LET’S GET CONNECTED!
K12cPV07
Numbers 13:1-33
We have
been presenting a new vision for Pleasant View.
Vision
has a way of ignoring its critics and chasing its dream regardless of how
many people say it can’t be done. Consider these famous predictions that
underestimated the incredible power of vision. Thomas Watson, the
chairman of IBM in 1943 said, "I think there is a market for maybe five
computers in the world." Ken Olson, president and founder of
Digital Equipment Corporation said in 1977, "There is no reason why
anyone would want a computer in their home." Western Union memo
from 1876: "The Telephone is has too many shortcomings to be seriously
considered as a means of communication." The reason Decca Recording
Company they turned down signing the Beatles in 1962: "We don’t
like their sound and guitar music is on the way out." Charles Duell,
commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents said in 1899, "Everything
that can be invented has been invented."
Proverbs 29:18 says,
“Where there is no vision the people perish…”
In Numbers 13 God’s people are poised to enter the promised land.
Victory is just over the hill. God’s people failed to enter the promised
land and wandered for 40 years in the wilderness because those who were
stationary outnumbered those who were visionary.
- “Visionary” means, “characterized by vision or
foresight.”
- “Stationary” means “not moving or unchanging.”
From
a Christian perspective a visionary is one who sees what can be done for
God, and has a passion to do it.
(Note point I is mainly from a message from Sermoncentral.com)
I.
by definition Believers are visionaries.
A.
What are the characteristics of the stationary?
1.
They are pessimistic. Vs 26-28. One word explains the 10
stationary spies, “nevertheless.”
2.
They are phobic. Vs 28,29 The
stationary person is controlled by fear rather than faith.
3.
They are powerless. Vs 31-33.
“We can’t stand up to them, they are stronger than we are.” Yet
they had the All Powerful One’s promise to give them the land!
4.
They are problematic.
Their lack of faith hindered them and all they influenced. Josh
14:8 says they made the heart of the people melt. The
result was crying, complaining, confusion, and consequences. The unbelief of
10 paralyzed over a million.
B.
What are the characteristics of the visionary?
1.
They live committed to God’s principles, Num 14:24.
Caleb, followed the Lord fully. God calls him, “My
servant”. Joshua was out of the same mold, Num 32:12
2.
Their lives were controlled by God’s presence.
Caleb could say, “let’s go forward” when all the other’s were
saying we can’t do it. He had
God’s Spirit with him.
3.
They claimed the promises of God. Num 13:30. Caleb
was determined to lay claim to the land God promised him and he acquired it
45 years later
4.
They left the conquering to the power of God. Num 14:8-9.
If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31b NASV
C.
What are the consequences of not being visionary?
1.
They missed the blessing and forfeited the promised land.
2.
They lost what they had and got their wish, Num
14:2 “…would to God we had died in this wilderness.”
II.
pleasant view’s new vision - the connecting place.
A.
We have a God’ assigned task.
1.
We are to help
connect people to God through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
2.
We are then to continue to help these Christ-followers to
mature in Him.
3.
We see this as a process that will mean different things to
different people.
Leroy Truelock was a believer, and a
trustee of Lincoln Christian College and Seminary. He was a visionary
business man who owned the largest farm implement store in the U.S.
One of his favorite sayings was, “If God is your partner, make your
plans big.”
B.
How are we seeing this develop?
1.
Some things have already begun to be put in place, others
are in dream form.
2.
Obviously for PVCC to be The Connecting Place which we
envision, it means each of us getting connected.
3.
Following is an outline of possibilities. Please understand
this is the skeleton.
III.
Connect people to God –
the power source.
Goal:
Individuals and families who know and love Him personally and allow Jesus to
live out His life through them on a moment-by- moment basis.
A.
Our response to the message of God’s Love in Jesus is
key.
1.
Individually we need to connect to the one who said, “I
am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.”
Until we embrace the message of the good news and receive Jesus as
Lord, we will remain unconnected.
2.
In a nutshell: none
of us are everything we could and should be. The Bible calls this sin.
3.
Sin disconnects us from our loving Creator God.
We aren’t good enough to save ourselves because we have failed to
meet God’s ideal.
4.
Jesus died on the cross because “God so loved the world.”
The giving of Jesus was an act of loving grace, because none of us deserve
His sacrifice.
5.
Paul noted that “faith
comes through hearing the word of God.” Once we understand
the message of God’s grace we are to respond in trusting faith.
A
lady was using an electric lawn mower to mow the lawn before her husband got
home from work. But the mower refused to cooperate. It would run fine for a
few seconds, then cut off, run again, cut off.
Finally she gave up and waited for her husband. He had a good laugh
when he realized instead of plugging the mower in using a 3-prong adapter,
she had hooked up the cord through the Christmas-tree light blinker.
– We need a strong connection to the POWER.
B.
Where do we seek to connect to God?
1.
We seek to do it on the Lord’s Day in worship. We want
worship to focus on the Lord – Adoring Him for Who He is by nature.
2.
We encouraging personal commitment to the Lord and His
church.
·
Helping seekers come to know Him personally.
·
Assisting individuals to follow through in faith,
repentance and immersion.
·
Our up-coming “I’m
On Board” emphasis calls us to connect to the Lord and church.
3.
We connect when we open God’s Word to understand His
will.
·
We do this in worship, classes, personal and group
study.
·
Our Growth Notebooks are designed to help.
4.
We under gird it with a supportive prayer ministry. In
prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do…
Matthew 6:14a TM
(Here are just of couple of current needs in the area of prayer.)
·
Prayer Connect Team that would pray on a daily basis
for issues brought to their attention through regular prayer notes.
·
Sunday morning prayer team who will pray prior to
worship.
5.
We need to be aware our witness is vital to helping others
connect with the Lord.
·
Reach out to F.R.A.N.S Goal: Develop a sense of caring love for those we come
in contact with on a daily basis.
·
Utilize
invite cards and other opportunities to make a positive impact for Christ
and PVCC.
By
his mighty power at work within us, God is able to accomplish infinitely
more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.
Ephesians 3:20 NLT
IV.
Connect people to one
another – develop relationships.
Goal: A
sense of being loved and accepted as part of the PVCC family where we care
for one another.
A.
God wants us connected to others.
A policeman pulled a lady over and asked
to see her driver’s license. After looking it over he said, “Lady, it
stipulates here on your license that you should be wearing glasses.” “Well,
I have contacts,” the woman replied. “Look lady, I don’t care who you
know,” snapped the officer. “You’re getting a ticket.” - God
wants us to know others and have regular contact with them.
1.
When we are saved, God adds us to the church, the Body of
Christ. We are to respond to one another in Christ-like, God-honoring,
person-building ways.
2.
We want to pursue excellence in our hospitality and worship
so people are excited to come, and to bring their friends.
B.
Why is fellowship important?
1.
The word is KOINONIA, sharing the common life. We encourage
each one to be all God wants us to be.
2.
You can be a growing
believer and not regularly meet with other believers but it’s rare.
3.
In Paul’s epistles you’ll often read the phrase, “one
another.” There is an inter-related aspect to being involved in the
church. It means we are not just connected to the Lord, we are also
connected to others.
What
this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your
neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we are all connected to each other,..
Ephesians 4:25 TM
C.
Our connecting efforts include many things.
1.
Sharing meals together, praying together, providing classes
were we seek to equip one another to serve and opportunities when we link up
to serve.
2.
We seek to meet needs of individuals and families through
providing various venues designed to inform, encourage and equip them for
life and service.
3.
Our Financial Peace University begins August 29. It
includes a small group facet.
4.
Down the road we envision Connect Groups where people meet
in homes to minister to one another, deepen their faith, encourage one
another and serve.
V.
Connect people to service
– to meet needs.
Goal: Every
person involved in some form of ministry where they meet needs in the name
of Christ.
On the first day of work at a new job a
guy in his early 20’s arrived 45 min. late. “What happened?” the
foreman asked. The young man replied quite seriously, “I had been looking
for work so long, I forgot I had a job.” -
Many a Christian has forgotten they are to serve.
A.
A non-serving Christian is an oxymoron.
1.
The word Christian means, “one belonging to Christ.”
I Peter 2:21 tells us we are to follow
in the steps of Jesus. How
can we follow his steps and not be a willing servant?
2.
In the future we will conduct some seminars designed to
help you discover your strengths for specific areas of ministry.
3.
Ideally we see every person involved in at least one
ministry area.
…we
will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like
Christ, Who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the
whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special
work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy
and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:15,16 NLT
B.
Connecting efforts will be both “on campus” and “in
community”.
1.
Develop Connect Team First Responders CTFR – They have
two purposes:
·
Purpose # 1 is to make the congregation a welcoming
place so when new people come they will feel “special.”
·
Purpose #2 is the have follow-up of first time
attendees.
·
Ultimate goal is to help integrate new people into
the PVCC family.
2.
There are service opportunities when we meet as a church
family: in the nursery, children’s or teens ministry, drama team, worship
team, greeting, lights/sound/power point, teaching.
3.
There are other times of service around the facility:
mowing lawn, clearing snow, general maintenance, opening and closing
building, cleaning, repairing.
4.
We want to develop Connect Ministries reaching out into our
community to share the love of God: service projects, serving at LJCA,
Christian Campus House, nursing homes, transportation, etc. – Doing random
acts of kindness.
5.
The world beyond: Mission trips, assisting in rebuilding
after natural disasters.
CONCLUSION:
Remember when the children of Israel faced the promised land.
- The stationary majority’s approach was – When
things look bleak, retreat.
- The visionary minority’s approach was – When
things look bleak, look up.
- Caleb held the key – 6 times the scripture records “he
followed the Lord fully.”
- Joshua and Caleb believed God.
Erik
Weihermayer has worked as a middle-school teacher, run marathons, and
performed acrobatic skydiving stunts. He’s a scuba diver, downhill skier
and long-distance bicyclist. 32-yr-old. Erick has been blind since age 13
when a degenerative eye disease destroyed his retinas. A few years back he
became the first blind climber to reach the top of Mt. Everest. “I just kept telling myself: ‘Be focused.’” He
explained to CNN after his ascent. “Be full of energy. Keep relaxed. Don’t
let all those distractions—the fear and the doubt—creep into your brain,
because that’s what ruins you up there.”
That’s good advice for climbing a mountain of any kind.
We have been sharing a new vision of PVCC as The Connecting Place and I
invite you to be part of the challenge.
Are you a visionary or are you stationary?
- The place to
start is to get connected with God and allow the presence of Christ
in your life change you.
Sponge divers tell us the only thing keeping them
alive is their connection to the boat above them. The same is true of us once we have died to this world and
are alive through Christ. No matter how bad life may be “down here” we
are connected to the Source of life that sustains us.
·
When
we are connected to God, to one another and to service we are disconnected
from the world’s ways.
Paul said, Among those who belong to
Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly
responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
Galatians 5:24 TM
…that means killing off everything
connected with the way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust,
doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing
whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings
instead of by God. Colossians
3:5 TM
Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of
life. Throw yourselves
wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into
God’s way of doing things. Romans 6:13 TM
So here is the challenge:
Be a strong link in God’s connection chain.