Momentum - Week 11
If you grew up in a church that taught that Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross, that he died, rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and is one day going to return, you undoubtedly understand the mission Jesus had for people.
Jesus' mission is best summed up in his own words from Luke 19:10:
Luke 19:10 (NLT2)
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Jesus came to seek out those who have not yet experienced forgiveness of sins, and draw them into God’s family. He came to find the lost. That was his mission. But he also had a vision for the people he found. His vision is what many people know and recognize as the “Great Commission” found in Acts 1:8.
Acts 1:8 (NLT2)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The vision Jesus had for the people he found and saved was that they would tell people about Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The disciples got the mission: to tell people about Jesus. But they missed the vision: take it beyond Jerusalem.
YOU HAVE A PLAN BUT GOD HAS A VISION
Jesus spent three years of his life with the disciples, and the entire time he was with them, the disciples’ plan was that Jesus would establish his Kingdom in Jerusalem at that time. Jesus kept correcting them. But they just didn’t get it.
When we read the Gospels, we see that they believed He came to set up a political, immediate, national movement. Jesus repeatedly corrected that thinking. This attitude is seen most prominently in the week before Jesus was crucified.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the disciples and crowds of people treated him like a conquering King about to assume the throne. They waved branches, spread cloaks on the ground, called him the Son of David, and were certain his entry marked the beginning of their plans for a long-awaited revolution.
That’s why the disciples grabbed their swords when Jesus was being arrested in the Garden. That’s why Peter swung his sword and scraped the side of the High Priest's servant’s ear. They were ready to fight and ready for the Kingdom to come! Even after Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead, the disciples still had plans for Jesus to lead a revolution and build his Kingdom in Jerusalem.
Acts 1:6 (NLT2)
So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
The disciples never seemed to fully grasp that Jesus wanted the message of forgiveness of sins to go to all people. After Jesus told them to go to the ends of the earth, then he ascended into heaven…The Disciples focused on building a big comfortable church in Jerusalem.
Between the resurrection of Jesus and Acts 8, likely 3-4 years passed, and the Apostles still had not gone outside the city of Jerusalem to tell others about Jesus.
We all have plans: career, family, and future. But if God's vision isn’t part of the plan, our plans will stall, and we will experience setbacks until we make his vision our own. And, that may be why you feel stuck at times. You want a godly marriage, but God’s vision is not part of your marriage. You want a great-paying job, but God’s vision is not part of your occupation.
Perhaps the reason why you may feel like you have your foot down on the accelerator, and living out the mission of Jesus, but you feel like there is something more, and you feel like you are stuck, could be because, like the disciples, you are following the mission, but missing the vision.
Jesus told them to LEAVE Jerusalem and go into the region of Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, but the disciples chose to STAY in Jerusalem instead. They built a powerful church, they grew a large church, they followed the mission, but they never moved. And, I believe sometimes we too get stuck in trying to generate momentum in what we think should happen, rather than seeking to live out God’s vision for our lives. So, God intervened in the first church.
Acts 8:1-3 (NLT2)
Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3 But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.
GOD ALLOWED THE HARD TO PUSH THE VISION FORWARD
Because of the persecution, all 15,000 believers were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria! God allowed the persecution to occur, to push the message of hope in Jesus into the neighboring regions. God was patient. He waited for the followers of Jesus to move into the vision, but they would not leave their comfort. They weren’t ignoring the mission. They were thriving in the mission inside of Jerusalem. But Jesus had given a vision that included Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. And, since they would not go, God used persecution to scatter them outward. And if you have been experiencing hard things in your life. Understand, God can use the hard things you face in life to advance His vision. God’s agenda always trumps yours and mine. That might sound cold. Why does God’s agenda matter more than mine?
First, you surrendered your plans to God when you called him Lord. He is the boss of you for the rest of your life.
Secondly…
IF GOD VALUED YOUR PLANS ABOVE HIS, GOD COULD NOT BE GOD
If God pulled out his measuring scales and weighed YOUR plans for YOUR life against His PLANS for your life…and he said, “Oh, I see I missed something. Joe’s plans for his life are actually better than the plans I had. Joe saw something I missed. Therefore, Joe is wiser than I am. Then, God would be guilty of saying there is something greater in the universe than Him! That something is you. And, therefore, God could not be God.
But, God is God.
He knows His plans are far better, far wiser, and far more reaching than our plans could ever be.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT2)
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
And, because he Loves you, he will allow hard things, even use persecution in your life, to squeeze you into his vision.
Romans 8:28 (NLT2)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Those plans you don’t like will work out for your good if you are called according to his purpose, meaning you have surrendered your life to Jesus and trusted in Christ as your Savior. It may be uncomfortable. It may cause pain. It may be a valley of darkness.
But God will never leave your side. He will strengthen you. He will empower you. He will bring you through the emptiness, the loneliness. The betrayal. The sadness. He will bring you through the persecution that he allows to come into your life because His vision for your life is far superior to what you or I could ever imagine. So, you can take a deep breath and trust him as you walk through the hard and challenging. You can’t see the end good just now, but God does. And you are going to be okay. Just keep trusting him and keep walking in obedience to His Spirit and His Word.
Most of you know my personal story of how the Lord brought me here to Beach Church. I had been recruited by the Lead Pastor of a church in Arizona to be the next Lead Pastor when he retired. He went away on a Sabbatical, and rather than handing the reins of leadership over to me on his timeline, he came back and said, “God told me not to retire and for you to leave.”
We were friends. I trusted him. The next thing I know, he is sliding a piece of paper across the table to me to sign so he could continue to be the Lead Pastor, and I would have to find another church.
I did not want to leave. We tried to grin and bear it, but the transition was hard on our children and on us. I believe that man will be accountable to God for the betrayal and the deception, but God has used the hard for HIS ultimate Good. When I sensed God’s calling to full-time ministry, I promised Him I would go wherever he leads me to go, and do what he called me to do.
So, God led me here to Beach Church. God has not led me here as the Lead Pastor simply to “Lead People to a Life-Changing Relationship with Jesus.” That’s the mission, but that is not the vision.
If we only focus on growing a church we can get comfortable in, we will be just like the Apostles were in the first church, and we will miss the vision for what God wants to do with Beach Church.
In the past, when this church has experienced turmoil, God has used it to launch other churches in our area. So, if we want to avoid turmoil, we have to focus on the vision God has for Beach Church.
As Pastor, one of my responsibilities for the corporate health of the church is to stay in tune with the Lord and understand what his vision for our church looks like. Over the last two and a half years, I have been seeking the Lord and asking Him to unravel the vision He has, so that we can begin to walk in it, so we don’t rely on “hard things” happening to push the vision forward. So, let me unpack out vision for the future of Beach Church, because the vision for Beach Church involves you.
THE VISION OF BEACH CHURCH IS TO LAUNCH BEACH CHURCH CAMPUSES ALONG THE EAST COAST IN LIKE COASTAL CITIES WITH “BEACH” IN THEIR NAME
Just like Jesus wanted the first church to spread its wings and tell people in neighboring regions about Him, God desires Beach Church to launch campuses along the Eastern Coast of the USA. Healthy churches multiply, but dying churches circle their wagons and protect what they have. We are not called to manage growth; we are called to multiply the mission of Jesus. God is calling us to launch campuses in cities LIKE North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, and Sunset Beach, NC.
Every future campus will need people who can lead. We will need key staff and strong volunteers. We must begin equipping people to serve here, so they can lead there. I believe that God will raise us, Teaching Pastors, Worship Leaders, Kid’s Ministry Leaders, Student Ministry Leaders, Life Groups leaders, and First Impressions Teams. Our future campus leaders will be developed here, so they can lead there.
Every future Beach Church campus will carry the same mission, values, assimilation, and sermon-based Life Groups. Some of you may never move to a new city, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t part of the mission and vision.
When you get involved or lead a lifegroup with transparency, you are helping us raise up our next leaders. When you serve on the First Impressions team, you are welcoming our future campus leaders. When you serve consistently, joyfully and selflessly, you are helping raise up leaders. When you give generously, when you celebrate through the good times and the bad, you are helping us create a culture that is raising up leaders who strive to become more like Jesus.
I don’t know yet where our next Beach Church campus will launch, but I know I must lead our church to be faithful and be ready to go when he leads. I know that God’s plan is not to build a big comfy church in Myrtle Beach – his vision is for us to launch campuses that will be leading people to a lifechanging relationship with Jesus up and down the East Coast.
I am 52 years old now. I would like to remain here until I am in my early seventies, and for the next twenty years, we launch church campuses and raise up the next generation of leaders. God’s vision for our church, and God’s vision for your life, is always greater than we can possibly imagine.