Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
October 2, 2022
INTRO (SLIDE 1)
Good morning! It is so fun to be together in one service!
Over the last year, we began asking a big question, “How can we disciple people well in the 21st century?” There is not a simple or canned answer to that question. This is really an adaptive challenge that requires us to enter a learning process to figure this out.
Of course, there are biblical principles that endure: We know that people need to hear the gospel, we know people need to learn God’s Word, we know we need to learn to pray, we know we need to gather for worship.
Yet, we find ourselves in a unique and complex moment. There are so many conflicting influences and pressures on our lives, and young people especially are being enticed by competing worldviews and false promises of self-fulfillment.
In many ways, we’re losing the “formation” battle. People are being formed and discipled more today by digital technology, relative truth, and political allegiances than by God’s Word and by bringing our lives into alignment with God’s Kingdom.
I want to talk about what we are doing here today. We are putting a stake in the ground to say that we want to embark on a Ministry Vision that tackles this big question, “How do we disciple people well in the 21st century” and brings it to life.
I’m convinced that in order to disciple people well, we cannot merely fill our minds with concepts about God. It’s not enough to know facts. We need heart transformation. We need to trust and follow. We need to see the truth of the gospel lived out, demonstrated, enacted, and told in creative ways that spark the imagination and bring out the beauty and goodness of the gospel for people who have been deadened and disinterested in Jesus because of the deception of the modern world.
In other words, we need to start training the way we actually live. ILLUST — In the military, you train the way you fight. Soldiers actually train day-by-day in such a way that they will not be surprised by what they will encounter in battle. They have realized this truth: You don’t rise to the level of your hopes or expectations; in a pressured situation you will always sink to the level of your training.
KEY: We’re in a battle for truth. In the church, we must train people for discipleship using hands-on, demonstrated, day-by-day real things so that people will not be surprised when they encounter how hard it is to be faithful to the gospel in all the complexity of the modern world.
We can look at how Jesus did this with his own disciples. Dr. Donald Guthrie, who is an expert in leadership and spiritual formation in the local church, said to me recently, “No other teacher took as many picnics or field trips as Jesus…For Jesus, creation was his curriculum.”
The New Testament is full of stories and parables that are embedded in creation. Why? Because the goal of discipleship is to be like Christ, the New Adam, the image of the Creator, the one who defines what it means to be fully human, an image-bearer reflecting God’s glory in everything that we do.
You see, making disciples and reaching people who are far from God today will require that we give people a taste of a different reality…it will require us to be immersed in the reality of the gospel and the Kingdom of God. We need to re-write the story of what people think matters most, re-wire their hearts, and give time and space to the creative work that needs to be done to spark the imagination of late-modern people to truly hear the gospel.
I want to invite you into this challenge. That’s what we are doing this morning. Our church has grown by more than three-fold in the last two years. But we aren’t merely talking about adding square footage to our building; we are saying that we want to step out in faith to expand our ministries to see how God can use us uniquely to develop a training center to form ambassadors of Jesus Christ by inspiring awe through creation.
We don’t have all the answers yet about how to do this. It will mean listening to the Lord together, collaborating with one another, bringing our own skills, gifts, and passions to bear, and deciding that we want to be available for God to use us for his kingdom purposes and for his glory. It will mean giving ourselves permission to try new things, to learn, and to see how God can bring us on a journey together to figure out how to train disciples today.
This step of faith is going to be guided by some core values: (SLIDE 2)
Biblically founded — grounded in God’s Word.
Cooperating with God’s design — aligned with God’s ways.
Rooted in a real community — creating a family to care for one another.
Using a learning-by-doing method — enacting the gospel through hands-on learning.
Bringing to light cultural idols — confronting the false versions of salvation.
Through relationships — building a web of godly relationships.
Our name for this new Ministry Campaign is called: (SLIDE 3) Deepening Roots, Growing Branches.
Deepening Roots — We want to deepen our discipleship, deepen friendships, deepen our understanding of God’s Word, and deepen our commitment to God’s mission. We are also literally intending to lay the foundation of a new building that will establish us as an embassy of God’s Kingdom on this 10 acre site for decades to come. We want to be like an “oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Isaiah 61:3).
Growing Branches — We want to be a blessing to our community and bring the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who aren’t saved. We want to put the Kingdom of God on display and give people a taste of the new creation so that their hearts will open to the gospel. We want to be like the mustard seed that grows to become a large tree that provides shade and shelter, and where the birds come and perch in its branches (Luke 13:19).
As we embark on this new Ministry Campaign, we are stepping out in faith. We know that God always provides for his plans for his people. Here are some of the prayers of faith that we are seeking right now:
We are searching for an Associate Pastor to help us pursue the learning-by-doing discipleship, especially with adults.
We are dreaming about how our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry can develop more opportunities for discipleship training for the next generation.
We’re working on training leaders for Growth Groups and Training Classes.
We are going to be commissioning a team this morning that will begin the process of raising the funds needed to support our growing church.
We are developing a Master Plan that will define our aspirations for how a new building can be a tool for Deepening Roots and Growing Branches. We are trusting God to expand our facility through this campaign, and to transform our whole property into a training center for discipleship by using the indoor spaces for art, science, music, drama, and learning about God’s Word, and the outdoor spaces for gardening, recreation, and demonstrating the beauty of God’s creation that reflects his glory.
We will be rolling out this Master Plan later this fall, then seeking commitments from the core leadership early next year, followed by a larger fundraising effort later next spring.
We’re taking a leap of faith to figure these things out together.
I’ll say this too…when God calls you to step out in faith, there is always going to be a gap between what we think we are capable of in a material/worldly sense and what we know God is calling us to do. We can trust that God will always achieve his plan, and we just need to listen and obey him.
I want you to know how special it is that we are here at this moment. I spent some time here on Thursday evening this week praying room-by-room, prayer walking around this building, and walking the aisles praying by name for each of you, and I was so humbled by the fact that we’re here today.
You see, I know that God has established this church family for a purpose. He has sustained this church for more than four decades for a reason.
Especially if you’re new here, you may not realize that about 10 or 15 years ago, this church almost closed its doors. Many of you in this room sacrificed greatly and selflessly served to keep going. And you’ve all said to me, “We just felt like God still had plans for this church.” I want to say thank you to those who faithfully kept listening to the Lord.
By God’s grace, the Lord has breathed new life into New Life! And it is for his glory!
I believe that God wants to use us to shine the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ into the dark places in our world.
You see, people are thirsty for something that will satisfy their souls, and the only answer is Jesus Christ, the Living Water himself!
We’re going to take a moment this morning to be reminded of our purpose as a church as we embark on this new Ministry Campaign. And we’re going to look at a passage from the book of Isaiah that helps inform that purpose. Open with me to Isaiah 55. (SLIDE 4)
ORG SENT — This chapter is one of the best outlines of the message of salvation, and I want this message to encourage you about our purpose as a gospel-centered church. This chapter explains the gift of salvation with four steps: recognize our need, seek the Lord, submit to him, and be transformed for his glory.
Let’s read the text. READ Isaiah 55:1-13. Remember, there are four steps: recognize our need, seek the Lord, submit to him, and be transformed for his glory.
MAIN 1 — Recognize Our Need (vv. 1-5). (SLIDE 5a)
If you go back to verse 1, that first word “Come” is literally the word “Hoy!” in Hebrew. (SLIDE 5b) This was the common call of water vendors in the marketplaces of the ancient near East. They would call out “Hoy!” to get people’s attention.
ILLUST — Its not that different from a hot dog vendor at a baseball game: HEY-HO HOT DOGS HERE!
There is an urgency to get the attention of those who are thirsty or hungry. And the text says that they can come buy and eat without money, without cost! How is that possible?
Its not because God’s salvation doesn’t cost anything; its because the price has already been paid! Two chapters earlier, Isaiah looked ahead to Jesus and said, (SLIDE 5c) “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isa. 53:5)
The call of the gospel is “Hey! Come and receive! Your Savior has already paid the ultimate price for you!”
KEY — In order to respond to this call, you need to be thirsty. (SLIDE 5d) Let me put it bluntly: Do you realize that this world doesn’t satisfy? This is the first step in the gospel, that you recognize your need, that you see the false promises of the world for what they are, that you have ears open to hear the call to receive Living Water.
Isaiah says it plainly in verse 2a: “Why spend money on what it not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”
In other words, stop wasting your life on things that can never satisfy! This world will offer you empty promises, it will demand your heart’s devotion, and it will be like eating cotton candy: it will taste good for a moment, but then melt away into emptiness and rot.
But we have the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ himself! He alone can satisfy! He offers you himself!
There is an invitation here. These first two verses are an invitation to a banquet, to receive a feast. They imply humility, a recognition of need, and a posture of receiving.
We have to start here: Salvation is a gift that is free, because Jesus paid it all. Are you thirsty for him?
MAIN 2 — Seek The Lord (vv. 6-7). (SLIDE 6a)
The sense of urgency continues here. Read verses 6-7 again: READ vv. 6-7.
APPLY — Friends, let us to be a church that feels this sense of urgency to call people to repentance! (SLIDE 6b) Time is short, people are dying apart from Christ! I believe that God has raised up our church to be a place that issues this same call: Seek the Lord! Call on him! He is near!
These verses give us the full picture what what repentance actually is. (SLIDE 6c) There are two parts to this in verse 7:
(SLIDE 6d) Forsake — turning from sinful “ways” and “thoughts”
(SLIDE 6e) Turn to — turning toward the Lord for mercy and forgiveness
KEY: There is a “yes” and a “no” to the gospel — yes to Jesus, and no to every idol!
KEY: Because the price has been paid in full by the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, you can open your hands to receive mercy and forgiveness…God will freely pardon because the righteousness of Christ is an inexhaustible well of grace!
All God asks is for you to repent: To forsake wicked ways and thoughts, and to turn toward God with hands open to receive.
This call to forsake our old “ways” and “thoughts” connects directly to the next step.
MAIN 3 — Submit to Him (vv. 8-11). (SLIDE 7a)
Look at verses 8-9. You’ll see the same words “ways” and “thoughts”. (SLIDE 7b) READ vv. 8-9.
These words are hard to hear for the modern ear. It is hard for some to consider submitting to anyone! But friends, (SLIDE 7c) Let us to be a church that isn’t afraid to assert God’s ways and God’s truth! I want us to do something so counter-cultural: To submit ourselves to God’s ways and God’s thoughts!
This is a radical and transformational posture, that we would submit ourselves to God. But when we come under God’s truth and submit to what God desires, we actually find freedom, we find that the fog clears, and we see the light.
How do we come to know what God desires? How do we know his truth that transforms? (SLIDE 7d) It comes through the gift of his Word. Just look at verses 10-11 again. READ vv. 10-11.
There is a sense of fruitfulness and purpose here that is communicated with the simple metaphor of rain and snow.
Let me ask: How much control do you have over rain or snow? With winter coming, I’m sure you wish you had some say over whether it snows or not! The answer is: NONE!
Rain comes down from above, we receive it, we don’t control it.
It is effective, it produces transformation, turning deadness into life.
It achieves its purposes by God’s plan and by God’s power.
KEY: The same goes for God’s Holy Word. (SLIDE 7e)
We receive it.
It turns deadness into life.
It achieves God’s purposes.
APPLY — I want you to know my heart with this:
We are living in a time of illiteracy in general, but especially biblical illiteracy. People don’t have the patience or time or capacity to ponder anything for more than a few second.
ILLUST — The most recent research has found that people decide whether something is worth reading or listening to in less than 17 nanoseconds! We’ve trained ourselves to have the attention span of a flick of the finger as we scroll through social media feeds.
I want us to be a church that seeks to grow our awareness of God’s Word, our understand of God’s Word, our love for God’s Word, and our obedience to God’s Word. This is the path to transformation for his glory.
MAIN 4 — Be Transformed For His Glory (vv. 12-13). (SLIDE 8a)
This chapter ends with a picture of the return of the exiles. It is a parade of God’s people coming back to the Promised Land, shouting for joy, being led by God himself in peace.
(SLIDE 8b) And this parade is marked by praise and the transformation of dead things into living things that bring God glory! READ vv. 12-13.
I just love this! This is like a picture of the new creation, a creation that sings that praise of God and claps for joy because of what God has done! It’s like what we want to demonstrate through our property as we show God’s glory here.
You see, these thorns and briers represent everything that is dead and withering in our old self, but is transformed into evergreens and beautiful flowers in the gospel!
KEY: (SLIDE 8c) Our ugly and thorny and dead life has blossomed and been reborn into a new life in Christ that will endure for eternity!
It reminds me of Ephesians 2 — “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression—it is by grace you have been saved.”
For what purpose? Look at how Isaiah ends here: “This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
The transformation in us is a signpost that points to God’s glory! That’s why we exist, to be living witnesses of his glory!
APPLY
Friends, I want these truths to be our priorities in this new ministry season: (SLIDE 9)
To recognize our need.
To seek the Lord.
To submit to him.
To be transformed for his glory.
The bottom line is this: I want more people to hear the gospel, to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, and to learn how to walk faithfully with him in a vibrant life of discipleship. That’s the heart and soul of the Roots and Branches campaign. We want to spark the imaginations of people to see what gospel transformation for God’s glory looks like.
As we show people want it means to recognize our need, seek the Lord, submit to him, and be transformed by the Spirit, we will put the gospel on display and give people a sense of a different reality: The new creation! We will be living witnesses of the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ and the coming Kingdom of God!