SERIES: Topical
MESSAGE: Living With Vision
SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig
SCRIPTURE: John 17:1-26; Acts 2:1-47

MESSAGE SUMMARY
Every life should have purpose. All people should know why they’re here and what God’s intention is for them. So should every church. This weekend we want you to discover and celebrate with us what we believe, who we are as a church, and what we do as a church body. Beyond that, we want you to know why.

DETAILED NOTES

  1. Introduction—Vision
    1. Skip has needed corrective lenses since he was 12 years old
    2. 75% of adult Americans need corrective lenses
    3. All of us need help to see clearly
    4. Arthur, a 90-year-old golfer couldn't see the ball anymore, his 103-year-old brother-in-law had perfect eyesight
    5. Loss of vision is a serious problem
    6. In 2008, an 86-year-old pilot crashed
    7. Without vision, people perish (see Proverbs 29:18)
    8. Can we see what God wants us to be? Do we know the vision so we can march into the future?
      1. Disclaimer: Skip's goal is not to get people to like him
        1. The goal is to please the Lord
        2. Not everyone likes the way we do worship, teaching, or our church size, altar calls, etc.
        3. Find a fellowship you can march forward in
      2. Years ago, the leaders (Calvary Albuquerque) prayed for what God wanted this church to be and do—that hasn't changed
        1. John 17, Jesus' prayer to His Father
        2. Acts 2, how the church practiced what Jesus prayed for in John 17
  2. The church should be a church that radiates the glory of God
    1. We pursue the God who is passionately pursuing a lost world; we do this with one another, through worship, by the Word, to the world
      1. Upreach
      2. Inreach
      3. Outreach
    2. "Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You" (John 17:1)
      1. "The glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one" (John 17:22)
      2. Eight times in this chapter the word glory or glorify is used
      3. The word glory is reserved for spiritual settings/conversations
      4. Glory is a visible expression/experience of God
        1. Outward "Wow!"
        2. Then an inward "Whoa!"
        3. Isaiah said, "Woe is me!" when he saw a vision of God's glory (see Isaiah 6:1-5)
      5. Valued attention toward God
        1. Glorify, doxazó, to make renowned, to make someone famous
        2. "I have glorified You" v. 4
        3. "I have manifested Your name" v. 6
        4. Jesus put all the focus on God
        5. He passed that onto the disciples
        6. The church's primary goal is to glorify God—to point Him out
    3. Worship, upreach
      1. When we worship Him we are stating that He is of most value—He's worth it
      2. In Acts 2, the church is born and worship is the first thing they did
        1. "We hear them speaking the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11)
        2. They continued "daily with one accord in the temple...praising God" (Acts 2:46-47)
      3. God made us to worship Him
      4. We are most happy and joyful when we fulfill the reason we were made
      5. Your purpose on earth is to please God (see Revelation 4:11)
      6. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that the chief end of man "is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"
      7. How does God want to be worshiped? (see John 4:24)
        1. In spirit—the human spirit, the authentic core of you—spirited worship
        2. In truth—based on His worth and His Word
      8. What you are in for when you get to heaven?
        1. Angels sing praise to Him (see Revelation 5:11)
        2. Sing it loud (see Revelation 5:12-13)
        3. You can't sit back and not participate in worship
        4. God won't say, "Way to hold it in!"
        5. Make a joyful noise (see Psalms 100:1)
      9. Happy hour
        1. You've won the lottery
        2. You're saved
        3. You're freed from all of the past
        4. You're on your way to heaven
    4. The church should reveal the truth of God—Inreach
      1. "You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word...I have given to them the words which You have given Me" v. 6
      2. "I have given them Your word" v. 14
      3. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" v. 17
      4. We place a high value on Bible teaching—it's always about what God says—His truth
        1. Our worship should be based on the truth of God
        2. The Word of God does the work of God in the hearts of the people
        3. Jesus prayed for them to be sanctified by the truth
        4. The early church devoted themselves to the apostles' doctrine—truth (see Acts 2:42)
        5. Dr. Albert Mohler said, "Rarely do we hear these days that a church is distinguished primarily by its preaching. When we hear people speak about their own congregations, generally they speak about something other than preaching. They might speak of a church's ministry. They might speak of specialized programs for senior adults or young people. They might speak of a church's music. Sometimes they might speak of things far more superficial. But rarely do you hear of a church described first and foremost by the character, power and content of its preaching. This is because few preachers are true servants of the word."
        6. Skip was saved listening to Billy Graham, but he couldn't grow just sitting under evangelism his whole life
        7. You need Bible teaching after you get saved
        8. Skip started going to a church that taught from Genesis to Revelation—he grew up under a Bible-teaching church
        9. Some seminary students said they learned more at a Bible-teaching church in one year than they did in all of their years at seminary training
        10. We come to church and study the Word to learn the truth
          1. "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18)
          2. "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow" (1 Peter 2:2)
      5. Inreach isn't just Bible teaching; inreach is also sharing our gifts with one another
        1. When that happens, we are being empowered for service
        2. 60 times in the New Testament one another is used
        3. You can't do one anothers by yourself
        4. Inreach happens in person
    5. Outreach—rescue the enemies of God (v. 18)
      1. We are on a mission from God—the kind of mission that Jesus went on
        1. Jesus' mission was to seek and save the lost (see Luke 19:10)
        2. The word sent is apostelló in Greek; it means someone who is sent
        3. God's plan to save unsaved people is to send saved ambassadors into their midst and giving them the gospel
      2. This is the method God has chosen to reach the world—we are ambassadors of Christ to the world
        1. Please never let this church become a bless-me club
        2. The church is a place for us to come and learn, to be healed, and to be a family
        3. The church exists for the benefit of non-members
      3. We have a tendency to think about ourselves
        1. We need to be reminded that we are to upreach, inreach, and outreach
        2. Jesus knew this; He had to tell the disciples to "lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest" (John 4:35)
        3. Peter preached the gospel filled with the Holy Ghost—with boldness (see Acts 2:14-40)
        4. The great commission is to "go into all the world and preach the gospel" (Mark 16:15)
      4. This is a healthy pattern for every healthy believer and every healthy church
        1. We're saved
        2. We serve
        3. We're sent
          1. That's evangelism; that's why we do altar calls
          2. D.L. Moody was reprimanded for how he did altar calls
          3. By all means, do it!
          4. Evangelism brings life into a body
  3. Closing
    1. Live churches versus dead churches
      1. Live churches are constantly changing; dead churches don't have to
      2. Live churches have lots of noisy kids; dead churches are fairly quiet
      3. Live churches expenses always exceed their income; dead churches take in more than they ever dreamed of spending
      4. Live churches are constantly improving for the future; dead churches worship their past
      5. Live churches focus on people; dead churches focus on programs
      6. Live churches dream great dreams for God; dead churches relive nightmares
      7. Live churches don't have can't in their vocabulary; dead churches have nothing but
      8. Live churches evangelize; dead churches fossilize
    2. Don't be a fossil
      1. Outwardly may look like a fossil
      2. Inwardly still 20 years old
      3. The outward man is passing away, the inward man is being renewed day by day (see 2 Corinthians 4:16)
      4. Still have vision for the future
      5. Honored to march forward together
    3. Love, kindness, grace vv. 20-23
      1. Let all we do for God and one another always be soaked in grace
      2. No room for legalism
      3. Be nice
      4. Be kind


Greek terms: δοξάζω; glorify, honor, bestow glory on; ἀποστέλλω; apostelló, send forth
Publications referenced: Westminster Shorter Catechism
Figures referenced: Dr. Albert Mohler, Billy Graham
Cross references:
Psalms 100:1, Proverbs 29:18, Isaiah 6:1-5, Mark 16:15, Luke 19:10, John 4:24, 35, John 17:21, Acts 2:11, Acts 2:14-40, Acts 2:42, Acts 2:46-47, 2 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:18, Revelation 4:11, Revelation 5:11-13

Topic: vision

Keywords: inreach, outreach, upreach, mission, vision, truth, doctrine, worship, love, grace


Living With Vision - John 17:1-26; Acts 2:1-47 | SkipHeitzig.com/2457
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