Vision & Mission Sunday
September 8, 2024
“Without VISION the people perish.”
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) // Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) // Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.
Proverbs 29:18 (NIV) // Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint, but blessed is the one who
heeds wisdom’s instruction.
Hebrew meaning: Perish = Unrestrained = Unbridled = To “let the reins loose”
We have a beautiful and powerful community here, but in order to fully harness the POWER and POTENTIAL of this body, we must restrict and direct our focus (and therefore our activities) through a PROPHETIC VISION.
BODY OF CHRIST // This is a corporate calling that also has massive personal implications.
You see, we are one of the few generations that has become so individualistic that we now think about our purpose, calling and destiny in almost exclusively selfish terms. We’ve largely forgotten how to think and function as a body. So we ask questions like…
What is my calling?
What is my vision?
What is my purpose in life?
What am I here for?
But this type of individualism is a recent historical development. For thousands of years, people existed in the interconnectedness of a village, community or people group. People understood that they were a part of a network, a body, a tribe… and the goal was not so much personal advancement and fulfillment as it was the success of the TRIBE.
What if our purpose in life was meant to be discovered NOT in isolation but as part of a tribe?
What if our individual callings are not as individual as we’ve been led to believe?
What if our calling is connected to our community?
What if our future is interconnected with a family?
What were you saved FOR?
Colossians 1:13-18 //
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church.
The 4 corners of a foundation that we believe THE LORD can build upon for decades to come:
VISION - A passion for Jesus and His purposes on the earth.
MISSION - To establish churches of True Worship that equip the saints to love God, obey His word, and make disciples, in Utah and beyond.
John 4:19-24 //
The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Ephesians 4:4-16 //
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”[a]
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Matthew 28:18-20 //
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
“God’s church does not have a mission. God’s mission has a church.” And through Scripture, we can see that His church was founded on several immovable values. Every house is built off of a set of designs called a…
BLUEPRINT: God’s Design for His House
The Holy Spirit, Unified Prayer, Scripture, Apostolic Leadership, Repentance, Generous Community, Boldness
5 CIRCLES OF A HEALTHY CHURCH
Personal Devotional Life
Life-on-Life Discipleship
House Church (Lifegroup)
Sunday Gatherings
Life on Mission
Response // Nehemiah and the Wall
5 Key Elements of Nehemiah’s Mission:
He saw a national crisis that grieved him. (Neh. 1:3-4)
He turned to the Lord in prayer and repentance. (Neh. 1:5-11)
He asked for FAVOR to accomplish a great task. (Neh. 2:3-5)
I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.”
He assembled a community to fulfill the vision. (Neh. 2:17)
“You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”
Everyone contributed to the vision by working on a section of the wall “opposite his own house.” (Neh. 3:28-30)
Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber.
In times of rebuilding, the assignment is always LOCAL.
What if you could escape the global swirling of events and find daily joy in a local mission?
What if you could live above the confusion and chaos because you are living with purpose and clarity?
What if you could get delivered from the distress of our nation's instability because you are abiding in His love and watching it bear fruit in your neighborhood, workplace, etc.
We’ve made it so complex when Jesus made it incredibly simple. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What if everything going on is distracting you from the one thing that actually matters? The one thing you will actually be held accountable for. “Did you love the people I put in front of you and did you proclaim My love to them?”
Great questions for living locally:
What have you called me to do here?
Who have you called me to love here?
What does service look like here?
Who am I praying for here?
BUILDER vs. CONSUMER
Am I becoming a disciple who makes disciples?
Do I pray for the mission to advance and succeed?
Do I encourage those in leadership?
Do I serve the community?
Do I give towards the mission?
Am I allowing yourself to be known and loved by the family?
Am I getting to know and love others in the family?
Ephesians 2:19-22 // So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.