This is Hope
Yesterday at Hope Community Church we finished the series This is Hope. This series focused on who we are and who we strive to be as a church. Here’s a recap:
We strive to be a church that “stacks stones.” In the Old Testament, when God would do something amazing, the Jews would stack stones at the place it happened. (Joshua 4:4-6) Then whenever anyone would ask what the meaning of the stones were, the Jews would tell the story of God. We want to be a church that continually tells the story of God, we want to celebrate the goodness of God. That’s why we cheer for the newlyweds, we cheer for the young man who placed 4th in the NRCHA youth class Celebration of Champions in the Cow horsing. In those things we see the goodness of God
2nd we strive to be a church full of Hope. Hope in a church is based on unity. We want to be unified on the major things, who Jesus is, what He came to do, and what our mission is. In the minor things we will give liberty to each other guided by the Holy Spirit. Only when we are unified will we see the glory of God
3rd we strive to be an authentic community of believers. Only through authenticity can achieve true community. Community is created as we practice the “one-another’s” toward each other. There are 59 one-another’s in the Bible. These exhortations are meant for us to put others ahead of ourselves and to show them love. Jesus said that we will show the world we are his disciples by how we love one another.
Lastly we want to be a church that breaks beyond the potential and moves into the probable. Every church has the potential for growth and health because Jesus is the one who is building His church(Matthew 16:18) therefore all churches have potential. Why don’t they? Lack of faith is one reason. God’s blessing can rise no higher then how you believe(Matthew 9:29) If a church doesn’t believe God is going to do it, then He won’t. 2nd reason is lack of obedience. When God speaks, we obey. If we don’t we are disobedient. If all a church is living for is the people they already have then they are being disobedient to the call of the great commission. If I am saved by God and part of His family, then it’s no longer about me. It’s about those who have yet to be reached. Third reason is the church follows a wolf instead of the Shepherd. Unfortunately, the church has wolves among the sheep. A wolf is someone who consistently stands in the way of the purpose of God or someone who seeks to control the church. I’ve met wolves who were church treasures, Deacons, Elders, pastors, “big” givers, wealthy, poor, old, young. They come is all shapes and sizes. These are people who stand against following God or seek selfish gain. They attempt to sway and bully people to get their way. They can be deceitful, mean-spirited. They can put on the face of an angel and stab the church in the back at the same time. Jesus said “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” They come talking like a Christian but not acting like one. They seek their own way. They are like the Pharisees were to Jesus, resistant to the ways of the Father and Jesus said that “They are like their father, the devil.” The danger is when the church follows the wolf instead of the shepherd. When a church follows a wolf things maybe good for awhile but the ways of the wolf lead to destruction because they are not from God.
This is who we want to be.
This. is. Hope
