1. God (Psalm 127:1; 135:5-12)
2. Holiness in Our Homes (1 Peter 1:14-16)
3. Servant Hearts (1 Peter 4:10-11)
4. Boldness to Speak With Others (Acts 4:13)
Rock Valley Bible Church is in transition. Next Sunday morning, we are having a special "Send-off" service for us at Kishwaukee Bible Church. At that service, those of us who are involved in Rock Valley Bible Church will come up to the front for a time of prayer, seeking God's blessing on our efforts. It will be a most encouraging time for both churches as we look to the Lord to continue His work of building His church.
In two weeks from now, we will be moving to Rockford Christian High School to begin meeting on Sunday mornings for the first time. Tonight, I am going to place before you tonight a vision of the future needs of Rock Valley Bible Church.
When we move to Rockford Christian High School, things will be different. There will be greater demands upon all of us as we move there. No longer will we come into a building where we simply need to clean toys in the nursery, bring in two big plastic boxes of our own supplies, set up a few music stands, and "have church."
I remember when Dr. Mayhue came to speak to us a year ago, he was in the parking lot when we finally arrived at church. He witnessed us taking our two plastic boxes out of our van and said, "I see. Church in a box!" at Rockford Christian High School, it will be totally different. No longer will we be able to have "church in a box." Rather, there will be greater demands placed upon all of us.
Tonight, I would like to address the four greatest
needs that we have at Rock Valley Bible Church. Our first need is
...
1. God (Psalm 127:1; 135:5-12)
Turn with me to Ps. 127:1, "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." This verse tells us that all of our efforts, apart from divine blessing, will result in vanity, emptiness, nothing.
We can work and work and work and work and work on building our homes. We can pour into the life of our children. We can do everything in our power for our children. We can do everything in our power for our marriage. Yet, "unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."
We can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on national defense to fight against terrorists. We can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on national intelligence to learn about terrorists. We can perform strict border checks to guard against terrorists and have strict immigration laws to restrict foreigners coming into our country to terrorize it. Yet, "unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain."
We can spend much money in advertising our church. We can work as hard as we can to have the nicest church services that we can. We can have the best music. We can have the best preaching. We can have multiple pastors working at our church. Yet, "unless the LORD builds the church, the church labors in vain."
I read this week about Harvard Street Methodist Episcopal Church, which started by seven people in 1838. In 1841, they built their first building. On November 26, 1857, sixteen years later, the building burned down to the ground. In 1858, a new building was built. On March 15, 1861, three years later, the burned to the ground. I also read this week about Marion, High School, in Marion, Indiana, which was built in September 1891. In 1902 (eleven years later), the building burned badly. The building was rebuilt and reopened. Four years later, in 1906, the school was burned and totally destroyed. A new building was built and the school opened. Two years later, the school was burned again.
This is what can happen in a church. God can build a church. God can destroy a church. God can destroy a church over and over and over and over again. Thus, our supreme need at Rock Valley Bible Church is for God. Without God, we might as well try to restrain the wind with our hands. Without God, we might as well try to jump to the moon. Without God, we might as well try to empty the ocean of its water.
How do we express our dependence upon God? Primarily we do through prayer to Him. When we pray, we express our need for Him and our total dependence upon Him for all things. By the nature of it, prayer is an active choice not to do anything about meeting your need for yourself at that time. Prayer is stopping what you are doing, vocalizing your dependence upon God to Him, and trusting that He will provide.
Our God is sovereign and able to answer our prayers. As one man said, "God is on His throne governing all things in this universe as an absolute Sovereign" (Al Martin, A Ballast for Your Soul, 12/31/99). Every molecule in your body and every particle of the farthest galaxy (that we haven't yet discovered) is governed by God. Nothing escapes His notice and nothing is out of His control.
Why do you think we pray for those unemployed to get jobs? Because our God is sovereign to sway the hearts of men to extend employment opportunities to them. Why do you think we pray for our women struggling with breast cancer? Because our God is able to heal.
Let me demonstrate this from the scripture. Turn over a few chapters to Psalm 135. "For I know that the LORD is great, And that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps" (verses 5-6). Whatever the LORD pleases, He does. He is the king who doesn't need to answer to anybody. He is the "top dog." Whatever God wants to do, He does.
Notice the four illustrations the Psalmist provides for us.
1. God is sovereign over the weather (verse 7): "He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain; Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries." The meteorologist may forecast what the weather will be like tomorrow. But God is the one who decides first of all what the weather will be like tomorrow. The meteorologist is merely reporting the news. God is making the news.
2. God is sovereign over life and death (verses 8): "He smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and beast." The Psalmist brings to remembrance all of the plagues which came upon Egypt, the LORD went through the land of Egypt to destroy the first-born of all of the Egyptians. "From the first-born of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, ... to the first-born of the captive who is in the dungeon ... even to the first-born of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the first-born of the cattle as well" (Ex. 11:5; 12:29) -- all were killed. This demonstrates God's sovereignty over the smallest of choices. It was only the Egyptian people and live-stock who were destroyed. The people of Israel were secure as could be. It was only the Egyptian first-born who were destroyed. The second-born were secure as could be.
3) God is sovereign over the plagues (i.e. "natural disasters") (verse 9): "He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants." God stopped and started each of the plagues upon His command. But remember also, that the plagues, themselves, were also discriminatory (i.e. they only affected certain people). The swarms of insects everywhere affected the Egyptians, but not the Israelites. The pestilence on the livestock only occurred to the Egyptian cattle, not those of the Israelites. It was only the Egyptians who were affected by the boils. The magicians were covered with boils and couldn't come and appear before Pharaoh, but Moses could. The hail that was sent only came upon the Egyptians, not upon the Israelites, who lived in Goshen. In Egypt only it was dark for three days, so that nobody got up from their house. In Israel the light shined as normal.
4) God is sovereign over "wars" (verses 10-12): "He smote many nations, and slew mighty kings: Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. And He gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people." This is speaking about after the Exodus from Egypt. God was sovereign in determining the nations that would fall and the land that Israel would obtain.
We serve a sovereign God, and this is why we pray. We pray because God "is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen" (Eph. 3:20-21).
So, why doesn't God answer prayers sometimes? The answer is right here in Ps. 135:6, "Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps." Sometimes we might be praying for something which the LORD, in His sovereignty, has chosen not to do. When God doesn't answer prayer, He has a reason for it. God never says, "Oh, I wish that I could do something about that prayer request, but I just can't. I'm not powerful enough." God never says, "I have so many things on my mind right now that I'll let circumstances happen. I don't have time to take heed to this prayer request." Rather, we are told to "cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter. 5:7). When God doesn't answer prayer, it is because of His sovereign pleasure not to answer. Our job isn't to order God around. It is our job to depend wholly upon Him, and we express that when we pray.
At Rock Valley Bible Church need to keep prayer a priority. We have sought hard to do keep prayer a priority corporately. We will continue to seek hard to keep prayer a priority corporately. But, our corporate prayers are vain unless we are all praying individually. Corporate prayer without individual prayer is like the Pharisees of whom Jesus spoke, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me" (Matt. 15:8). Corporate prayer without individual prayer is words without heart. But when you have a heart of prayer, you will pray individually.
I exhort you to be a praying people when you are not in our midst. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) Set aside time for prayer. If I would ask you, "How much time do you pray every day?" Would you be ashamed? May I simply point out that your heart of dependence upon God is directly related to the time you devote to prayer.
In regards to our corporate prayer, when we start on Sunday mornings, things will change. If God provides more and more people, we naturally need to pray in a more formalized manner. By this, I simply mean that our time for taking prayer requests will go down. The bigger a church service gets, the more difficult it is to share prayer requests among ourselves. Perhaps the best way to handle this is to make your prayer requests known throughout the week with all of us, rather than simply waiting for Sunday morning to raise your hand. We can put requests upon a prayer sheet to make the need known.
Additionally, on Sunday mornings, we will have more time available to meet. We have run into the time crunch on Sunday evenings with children's bed times. In the evening it is difficult to meet for longer than we have. But in the morning, we'll have an opportunity at some point to meet before the service and pray together. Initially, we will plan our single service from 10am - 11:30am. But at some point, we can easily expand with a Sunday School for children and prayer for adults before the service begins. That's my vision for things.
My greatest desire is for us to look at Rock Valley Bible Church in ten years and say, "God built this church." Perhaps someone will come to one of us and say, "How do you know that God built your church? Wasn't it your skills and talents?" We'll be able to say, "No, God built it, because we have been on our knees together as a church pleading His mercy. This has been our constant heart-beat. We are a praying people."
Our greatest need at Rock Valley Bible Church is for God. "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain" (Ps. 127:1). Unless the LORD builds His church, they labor in vain who try. May we never forget it.
Our second greatest need at Rock Valley Bible Church is for
...
2. Holiness in Our Homes (1 Peter 1:14-16)
Peter writes, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts [which were yours] in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all [your] behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY" (1 Peter 1:14-16).
Peter gives us a simple exhortation, the crux of which is found in verse 15, "like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior." He instructed the scattered believers not to live like they used to live, but live a holy life, a pure life, a different life, a set apart life. Why are we to live holy? To earn God's favor? No. To satisfy God's righteous requirement? NO. To be good people? No. Look what the text says...
... to be an obedient child (verse 14).
... to be like the One who called you (verse 15).
... because we were redeemed with precious blood (verses 18-19).
... because your faith and hope are in God (verse 21).
... because you have been born again to a living hope (1:3).
Peter says, "God has called you to be like Himself. God is holy. You are to be holy as well." Your behavior is to reflect God's character. This is a great need for the people at Rock Valley Bible Church -- to be like the God who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. ... Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:14,16). This is what our church needs to be -- a people who is filled with good works. We do this, not so that people will look at us and say, "Oh, look at those good people," but so that people will look at God and glorify Him. As we walk in holiness, people need to see our God.
It all starts in our homes. Your holiness and your purity at home has a direct relationship on our church. Don't think that you can shut the door to your house, pull down the shades and live how you want and not have it affect Rock Valley Bible Church. Don't think that you can read bad things and not affect our church. Don't think that you can watch smutty TV shows or immoral rented movies and not have it affect our church. Don't think that you can hop on the internet and go where you know you shouldn't go, without repercussions to our church. Don't think than you can deal harshly with your wife at home without the effects upon our church. Don't think that a smile and a cheery disposition on Sundays when we gather will help, as if all is well.
Many of you know that I spoke at a Valentine's Day banquet on Friday night, and so I spent some time this week thinking about love and marriage. I ran across this quote which represents my heart on this point, which said, "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." In other words, your own personal holiness and purity and love within the four walls of your house will have an effect upon the others in your house. Particularly, in this case, a man's love for his wife will have a lasting impression upon his children. The converse is true as well. A man's mistreatment of his wife will have a lasting impression upon his children. Husbands, how is your home? Is holiness in your home, or is selfishness in your home? Are those in your home being drawn to be like the Holy One, as they model your behavior?
Let me give a you a personal example of what I am talking about. I remember when my grandmother was getting older and weaker, it was necessary for her to move to DeKalb to be closer to our family. And as the years went by, her health deteriorated. I remember the testimony of my father and his care for my grandmother, his mother. Almost every day, he would leave the hospital for lunch and go over the nursing home where my grandmother was and feed her lunch. She couldn't feed herself, but needed help. At that point, she couldn't even remember who he was. She used to call him, "uncle Levi." But my father was a servant to his mother until her dying days. Let me ask you, what kind of effect do you think that his example before me has had? He demonstrated what it meant to love his mother. So, when his body rots in the grave and his soul goes to be with the Lord, and mom is old and can't remember who I am, and can't feed herself, what am I going to do? I'll do just what my dad did. This is what I am talking about.
I was speaking with a man recently who moved in with his in-laws. His mother-in-law was dying of some disease, some sort of slow paralysis. I don't know what it was. Her illness took about ten years until it took her life. She transitioned from being independent, to needing a walker, to needing a wheel chair, to being bed-ridden. Eventually, she couldn't even communicate very well, because she lost her coordination. In the last few years, this man loved and served his wife by sacrificing greatly of himself. Rarely was there a night in which he slept for more than several hours at a time. He would work during the day. He would serve his wife during the night. She simply needed constant care. He cared for his wife. At the funeral, just a few months ago, the pastor said, "You have demonstrated to all of us what it means to love." This is what Rock Valley Bible Church needs. We need examples of holiness in our homes.
I long to see the day when in each home of Rock Valley Bible Church there is a decidedly spiritual atmosphere. I pray,
O give us homes with godly fathers, mothers,
Who always place their hope and trust in Him;
Whose tender patience turmoil never bothers,
Whose calm and courage trouble cannot dim;
A home where each finds joy in serving others,
And love still shines tho' days be dark and grim.
O give us homes where Christ is Lord and Master,
The Bible read, the precious hymns still sung;
Where pray'r comes first in peace or in disaster,
And praise is natural speech to every tongue;
Where mountains move before a faith that's vaster,
And Christ sufficient is for old and young.
It doesn't start with Children's Sunday School for one hour at church. Everything that we do in an hour at church can be undone in fifteen minutes in the home. Men, it starts with you, when you begin to lead your family spiritually. Our activities on Sunday will only influence your home. Home is where it all happens. Let me ask you a few questions ...
Do you read the Bible with your wife?
Do you pray with your wife?
Do you speak with your wife about spiritual things?
Do you read the Bible with your children?
Do you pray with your children?
Do you speak with your children about spiritual things?
Are you teaching them what the Bible says?
Is the truth of the scripture being applied in your homes?
Men, if you are convicted by these questions, why not start tomorrow? I don't know a single wife in this room who would resist her husband's request to read the Bible and pray together as a family.
At Rock Valley Bible Church, we need ...
3. Servant Hearts (1 Peter 4:10-11)
Move over a few chapters to 1 Peter 4:10. This verse will give you a perspective of serving others in the church. "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10).
In this verse, God gives us His perspective of serving the body. God has given to each of one of us a giftedness. It is something which we have been given. We haven't earned it. We haven't deserved. We have purchased it. God has given it. As such, we need to use it.
My son loves Legos. When he is given a new box of Legos, he doesn't leave the box unopened and put the box in his closet, or up on the his dresser, so that everybody can see it. No, he tears into the box, opens it up and begins to use it. He builds whatever is in the box, then takes it apart and then builds it again.
God doesn't give us a gift simply to put on a shelf and look at it. We are called to be stewards of the gifts that God has given to each and every one of us. To use Peter's language, ... "employ it in serving one another." If God has gifted you in something, just start doing it. If it is in encouraging others, encourage others. If it is serving dinner to others, serve dinner to others. If it is helping fix automobiles, help fix each other automobiles. If it is in helping with computer problems, help with computers. If it is in exhorting others, exhort others.
With our move to Rockford Christian High School, we are going to need people to step up to the plate and help in major ways. Our needs will be great to be able to pull off a Sunday morning service. Here are a few of our needs...
1. Set-Up (Saturday late afternoon or evenings):
- Worship center (take down tables, and set up chairs).
- Nursery
- Welcome table
- Signs (outside on Saturday morning and inside on Saturday night)
2. Greeters
3. Nursery workers (we will need to expand our current staff)
4. Clean-up and take-down (we want to leave the school is in the same condition as we found it).
5. Food set-up
- Coffee set-up and serving
- Pot-lucks
- Snacks (future possibility)
This is much more than we do right now. We will need the help of all of you. But notice how I framed our need. I didn't say that we need, "servants" at Rock Valley Bible Church -- though we do. I said that we need "servant hearts" at Rock Valley Bible Church. By that distinction, I am simply trying to point out that in our service, our internal motivation and desires is of paramount importance. We need people who are internally motivated and strengthened by God.
We need to rely upon God for the strength to serve. Look at Verse 11, "Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies." This is important. When you serve, let it be God who strengthens you for the task. Seek not to muster up the strength in yourself to serve.
For the first month at Rockford Christian High School, this won't be a problem -- we'll all be so excited to be in the place. Nor will it be a problem in 3 months. But, when a year or two rolls around, it may be a problem. Yvonne and I have been there. Week-in-week-out set--up and tear-down can be very wearying. I can remember times when we were establishing Kishwaukee Bible Church of being so overwhelmed with the week-in-week-out demands upon us. I can remember a few specific times when we looked at each other and said, "This is hard word. I'm wearied." And yet, looking back, it was a joyous time.
That's why Peter exhorts the way he does ... whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies. ..." (1 Pet. 4:11). If you seek to serve on your own strength, it will be difficult for you. My sermon tonight isn't reactive to a problem we have. My sermon tonight is preventative to help when the going gets tough (i.e. I'm anticipating the issue). The time will come when it will be hard. Welcome to church planting!
I ask you now to resolve in your heart to serve the body from the strength which God gives you in such a manner that (look at the end of verse 11), ... "in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." This is the end of it all. Our service in the church needs to be in such a manner that God may be glorified. In other words, don't bring the attention to yourself in this matter. Reflect the attention to God. When you struggle, pray to God that He would strengthen you to His glory.
Paul gives us a picture of the church in 1 Corinthians 12, where he describes the need for all of the parts of the body to work together, or else the entire body suffers. Taking this metaphor, suppose, for instance, that we have a need for seeing, and we have several body parts available to us. Suppose also that we have several body parts available to us. We have a hand. We have a mouth. We have an eye. Suppose, furthermore, that it was my job to assign the body part to the function we need. Suppose, further, that I make a poor judgment and assign the task of seeing to the hand. Perhaps it can't do the job very well for things far away, but for things near-by, it can certainly feel where it is going. It will try to do this the best it can. What will be the result? Our whole body will suffer. The hand, try as it might, will do a poor job. The hand will be frustrated in that it has to work so hard, doing what it isn't gifted to do. But what if the eye came to me and said, "Steve, you have a need for seeing? God has gifted me in this area and I would really like to help the body with seeing. I have a heart to do it and I think that I can do it pretty well. What will be the result? Our whole body will rejoice together. The eye will be able to do a good job. The eye likes seeing. It was made to see!
Similarly, within the church, there are many of us with varied gifts and giftedness. This is exactly the point of 1 Pet. 4:10, "As each one has receive a gift, employ it in serving one another." My exhortation to all of you is this: "As God has gifted you, serve the body." As Nike says, "Just do it."
Getting back to this body illustration, on the one hand, I do see my task as seeking to evaluate the giftedness of each one of you and attempt to funnel you into your particular area of giftedness, so as to build the body in the most effective way. Then you are happy because you are doing what God has gifted you to do. Then others are happy, because you are doing what God has gifted you to do. And God is glorified, because the whole body is working together. Whenever this is messed up, the entire body suffers.
Yet, on the other hand, I will always be very careful so as not to inflict and press upon others a role of service to which God has not gifted them. I have ideas for almost everyone in this room, as I have thought about our church, but I don't want to assign you something to do. Here is my desire. I want to give you a vision for our needs. I want to say, "This is what we need as a church. ... We need to have a major set-up crew which can set-up this place on Saturday evenings. We need to take more of an active role in having greeters welcome people for the first time. We need to have more nursery workers. We need to have a clean-up crew, to leave this place like we found it. We will have more opportunities for fellowship over food." Then, I want to say, "if God has put it on your heart to do any of these things, come to me, and we'll get you involved in one of these areas. ... Or go to others who are serving and say, may I have a turn?" You'll be happy because you are doing what God has gifted you to do. The church will benefit because you are serving within your giftedness. God will be glorified, because you are being a "good steward of the manifold grace of God" (1 Pet. 4:10). And when things get tough, you won't say, "Uggghhh, Steve snookered me into this task. I didn't want to do it, but it was thrust upon me. I said that I'd do it, but I never really wanted to in the first place." When things get tough, I want you to say, "I simply don't feel like serving today. But I'm convinced that this is how God has gifted me. I know that this is the best way to serve the body. Oh, God, give me the strength to do what you have called me to do."
Last night, my family went into the suburbs to watch my nephews perform
in a children's musical of Tom Sawyer. I love the scene when his aunt Polly tells him
that he has to white-wash the fence before he can go out to play. Initially, as his
friends come by, they say, "Tom, let's go out and play. Tom, let's go out fishing of
swimming." Tom says, "No, I can't because I have to white-wash the fence first." His
friends say, "Poor Tom, he has to white-wash the fence. You're missing out on all the
fun!" Tom replies, "What are you talking about, this is fun too." "Fun??" "Yeah, look
at how clean it looks after I white-wash it. .... and I get to do the whole fence all
by myself! ... I don't want to go swimming right now. I'm finding my satisfaction
white-washing this here fence." His now enlightened friends say, "Hey, can we try?"
"Nope. I get to do it." "Please, can we try?" "No. I get to do the whole fence!" Then
one of his friends says, "Tom, I'll tell you what, I'll give you the rest of my apple
if you give me a chance to white-wash the fence."
"Well, ... OK, I'll let you try." Then a few other friends make a bargain with Tom --
giving him things so that they can white-wash his fence for him.
I would love for this to be the picture of the church. You get to talking with somebody in the church and it comes out that you are on the set-up crew -- every Saturday night, with last minute details on Sunday morning. Someone comes along and says, "Poor you, you have to set-up every morning. ... I get to sleep in and arrive just before the service starts." Then you reply, "It's not like you think. I'm on set-up crew and I have a blast doing it." "You actually like it?" "You sure bet that I do. I bring my children every Saturday evening. It's dad's night out with the boys. They work right beside me and love the short basketball game that we play when we finish." Now, the enlightened church member says, "Can I do this?" "No, it's my job -- for me and my boys." "Please? I'd like to try." "But you like to sleep in and arrive just before the service starts! I don't think that you would be interested in setting up." After a moment's reflection, this man says, "I'll tell you what. What if you let me set-up and I give you money to go to McDonalds each Saturday night to go out with your boys and enjoy a burger."
You could tell similar stories for service in the nursery or with food setup. Of course the analogy breaks down, because Tom Sawyer fooled his friends. But I would love for Rock Valley Bible Church to have people tripping over one another because all of you are so anxious to serve.
Finally, we have a need for ...
4.
Boldness to Speak With Others (Acts 4:13)
Turn in your Bibles to Acts 4:13. Again, I simply want to put before you a simple verse from which my thoughts can springboard this evening. At this point in Acts, Peter was arrested for healing a lame man and preaching that it was the power of Jesus Christ who had healed him. He stood up and boldly proclaimed to the religious counsel that it was in the name of Jesus Christ that the man was healed, and that "there is no salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10,12).
Then, we have verse 13 their response, "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as being with Jesus." They eventually let them go, though telling them not to speak any more in the name of Jesus (verse 17). Peter said, "We can't help it, we will be true to God."
Notice here how they were bold. This word translated "confidence," in verse 13, is translated, "courage, or boldness" in other translations. This was the early evangelistic methodology: boldness. We need to do the same. Open our mouths and talk to others. At this stage in our church, we need boldness to speak with others.
One of the greatest things I am excited about with our move to Sunday mornings is our ability to advertise with a sense of permanency. As we have met here at Valley Baptist Church on Sunday nights, I feel like we have been in the tabernacle in the wilderness, which moved around. Any day now, we could move to another location. But now, I feel like we have come to the temple -- a permanent place where we can be for a while. Our advertising potential will be increased. Our meeting time and location will be in the Ameritech Yellow Pages when it comes out this summer. Our sign will be on Bell School Road from Saturday until we leave church on Sunday morning. The brochures that I put in your hand this evening will be printed up professionally with color. I plan on being sponsored as church of the week on WGSL - Radio 91. I plan on looking into the Saturday advertisement for churches in the Rockford Register Star. I plan on doing some door-to-door literature distribution. I plan on doing an outreach soccer camp this summer.
I would like for us to be in the new place for a month-or-so, as we work out the kinks. Then, I would like to make some of these conscious efforts to spread the word about Jesus Christ and about our church. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'd love to see the word spread to the Rockford community and see people hear the gospel and come to faith in Jesus and join our church.
Be encouraged that you all can do this. In fact, you we need you to do this. When I used to work for companies, I had many opportunities to share about Christ and the church He was building. But now, as a full-time pastor, I have found it much more difficult because my contact is primarily with Christians, rather than non-Christians. But all of you can do this. Look at verse 13 again. Peter and John were uneducated and untrained men. You don't need a great Seminary education to speak with others about Jesus. You don't need great training to speak with others.
You want to know the key? Look at the end of verse 13, "they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." As you commune with Jesus and as you have intimacy with Jesus, it will be evident that you have been with Jesus. May God give to us the boldness to speak with other of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our evangelistic methodology at Rock Valley Bible Church will be this: boldness to speak.
These our the needs at Rock Valley Bible Church.
We need ...
1. God (Psalm 127:1; 135:5-12)
2. Holiness in Our Homes (1 Peter 1:14-16)
3. Servant Hearts (1 Peter 4:10-11)
4. Boldness to Speak With Others (Acts 4:13)
These aren't simply needs for you. These are needs for me as well. When I finished preparing this message (this morning), I looked back at my prayer journal to see what it is that I have been praying for myself. I was greatly encouraged. This was my phraseology I have prayed for myself in recent months.
July 19, 2001 - "Pray to be a holy, praying man." (Need for God)
July 19, 2001 - "Pray for entire sanctification." (Need for holiness)
August 19, 2001 - "Pray for opportunities to speak and boldness in the opportunities." (Need for boldness)
December 27, 2001 - "Pray that I would be a servant." (Need for a servant heart)
These are my needs. These are the needs of Rock Valley Bible Church. We need God to come among us and give us holy homes, servant hearts, and boldness to speak. May God do so to His glory.
This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on
February 17, 2002 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.