Redeemed for Mission.

Clint Miller

[0:00] Well, good morning everybody. My name is Clint. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church.

[0:08] I’ve been a lay pastor here really for about two years now, and it’s been a weird couple of weeks for me. [0:17] I haven’t been here in like three weeks. So that has been strange. [0:22] I started attending Village Church back in 2010 when it was actually in an elementary school. [0:31] And some of what we’ll be talking about today revolves around the fact that this church started as a church plant in an elementary school. [0:40] And that all of us sit here today to hear from God’s Word because some men really, really wanted to reach people. [0:51] They really, really wanted to reach people with the gospel.

[0:54] And that did something to me and captured really my heart and affection, not only for Jesus, but also to see again His name praised. [1:05] And even to turn my life over to really seek that mission. [1:11] And so, yeah, for the last three Sundays, I haven’t been here. [1:16] Two weeks I was down in Mexico with the team down there. [1:20] We had a great time doing some work down there in the village to support one of the missionaries who actually left this congregation, [1:28] quit her job and rolled down there to really reach people in one of the villages in Mexico.

[1:35] It was an encouraging time to share the gospel with some folks there and really hope to see a church planted there someday. [1:46] And then last week, we were down in Chester. [1:50] I don’t think anybody was, well, some of y’all were down there. [1:53] But as Steve was talking about last week, we did have a preview service for our Chester campus opening up down there in Chester. [2:04] We had a preview service last week. It went great. [2:06] We had, I think, over nine families who are not connected with Village Church come out to that service.

[2:14] The service really, really went well. [2:17] It was encouraging to see. [2:19] One of the things I loved to see was just the team of folks that we’ve got out there. [2:26] We got 30 or so folks from this church who are down really in that area. [2:32] And they’re down there seeking to really start this church and to reach people, to reach people and not just sometimes we get church hoppers and things like that. [2:43] But really reach people who don’t know Jesus.

[2:47] And so that’s our aim down there. [2:49] We’ll be talking a little bit about that today as well. [2:52] Now, Steve started us on a sermon series called Preparing to Plant. [2:58] And that really started last week. [3:00] And really what he was trying to give us there is a vision for a harvest. [3:05] That when we see the world through Jesus’s eyes, what we see is a people who are ripe for a harvest.

[3:12] And Jesus says, you know, we need labors. [3:18] He sends them out. [3:19] They are labors. [3:20] But he even goes on and says, we need more labors. [3:23] Pray for more labors.

[3:27] And so this morning, really, when I want to talk to you guys about what I want to see really in the scripture and really talk from experience about as Village Church really has changed my life. [3:41] And put me on mission for Jesus is really church planting in a sense, but also just mission. [3:51] And so we’ll be looking at two of those things today now.

[3:56] Point number one this morning, point number one this morning, let’s get into it. [4:00] It says Jesus redeems you for a life of mission. [4:05] Jesus redeems you for a life of mission. [4:08] One of my favorite parts of the Gospels and particularly Luke is when Jesus calls his disciples. [4:16] And one of the beautiful things, it’s such a simple and clear picture is that what what does Jesus really aim to do in us? [4:23] He comes, he gets us, he saves us.

[4:25] But then he doesn’t leave us there. [4:27] In fact, he doesn’t even allow us to continue in the life that we were living, the life that we planned out. [4:34] But rather, he says, you know what, I’m going to give you a new life. [4:38] I’m going to make you something radically different. [4:42] All right. And so that’s one of the things that I love to see in this text. [4:47] We meet Jesus and then we live on his mission.

[4:49] Now, we’ll pick it up there in Luke five. [4:52] It’s going to be verse eight. [4:55] Just to kind of give you the where we’re at there. [4:59] Jesus had been teaching a crowd of people. [5:02] The crowds were growing. [5:03] They were coming out to see him.

[5:05] He’s actually up back against this lake and he sees some boats there. [5:11] He sees a fisherman there is named Simon. [5:13] He says, Simon, put me out in the boat just a little ways. [5:17] And he proceeded to teach the people from the boat. [5:21] And so he taught the people from the boat. [5:24] And then after he was done teaching, he said to Simon, Simon, put out into the deep water for a catch.

[5:34] Put out there for a catch. [5:36] Now, Simon’s a fisherman. [5:37] Jesus, at this point, is a rabbi, you know. [5:42] You’re a fisherman. Would you listen to a rabbi? [5:46] Probably not. [5:48] Probably not.

[5:48] But here, Jesus actually says it. [5:52] And we get kind of a glimpse into Simon. [5:54] He says, you know what? [5:56] Last night, Jesus, we fished all night. [5:59] We weren’t able to catch, in fact, anything. [6:02] But at your word, I’ll do it.

[6:04] At your word, I’ll do it. [6:05] So he sends him out and Simon goes out. [6:08] And we’ll pick it up there in verse. [6:11] Actually, he goes out and Simon actually catches, you know, the catch of his life. [6:18] The catch of his life. [6:19] So much the nets are breaking.

[6:21] They’ve got to call another boat out, fill it up. [6:24] Like, Jesus is the master fisherman. [6:27] All right. [6:29] And so when Simon sees this catch, we’ll pick it up finally here in verse eight. [6:33] But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, depart from me. [6:39] For I am a sinful man, O Lord.

[6:42] For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken. [6:48] And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. [6:53] And Jesus said to Simon, do not be afraid. [6:56] From now on, you will be catching men. [7:00] And when they had brought their boats to the land, they left everything and followed him. [7:06] Now, in this text, Simon, you know, he’s in the boat.

[7:09] There’s some other ones there. [7:11] But he realizes that the God-man Jesus is in his boat. [7:16] He’s face to face with him. [7:19] Face to face with the God-man. [7:22] Now, Simon becomes aware of his frail, human, sinful self. [7:30] And Simon has the right reaction.

[7:32] What does he do? [7:32] He hits his knees. [7:34] He says, depart from me, for I am a sinful man.

[7:40] Now, one of the things that’s necessary for us to realize is who Jesus is. [7:45] When we actually realize that Jesus is the Christ, that he’s the God-man, that he came, put on flesh, [7:52] lived a perfect life, died a sinner’s death in our place, went to the grave and rose.

[8:00] What can we say to him? [8:01] What can we say to him? [8:02] We must say yes to him. [8:05] So now, Simon here, he’s kind of left on his knees. [8:11] What’s Jesus’s response? [8:12] What would you be waiting to hear?

[8:14] Jesus says, do not be afraid.

[8:18] Do not be afraid. [8:19] Do not be afraid.

[8:24] Now, when I was, I grew up in the church.

[8:31] I knew the law, in a sense. [8:33] I knew what it looked like to live the Christian life, at least outwardly. [8:37] But the reality was, it wasn’t until really up into my, I was 26, 27, back in 2008 or 2009, [8:50] I kind of had one of these moments, and God graciously was putting things into my life. [8:56] In fact, they were horrible things, but he was graciously putting them in my life. [9:02] Why?

[9:02] So that I would see my great need for him.

[9:06] As a kid, I never really was aware, one, of God’s actual holiness, and two, of my own sinfulness. [9:15] As I look back on my life, I really would have to say that when it came down to me and my place with God, [9:26] my standing with God, you know, I was doing okay. [9:31] I wasn’t the worst guy. [9:33] I was basically, in essence, making my own justification. [9:37] I was saying, you know what?

[9:39] I’m not the best guy, but I’m not the worst, and I would move the line. [9:43] I’d put the line there, I’d put a line there, and I’d say, that’s the line. [9:47] If I stay on this side of the line, I’m good. [9:48] If I cross that line, I might have a problem. [9:52] And as I went on in my life, it went farther and farther and farther, and then graciously, God started to wake me up. [10:00] One of the things, one of the ways that he actually started to wake me up was,

[10:06] I started to actually believe that I was potentially going to die. [10:13] You see, I had dipped tobacco quite a bit through college. [10:18] I’m a bit of a hypochondriac. [10:21] I don’t know if anybody out there is feeling that, but at some point, like, [10:25] sometimes things come into our life where we’re just sure that we’re going to be done, and I was. [10:32] I was sure that I was going to have mouth cancer and that I was going to die,

[10:37] but the reality was what it brought about in my heart and mind is the reality that I didn’t know God. [10:46] That if I was going to die and I was going to go meet him, my life was wasted. [10:50] I really didn’t do anything with it. [10:53] I also became aware of God’s holiness. [10:55] I actually turned to the scriptures I started reading, and I don’t know if you guys have maybe ever done this, [11:00] but if you get into the scripture at a point maybe in your life where you kind of think you’re following Jesus and then you’re not,

[11:07] what happens? [11:09] I was like, man, I’m not a Christian. [11:13] I’m not following Jesus. [11:15] And then beyond that, I became aware, really, that I had no chance. [11:22] Now, for me, I think subconsciously I had always thought, you know what, someday I’ll get it together. [11:29] Someday I’ll change.

[11:30] Someday I’ll start to do the things that I know I needed to do, but it was only then that I realized, [11:38] what if I don’t have a chance to actually do that? [11:41] And I didn’t, in my mind at least. [11:44] By the way, I don’t have mouth cancer. [11:46] I never did. [11:47] I was just convinced that I did.

[11:49] The only mouth problems I have are cavities, thankfully, which aren’t fun, [11:55] but I had a couple of them filled this week, and it hurts. [12:01] But compared to mouth cancer, I’ll take it. [12:05] Anyway, the reality was I became aware of actually who Jesus was, [12:13] that He was actually the one who was offering me the forgiveness of the penalty that I had come to realize, [12:21] you know what, I deserve this.

[12:23] I deserve the penalty. [12:25] I can’t, I’m not going to have a chance to do anything about it. [12:28] I can’t erase it. [12:30] I’m done. [12:32] I’m done. [12:32] And it was there that I began to really, by attending a church,

[12:38] a church that was not a village church, but was preaching through 1 Corinthians, [12:44] really started to preach early on in Corinthians. [12:47] He talks a lot about Christ crucified and really the reality of the cross, and that’s what saves us. [12:52] That’s what we need, that the blood of Jesus covered the life that I wanted to make up for. [12:58] And so I had to come to that realization, and thankfully, thankfully I did. [13:03] Now, if we get back to the Luke text, that’s kind of Jesus assures Peter, hey, it’s OK.

[13:10] It’s OK. [13:11] It’s going to be OK. [13:12] I’m going to go to the cross. [13:13] I’m going to make a way for you. [13:15] Be OK. You’ll come into my holiness. [13:17] You’ll be able to, not on your basis, but on the basis of my work on the cross.

[13:23] But that’s not where the text ends. [13:26] He goes on to say, Jesus went to tell Simon, from now on, you will be catching men. [13:34] From now on, you’ll be catching men.

[13:38] Now, Simon’s there. [13:41] He’s been a fisherman all his life.

[13:45] I don’t think that he was really interested in catching men. [13:49] I think he was interested in catching fish, right? [13:53] That’s really, especially now that Jesus has kind of come on board, maybe, with him. [13:58] And he’s like, I haven’t caught this much fish ever. [14:02] In this day, I’ve caught two boats, and it’s almost sunk both of them. [14:06] I think maybe he was thinking, I need to get Jesus kind of in on my gig.

[14:14] But remember, Jesus is God. [14:16] He’s got all authority. [14:18] And he’s standing in Simon’s boat, and he’s come to get them. [14:23] He’s come to get them. [14:25] And so that’s really the picture of what’s happening here. [14:30] And so when he says, from now on, you will be catching men,

[14:37] can Simon believe him? [14:40] Yeah. Yeah. [14:42] He can. He can, and he does. [14:45] He shows up. They get back up on the shore. [14:49] And from there on, Jesus leaves. [14:52] Jesus leaves, and Simon follows him.

[14:55] Some of the others follow him. They leave everything behind. [14:57] Guys, when we come to Jesus, everything, everything is up in the air. [15:04] Everything is subject to what he has for us. [15:08] Now, sometimes, you know, these guys, they were the disciples. [15:13] They were the apostles. [15:13] They were the ones who would go fish for men and build the church.

[15:17] They were the apostles. [15:19] But still true for us, still true for us. [15:23] When he comes and gets us, he owns us and will gladly go like they do now. [15:28] For me, this whole picture of mission, right? [15:35] Go fish for men. [15:38] Go fish for men. You’ll catch them, too.

[15:41] That’s intimidating for us, if we’re honest. [15:44] What do we know about catching men? [15:46] What did Simon know about catching men? [15:47] He really didn’t know anything about it. [15:51] The good news is, Jesus was going to teach him how over the next two years.

[15:58] Now, for me, when it came to mission, I didn’t really get it. [16:02] I didn’t really get it right away. [16:03] I think when we come to Christ, it’s like, man, I trust Jesus. [16:08] I’m thankful that, man, he’s paid the penalty for me. [16:11] But then we kind of aren’t so sure about the whole evangelism thing. [16:19] We’re not so sure about reaching people.

[16:21] That seems scary, right? [16:24] We’re not so sure about leaving the things that comfort us. [16:29] But right here, by God’s grace, in my life, I started to come to Village Church. [16:37] I’m going to talk a minute about just Village Church early on. [16:40] I started coming to Village Church in 2010. [16:44] At that point, it was in Swift Creek Elementary.

[16:48] And it was weird, man. [16:50] I’m just going to tell you, it was weird. [16:52] Like, when you guys see this, be glad. [16:57] Because the elementary school was a bit weird, all right? [17:01] So at that point, I was going to a church. [17:03] But on Sunday mornings, as I began to drive to the church,

[17:07] I started to see these signs outside an elementary school. [17:11] And I was like, what is going on? [17:13] I think one of them had something to do with Titus. [17:15] They were artistic. [17:17] Keep in mind, I’m going to a pretty traditional church at that point. [17:21] So they’ve got these fence posts.

[17:23] There’s these signs out here. [17:25] It’s advertising the church. [17:27] I’m like, what is going on in here? [17:29] I mean, why in the world is there a church in an elementary school?

[17:37] Like, is that even legal? [17:39] Like, and then my other thoughts were like, [17:42] what are these guys doing trying to have a church in an elementary school? [17:46] Must be a bunch of weirdos, right? [17:49] I kind of felt bad for them. [17:51] I was even like, maybe they just don’t know that there’s churches around here.

[17:56] Maybe they’re just that dumb. [17:58] And maybe I should invite them to mine.

[18:03] And it was just, I mean, it was just off the wall for me. [18:08] I had no idea what they were doing. [18:11] And so kind of time went on.

[18:15] Kind of ignored it, but I kind of wanted to check it out, too. [18:19] It’s one of those things. [18:21] I looked at it online a little bit. [18:22] I listened to part of a sermon. [18:24] I was like, man, it makes sense. [18:29] This guy’s preaching the word.

[18:30] Like, what are they doing there? [18:32] So I decided to show up. [18:34] I went in and Nate greeted me. [18:38] All right, so at the elementary school, you guys know Nate. [18:41] You guys know Village Church here. [18:43] You know they’re greeting.

[18:44] We got greeters in the parking lot. [18:46] We got greeters on the sidewalk. [18:48] We got greeters everywhere, right? [18:50] If you’re not a greeter, you’re still a greeter. [18:53] They had Nate. [18:55] They had Nate.

[18:57] All right. [18:58] So I had already shown up kind of late on purpose. [19:01] I don’t know if you guys do that when you’re checking out new churches, [19:04] but I’d shown up a little bit late on purpose. [19:06] I wouldn’t have to, you know, really talk to anybody. [19:09] I could just go in.

[19:10] Just wanted to see what was going on. [19:12] Ended up going in. [19:14] Went into this cafeteria. [19:17] There was a stage. [19:17] The lights were low and pretty much dark. [19:22] And at that point, I really started to regret my decision.

[19:26] All right. [19:26] It’s dark in there. [19:27] There’s some green and some kind of lights behind the stage. [19:32] There’s this band that’s kind of right in the face. [19:35] They’re loud. [19:36] They had like, you know, I don’t know, 20, 30 chairs set up.

[19:40] And I’m just like, what is going on? [19:44] What is going on? [19:46] I started to question, were these guys in a cult? [19:50] Was I going to get out of there? [19:51] All kinds of crazy stuff just going on. [19:55] I think at that point, I was like, you know what?

[19:58] I’m just going to get out of here. [20:00] I’m going to make it through the service and leave.

[20:05] And I more or less did. [20:08] But at the same time, I began to kind of think, what are they doing here? [20:16] What are they doing here?

[20:19] And keep in mind, I was trying to dismiss it. [20:23] I’m like, I just want to be done with this. [20:26] I want to go back to the other church, be okay there. [20:30] But what I really had to kind of question was, what was driving them to do this? [20:33] They didn’t seem like cult members for the most part. [20:38] One thing was for sure, they were really, really, really committed to trying to reach people with Jesus.

[20:49] And that kind of struck me. [20:51] Because at the end of the day, I was like, man, so they seem to have this idea that if they set up a church here, [21:01] if they dress a certain way, they set up this type of atmosphere that people are going to come, [21:08] that people who don’t know Jesus are going to come. [21:11] You see, for me, growing up in the church and then going to this other church,

[21:19] I didn’t really necessarily have kind of the Luke 5 picture that Jesus came and got me and put me out on mission. [21:25] I kind of had the picture of I went to church, I chose that church, and it was all good. [21:30] I would just be at that church, I would participate in the life of the church, and I’d live a little bit cleaner life. [21:39] I’d be a better person, I’d be a Christian. [21:42] And that, you know, if anybody else wanted to go to church, they could just do like I did. [21:48] They could just go to a church on Sunday morning.

[21:50] That was fine. That was fine. [21:53] That’s kind of how I viewed it. [21:55] But that’s not really how they were viewing it. [21:58] They seemed to be a little bit different. [22:04] And so one of the things that happened, I started going, I hung with it a little bit. [22:08] They moved into a middle school.

[22:11] It was better set up for sure. [22:13] Out of a cafe, anytime you can get out of a cafeteria, it’s a good thing in church planning. [22:20] But they were able to get out there, and Steve began to preach a series called Story. [22:27] And really all it was was taking kind of the broad, kind of overarching picture of the Scripture, [22:36] and it puts obviously Jesus at the center of it. [22:39] And so he’s going through the kind of themes of fall, creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

[22:48] And all the while I’m coming to find out, like, I don’t really know the Bible. [22:53] I don’t know that Jesus is the hero of this story.

[23:00] That Jesus is actually the one who came to seek and save sinners. [23:06] And so it started to kind of click with me. [23:10] They believed that the followers of Jesus were out to display and declare the gospel, [23:19] and that these guys, that’s what they were doing. [23:21] They believed that God was a missionary God, that God was actually going, that he was coming, [23:26] that he had planned for all time to send Jesus into the world to rescue a people,

[23:31] and then he sent his church out into the world to go declare the gospel to them, [23:37] to display it in the church as well. [23:40] And that’s what they were doing. [23:43] And so this kind of was shocking to me. [23:46] It was just new for me, radically new. [23:49] Luke 19, 10, real simple, but we got to know it.

[23:53] For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. [23:56] The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. [23:59] That’s what he did. [24:01] On there, going on in John 20, 21. [24:05] As the Father has sent me, I also am sending you. [24:11] And so this is Jesus’ message to his people, is that I’m going to send you out.

[24:17] I’m going to send you out just as I came to fish for men, to rescue men. [24:22] I’m going to send you out with the message of the gospel to fish for men. [24:27] And guess what’s going to happen? [24:28] I’m going to build my church. [24:30] I’m going to redeem for myself a people.

[24:34] Certainty.

[24:37] God is a redeeming God. [24:40] And so point number two this morning is Jesus’ worship through a life of mission. [24:45] Jesus is worshiped through a life of mission. [24:49] So if you’re tracking with me, really one of the things that had the click for me to want to reach people is the simple fact that God planned and executed a glorious plan to reconcile sinners to himself. [25:01] He did it for the praise of his glorious grace. [25:03] And this event is still playing out.

[25:07] It’s still playing out. [25:09] It didn’t end in the Bible. [25:12] It’s still playing out. [25:14] Jesus is still seeking and saving the lost through his church. [25:20] God is committed to bringing about the worship of many through the work of Jesus. [25:26] If that’s what he’s doing, that’s what I want to be doing.

[25:32] If that’s what he’s doing, that’s what I want to be doing. [25:34] I had to wake up to that fact. [25:36] Are you convinced that God is a missionary God and that he has made it his agenda to reconcile people through the cross?

[25:45] John 12, 31, 32 reads this.

[26:06] We’re going to be talking about some of the weirdos that we know. [26:08] Let’s be honest. [26:09] We know some weirdos. [26:10] When we go out into the world, we’re like, I don’t think these are the people that Jesus is going to call. [26:19] I don’t think these are the people that he’s going to call. [26:23] I go out in my front doorstep and I start looking at my neighbors and I’m like,

[26:31] Oh, I guess this is going to work. [26:34] All right. [26:35] I think this is going to work. [26:36] Now, that’s through the lens of my own sight.

[26:41] But it’s crucial that we understand text like these. [26:46] All right. [26:47] When I’m lifted up from the earth, when Jesus is lifted up not only on the cross, but then when he goes and he assumes his throne in heaven, he’s calling people to himself. [26:57] And when Jesus calls people to himself, he won’t be denied. [27:05] He won’t be denied. [27:06] Can you track that in your own life?

[27:08] Do you know that Jesus came? [27:10] If you know him, do you know that Jesus came and got you?

[27:15] That you had really no interest in him, but he came and got you. [27:21] We’ve got to know that more text. [27:23] So let’s look at Revelation 7, 9 and 10. [27:28] Revelation 7, 9 and 10 is a helpful verse for me, always encouraging again when I start to question, can we reach people?

[27:39] John writes, After this I looked up and behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and people and languages, [27:49] standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, [28:00] Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. [28:06] Now, this is a glorious picture of many people worshiping. [28:10] And worship is really what we were created for. [28:13] And it’s what Jesus redeems us to do.

[28:16] This is really the picture that should set our agenda. [28:19] Again, if God is about redeeming a people, my life must be about redeeming a people. [28:25] If I want to be engaged in the mission of God, I’ve got to be about the worship of God. [28:34] I’ve got to be about the worship of God. [28:36] And so what does that mean? [28:37] And John Piper has said that worship is the fuel and the goal of mission.

[28:43] That worship is the fuel and the goal of mission. [28:49] So what is God doing for all time? [28:51] He’s bringing about and gathering worshipers around the throne of Jesus. [28:57] And that’s really what he’s doing here. [29:00] God will be worshiped. [29:03] Do you want God to be worshiped?

[29:05] You know, God’s a jealous God. [29:07] And so when we are worshiping other things, [29:11] Romans 1 tells us that we worship the creation as opposed to the Creator.

[29:17] How does God view that?

[29:20] How does God view that? [29:22] God is jealous and zealous for His name, the praise of His name. [29:26] That’s what He’s after and that’s what He is bringing about. [29:30] But here it also says that, yes, that’s the goal. [29:33] We want to reach people so that God is worshiped. [29:37] Ultimately, that’s what we want to see.

[29:39] But then beyond this, he says worship is the fuel. [29:43] Worship is the fuel. [29:46] So worship is what drives us into the mission.

[29:51] If we are to endure and worship Jesus through a life of mission, [29:54] He must be our treasure and He must be the object of our worship.

[30:01] Now, if you know yourself and you can kind of track your heart a little bit, [30:07] you know that you are a worshiper. [30:10] Everybody is a worshiper. [30:11] People worship always. [30:13] That’s what we do. [30:15] One of the things that in my former life I worshipped was motorcycles

[30:22] and motorcycle riding. [30:25] The thing that we’ve got to really realize about worship is worship [30:29] determines really what we will do. [30:33] We become what we worship and we also become enslaved to what we worship, [30:39] and especially when it’s not God. [30:42] So one of the realities here was that motorcycles really were it for me.

[30:50] I mean, they had my heart. [30:51] I had a piece of junk, 1985 Nighthawk 700. [30:58] It had scratches, it had some holes in the seat, but I didn’t care. [31:04] Because I just loved to get on it and ride it. [31:07] I got into long-distance riding, and really what I wanted to do [31:12] was just make my life about riding.

[31:16] So every weekend it was about, [31:19] man, I can’t wait to get on my bike, to go up into the mountains to ride. [31:24] It started to rule me. [31:25] I’d make great sacrifice for it, time, money. [31:29] Let me get some jackets. [31:31] In fact, I was trying to get a second job so I could build up enough money

[31:37] to buy a better bike. [31:38] Because man, that thing was rough, [31:42] and no one would really take me seriously on it. [31:45] But the reality was it had my heart. [31:48] It had my heart and it drove my life. [31:50] Now thankfully, by God’s grace, what He does is comes,

[31:53] and He is the object of our worship. [31:56] He becomes the object of our worship, [31:58] and when He does, all these other things start to fall. [32:03] They start to fall. [32:04] They don’t mean so much to you anymore. [32:06] Now, when we say that worship is the fuel for missions,

[32:10] what that means is, [32:12] what that means is we must have our eyes on Jesus. [32:17] He actually must be our treasure. [32:19] We must actually value Him more than anything else, [32:23] and we must actually be practically pursuing Him more than anything else. [32:29] If your appetite for mission, for reaching people is not there,

[32:35] are you worshiping Jesus? [32:38] Are you worshiping Jesus? [32:40] Or are you kind of bowing to other idols that are ruling your life, [32:44] that are moving you to actually go and make disciples of them?

[32:51] Friends, when we worship Jesus, and I’m thankful that we do, [32:56] we will be driven out onto the mission field. [33:00] We will worship Him in our heart. [33:01] We will worship Him with our lives, [33:03] and we will reach people. [33:06] Lastly, this morning, planting churches is God’s way to reach people.

[33:10] Planting churches is God’s way to reach people. [33:13] Now, when it comes to reaching people with the gospel of Jesus, [33:17] to baptize them and teach them to obey, [33:19] this comes, of course, from the Great Commission, [33:22] but the church is what Jesus promised to build. [33:27] So when He ascended back into heaven,

[33:31] He had already given the promise. [33:32] He had given the promise back in Matthew 16, verse 18. [33:37] There it says, Jesus, and I tell you, you are Peter, [33:43] and on this rock I will build my church, [33:45] and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

[33:51] So on the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus, His church will be built. [33:58] His church will be built. [34:02] In Acts 2, we see it actually play out. [34:05] Jesus preaches, and the church comes into existence. [34:08] Three thousand people are added to it over the next few days [34:11] as they devoted themselves to the teaching and fellowship

[34:14] and breaking of bread and prayer. [34:17] They added, actually, the Lord added to their number. [34:23] The Lord added to their number. [34:26] And so we see that the church is born, [34:28] and that Jesus promised it, that He paid for it on the cross, [34:31] and that He’s actually sending these guys out to fish,

[34:36] and guess what? [34:37] Guys are actually responding. [34:40] People are actually coming to faith in Jesus. [34:44] Now they praise God, and they had favor with all.

[34:50] Now, really, the book of Acts, throughout Acts, [34:52] Paul spreads the gospel where it hasn’t gone. [34:55] Basically, really, with small teams of people, [34:57] they functioned as a mini church. [35:00] They evangelized the area that they were in. [35:03] They baptized people.

[35:04] They discipled people. [35:06] And around them grow up churches. [35:09] Then they would move on, constantly planting more and more churches. [35:13] This is what happens over the course of the book of Acts, [35:17] and we, of course, see more and more people being reached, [35:20] more and more churches being planted.

[35:22] Now, what happens to these churches after they’re planted? [35:26] What are the churches that they left? [35:29] Well, these churches actually didn’t simply turn inward. [35:32] Instead, they were focused on reaching people around them, [35:35] and they became multiplying churches. [35:38] In these churches, disciples were made and strengthened,

[35:41] and they branched out and reached more and more people, [35:44] and they established more and more churches. [35:48] That’s God’s plan for reaching people. [35:51] And so, as I was saying, this can be kind of a staggering idea. [35:58] Maybe if you were like me and you considered the church, [36:01] maybe the one you grew up or attended, or maybe even this church,

[36:05] what you might maybe not think about is, you know, how was it started? [36:12] You know, why was it started? When was it started? [36:16] I think in our day, we just have this idea of, [36:18] oh, there’s churches all over the place.

[36:22] And so, we just maybe go to them, maybe pick and choose. [36:26] But if we think back, and really, as we see throughout all history, [36:30] these churches were started by a few with the goal of reaching people [36:34] and seeing them saved, seeing them sent out to reach more people.

[36:41] Church planting is God’s way to reach people. [36:47] Now, when I started coming to Village, like I was saying, [36:49] this is kind of a bit crazy for me. [36:53] Again, as I was in there, and as there’s like 30 people there, [36:57] maybe 40, maybe some days 50,

[37:02] these guys are talking about planting more churches.

[37:08] I’m like, still didn’t really get it at that point. [37:11] It’s like, maybe you guys should just think about getting an actual church.

[37:18] Right? Getting a building, maybe actually being a church, [37:22] maybe stabilizing this church. [37:24] But from the moment that Village Church was planted, [37:27] the vision was always to see people raised up, to see people reached, [37:32] and then have those people go out and reach more people. [37:36] That’s the vision of the church in Axe, and that was the vision of Village Church.

[37:40] Multiplication was the goal from the beginning. [37:43] Effectiveness was never going to be measured in a building [37:47] that would become a mega church, but rather in multiplication, [37:52] in sending more people out to reach more people. [37:55] This was the mission of the church, and this was the mission of Village Church.

[38:00] For one reason or another, we focus on, and this may help, may not, I’m not sure, [38:06] but for one reason or another, we focus on what the church is and what the church does. [38:13] To be clear, I mean, the church is a gathering of baptized, born-again Christians [38:16] who covenant together in love and meet regularly under the authority of the Scriptures. [38:22] And the leadership of the elders to worship God and be a visible image of the Gospel, [38:27] and to give God glory.

[38:29] The church meets to hear the word preached, to sing, to pray, [38:32] to give, and to practice baptism and communion. [38:36] But maybe we don’t really ask the question, what is the mission of the church? [38:42] What is the mission of the church? [38:44] Now, the mission of the church is really the Great Commission. [38:47] It’s found, again, in Matthew 28, 18 to 20.

[38:52] I think I’ve been at Village so long that maybe I assume this text, [38:56] but if I go back to that time, what I realize is I didn’t really know what the Great Commission was. [39:03] And if I did, I just thought it was about missionaries. [39:07] I just thought it was about missionaries. [39:09] But here it is. It says, Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, [39:12] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

[39:15] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. [39:19] And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. [39:24] The church is God’s strategic plan for evangelism. [39:27] Preach the Gospel, make disciples, teach them to obey Christ, [39:31] and this always should include church planning. [39:35] Always should include church planning.

[39:37] Peter Wagner says, planning new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven. [39:47] If we want to reach people, we have to plant churches. [39:50] This is God’s design.

[39:54] Now, church plants, really, and the one even that we’re seeking to do in Chester [40:00] that we’re setting up, that we’re preparing for, that will launch here in September. [40:05] Guys, we’re there. The people who are on that ship that are there, [40:10] man, I’m excited about them, number one, because they want to live out the mission of Jesus, his glory. [40:16] Number two, we want to reach the unreached. [40:21] We want to reach non-Christians.

[40:23] We want to reach the people there that aren’t connected to a church. [40:27] That’s our goal there. That’s our goal. [40:30] And I think that we are going to see God move in mighty ways as we kind of evangelize all of our subdivisions, [40:38] all the areas that we live, and really aim to draw people into the life of the church. [40:44] Now, the reality is, as some folks move out of here to do that, what does Village Church become? [40:51] What does this become? It becomes another environment to raise up people into ascending church.

[40:58] That’s the goal. So you’re not missing it. If you’re staying here, you’re not missing out. [41:02] You have an opportunity to grow a new body, to raise up new believers, to disciple new folks, [41:08] to give them a vision that really Village Church gave me, and to send them out.

[41:16] Send them out. That’s the goal. That’s the goal. And that’s what our lives need to be about. [41:24] Now, I’m deeply thankful to Village Church, thankful to the leaders here who have invested heavy in my life, [41:33] but also the life of the church. And that’s why we can send the people out to reach more people. [41:40] Glory to God for that. Glory to God for that. We’re excited to do it.

[41:47] And I want you guys really to be praying for Chester. Be praying for it. [41:54] Be praying for the people of Chester. Be praying for the people here. [41:59] Be on mission with Jesus. [42:01] Now, as the band comes up and we move into a time of communion this morning, [42:07] I want to remind you guys of the gospel. I want to remind you guys that Jesus died a sinner’s death. [42:19] That Jesus takes our place. On these tables, the blood, the drink represents the blood that covered our sin.

[42:31] And his body and the crack are broken for us on the cross, enduring the wrath of God so that we don’t have to, [42:39] and then imputing to us a new life.

[42:46] As you reflect this morning, consider, is Jesus my greatest affection? [42:53] Am I worshipping him? And do I want to live the life that he has for me? [43:03] Do I want to reach people? Do I want to see his name worshipped where it’s not? [43:10] These tables are open to you.