The Future of the Church—Rev 2-3 "I will build My church" series pt4 Chris Bruynzeel—Bridge Moorpark Pastor—Sun, May 3, 2015

Intro Preseason—arrived at camp ready to work our tails off—had an end goal—Texas yep/Nationals End goal—not 10 weeks away—our end goal is when our Savior returns or calls us home—what will He say to me as one of the shepherds of this body? What will He say to you about the part you played in this body? What do we want Him to say? What will drive us—keep us moving forward? Not cheerleader/coach Bruynzeel—has to be all of us together—stirring each other to love & good deeds, to hold fast to our confession. Not mere “survival”—I want impact for the sake of Jesus Christ! This drives me:  Matthew 16:18 18 And I tell you, you are

Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Philippians 1:12-13 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.  1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the

Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. So…What will be OUR Future? Go Back to go Forward…

I.

A Church Characterized by…—Rev 2-3 The things which are…

Asia—postal route—Ephesus planting church—John later in life, exiled from there Each church addressed by the King of the Church—what they were doing right; what they needed to change; consequence if they didn’t; reward if they did—2 churches received only commendation (Smyrna & Philadelphia)— representative of churches of all time: sin that can sneak in, compromise, heresy, lethargy, legalism—you name it…for the Bridge Moorpark: “what are we like & what do we need to change & what do we want our legacy to be?”

 Ephesus—2:1-7—the loveless church— large, pagan city—Temple of Diana/Artemis—Paul there for 3yrs; Timothy later—hub church to the region— strong on doctrine and combating heresies—over time this discerning church had become loveless—having a cold orthodoxy—they had lost the fired up love that had characterized their church—return to that first love!  **Smyrna—2:8-11—the suffering church— large city, strong ties to Rome & Caesar worship—also faced heavy opposition from Jews who had rejected Jesus as the Messiah—though small and poor, yet rich in Jesus’ eyes—stand firm in the face of persecution!  Pergamum—2:12-17—the worldly church—large city, several major temples to various gods—huge throne altar to Zeus— large temple to Asklepios/god of healing symbolized by serpents—first temple built to worship a living Caesar in 29BC—this church had compromised by allowing deception into the church/allowing sexual

immorality/falling to the culture around them—clean it up now!  Thyatira—2:18-29—the tolerant / unrepentant church—the city where Lydia was from (she was the one who hosted the first church in Philippi)—Thyatira was a city of commerce—many merchant guilds, each having its own patron god—commerce & religion was intertwined—heavy cultural pressure to compromise (suffer financially if you don’t) which they did—allowing heresy into the church and accommodating false teachers and the usual accompanying sexual immorality—they are told to clean house immediately!  Sardis—3:1-6—the lifeless/coma/dying church—a church that had grown apathetic, lethargic, comfortable—so accommodated to the culture that it was barely alive—told to wake up, get about their business, remember what they had learned and to hold on til the end!  **Philadelphia—3:7-13—the loving & serving church—an important city on the imperial highway, commercial &

agricultural, many temples & the imperial cult—yet they hadn’t given in, nothing to change, only commended—active, loving, at work in spreading the Gospel—keep it up!!!  Laodicea—3:14-22—the lukewarm church—prosperous city, banking center, many temples, “don’t need your help” to Rome after major earthquake—church there “materially wealthy, spiritually poor”—attitude that displayed their arrogance “we’ve got this covered” money was their security, trust, faith—about to be spit/vomited out—change quickly, come to Christ in humility So What? What are the cultural pressures that tempt us to compromise and become more like our culture? What are the societal pressures that may try to force us to change or to be ostracized, isolated and persecuted? What are the teachings that can sneak in and bring destruction, division, and departure from the faith? What are the things we do that can lead to

lethargy—coma? What are the things that we can emphasize that lead to legalism & outward, external Christianity? What temptations does the love of money bring into the church? What will we be? How are we going to stay the course and grow in passion and purpose and effectiveness?

II.

What kind of Church do we want to be? A. A Church on a Mission—God’s Mission Mission—out of this flow convictions—bear with me, work in progress: We are a church family compelled by God’s love to lead people to become transformed and passionate followers of Jesus Christ who impact our world. (2Cor 5:14-21; Matt 28:1820) III. 2 Corinthians 5:14–21 14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for

all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  Bridge—some tag lines: connecting people to God (love this)—also, loving one person

at a time—also—“God 1st, others 2nd, I’m 3rd!”  Declaring the Exclusive Gospel Inclusively--our Confession—Matt 16:12-20; John 3:1617; John 14:1-6; Rom 10:9-10; Acts 4:12; Rom 1:16-17  Keeping Disicpleship at the Forefront— building followers—our Calling— Matt 28:16-20; Col 1:28; Phil 1:6; 1 Thess 2:78,11-12; 2 Tim 2:2; Tit 2:2

 Keeping Outreach on our Hearts—fostering compassion - Matt 9:36-37; Acts 1:8 & 18:9-11

 Passionate about being Characterized by Active Love & Unifying Humility - Love—1 Cor 13:1-8a; John 13:34-35; Gal 5:22-23; John 3:16 - Humility—Phil 2:5-8 (whole chp); Jn 13:12-17  Renewing our Minds as Central—Teaching, Theology—Col 1:28; 1 Tim 3:14-17; 2 Tim 4:2; Eph 4:11-12  Energized to be a Church of Servants— Every Member a Minister—our Resources— Rom 12:1-8; 1 Cor 12; Eph 4:11-16; 2 Pet 4:10-11  Caring enough to “Get Messy”—“one anothers” & “Mutual Ministry”—Rom 15:14; Phil 4:1-3; Tit 2:2; Gal 6:1-3 B. A Church Passionate to Love People towards Jesus Christ - Outreach events during the year—ie July 3rd; Country Days; Art on High Street; Christmas Eve; Easter - Outreach by individuals all the time— “how can I pray for you?”; grow friendship; invite to church; share your

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testimony 50 new followers in 2015-16—50 baptisms 80% believers connected to church, to a small group, to someone who will connect 1/week All believers equipped in knowing what discipleship is—AND—ready to learn on the “go” with someone younger in the faith (weekly meetings/connections for prayer, study, fellowship, questions) Being discipled and Making disciples 80% serving regularly

C. A Church with Intentional but not Permanent Programs—Discipleship firmly embedded; relationships paramount; no “sacred cows”—we hold programs lightly - LifeGroups, small groups—about growing in knowing God in Jesus Christ and life in His ways—AND—applying together - Informal discipleship—regularly praying for each other, grabbing coffee together - New believers classes—so as to know - Younger believers connected in one-to-

one relationships with older believers— so as to follow someone ahead of them—exampling, counseling, teaching - Resources for discipling—using materials, conversations, quick calls D. A Church with Future Facilities? - new, more permanent location—free up “resources” to new ministries—ie Nueva Vida in Moorpark?! - Expand ministries—ie worship practice during week; equipping classes; midweek kid’s program - Visible—community knows there is a church that they can come to…a church that is active in the community So What? We are a church family compelled by God’s love to lead people to become transformed and passionate followers of Jesus Christ who impact our world. (2Cor 5:14-21; Matt 28:18-20) Church family—are you connected? Are you serving? How can we help you?

Compelled by God’s love—do you feel an urgency to act in love towards the lost, towards believers? What would that look like in your life if it were more true? To lead people to become transformed and passionate followers of Jesus Christ—who are you specifically praying for salvation? What have you done to grow your friendship with them lately? What next steps will you commit to doing this next week? Who are you helping grow as a follower? How are you helping them? In what ways are you “stirring them up to (greater) love and good deeds”? Who has modeled to you a fired up walk with Jesus—and—how did they do that over time? Who impact our world—In what ways do you see God using you to impact our church and our community? If you’re drawing a blank, will you commit to pray that God would get you moving in discipling others and getting active in reaching out to our community? How can our church get more active in Moorpark in tangible ways to advance the Gospel?