about coming to consume, and so often we can find ourselves asking how is the church serving me, instead of how can I serve the church? How can I serve the people around me? This is something that the early church did really well. Acts 4:32-37 demonstrates this in a challenging way. It says that the believers were of one heart and mind…no one claimed their possessions of their own, but they shared everything they had. Acts tells us that there were no needy persons among them. There are going to be times when we are all in need. Whether it is financial or in need of prayer, or in need of help in some sort of way. We are called to care for each other…to support each other. To lift each other up. It isn’t where one or two people do all of the work. It is where everyone serves each other and everyone cares for each other. There will be seasons in our lives when we will need to lift other people up, and there will be seasons when we need to be lifted up…when we need to be supported. There is a problem when we are only ever living in one of these areas. There is a problem when we can’t accept help, and there is a problem when we are only ever receiving and never giving. We need to live in a place where both of these things are happening in our lives. We all need breaks…but the idea of a break is so that we can jump back in refreshed, so we can continue to serve God and others. I have trouble receiving help. I have trouble living in a place of need. But sometimes that is where I am called to live. A few years ago we were meeting with a small group of people. We were going through a video series on generosity. And this is at a time when I was in school, and we had a little baby at home, money was pretty tight, and we were being challenged to be generous. All of these people were around the same age as us, some had full time jobs, and some were in school. So after watching this video Alisha and me were processing how we were going to go about this and the next day we get home and we see our mailbox open and there was something inside of it. Now we were lucky we even checked our mailbox, because nobody ever put anything in there. But something was in there, and we looked inside and there was an envelope filled with a significant amount money. There was no name and we had no idea who gave it to us. But someone had blessed us with this money. We were super grateful and super humbled by this act of generosity. And this is how community takes care of each other. They bless each other and serve each other…and this act of generosity was actually something that challenged us to me more generous in our own lives. This is something that Northgate does really well. I have seen people taking care of others on numerous occasions. We have people visiting people that are unable to be with us on Sunday mornings, we have people that visit others in hospitals, we have people taking care of one another, in so many ways. The other Friday at youth, there was a girl that had come for the first time, and this girl is developmentally challenged. We were playing a game with finger rockets, and if you don’t know what finger rockets are, they are the things that I carry when I speak with the youth, and shoot at them if they are talking or not paying attention…they are quite effective. But we were playing finger rockets, and one of our youth students at Northgate, came beside this girl, and pretty much did not leave her side the entire time. She talked to her, showed her how to play, and made sure she felt welcome. That is what the church looks like. There have been people that have donated money to the youth group to make sure that every student has an opportunity to participate in what we are doing…so every youth has an opportunity to experience community and to experience Jesus. And even the bake sale we are doing to raise funds for Tijuana, there is no way that we could do it with out the generosity of so many of you. This is what community looks like. People of different generations and cultures supporting each other and coming together moving toward the mission that Jesus has given us. We are called to sacrifice for each other, and to give of ourselves. Later in Acts 4 it tells us that no one was needy, because people would sell their land and their houses, and lay it at the feet of the apostles so that no one was needy among them. These people sacrificed for each other. The church is called to care for each other the church is called to serve each other, the church is called to sacrifice for one another…so there is no one needy among us. What does it look like for you to sacrifice for someone? What does it look like for you to serve? What does it look like for you to be a person who cares for those around you? As the church we need to challenge each other and build one another up. The early church met together regularly to break bread together, to devote themselves to the apostle’s teachings and to worship together. They met together to be filled up and to be sent out. We build each other up so that we can have the energy to go back to our places of work, so that we can go into our neighborhoods, and be effective witnesses of Christ. However, in our society it becomes easy to just go through the motions of our faith. To make an appearance at church every once in a while, maybe open up the Bible every now again, and say a prayer in a tough time or before a meal. But the early church actively challenged and encouraged each other in their faith. In Acts 9 we see Barnabas, whose name means son of exhortation, standing up for Saul and attesting to his faith in Christ and then, in Acts 13 we see Barnabas and Saul or Paul getting sent off to do missions work. Saul was a brand new believer, and Barnabas is taking him under his wing, and mentoring him and discipling him. He encouraged him in his faith. And as they did life together Paul was able to grow, and as we read on he becomes one of the most prominent leaders of the Christian faith and in turn challenged Barnabas on his journey. Baranabas played a significant part in the life of Paul. He stood up for him, he encouraged Paul and he challenged Paul. As the church. As a community with a mission, led by the Holy Spirit, we need to be about this kind of thing. I have a friend in my life, who in the past few years has played a significant role in my walk with Christ. Every time I hang out with him, our conversation always moves to something deeper. When we meet together he asks me what God has been teaching me, what have I been learning, how am I living out my faith, and how am I actually doing? I am not going to lie, when this first started happening it was awkward. It was uncomfortable to talk about…sometimes I hadn’t even thought about those questions. But it challenged me. It got me thinking about these questions in my everyday life. When I read something, I would ask myself what is God trying to teach me. And as we continued to hang out, the conversations became less and less awkward and more natural, and they became something incredibly life giving. I would leave those conversations feeling encouraged, challenged and filled up. When was the last time someone has asked you these questions? When was the last time you asked someone these questions? How do we expect to be growing unless we have people in our lives who will challenge us to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus? We need to ask each other the hard questions. It is through these kinds of conversations that we will grow. But we have so often in our Christian life become so individualistic. We think that it is no one else’s business how we are doing. It is just between me and God, but that is simply not true. We were built for relationship. We were built for human interaction, and as the church we need to encourage each other and challenge each other in our walk with Jesus. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” This is something that we need to be about. This is something that we are called to. We are called to be led by the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts is filled with people being led by the Holy Spirit. The apostles were attuned to the leading of the Spirit in their lives. This is just like the story of Ananias in Acts 9 when Jesus tells him that he needs to go to Saul, who was known as the Pharisee killing all of the Christians he came across, and Ananias was told to lay his hands on Saul so he could see. And despite some warranted fear, Ananias obeys, and follows the leading of the Holy Spirit. The is what separates a kingdom community from a worldly community. As followers of Jesus we all have access to the Spirit of God in our lives…to lead us, guide us, and to give us wisdom. To me, the best way to think about this is through simple acts of obedience. Ask the Lord what He wants you to do, and then do it. It is about focusing on Him, and having a sensitive heart to what He is calling you to. And for the most part the thing that he is calling you to won’t be this massive grandiose thing where you are called to start the next mega church…but it is about taking one step at a time. Moving one foot in front of the other. Doing the next small thing that is in front of you and responding to God’s call. It’s about getting up off the sidelines and getting into the game. The other day I was driving to the church, and I was at an intersection about to turn left. And there was this guy standing at the crosswalk waiting to cross and he was blind. I could tell because he had a stick to guide him. And as I waited to turn I could see that it was a challenge for him. He didn’t really know when to cross, and this intersection didn’t really have anything fancy to tell him when to cross. And I thought to myself…I sure hope someone comes along to help him. As I turned I felt like the Lord was like, why don’t you help him? And I was like…that would be weird, and I don’t have time, and I came up with every excuse in the book, and before I knew it I was passed him and I am sad to say I missed my opportunity. I felt the Lord asking me to do something, and I didn’t do it. It was a simple act, that could have blessed someone, and I didn’t do it. As the church. As a community of believers we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and respond even if it feels awkward. It will really only be as awkward as we make it. And I have seen the Holy Spirit’s leading at Northgate through so many different people. Whether it is people praying for each other after the service, or someone bringing a meal to someone else, or people offering to cover the cost of a student for the youth retreat because they can’t afford it, or people sharing the love of Christ with people that they encounter, or people having their eyes open at church on a Sunday morning to meet someone new…to go out of what may be comfortable for them and make someone feel welcome. And by the way, I have seen all of those things happen. The Holy Spirit is moving, and we need to have sensitive hearts to where He is nudging us, and we need to choose obedience, and move forward in these simple acts of obedience, just like the many stories we see through the book of Acts. The last thing that I want to talk about today is that as a church we need to FIGHT for community It was never promised to be easy. In fact, when many people come together with different personalities, with different perspectives from different backgrounds, it is going to get messy. But that is not something that should stop us from pursuing Jesus together. Jesus will unite us together rather than tear us apart. Instead of jumping on and off the bandwagon like so many do with the Oilers, we need to fight for the church. We need to fight for each other. Rather than picking out what is wrong with the church, we need to see the good in people. We need to be people who fight against our pride, and pursue lives of humility, where we move forward with open hands being led by the Holy Spirit. It isn’t about us. Or what we want. When we decided to follow Jesus we laid all of that down. When we decided to follow Jesus we chose to die to ourselves so that Christ could live in us and through us. This is something that starts with you. Not the person next to you…but it starts with you. It starts with me. You have to be willing to step into the uncomfortable because it is in the uncomfortable that you will grow. It is in the uncomfortable where you will need to rely on God, and where you will see Him work, and thankfully He works despite us. When things get hard, we don’t bail, but we press on, we love each other, we serve each other, and we reach beyond our doors. You can’t control what someone else is going to do, but you can control what you do. You can make the choice of encouraging, serving, and asking the hard questions. You can make the choice to follow Jesus, and encourage others to do the same. A healthy church isn’t just growing with church goers who are looking for the next thing to serve them, but they are growing with disciples of Christ. We are on this journey together. We are the family of God. The church is worth fighting for. So let’s enter into this reality together. Let’s fight for each other. We need to be purposeful in our community. We need to live these things out. We need to care for and serve each other. We need to reach out beyond the walls of this building. We need to be led by the Holy Spirit. We need to fight for this kind of life because this is the kind of community the church is called to. If we don’t, we will become complacent, and apathetic and Jesus will become something that we do on Sundays, but doesn’t really affect our life throughout the week. He really won’t have an impact on our daily life, and church will be come a social circle without the mission that Jesus has called us to. Let’s get off of the sidelines, let’s get involved, and get our hands dirty, and be the church that Christ has called us to be. A community with a mission, led by the Holy Spirit. READ ACTS 2 again. Let’s pray. Pastor Stewart in his Easter Message challenges us to let Jesus out of the box, that place where we expect to find Jesus having put Him in the boxes of our own creation. Jesus is much bigger than what we make Him out to be. Jesus will challenge us to grow in areas that are uncomfortable for us. Luke 24:13-35 This audio recording may sound less than clear in spots as it was recorded on my phone. But for the most part, you should be able to hear the singing and the readings and the comments. May you be blessed.
Pastor Stewart spoke today on the people's reactions to Jesus during His ministry. Jesus did not fit the expectations of people. As they got to know Him, Jesus still shocked many and awed others. In our walk with the Lord which can be many years, does Jesus shock us? (This is not part of the Story series. The Story will resume at the Good Friday service.) Pastor Stewart spoke on being all in or all out with Jesus. Let those who identify themselves as followers of Jesus be with Him. Unfortunately the audio is unavailable. Matthew 16:13-20.
To illustrate what it means to be all in, Pastor Stewart asked for a volunteer to demonstrate the trust challenge. On a stepladder, a volunteer was to turn their back and fall into a volunteer group of catchers. Pastor Stewart demonstrated his trust by being the volunteer. |
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