Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
Unfortunately, in some parts of the United States Greyhound racing is still a popular betting sport. In these areas thousands of foolish gamblers fill grandstands to watch these incredibly sleek and beautiful dogs run as fast as they can around an oval-shaped track. Now, unlike race horses, greyhounds of course run without the assistance of a jockey. So, to make the dogs race-and race in the right direction, they are trained to chase a life-like but mechanical rabbit as it zips along the track in front of them. A man in the press box electronically controls the speed of the rabbit, keeping it just out in front of the dogs so they never quite catch up to it.
Well, at a Florida greyhound track some years back, a race was about to begin. The dogs crouched in their cages, ready to go, while betting spectators finished placing their wagers. At the right moment, the gun went off. Then the man in the press box pushed his lever, starting the rabbit down the first stretch, while the cage doors flew open, releasing the dogs to take off after the little bionic bunny. But, as the rabbit made the first turn, an electrical short in the system caused it to come to a complete stop, explode, and go up in flames. All that was left was a bit of black fluff hanging on the end of a wire. Well, with no rabbit to chase, the bewildered dogs didn’t know what to do.
According to news reports, many of them simply stopped running and laid down on the track, their tongues hanging out. Two dogs, still frenzied with the chase ran into a wall, breaking several ribs. Another dog began chasing his tail, while the rest stopped running and howled at the people in the stands. But, not one single dog finished the race.
I share this story because there is a sense in which a church can suffer a similar fate. In fact I think Paul was referring to this possibility in I Corinthians 9:26 when he talked about Christians who, …run aimlessly. You see without an aim-without clear cut goals to follow-without a finish line to strive for, churches make no real progress. They don’t grow…spiritually or numerically, and like some of those greyhounds, some of their members instead spend a lot of time barking at each other and the sinful world around them. As an experienced church planter Paul knew that for any local body of believers to grow it must know WHERE it’s going and WHY it’s going there…for as our text says, …where there is no vision…the people perish… Or as Rick Warren puts it, …where there is no vision, people leave for another parish.
Now, last week I reminded you of the basics of grace and that we believe it is God’s grace that motivates us to do all that we do here at Redland. One way to word this is to say that whereas God’s LAW…INSISTS on our fulfilling His purposes for this church….we believe that it is His GRACE that INSPIRES it. In other words, GRACE is the WHY of the WHAT that we do. Well, today I want to take our sermon time and use it to LOOK at the WHAT.
Think of this morning’s message as a report of all those things I feel God’s grace is motivating us to do in 2002. My goal as your pastor is for us all to leave this morning with a clearer picture of where we are going in the next 12 months. And to help you get a grip on all these God-given ministries and missions, I have organized them according to the commission that Jesus gave us in Acts 1 .
FIRST, I want us to look at those things God has called us to do in Jerusalem and Judea. In other words, those ministries that are pretty much in our own backyard, things we will be doing here in Derwood and D.C. THEN, we’ll look at those things God has called us to that are a little bit farther way…but still within driving distance. I think of these tasks as our Samaritan ministries for they are still within the geographical boundaries of this nation. And THIRDLY, we’ll close by focusing in on those ministries that God has called us to that are far away-tasks that we will complete that are literally in the uttermost parts of the earth. Then at the conclusion of our service, we’ll open the starting gates, fire the gun, and get this year’s race going! Okay, let’s get started…
1. What has God called Redland Baptist Church to do in ‘Jerusalem and Judea?’
Now, before I answer that question-before we look at this part of our vision for 2002 I want to make two quick points.
First of all, I want you to see that the BULK of what we do will take place in this arena of ministry.
After all, this is our God-given territory so to speak. This is our assigned spot on the front lines of the Kingdom of God. We have a PRIMARY responsibility to the people here in Montgomery County, Maryland. We spend our lives here, so this is where we have the MOST impact, which is why this particular ministry is the ministry God has uniquely gifted us to accomplish. This ‘Jerusalem and Judea’ is our PRINCIPAL assignment. In fact, it is the foundation for all we do. We will not be successful at any of our other God-given tasks unless we do a good job here at home.
Secondly, I want to point out that this local ministry will not end until Jesus comes back.
The members who make up Redland Baptist Church will be doing the five tasks of WOFDM right here in Derwood until the Lord calls us home. So, we will ALWAYS be working hard to provide meaningful worship. We will ALWAYS we sharing our faith…reaching out to our neighbors and co-workers with the gospel. We will ALWAYS be doing all we can to keep our fellowship healthy so that those around us see our love and recognize us as followers of Jesus Christ. We will ALWAYS be working to disciple each other through Sunday School and Discipleship Studies so we become more like our Master and Redeemer in thought, word, and action. We will ALWAYS be ministering to those around us who have physical need. No matter what comes, these five aspects of local ministry will never cease.
In II Timothy 4:2 Paul addresses this important principle when he advises that young pastor to, …be prepared to preach the Word in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. So, as the hymn says, We’ll work ’til Jesus comes and we’ll be gathered home! I’m taking the time to emphasize this point because I have observed that there is a tendency for us to grow weary in this kind of well-doing.
I mean, sometimes we get TIRED of focusing on WOFDM…worship, outreach, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry. We get bored and look for something different….more exciting to do. Well, the truth of the matter is much of ministry and mission is not exciting. It is difficult, often discouraging work.
Okay, enough preaching. Listen now as I share with you some of the things God has called us to join Him in doing right here in our own back yard.
Let’s start with WORSHIP
I am thrilled to announce that this year, thanks to the generous donation of an anonymous individual, we will complete our sanctuary renovations by installing new lighting. I can hardly wait to be able to finally get a good look at each of you! I’m sure you feel the same about me and the choir!
We’ll also continue to work hard to provide opportunities for people to come into the life-changing presence of God through corporate worship…worship that is balanced in the fact that it appeals to both emotion and reason. Before we plan any element of worship we will ask ourselves, What do we want our people to feel? and What do we want our people to think or understand? We are so blessed here to have such a broad-spectrum music program, graded choirs, orchestra, bells, the Gospel Choir, and we will strive to keep each of those healthy and strong.
Several of these groups are preparing special programs of worship for the coming year: musicals, concerts, and cantatas…but this spring something is happening that I really feel is a special landmark in the life of our church family when it comes to our worship. Here it is: April 27 & 28 our Sanctuary Choir and orchestra will combine with members of the choir at Tri-County Baptist Church…to present a musical based on Blackaby’s classic work, Experiencing God. Plans are underway to share it once here at Redland and a second time at Tri-County. This is a wonderful opportunity for two churches with a lot of past history to experience God in worship together. I am very thankful and excited about this opportunity.
And then…when it comes to OUTREACH…in 2002 we have several plans.
First of all, we will do all we can this year to equip ourselves to share our faith with people who follow the Muslim religion. I read this week that six hundred thousand students come to the United States to study each year-most of them Muslims-and only one in six ever is invited into an American home. I want us here at Redland to commit to change that statistic. And, to do this we need to learn how best to build relationships with these people. We’ll need to understand their religion and their culture because with that understanding we will be better equipped to lead them to that relationship that all people need-a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I don’t know if you knew it or not but when it comes to metropolitan areas in the United States, the D.C. area has the third highest population of Muslims. This means these lost people are our assignment from God. This is our part of the front lines of God’s kingdom. And to equip us for this task STEVE BAKER, former missionary to Turkey will be here February 17. He’ll preach on this subject that morning…and then lead us in a two-hour seminar that afternoon. We’ll follow this up with a discipleship track that is an even more in-depth look at the people of the religion of Islam.
As you know, we also live in a county with a high population of people who follow the Jewish religion and for this reason I feel it is also important for us to learn how to share the love of Jesus with them. To challenge us in this area, on May 5 the head of JEWS FOR JESUS, Moishe Rosen, will be here to speak in both services.
And then, to help us reach out to our immediate community we have planned a Community Appreciation Day for September 28. Redland hosted one of these block party outreach events in 1990 and several families were reached so put that date on your calendars.
…Moving on o the F in WOFDM….which stands for FELLOWSHIP…
I’m very excited to tell you that this fall, September 13-15, we have planned our FIRST-and what I hope will become ANNUAL-church wide retreat. We’ve booked 100 spaces at SKYCROFT, our retreat center north of Middletown, Maryland so that we can get away as a church for a time of fellowship and spiritual renewal. Rev. Bill Ratliff, pastor of Town Lake Community Church in Woodstock, Georgia and his wife Donna will be here to lead us in this retreat. I hope you’ll make plans to attend.
In the DISCIPLESHIP area we also have some important plans…
May 31-June 2 Sue and I will be leading a Marriage Enrichment Retreat at the Manor House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This will be a basic marriage enrichment retreat and we’ll have room for ten couples. I know many of you men may be hesitant to go on something like this but I will tell you from experience that every time Sue and I have shared a weekend retreat like this it has been fantastic. So, contact us and plan on joining the retreat. By the way, going will not label you as having a bad marriage because this event is for good marriages that want to be even better.
A second area of discipleship about which I have had a real burden in men’s ministry. And several of you men have told me you feel the same way. Perhaps inspired by the success of our women’s Bible study we see the need to be a part of a small group of men for prayer, Bible study, and accountability. So, on Saturday, February 23 we’ll gather here at Redland for breakfast to plan how best to do this. Stay tuned for details.
And then here’s one more discipleship announcement. Early this year we will be adding to our church staff…by hiring/calling a part-time director of Children’s Ministry. This individual will work around 18-20 hours a week supervising the ministry to our children and their families. He or she will pick up the baton that Dona Kauffman has so ably carried as a volunteer for the past four years. Again, read your SOWER because we will begin accepting resume’s very soon for this position.
Finally….in the MINISTRY area there are two things I want to mention…
First of all, we will continue our ministry to the people in the D.C. area whose lives are affected by the disease known as AIDS. Our own DEB VAUGN will once again lead us in this as we provide Easter baskets to be distributed this Spring to these people through the ministry of LOVE AND ACTION.
And secondly, God has brought a person to our body to lead us in another form of ministry here in Montgomery County. I’ve asked him to tell you about it.
This is RICK EDWARDS…the director of Habitat for Humanity for our county.
RICK EDWARDS SHARES
Okay, as you can see, we are going to be very busy here in Jerusalem and Judea!
2. Let’s move outward now and look at those things God has called us to that fall into Samaria.
And, I believe there are two very specific assignments that God has given us in this category. First, our youth have been led to the World Changers Project in Jefferson City, Missouri, July 13-20. Our youth minister, Steve Holt will be leading this trip. And second, we will once again send a team to work alongside the members of a new church start in Conway, New Hampshire, Valley Christian Church. Our own Bill Wehunt will be heading up this mission opportunity which will take place July 27-August 4. I’ve asked Steve and Bill to share with you some details of these trips.
STEVE HOLT SHARES
BILL WEHUNT SHARES
3. Okay…as you have heard, God has called us to ministry and mission in our own Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria…but He has also opened doors for us to minister with people at the ‘ends of the earth!
One way we will do that is by providing a place to live for missionaries who serve in these far away places through our Furlough House. And I’m happy to tell you that beginning in June of this year our little white Furlough House will be continually occupied by different missionaries and their families for three years. This Spring we need to get in there and do some serious cleaning so be ready to grab a bucket and a mop and join us!
But God has also provided us with two specific missions assignments. One is in Puebla, Mexico and the other is in Nairobi, Kenya. Bob Michael will head up the Mexico trip July 13-20…and I will be leading the Kenya trip July 27-August 4. I’ve asked Bob to share some details this morning and then our own missionary to Kenya, Cathie Burke is here today to close our time by telling how we can minister in Nairobi this summer.
BOB MICHAEL SHARES
CATHIE BURKE SHARES
Today I want those of you who are members of Redland to consider how you will respond to this vision God has given us for 2002. In your bulletin there is an insert. Fill it out and as we sing our invitational hymn I encourage you to bring it to the altar and lay it on the Lord’s table. And if you are looking for a church home I can think of no better Sunday to attend. Because today you have heard an exact description of the race God has called us to run in 2002.
If after hearing all this, you feel God leading you to join us in this race, we invite you to come forward during our closing hymn and share that decision with me. Others of you attending this morning may not be Christians and you are seeking purpose and meaning in life. As I alluded to earlier, that is not found in religion but rather in a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We invite you to make that decision this morning and to share it with us. Won’t you come as we sing?