This morning is going to be a little different. We usually jump right into Scripture but this morning we are going to focus on three areas; 1. Where Have We Been? 2. Where Are We Going? 3. What Are Our Obstacles? Let’s jump in with our first one; 1. Where Have We Been?
- Where Have We Been?
First our church family in Austin, TX started with 15 adults sitting in our living room 13-years ago. Many of those people have moved on to serve the Lord in other churches around the world but we still have a few with us from the very beginning. (Rhesa / Geraline / Jessie / Holly)
Our first 3-5years we were incredibly outward focused. We were in the community like Allandale, Brentwood, Crestview, serving schools like Pillow Elementary, Lucy Read, knocking on doors, hosting dog fairs in Brentwood Park, and inviting anyone and everyone to be involved in North Village Church.
It was great, it was exciting, but we noticed as we were inviting people to be in our church family that we had more new people than we did family. Does that make sense?
We had more new people checking out Jesus and North Village Church than we had committed people in North Village Church, so we spent the next 3-5 years focusing on building up the core of our church family in Austin.
We clarified our vision: North Village Church is a family who places Jesus at the center of our lives so that it moves us to chase after every man, woman, and child in Greater Austin to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ.
We introduced our yearly focus to help us focus on a key part of our vision every three years. If you are ever wondering, “Where’s this church in Austin going?” We rotate through these three areas every three years.
We started to introduce our devotionals at that time and are devotional is a great resource for our church family. And we were able to see two new churches started in our city and they are still up and running today! Praise God!
Then we navigated the pandemic. Ugh! Moved into our new space on Anderson Ln. Yay! And we spent the last year focused on “Look Around” as a church family, so we landed on three areas:
Continue to look out for those who have yet to return during the pandemic. (All but 5 people have returned. Really amazing!). We have since had some people step away from our church, but it wasn’t related to the pandemic.
Care for those new people who walk through our door. (In the past 12 years we’ve averaged 2 new visitors a month. This last year we have been averaging 4-6 new visitors a month. We are seeing more diversity, more exposure, more opportunities than we ever have in the life or our church family in Austin.)
Challenge us to share the 3 Circles Gospel Presentation with people in our church family in Austin and outside our church family in Austin. (75 people.)
As of today, we have only had 26 people turn in cards, which is not great, but we did get some feedback from people as to why people didn’t respond to this challenge.
First: Lack of relationship with people to share the 3 circles. Some of that was because of the pandemic and lack of relational connection we lost through the pandemic, therefore, if that applies to you then we invite you to start praying now for the Lord to open up new relationships, especially those who far from the Lord.
Second: Some people just didn’t like the 3 Circles Presentation and if you landed in that area, I think you would do well to ask yourself, “Am I sharing the gospel?” God’s Word calls us to invite people to know Him.
And are you seeing people understand the gospel? The benefit of the 3 Circles is that there is a fullness to the gospel, and we need to be careful that we aren’t just sharing parts of the gospel but the whole gospel.
Last: The last primary response was just an honest fear of how people are going to respond when we share the gospel.
I get it. It is easy to get nervous about what people are going to say or think and that is one of the reasons we wanted to press into that challenge for a year. If you find yourself in that place then we want to ask the Lord to give us boldness and confidence with our faith, because life is better in Him, and we want to invite as many as possible to know Him. (SLIDE: Look Around)
Listen, our yearly focus of “Look Around” might be coming to a close but we still want to “Look Around” as a church family. We still want to look around for those who are visiting on a Sunday morning, serve our neighbors, blessing to this community like Allandale, Crestview, North Shoal Creek, Brentwood, and pray for opportunities to share the 3 Circle Gospel Presentation.
There is a spiritual openness in our culture today like never before due to the pandemic. People are asking questions about life. People are open, and we who are in Christ have answers, therefore, we want to invite people into the conversation. Let’s talk about where we are going as a church family in Austin:
- Where Are We Going?
Nehemiah 1:5, “5 I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
Last Sunday we kicked off Nehemiah chapter 1. You can go to our YouTube Channel to catch up. In Nehemiah 1 we see a friend of Nehemiah comes to give an update on Jerusalem because Israel’s best and brightest have been deported to live in a foreign land, but the Persian Empire has allowed Israel to return to restore and rebuild.
In chapter 2 we see Nehemiah has been praying for 4 months about the news in Jerusalem, so that in verses 1-4 the king of Persia sees Nehemiah’s sadness and asks Nehemiah, “Why are you sad?”
You don’t want to be sad in front of the king, therefore, in verse 4 Nehemiah throws up a quick prayer, so that in verse 5 Nehemiah makes the ask, “Will you allow me to return to Israel to rebuild the broken-down walls?” You with me?
In a similar way, our church family isn’t re-building a wall, but we are asking the Lord to help us build deep relationships with one another. Especially as we are coming out of the pandemic and connecting with new people on Sunday morning. Look at verses 13-16:
Nehemiah 2:13, “13 So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.14 Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass. 15 So I went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. Then I entered the Valley Gate again and returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; nor had I as yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.”
In verse 13 we see Nehemiah inspecting the walls and the gates to see how much damage is done and how many repairs need to be made, which is important.
Nehemiah knows we need to first see the problem before we can fix the problem. Does that make sense? We need to assess the damage before we can overcome the damage.
And in a similar way, our relationships with one another aren’t broken down and consumed with fire, but there are opportunities for growth.
In general, our church family in Austin is warm and inviting on a Sunday morning. I think we are pretty friendly with one another. We are pretty good about having social conversations, but it can be difficult for us to get into deeper relationships with one another.
Some of that is our culture as a whole because we tend to keep people at a distance. Some of that is because we are coming out of pandemic and learning how to navigate relationships in general.
Some of what holds us back from deeper relationships with one another is fear of what others might say. Maybe people won’t accept us if they really know us? Maybe we feel like it will take a lot of energy and we feel tired? Maybe we are just socially awkward?
Therefore, we want to invite our church in Austin to commit this next year to strengthening and building closer relationships with one another.
Illustration: Listen to me, there is some urgency here because sometimes we can become so familiar with brokenness that we start to accept the brokenness as normal.
We can get use to abuse in a family and just think, “That’s what happens in our family.” We can get accustomed to a coldness in marriage and think, “It’s always been this way.” We can get use to division and distance in a local church and just accept, “Those people are divisive and distant.” It becomes normal.
That’s why we want to submit these areas to the Lord and ask our church family to respond in three different areas:
Sharing A Meal: There is something special about sharing a meal together. Therefore, we are praying for 75 people to make a commitment of initiating meals with one another.
I know there is a part of us that hears that and says, “That’s easy. I love to eat food!” But you would be surprised at how nervous we might get when we say to someone in our church family, “Do you want get a meal together?” There are going to be fears like, “What if they say NO?” What if they don’t like my kids? What if we don’t have anything to talk about? Therefore, go to that QR Code, read through those questions, and consider what it means to make this commitment!
Spiritual Gifts: By grace through faith in Jesus we are gifted with spiritual gifts, therefore, we are praying for 75 people to make the commitment of learning their spiritual gifts and unleashing those gifts within the body of Christ.
Starting October 9th, we will have a 2-week class to start us moving in that direction. We will teach on spiritual gifts throughout the year. But our church in north Austin is going to be at its best when we are living out our spiritual gifts. Therefore, go to that QR Code, read through those questions, and consider what it means to make this commitment!
Seeking Peace: Most of us probably are probably thinking, “Do we have that much conflict in our church in north Austin?” We don’t see people arguing and fighting but I think there might be a layer of polite avoidance.
Maybe we avoid talking to certain people on a Sunday morning? Maybe we had a conversation one time that was a little uncomfortable, so we just avoid that person? Maybe we saw one word someone put on social media, so we said to ourselves, “I must not have anything in common with that person.”
Therefore, we want to implement the R.U.S.T system in our church family (Run to conflict early, Unusual commitment to personal ownership, Slow to speak, Trust in the Lord) so that none of our relationships rust and decay but we keep growing closer together and closer to the Lord. Therefore, go to that QR Code, read through those questions, and consider what it means to make this commitment!
Listen to me, this last year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs but it’s not like we are that far off from seeing great things in our church in north Austin, but for those great things to happen in our church family it has to start with the people in the room who see the challenge and then see the hope of what the outcome of that challenge could look like practically. That’s what we see in Nehemiah. Look at verses 17-20:
Nehemiah 2:17-18, “17 Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” 18 I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work”.
In the context of Nehemiah, we see Nehemiah get all the people together (priests, artists, farmers) and say, “Look, it’s really bad.” Do you see that in verse 17? Jerusalem is desolate. The gates are burned with fire. Nehemiah doesn’t sugar coat the problem.
We can’t just talk about all the good things all the time. We can’t just say everything is awesome and not acknowledge that there are some challenges. But at the same time, we can’t just focus on what is horrible, so that we all want to quit.
In Nehemiah we see both. Nehemiah exposes the reality of the challenge and then offers hope of what it could look like if we take on that challenge, and in the same way we see “Build and Belong” moving us in the right direction.
Elder In Training: One of the areas I am most excited about in our church family right now is seeing Jac Greene and Roberto Moctezuma finish our elder in training this September and this morning we get to present them to you to finalize the process of their elder in training. Y’all give a round of applause!
Our elder in training is a 12-month process. These men have been attending our elder meetings on Tuesday morning. They work through one assignment a month on different areas. They submit homework. They receive feedback. We look into their marriage. They open their lives to their friends, and we are excited to bring them before you this morning.
Our last step is to update our church in north Austin and ask you to confirm this process. We are basically asking you to agree that you see what we see, which is these two men as spiritual leaders in our church family.
We don’t have a formal process but more so invite you to come talk to me or Dustin Rogers about any concerns you might have with these two men being confirmed as elders in our church in north Austin.
In two weeks, if we don’t hear any concerns then we will invite Jac and Roberto back to the front and formally pray over them as they enter into this commitment for our church family in Austin. Y’all give a round of applause. Let’s look at our last sub-point; 3. What About Hecklers?
- What About Hecklers?
Nehemiah 2:19-20, “19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard it, they mocked us and despised us and said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”
We are going to see these people show up throughout Nehemiah, but you need to know when we follow the Lord there are going to be hecklers. There are going to be people who try to discourage us from following the Lord.
Sometimes it is people in our lives who try to discourage us, but I think the biggest hecklers in life are not going to be people but circumstantial events.
How many times do we set out to take on a challenge and then we get physically sick, which sets us back? We lose a job. We see a huge conflict show up out of nowhere. We were genuinely sincere, but the circumstances of life begin to choke out that sincerity like hecklers who mock and despise us!
Listen to me, as I have set out to start a marriage, start a family, start a church I can assure you there have been hecklers along the way, people and circumstances, to mock and despise, and what has carried me through those obstacles is the clarity of God’s call on my life in those areas.
Therefore, I want to invite every person here today to take a moment and consider what it means practically to pursue meals with one another. Inviting one another into our homes. Meeting people at a restaurant that we might not know as well. Maybe experiencing a conversation that is a little clunky?
Take a moment to consider what it means to learn about your spiritual gift and unleash that spiritual gift. Spiritual gifts are a gift, but it takes time to learn how to wield our spiritual gifts in a way that they are blessing to others, therefore, we need to strengthen up for the long haul so that we might see our spiritual gifts come to the surface.
Take a moment to consider what it means to seek peace and resist conflict. Everyone loves the idea of peace and reconciliation. Everyone loves the end result. But most people do not like working through conflict. Most people would prefer to avoid conflict and as a result, those fears, those insecurities, those circumstances become hecklers in our life, like Nehemiah of old who mock and despise us.
In Nehemiah 2 Nehemiah knew with great detail what it was going to take to rebuild that wall, therefore, in the same way, might we consider what it is going to take for us build deeper relationships with the people in this room.
I can tell you the first step is to align ourselves with Jesus. If you have never began a relationship with God through faith in Jesus, do that right now.
Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that Jesus conquered death, and if Jesus can conquer death, then Jesus can definitely conquer the obstacles in our life.
We will have people to pray for you at the back. Let’s not try to do this alone. Let’s rise up and build deep relationships with one another. Will you pray with me?