God’s
Dream For His Church
As Christians we need to understand that God alone
sets the agenda for His Church! When we follow and do what He wants we will get
His results. This must be a church that focuses on New Testament values and
priorities – the Great Commandment and the Great Commission!
God has a dream for His Church. He has a clearly
defined plan and purpose for His Church. In fact Jesus prays daily for you and
I who make up the Church that we may be one, that there would be such a unity
among us that everyone will be filled with awe…………… Acts
I believe
that God specifically dreams of three things when He thinks of
What we do must be done with the purpose of bringing
honour and glory to God.
1. He really wants to dwell among us!
God’s
purpose in calling us to worship has as its goal encounter and action. He wants
to meet with us and move among us, to bring interaction with and transformation
of His people.
In both the
Old and New Testaments, God’s revealed will in calling His people together is
that they might experience His presence and power – not as a spectacle or
sensation, but in a discovery of His will through encounter and impact. Such
times of gathering together will birth new capacities and a deeper confidence
for living and serving. The Scriptures show this fact and indicate God’s desire
that people worship Him, for worship is the means by which a place is prepared
for God to meet with and move among His people.
“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will
dwell among them…And there I will meet with you...”
Exodus 25:8,
22. “And in Him you too are being built together to become
a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22. “You also, like living stones are being built into
a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1
Peter 2:5.
Jesus said, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of
worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23.
This passage shows us that God is on a quest (seeking)
for people (true worshipers) who will make their times of corporate worship to
be times of spiritual life (in spirit) and biblical balance (in truth). Of
course the teaching of Scripture and our fellowship with one another will
benefit our walk and growth. But we must
realize that there is a greater purpose: God wants something from these times
when we assemble. He wants a place to display His presence, His love, His power
and Himself! We expect something is going to happen. We present ourselves in worship purposing to provide a place for God to
make an entrance among us, to shape us, to work among and through us.
Worship is
related to the entry of God’s rule. Psalm 24:7-10. The Lord’s
Prayer teaches it – “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Holy (hallowed) is Your Name..” As we worship Him as a congregation, we
come into biblical alignment with the throne of God. Just remember – worship is
for Him, it’s not for us!
2. He wants to grow this Church
phenomenally!
God would never have given us the Great Commission to
go into all the world and preach the Gospel if He never intended for that to
really happen. Peter tells us that the Lord is not willing “for any to perish
but for all to come to repentance” (2
Peter 3:9). God would not say it if it were not possible. But none of us
can do it alone. We each have a part to play in fulfilling the heart’s desire
of Jesus Christ. And for us to effectively reach our community, much less the
world, we need every one doing their part, using their gifts and abilities, and
for us as a congregation to excitedly do Church as a team!
Every member is a minister! He calls us all to be full
time ministers! Yes full-time – not just on Sundays, but on every day of the
week. Do we love God part-time? Do we serve Him part-time? We are full-time
citizens of heaven with a commission and an assignment to accomplish during our
stay here on this planet. Before you are a businessman, you are a minister.
Before you are a teacher, you are a minister. Before you are a salesman, you
are a minister. Before you are a nurse, you are a minister.
What’s
the best way to reach people?
How
does God plan to reach everyone in our community? If God truly loves everyone
and wants to reach them with the Gospel, what would be the best way to do that?
What does God do?
For
example how does He reach schoolteachers? He takes full-time ministers and
disguises them as teachers. That’s right. He takes folk like you and me, and He
gives them gifts and a passion to be the best teachers they can be. Then He
sends them into the school system where they can reach others with God’s love!
How does He reach nurses and folk in hospitals? He takes full-time ministers
and disguises them as nurses. That’s right. He takes folk like you and me, and
He gives them gifts and a passion to be the best nurses they can be. Then He
sends them into the hospitals where they can reach others with God’s love!
Matthew
5:13
"You
are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be
made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out
and trampled by men.” Don’t
lose your flavour and don’t forget who you are!
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost! Luke
19:10. When Jesus was calling men to follow Him and become His disciples He
said “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men!” Matthew 4:19. Follow me isn’t to be understood as “I’m way out
there – follow me.” But I want you to walk beside me. It’s interesting when you
look at this that Jesus was saying that if we follow Him three things will
happen in our lives:
(i)
You will life a live of adventure,
(ii)
You will know Christ intimately,
(iii)
You will live a life of encountering
lost people.
God wants hell plundered and heaven populated. He has
left the task of evangelism to you and me. There is nothing more satisfying and
thrilling than leading someone to faith in Jesus for the first time.
3. He wants everyone to be raised up to
use their gifts, abilities and talents for His glory!
Did you know that you can’t be a Christian and play it
safe! That’s the whole point of the parable of talents in Matthew 25. We must use what God has given us or we will lose it! We
all have a part to play – every single one of you folk are incredibly important
to God and to us here at
We’re thrilled you’re part of our Church! I encourage
you to become committed to what God wants to do here.
Imagine a
Church…………. (close your eyes for a moment) and you’re part
of it, where;
-
in times of praise and worship you
really connect with the Lord – you sense His Presence and feel very close to
Him. It’s a moment you just want to stay with for a long time.
-
Every week seeing new faces, folk
that have just recently given their lives to Jesus, and folk that have just
recommitted their lives to Jesus. It would change the atmosphere of the Church
– it would be electric as people continuously rejoice at the incredible things
God is doing.
-
Using your gifts and abilities
unhindered for the Lord! You don’t feel guilty because you feel so good, this
is what you were made for – you can’t wipe the smile off your face! This is way
better than you thought it could ever be.
When
Nathaniel encountered Jesus (John