Vision - Part 4

Are you ready to be challenged?

Are your notepads out?

I wonder, have you ever felt like you've been left behind?

Yeah.

I have.

I went to Josh and Charlotte Sports Day recently, and I'll be honest with you, it triggered me.

Because Sports Day, when I was growing up, I don't know about you, Judith loves sports day at school.

But sports day for me was like, oh, can I not stay off?

I never asked, but I probably wanted to.

It was not good.

I didn't enjoy sports day because it showed how horrifically terrible I am at sports.

You know, I believe that everyone's got a gifting, and mine is not sports.

Okay, and that's absolutely fine.

But it just reminded me, you know, at that moment in my life I felt left behind.

I don't know if you've ever been at the checkout, nothing scanning.

And uh you just feel like there's people coming past, there's a big cue.

Oh my goodness, I'm getting left behind here.

Um, as I'm getting older, as a teacher, um, I experience all of the teenager slang.

I remember growing up and using the word cool.

I still use the word cool, and my dad's saying, cool, what is cool?

What's this cool thing?

And uh and now I stand in his shoes and I have no idea what 6'7 is.

Um, and these young people seem to be just flying, flying ahead of me.

Um this one might be new to some of you, but when I was growing up, the last thing you wanted to do if you were wearing a pair of shorts was wear socks.

So people would not even wear socks, and then these things called trainer socks were invented, so you could hide the fact that you were wearing shorts.

Shorts with socks, not cool.

It is true, isn't it?

Um, I think that, but apparently I have been well informed by the students at my school and various one or two other people that that's not cool.

And what's cool now is shorts with your socks, and not only that, you've got to pull them up really high.

I mean, what is that about?

I feel left behind.

I'm looking at Gav and thinking, I know what Gav's thinking.

That's my impression of Gav when he maybe there was a time where it felt like everyone around you was getting engaged, being there.

Maybe there was a time where everyone seemed to be getting promoted at work around you.

I've been there.

Maybe you've got no idea about technology and you're scared to send an email.

Never never mind trying to understand what AI even is.

Um maybe lots of things has changed since Judith and I have taken over leading this church.

Maybe you feel a little bit left behind.

That's okay.

We don't want to leave you behind.

All right, please.

We we don't want to leave you behind.

And maybe over the last couple of weeks, when I've spoken about vision and I've spoken about our vision statement and our core values, and you just don't see where you fit into that stuff.

We don't want to leave you behind.

Shall we read from um we're gonna read from Habakkuk today?

We're gonna jump around a little bit within Habakkuk, but the the book of Habakkuk is really, really interesting.

In chapter one, he makes a complaint to God that the nation of Judah is simply going unpunished in its sinfulness and its dishonor.

God responds.

God responds.

Take pleasure and encouragement from that alone this morning.

But God responds and he explains his plan that he's gonna raise up the Babylonian Empire to punish them.

Remember, we've recently looked at Nehemiah a few weeks back.

Um that's the punishment.

Nehemiah realized the punishment, so this is the timeline of where we're at.

Um Habakkuk complains about the plan.

God responds again, and then Habakkuk goes.

You know what?

He responds in faith, and he prays this beautiful prayer.

And if you remember, back when we were looking at maturity, the deer's feet, and all of that stuff, that's where that was.

So we've kind of skirted around Habakkuk a little bit, but there's this really interesting moment in chapter two, which is often a go-to pre uh preacher's scripture.

I'm looking at John, he knows exactly where I'm going, all right, that talks about vision.

And I was trying to avoid it when I said, Let's talk about vision.

If you remember, I said we were going to do three weeks, and some of y'all are like, Well, this is week four, Matt.

Yeah, it's my last one, don't worry.

But I read it again and something jumped out to me.

Shall we read it together?

Habakkuk 2, um, chapter uh verses one and two.

Firstly, this is this is Habakkuk speaking.

He says, I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts.

I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Then the Lord replied, Write down the revelation.

In some translations it says, Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets.

It's not talking about an iPad, so that the herald may run with it.

Write down the revelation, make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.

This is written to Habakkuk.

We get to watch this story unfold and learn from it.

God told Habakkuk to write down the revelation about his plan to raise up the Babylonians and make it clear so that people can run with it.

I hope, I hope I've made it clear when I've spoken the last couple of messages about vision.

I hope I have.

It says to build a passionate, faith-filled church that glorifies God, equips everyday believers to live Bible-based, spirit-led lives, and reaches the world by making Christ-centered, fully devoted disciples.

Glorify God.

Build and equip people, make disciples.

Glorify God.

Build and equip people, make disciples, reach the world.

That's pretty simple, right?

Is that pretty clear?

Hopefully that's something you can get behind.

I feel like we've written it down pretty clearly.

We've made it clear.

And I hope in years to come we can look back and think, well, everything we do is centered around that.

And if at any point we end up doing something that isn't one of those things or isn't encapsulated by one of those things, then we need to look again at that.

But speaking of writing things down, um, we've been working really, really hard.

Uh, some of you have caught in wind of this a little bit.

When when Judith and I in November we took over the church, we were thinking, what do we need to do?

What's our priorities and that journey we've been going on?

And we've we kind of got to the point where one of the stumbling blocks was that we wanted to write some stuff down, we want to we want to give you some like little cards that you can invite your friends to church with.

We want to update some of the envelopes, we want some new signage, that kind of thing.

And one of the things we need to work on our website and update that and all of that stuff.

So one of the things we wanted to do was give our our our look, our vibe, our I don't like the word branding.

We've got a new logo, all right, which is exciting.

Um Vika's worked really, really hard on this, so if you don't like it, it's her fault.

That wasn't in my notes.

I'm so sorry, Vika.

Uh no, we we we worked on this uh together, and I'm I'm really proud that this comes from our house.

It's not like hey, could have got could have paid someone loads of money to do this, but this is us.

This is reflective of our heartbeat, you know, for the house.

And a new logo, a new look, it's not a big deal, it's not a massive deal to me, but it is a new, fresh expression of our hearts for this house.

Would you like to see it?

Yes, yes, go for it, Fiona.

There we go.

You don't have to clap, it's all good.

Um, but I wondered um so the idea I don't want to explain it, but it's a gate with a love heart for our handle.

Okay, um and those colours just kind of felt spirit-led as well.

Do you want to jump to the next one?

It's because there's different variations for different purposes, and that kind of just that picture there maybe helps you see a little bit of the vibe around it.

I like it.

Yeah, you don't have to like it, but we like it.

Um, and then I kind of mocked up what it might look like and what a new website might look like.

Something like that, um, which isn't too different away from what we've got, but we're just one of my summer projects is to look at that afresh.

And there's Jade, there she is.

Um, and then I thought it'd be fun as well to kind of um show it mocked up on some stuff.

Uh so if so there's a tub bag.

Yeah, I don't know who that is, but he's super cool, isn't he?

He's gate church hoodie.

Um I love a cat, so I might I might get a gate.

I'm not getting a gay church cap.

Yes, mate! Look at that! That's cool, isn't it?

And then there's there's Roof's mug.

Roof's desperate for a mug.

Um please don't think it's all about us turning into a corporate machine and uh and putting lots of merch out and selling it.

That's not what it's about.

Um but uh for me I felt like this was part of us writing it down.

A freshness, writing down the vision and clearly communicating it in a modern way who we are.

So that'll slowly roll out.

You might see some signs, we'll hopefully get a new website on the go, that kind of thing, right?

But I wonder if you can remember it.

We glorify God, we build and equip people, and we're gonna make disciples in this place.

We've written it down, we've made it clear.

Now it's up to you to run with it.

It's up to you to run with it.

God told Habakkuk to write it down, make it clear so that people could run with it.

Write down the revelation, make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

What on earth does that mean?

The world, the word herald is the one who hears it, the person who hears it, so the one who hears it may run with it.

Run with stone tablets.

I don't know if if that was the plan.

The one person who wrote it down was to run with it.

I don't know.

Run to spread the news of the revelation, run away from the impending destruction of the Babylonians, maybe.

But for us, I I believe that to run with it is to move quickly, is to put it into action, is to do something about it.

It's a it's a call to action.

And remember, we don't want to leave you behind.

But if you don't run with it, that's a possibility.

Let the Holy Spirit speak this morning, not me.

We don't want to leave you behind.

Running is really hard work.

You won't believe it to look at me, but I have completed the Great North Run.

Twelve, no, hang on, one hour, nine minutes and twelve seconds, which isn't sorry, two hours.

Gary's like, two hours.

Two hours, nine minutes and twelve seconds.

I was slightly lighter than I am now, but it's hard work running.

I would recommend everyone who can should run the Great North Run because it's awesome.

But it happens on a Sunday, so it depends on your heart for the house.

Um comfortable people don't run the Great North Run.

Sprinters as well, eh, Gary?

Any excuse, mate.

Um the comfortable people don't run it, they sit at home and watch it on the telly.

And I don't believe that we're called to be vision sitters, I believe that we're called to be vision runners.

And I I just want to talk about three types of people in church, here even, in general.

We'll call them those other people if it helps.

Um when it comes to vision.

Okay, firstly, the vision runners.

They are on board with the vision, actively seeking to further the vision of the house.

They get stuck in, they're willing to serve, and that passion comes out of an overflow of a deep-rooted relationship with God.

Think back to Nehemiah.

It was his passion that put the plan into place.

His heart was broken and he was stirred to rebuild the walls.

When God asks a vision runner to do something extra, they dig deeper.

They find a way, they dig deep and go for it.

Vision people understand, sorry, vision runners understand the bigger picture and are flexible when it comes to change.

They have a whatever it takes attitude.

You can spot a vision runner a mile off.

A mile off.

They're excited to be in God's house on time.

They have a great attitude, and just a heart for the house is communicated in the language that they use about his church and his people.

They bring a good report.

Shall we be people who are sold out for his house and sold out to glorify him, sold out to build people, community, one another, and sold out to making and growing amazing disciples that love Jesus.

Amen.

You with me?

Number two, vision sitters.

Uh, these are the people who are comfortable.

They sit at home and watch the the Great North run on telly.

Um, no.

Comfortable people, comfortable people with the way things are, comfortable with the status quo, not particularly stirred to action in sharing their faith.

If you can't remember the last time you told someone about the love of Jesus, you're probably sitting a little bit.

And that's okay, there's grace.

But there's more.

Vision sitters are often consumers.

What's in it for me, kind of people?

You know the type of person I mean.

See, for me, church isn't a place of entertainment.

If it was, then go at the club down the road because they'll do a better job than us.

All right, I promise you that.

Church isn't about coming and being entertained.

If you remember back, you're a minister.

What you bring to community is so, so important.

Judith spoke that amazing message.

Go back, check it out.

You're a minister.

So don't come to group, to any of the things that we've got planned over summer.

Don't come on a Sunday with a go on, then let's do church attitude.

No, what can I do?

Well, how can I encourage?

What can I bring and encourage people?

How can I have prepared my heart with a word for someone?

I'm gonna come in and lift my hands and help lead people into God's presence.

Come on, that's the kind of people that would be a vision runner.

Vision sitters, maybe lack a bit of passion.

I spoke about this maybe two weeks ago.

See, I can preach a message about passion.

And in the last song, we can see a few people clapping their hands, maybe doing something a little bit different, but it's gotta overflow.

Passion's gotta overflow into a heart, into a life devoted to Christ.

It's not about getting stirred up and getting excited, it's about knowing that Jesus has saved you.

You have overcome.

There is a bright, amazing future ahead, and He loves you, and we passionately respond from that place.

See, you can spot a vision sleeper or a vision sitter a mile off because they kind of do the bare minimum of what's expected.

Maybe these people sing the songs, maybe they serve as long as it doesn't cost them too much, they listen to the message on a Sunday, go home and live a normal life and rinse and repeat next week.

That is not what we're called to, and if that's you, please don't feel condemned.

But there's more than just attending.

All right, and if you need help and support in coming out of that place where you're sat to a place where you can stand and run in your relationship with Christ, because if you remember, that's the starting point, isn't it?

If you need help with that, please find a friend.

Talk to Judith, talk to me, Gab, Elena, Ruth, David, Angela.

There's there's multiple of trusted people that can help you on that journey.

But if that's you and the Holy Spirit is whispering to you this morning, don't just walk away.

Put something into action.

Let's be people who go deeper than just showing up, consuming, lacking passion.

Let's not just do the bare minimum.

It's gonna cost us something if we're gonna see this vision poured out.

Lastly, vision disruptors.

That's quite the opposite to a vision runner.

These people might be super passionate about church, about God, but when it comes to the vision or the leadership or the decisions that are being made, it's just a negative report that's brought.

It's a negative talk that comes out of people's mouths, and that's not helpful.

I remember in a previous church where I wasn't in a particularly a good place with the Lord.

We've all been there, amen.

And uh and I wasn't in alignment with leadership and the way things were going, and it broke my heart, really.

It was hard season for us, wasn't it?

Um, and I confess that the language I used and the talk that I brought, the report I brought was a negative one.

And I've apologized to the leadership of our church because I needed to, because unity is so so so important.

Disagreement, absolutely fine, absolutely fine, but disunity, no good.

In Romans 16, verse 7, we're urged to watch for those people who cause division, and at first it might just feel like a little bit of gossip, it might just talk that sounds a little Little bit like criticism or cynicism, but that stuff trips up the runners.

Romans 16:7

That talk trips up the runners.

And I don't believe that as Christians, as men and women of God, faith-filled people, that we're called to disunity.

I believe we're called to unity.

You can spot a vision disruptor a mile off because there's lots of opinionated.

There's lots of opinion in the way that they speak.

And opinion, I've said this before, I will say it again.

Opinions are a wonderfully good thing because mine aren't always correct.

Judith gets it wrong, I get it wrong.

And I love people who talk to us about stuff that they don't agree with us on.

But if you're always talking, and if that negative talk turns into an echo chamber because you found a couple of people who maybe agree with you, I would argue that is division and that is disunity.

And as passionate as you feel about that stuff, in one way, passionately having an opinion is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

But on the other hand, that's not building his kingdom, that's not building his house.

And as well, you know, it's one thing struggling to get on board with a new vision or the new logo or struggling with one or two of our core values, even deciding to submit to the decisions that Judith and I make if you don't agree with them.

But let me be vulnerable for a moment, okay?

We need people who are with us if we're gonna make this happen.

Not just submitted, not just been around for a while, so what else will we do?

We need people who are on board, like I said, not just with a vision statement.

We need runners, people who can see what it is we're trying to build and are absolutely on board, excited, desperate to help us build it.

Maybe you're a runner, amazing.

Keep running.

Maybe you're guilty of sitting in one or two areas of your life.

Maybe I don't know.

No one here, obviously.

Maybe you've been guilty of a little bit of disrupting the vision.

Maybe, maybe you've tripped one or two runners up.

I don't know.

I hope you want to become a runner if you feel you're not.

I hope that's where you're at.

And I and I, what do we do?

How do we get to be a runner?

Well, I've already explained some of it.

Really, it's about a passion for Jesus.

It's a passion for his word, a passion for spending time with him.

And only you can cultivate that.

Now we can help, we can do accountability, we can do devotionals, we can do stuff, but you've got to open your heart to Jesus and say, I want to know you more, I want to spend quality time in your presence.

That's the starting point.

But if you feel like maybe you can't get behind Judith and I, that's cool, man.

It's okay.

There's love.

There's love in the room.

I promise you that.

Okay, I promise you.

But what's interesting about Habakkuk is that he had a complaint?

The book starts, um, this is chapter two.

Now it's chapter one, verse two and four.

It says, How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen or cry out to you, violence, but you do not save.

Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me.

There is strife and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails.

The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

See, Habakkuk, he had a complaint.

He was sick of his people rebelling against God and it going unpunished.

Don't think that that's my complaint about you.

It's not.

But you need a complaint.

If you don't have a complaint, not about me, but if you don't have a complaint before the Lord, you're not going to be a runner.

You need a conviction that there's got to be more than just rocking up on a Sunday.

You need a complaint that says, Come on, God.

Will you do it in our time?

Will you build your house?

Will you bring the laborers?

Will you send us out to the mission field, Lord?

Will you help us get on board?

See, I want to see more.

I'm not, it's not, it's not enough.

I cry out to God every day.

I want to see more, more healing, more lives changed, more conversations with my neighbors, chains broken, depression lifted, families changed, crime rates dropping.

Imagine.

Imagine because the Spirit of God is moving through his people, willing just to say, Lord, use me.

Food banks closing down.

Because they're no longer needed.

Prison overcrowding, a thing of the past.

And it's not because that's what the church has made happen, but it's because that's fruit of lives devoted to Christ.

See, you need a complaint, a complaint to God that says, Lord, I want to be part of something.

But if you're happy just to keep going the way things are, that's cool.

But we don't want to leave you behind.

So I'm going to keep preaching messages like this.

But you will get left behind.

Maybe it's time to ask God to stir your heart.

You want to be passionate more about God?

Ask him to stir your heart.

If you're desperate for that passion to reach the lost, come on, join with us.

Ask God to stir your heart.

Maybe you've been guilty recently of going through the motions.

Ask him to stir your heart.

Maybe you know it's time to throw off things that hinder you.

Hold you back, your past, your hurts, your fears, throw them off.

Ask him to stir your heart.

Runners, let's keep running.

Take people with you on the journey.

Sleepers, will you get up and at least start a gentle jog?

Or will you spectate the race?

We don't want to leave you behind.

Disruptors, if you felt the Lord's discipline this morning, maybe it's time to repent.

We don't have to agree on everything.

But if you've sown division, it's time to turn around.

You don't have to like everything.

You don't even have to like me.

But let's choose unity.

Amen.

We don't want to leave anyone behind.

Come on, will you run with us?

I'm going to do something a little bit weird, if that's alright.

Brian, I'm sorry if the mic fluffs up.

In fact, where's the other one?

I'm sorry, I've I've gone on a bit, but I'm going to come and stand down here.

I'm going to turn around this way.

And what we're going to do, sorry, Gav, it might feel like we're all looking at you, but we're just, if you want to be a runner, if you know you're a runner, will you stand with me?

If you want to be a runner with a vision not just for God's house, not just a passion for God, but a vision to join with us as we build his kingdom.

Maybe it's not been an easy journey for you until now to join, but you want to.

Will you stand with us as I pray?

Father, we devote our hearts to the calling you've placed on us to run.

To run our race.

Your word talks about running the race set before us, but Lord, to run with the vision you've called us to, Lord.

We want to glorify your name.

Lord, we want to build each other up.

We want to do community so beautifully.

Community that honors you.

And we want to make and we want to reach the world.

We want to make disciples.

So, Lord, I devote my heart to you afresh.

I devote myself to the vision of this house.

Lord, um, we honor you.

Let you, let it be you that builds your house.

Please, Father, build your house.

Not for the sake of a great church or a wonderful worship meeting that we enjoy, but for the hearts and the lives and the salvation of the people in this part of the world.

Let us be people who no longer speak ill or bring a bad report.

Let's be people who bring a good report, who speak well, who speak into unity rather than division.

Help us, Lord, I pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I will I will just say this before I hand over to Judith.

Take your seat.

Um I said at the start, I don't want to ever bring a message that you feel convicted of.

Oh, Matt said this.

I want to bring a word.

That is a word from the Lord that then just let the Holy Spirit do his thing.

Is that okay?

Come on.

We're called to run.

Move quickly, pick it up the pace.

We need runners, people who are devoted.

Join with us.

Let's do this journey together.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.