 What is a Mirage? Mirage: an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, such as the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road caused by the refraction of light from the sky by heated air. In essence something that appears real or possible but is not in fact so…
Is your “Vision” of the Church today a “Mirage”… It looks possible and we think it’s what we want but in fact it is not so and never will be… If we continue to see the “Mirage” and seek after it we will go from church to church and leader to leader never satisfied because we are seeking something that does not exist… The devil has sold us a “Vision” of the church and developed a thirst in us that can never be quenched… John 4:13-14 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. 1. Church is not a place we come to be filled with as much biblical and spiritual knowledge as possible… There are a lot of Christians who just want to absorb knowledge and believe that if they just know enough or more or everything then they will be changed and bring change to others… This church believes in bible study and wrestling with the word and reading books and having courses in the app but not just for the sake of knowledge… In Acts 26 Paul is defending the faith and proclaiming Christ before king Agrippa and the governor Festus on his way to plead his case and his cause before Ceasar and Acts 26:24-25 says… 24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!" 25 But he said, "I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. Festus says to Paul that he has learned so much it is driving him mad… Paul proclaims no it is truth and reason because Paul has taken what he has learned and proven it to be true in the world he lives in… See if all the things you come and learn and have poured into you do not result in an outpouring in the world we have misevaluated the purpose of the teachings… We are supposed to be mad scientist out there in the world trying out the truths and challenges we receive in the church week after week… You have to try them out on yourself and then on your family and friends and coworkers and strangers… In the very first “church service” Jesus shows up in the room and tells the disciples… Touch Me, handle me… Let’s eat… He opened their understanding of the scriptures… He told them they needed the Holy Spirit… Sounds like church here at The Way!… Say “but then”!…. But then at that point Luke 24:50-51 says… 50 He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. So the first “church service” concluded with Jesus leading them out of the house they met in… blessing them… and then leaving them to work out what they had seen and heard and learned in their meeting outside in the world… The coming in and learning was never the end goal of Jesus for the church… Jesus did most of His work outside of the temple... Yes He was often in the temple... and often teaching... But He seemed to impact more lives "beyond the walls” of the temple then He did within them... 2. Jesus has a lot to say about the broken and poor... These are not broken and poor in physical appearances or bank accounts but in Spirit... My experience with people who are in the world is one of ignorance and destitution and an unwillingness to acknowledge that they are naked and poor… (and that’s the life I lived for a long time)… I've seen longing for healing and restoration in the church… but not nearly enough “brokenness and poverty of spirit”… These are good thing but so many believers run from that or try to portray a life and walk that is anything but broken and poor… God is speaking to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:15-17 when He says… 15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- We cannot hide from or deny our brokenness... Brokenness and poverty is not cultural or connected to certain geographical communities... Brokenness is the human condition apart from Christ… There are areas of our brokenness and poverty that are addressed at salvation like our broken relationship with the Father… and then there are the areas of brokenness and poverty that Jesus will spend the rest of our earthly life addressing… Psalm 51:17 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart Isaiah 66:1-2 1 Thus says the Lord: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist," Says the Lord. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit When most of us come to Christ we finally acknowledge our brokenness and poverty and we come to the One who restores what is broken and the One who has unlimited wealth… But here’s the challenge… Are you still broken and poor and of a contrite heart?… We’ve made coming to Christ a one time thing and coming to church the continuing goal of Christianity when coming to Christ was meant to be an ongoing pursuit…
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 What is 20/20 Vision?
20/20 is actually not perfect Vision... It's what most of us think perfect vision is and what we once had and what we long for in our relationship with God but it isn't perfect vision... If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. 20/20 vision only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. Other important vision skills, including peripheral awareness or side vision, eye coordination, depth perception, focusing ability and color vision, contribute to your overall visual ability. I want you to think about "A Plateau & A Problem"... "A Plateau & A Problem" is about focusing on your strengths & ignoring your weaknesses... We have to SEE or accept the Vision that our weaknesses show us and see them as a platform for God to continue his work in us... Philippians 1:6 He who has begun a good work in you will complete it We are going to do a "5 Point VISION Test" this morning to see if we've got 20/20... or better... or worse... John 20:20 He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. When we get up close to this scripture we see that Jesus allowing the disciples to “SEE” His wounds that they knew were fatal allowed them to have a new “VISION” for what was possible… Take a few steps back to about 20 feet and look again at John 20:19-22 “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” First day of the week… Sunday… There was fear that they were not ashamed of… We come to church with problems that are bigger than us and that is nothing to be ashamed of… Jesus came into the midst of their Sunday gathering and brought peace into their season of fear… They still couldn’t understand how His presence meant they could have peace in their season of fear and trial and difficulty until what???… 20/20 He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord When they saw that it was Jesus and not even death could stop Him they began to believe that they could have peace… Hebrews 2:14-15 that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. And once you begin to SEE that there is life after death in Christ and that peace beyond the grave is possible for you there is only one thing left to do… He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Here are some other 20/20's to consider! Exodus 20:20 20 And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." 2 Chronicles 20:20 20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." Ezekiel 20:20 20 hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. Acts 20:20 I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house Christians with 20/20 see that everything is by the grace of God… Your life… The amount of time He allowed you to live far from Him and denying Him… Every good thing you have in your life… Christians with more than 20/20 see that AND that every test He has given you is also part of His grace in your life… Can you SEE His VISION for your life yet?  In our "I AM" series we heard Jesus say...
I AM Coming... I AM Aware... I AM Able... I AM Here... How do you go on from there? I AM Here should pretty much be time to roll the credits... But as I thought about the church and how many of us feel like church is the only place of peace and happiness and hope in our lives I began to ask the question… "What is the difference between the church and every other area of our lives?"… I have a list for you to compare "the church" and the rest of "your life"… The church is:
Is it possible that the church is our only place of peace and refuge because the rest of our lives are prioritized and built so much differently than the church is?… Our first word from God in 2017 is this… You need to realize that “you are the church”... and your life should be built like the church... “i AM the church!”... 2 Corinthians 3:18 we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” You are being changed from a pawn of the devil to a clone of the King... Ephesians 2:1-5 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) We have been pulled out of the devils army of pawns and we are being transformed into sons and daughters of God with His DNA because His blood is running through our veins… When someone grows up and becomes an actress and their mother was an actress or an NFL player and their father played in the NFL people say… “It was in their GENES… BLOOD… DNA… John 14:12-18 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. This morning when you say “i AM the Church”… We are saying there is something in us that allows us to be and do things that are only explainable if we are sons and daughters of God… This is the “age” we are living in and I pray that we don’t miss it because we think we are living in some prequel before the Spirit of God was indwelling all men and women who would put their faith in Jesus… 1 Corinthians 3:16-19 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. You are the temple & dwelling place of God… Say it with me… “i AM the Church”!!! |
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