Listening for God's Direction in Uncertain Times

thanks all right on May the 18th two weeks from now we have our important gathering where we're going to listen to each other as part of discerning God's guidance for our church um it'll be an important moment for our church so as strongly as I can I encourage you to be here but I want to tell you a bit about the story of getting here to this point why are we doing this church review last year I found myself in what I describe as a kind of an unsettled place and when I'm in an unsettled place in my spirit you know I feel uncomfortable and it was just kind of this underlying feeling that was running through most of the year [00:02:46]

so not being able to answer those kind of two questions where's God leading our church and hence am I got a sense that God wants me to be part of it meant that I was really troubled under the surface but I want to be that make this point very clear it wasn't that I wanted didn't want to be here it wasn't that I was not wanting to be here it was just that I couldn't answer these questions why would I want to be here it was just that every time I thought about the future it was unclear and hence it was troubling now many of you might kind of resonate with that kind of thing when you get into those moments we unsure what I meant to be doing meant to be that it can be untrumbling and uncertain so I'm sure I'm not alone [00:06:18]

And he came up with these two really important points. First, he said, reviews are often limited because they're looking backwards. And they're reflecting on what has happened. And in so doing, they miss the fundamental purpose, which is about moving forward. And so he prefers the word, we're going to have the slide, thanks, Kat. He prefers the word preview. [00:09:36]

I'm sorry, I'll go back. See, he prefers the word preview. And it's a reflection backwards to assist a movement forward. And another point he made was, how does a church know how to review a pastor if it hasn't already first previewed itself? Where it's going and what it's wanting to do. So, the first step to any pastoral review is a church preview. [00:10:30]

A time of self -reflection about the past, the present and the future. Identifying and naming what God has been doing. Just like we did this morning. Naming all those things that we can say God has been doing. And then we reflect on the present circumstances. And then we reflect on the present circumstances. of the life of the church, the current ministries, the programs. What's happening in the life of our church? Reviewing that, naming that, identifying that and identifying the future possibilities. What are the things that we see? [00:11:11]

Maybe there's things when we look at who we currently are that we need to change in order to pursue the direction that we might have to go in the future. There was something about this whole concept of preview that really resonated in my spirit. And so, having discussed it with the deacons, we agreed to invite Martin here on the 18th of May to facilitate a preview of our church. [00:11:52]

We're going to sit around and talk and listen. We're going to name and celebrate the great things God has been doing in this church. And there are many things to be grateful for. We're going to think about and identify any concerns that we have in our church. And we would be naive to think that somehow we're all perfect. And we're going to name those opportunities that God has or is. putting and bringing towards before us and here is the key we're going to listen to each other and be open to change [00:12:49]

listen to the different perspectives thoughts convictions and ideas people have and we're going to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and hear and resonate within our spirits his spirit as we listen to each other listening and being open to the idea that God through his spirit we will not only hear his direction but will be open to respond even if it means change and who likes change the idea of listening and being open to the direction of the Holy Spirit is nothing new in the life of the gatherings of Jesus followers it started from the beginning of the church following the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and today's scripture is just an example of what they in a sense they were previewing the book of Acts so now we're talking about the scripture the book of Acts of the Apostles is the story of how the under the direction of the Holy Spirit of how the under the direction of the Holy Spirit [00:13:44]

However, in the Book of Acts, and especially in this period, there were also Jewish Christians. People who still identified as being Jewish, but who were, and they had their, they followed their Jewish practices and their rituals, but they had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. [00:16:37]

And as they were hearing also the story and the news of Jesus and became followers of Jesus, they became Christians. So you had Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. And in this period, at this time of the gospel, the majority group were Jewish Christians, but there was this growing minority group of Gentile Christians. [00:17:40]

One of the big themes of the Old Testament is that God created a nation of people, the Jewish people. Sometimes when you read the scriptures, they're called Israel, but that's the nation of this group of Jewish believers, this nation that God's formed together. Sorry. Whom God would bless the world. God, this is a big thing. God, this is a big thing. God, this is a big thing. group of people, a nation that God would bless the world. [00:18:28]

This nation of God had its own rituals, laws, cultural practices that identified them as being part of this select group of God's people. One of the practices was circumcision. The practice of removing the foreskin from the male's penis. Yes, I've said that word in church. It was a sign of identity. Jewish males were circumcised and here is the essence of the issue. Did Gentiles Christians, this small but grown group, also need to be circumcised in order to be identified as the people, this new people of God, the Christians? [00:19:20]

Celebrating how God has been working through us, celebrating the DNA of our church, the great things of our church. In our scripture day, Paul and Barnabas have returned from Paul's first mission trip. This is the first, Paul did three, and this is the, he's come back from the first one. And on that mission trip, he went through the Mediterranean and visited Cyprus and basically traveled through what is modern -day Turkey, visiting places and cities there. And they witnessed for themselves, Gentiles, these non -Jewish believers, becoming believers, believing in Jesus. [00:21:41]

The fact was, God's spirit was moving and entering into people and that meant for them that God was accepting them as they were. As Jewish Christians, remember, Paul and Barnabas were actually Jewish Christians. As Jewish Christians, Paul and Barnabas saw God fulfilling his promises to bless the world through chosen people. people from whom Jesus had come as the promised Messiah. This was cause for celebration. [00:22:31]

This was the continuation of what God had started through Peter and when Peter went and visited a Roman centurion and his family and the Holy Spirit came on them. This was God keeping his promise. Through the prophet Joel. Then after doing all these things, I will pour out my spirit upon all people. In those days I'll pour out my spirit even on servants. Men and women alike. This was huge. Worth celebrating. [00:23:11]

Naming and acknowledging the things that God has done in the life of our church. The things that God has done in his world. But there's still this big issue of identity. In verse 5 we heard today it said, But then some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted that the Gentile converts would be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses. [00:24:20]

They believed in the importance of identity and that was found in the keeping of the rituals and practices of their Jewish faith. This isn't a story about them being wrong in their practice of faith. In some ways, it's celebration of their faith. Celebrating the DNA that those people had grown up with. And we should not read this as them being the bad guys. They are passionate believers in what they thought was right. That people claiming to be identified as the people of God should be recognized. And recognizable by their practices and their behavior. [00:25:17]

As part of our preview, we need to be recognizing, naming and celebrating not only what God is doing, but who we are. What makes us as a people unique? Some of the questions we'll be reflecting upon and sharing together have the purpose to identify who we are. you you you as a unique gathering of God's people as West Preston Baptist Church. [00:26:36]

Our scripture started with some men coming to Antioch, advocating that without circumcision, the Gentiles could not receive salvation. That is, having their relationship with God restored. And Paul and Barnabas would have none of it, because restoration of our relationship with God, what we call salvation, has nothing to do with what we do. It's what Jesus did by dying on the cross. [00:27:13]

The believers in Antioch, who are, remember, largely non -Jewish believers, they've come from all these other different spaces and cultures, are trying, who are going, what are we being asked of us now? They're also, they're listening to the people who have come to them, the so -called experts, if you like, from the Jewish Christians, and they're listening to what they're saying. They're not dismissing it, Paul and Barnabas are, but they've been listening. [00:27:54]

The point is that the local group of believers had been listening to both opposing opinions and so they needed to do something about it. Fast forward to the gathering in Jerusalem and we see once again the power of listening. The group listened to the stories that Paul and Barnabas told of what they had seen on their missionary journey. They once again listened to the story of Peter and the Roman Cornelius and his family, what had happened there. And finally, James, another Jewish Christian who was now the head elder of the church in Jerusalem. Peter was no longer living in Jerusalem at this time. [00:28:58]

The sole point I want to make is that in this example, the discerning of an important issue was found in listening. Listening to the arguments. At this point, I'll see you more than me. and I'll see you more than me. Let's go. listening to the discussions and the stories and that is what we're going to be doing on the 18th listening together listening to how God has worked in the past is working in the present and pointing us towards the future it's actually why I'm emphasizing the need to kind of be here either in person or online two weeks from now because we could in a sense just send out a survey collect all your thoughts and opinions and just kind of clay them all together and the populous ones would win if you like no we need to hear we need to listen and as we listen the Holy Spirit who is the convictor of truth and the guider sparks something in us we say it's the Holy Spirit that brings unity you'll hear something and you might go oh my goodness that's there's something in what that person has said [00:30:25]

But we ask you to come on the 18th in the spirit of humility to share and listen. I started by saying how last year I was unsettled. We do the right to try to get the intent. We are now telling uncomfortable. In contrast to last year, now, this year, I'm actually pumped. I'm excited. There's something that I just sense what is going to come from this, what is going to, it's not even about whether I be, you know, my pastoral view. I'm excited that we're going to get together. I'm excited what we're going to hear. I'm excited what things we might have to change. I'm excited about us naming the things where we need to attend to. I get excited about this stuff. I love it. So I'm pumped. [00:34:33]

I believe this preview process will be the start of strengthening all of us in the activities and actions of this church. As first, we celebrate what God has and is doing through us. And secondly, as we experience the way God works through listening, you'll catch it. This is one way that you'll learn how the Spirit discerns is by being here and hearing and seeing the way the Spirit works. That's an amazing experience. And that's what I'm excited about. [00:35:27]

What might be your thoughts? What will you bring to the table? And it doesn't matter whether you've been here one day or 35 years. How long, Andrew? You're the longest. 29 years. Sorry, I made you older than you were. If you're here, it's because God in that song, you know that song? I like how it said, in our shores is your sovereign plan. If you're here, it's because God wants you to be here. And so you're going to bring something to the table. [00:36:51]