Series: Boost #6: Holy Spirit will Boost Your Vision

We are in a sermon series called BOOST!  Each week we look at how we receive instant continuous powerful help from the Holy Spirit.

First, we looked at how Holy Spirit is PERSONAL AND PRESENT.  PK encouraged us to grow in our revelation of Holy Spirit so we can enjoy His intimate friendship and partnership.  The godhead with us.

Next, Pastor Zach reminded us that Holy Spirit closes the gap between how we view ourselves to be and who we really are.  The Holy Spirit is our DIVINE IDENTITY COACH.

After that, PK suggested we take time in a special place to pray because as we put religious legalism and busyness aside, HOLY SPIRIT WILL SPEAK TO YOU.

Then we looked at how THE LIFE-GIVING HOLY SPIRIT has powerfully applied the death and resurrection power of Christ to us.  He has made us new and is now present within us giving life to our body, alive in our hearts, revealing stuff to our minds, in real time, moment by moment by his influence working in us, making us reveal God in all of our walk and talk.

Last week, PK gave us a prophetic sermon with Jesus as the bridegroom providing HOLY SPIRIT AS NEW WINE abolishing an old system that could never satisfy.  External powerless exercises are over and “now” we have an inward abiding new way.

HOLY SPIRIT BOOSTS OUR VISION

Today I want to talk to you about Holy Spirit boosting our vision. When Holy Spirit boosts our vision, it results in masses of people, a move of God, and more capacity.

ACTS 10

MASSES OF PEOPLE

When Holy Spirit boosts our vision, it results in masses of people. This Bible passage starts with God drawing Cornelius, and his family, God was preparing Cornelius to receive Him.  He was sending Cornelius clear messages because He wanted to extend His grace to a whole new people group.  God wanted and wants everyone to experience His goodness.  Who is God preparing right now?  Who is getting visitations and clear messages right now?  Go to Impact Church and hear what they have to say.  See the extreme love they walk in.

After Cornelius sent for Peter, God started boosting Peter’s vision too. Peter was hungry and ordered lunch and was praying while waiting for his food.  It was then that God gave him a vision and used food.  Some of you will be going about the routines of your life and God is going to speak to you.  Don’t dismiss it as your own thoughts because you have a different idea of what it means to be spiritual.  It is going to sound like, “My neighbour’s lawn is getting long, I’ll go ask if I can mow it for them.”  It’s going to sound like “Hey, do you want to come to Church with me then come over for a BBQ after?”  It is going to sound like inviting people into your life because God wants to see masses of people.  It is time we make the circle wider and continually include more people.

When Peter went to Cornelius’ place we find out that “Cornelius has summoned his relatives and close friends and was waiting for him.”  I’m telling you that God has and is preparing people’s hearts and they are – RIGHT NOW – gathering their relatives and close friends and are waiting for YOU.  When Peter went in, he found lots of people assembled.  There are so many children and families waiting for us Church. In fact, the neighbourhood we are moving to, have masses of people waiting for us.  67-87% of the households have children.  And the population growth projection for the neighbourhood is massive.

It is time for masses of people – many more people to be included and the circle to grow wider and wider.  It is time for Holy Spirit to boost our vision.  And when he does, masses of people are included. There is a second thing that happens when we allow Holy Spirit to boost our vision.  There is always a …

MOVE OF GOD

Holy Spirit has been boosting my vision by showing me that more people – children and families need to be included.  And Holy Spirit has been telling me how there is going to be a move of God – He wants to replace the picture of a judgy boring God that people have and He wants people to experience His Grace and His Goodness.  He wants to give a new connotation for the word Church.

There is a big move of God coming and the generation that will be leading that move is alive today!  They are already born.  So, I would suggest if you want to get in alignment with what God is doing, you get into young adults, teens, or kids ministry!  It is time for all hands-on deck! They are the people who are going to change the world!  If we don’t put our focus on these ministries, we are missing itI am telling you that if you invest in young adults, youth, and kids – you are investing at the right time!  And there will be a payday because a move of God is coming!  We have to raise up a generation that can steward this move of God’s grace and goodness and bring it to the world.

Peter started to tell Cornelius and his family about Jesus, and while he was still speaking, God poured out His Holy Spirit. God was so excited that He couldn’t even wait for Peter to stop talking, He had to come and show up!  The Jewish believers who came with Peter saw Holy Spirit pour out on them.  They saw them praise God and they saw them speak in other tongues.  Peter declared they have received the Holy Spirit, just like we did so let’s get them water baptised. They were shocked – God can’t reach them.  If you think someone is out of God’s reach then you need a new picture of God because He is mighty to save.  He doesn’t use His great power to be cruel to people, but He uses it to lovingly draw people to Himself.  There is no heart out of God’s reach and nobody too far gone.

In the stories prior to this one, we see an Ethiopian dignitary, we see Saul a Jew, and now a Gentile all coming into the family of God.  This move of God is referred to as the Gentile Pentecost and it changed the entire course of Christianity.  Me and you wouldn’t be here today without it. Throughout history, there is always a through-line of God’s goodness and that will never cease. There has always been a remnant.  We need to get ready for a move of God – another one that will change the course of history. I can already tell you that this move will be the unfiltered, not diluted, pure Grace of God and His absolute goodness.  We need to prepare the generation to host, carry, this move.  I’m telling you, you will be surprised at who receives the spirit of God in our coming days.  The landscape of our Church is about to change.  It is about to get bigger and be filled with children and families of all kinds.

Holy Spirit has boosted our vision and we can see masses of people and we can sense a move of God, but there is a third thing that happens when we allow Holy Spirit to boost our vision and that is for …

MORE CAPACITY

Holy Spirit has been boosting my vision.  I could see how God wants masses of people included, I can see that there is a move of God coming.  He is and will continue to pour out His goodness and now God wants me to increase my capacity.

80% of Christian adults today made a decision for Jesus before the age of 9.  Of those left, 65% before the age of 12.  Wow! If you want to see Churches filled tomorrow, we must pour into children and families today. We must. The single most impactful ministry there is.

However, there is another statistic and that is that 85% of children have had 0 contact with Church.  85% of children have had 0 contact with church.  0.  That is about to change.

But the biggest shock to come out of the survey findings was that not a single church – not a single one!  Out of all the churches surveyed and the churches who participate in surveys are usually on the cutting edge of things.  But not a single one had a strategy written down for how they are going to reach and equip children and their families.

He wants to partner with us to create a strategic plan for how to reach children and equip their families. This strategic plan may very well be the 3D book to the hearts of families and their children.  We need to get children (because children have the full measure of Holy Spirit and we are not about top-down leadership), parents, grandparents and teachers around a table to create a working strategy for how to reach children and equip their families. I will be in touch.

Again, more so than other ministry, children’s ministry is the single most impactful ministry there is, so we have the biggest opportunity to change the world.  If you have been listening, you know that Pastor Karl always says that the responsibility of this generation is the next generation.  I believe this to be so true and more so today. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is found in Judges 2:10 “After that whole generation has been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he has done for Israel.”  You know what I say? Not on my watch God. Not on our watch. Reaching children and equipping families has to happen and it has to happen with purposeful intentionality.

If you have been a Life Changer here for a while, you know one of the verses we prayerfully declare over the Impact Kids is Psalm 76:7, “you have taught me from my earliest childhood and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.” We want that to be the testimony of each grown Impact Kid.  They grew up experiencing God’s goodness and now they constantly tell others about the wonderful things they know to be true of God.  Here, we offer a Jesus-centred approach to ministry where children experience the goodness of God and hear the why (not the what) of following Jesus.  Instead of shoving more value or behaviour focused curriculums at your children – we share Jesus centred curriculum with them. No more behaviour modification with Jesus as the tool for achieving it. Children need to hear that no matter what – whether they got the grade, the goal, whether they listened to Mom, or yelled at their brother – Jesus loves them.  Jesus loves them all of the time and no matter what.  We are moving from task focused events and introducing relational ones. Impact Nursery and Impact Kids are amazing. We are a place that empowers the young, but there are signs of a big move of God.  A great harvest is coming!  We need to increase our capacity. With great humility, I am before you telling that I believe we are in tune with God’s plan and purpose.  I want to work together and build something that is so much bigger than our personalities and lasts so much longer than us.

There are a lot of voices for how we “should” raise our children and we pour into children’s educational, athletic, artistic, social, and everything else development, but just as serious is their spiritual development.  Sunday school has had its day, but children don’t need another day in a classroom.  We don’t want to simply create moments for kids, but help them create daily worship habits. Not something that you slot into your day – it is your way of living – because most things are caught and not taught.  Like the scariest words in the Bible, “imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.” So, talk about Jesus at home, so our kids discover that Jesus is someone we value, someone we love, and someone who matters a whole lot to us.  It is constantly pointing our kids to Jesus, so don’t just talk about Jesus, but have physical reminders of Good News too.  (ie. Your children’s artwork from Sunday morning on your fridge, Bible verse on one of those fancy chalkboards, ….).  Let them watch and learn. Make sure that your Church family and your child are not strangers.  As your Church family, we want to help, resource, support, and encourage you as the primary disciplers of your children.  We want to help equip you parents to speak about, model, and value your faith.  We want to supplement what you are doing in your home by partnering in their spiritual journey.  We want to champion family ministry.  Impact Parents, I want to applaud you – I know you have the best motives for raising your children and I know you are doing your very best and I am so proud of you.

Grandparents, don’t underestimate the role you play.  After parents, grandparents have the most significant impact potential on children’s faith formation and spiritual stability.  And, according to Deuteronomy 4:9, (Do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from you heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.) we are responsible for discipling two generations: our children and our children’s children.  You have the relationship with your grandchildren.  Pray for them daily, attend their activities, games or programs, share your testimonies and faith stories with children, you can teach lessons, and give faith counsel and guidance.  And I want to thank you.  You make a difference. Grandparents, you have a wealth of experience and I want to leverage that wisdom by seeking your advice and wisdom in developing ministry strategy and solving problems.  I want to utilize your talents.

Peter needed more capacity. He had to change his entire mind set and expand his mentality.  Peter grew up thinking, he grew up being taught, that the Gentile people were unclean.  But the Word doesn’t describe Cornelius and his family that way at all – the Bible says that this beautiful family was devout and generous.  In the same way that Peter needed to change his mind, we have to allow God, the Holy Spirit, to change our minds about people.  Oh, that family is messy, they ______ (fill in the blank).  No, when God looks at them, He looks at them with love and see everything that is good about them.

Peter believed that people had to become Jews, be circumsized, stay kosher, and observe the Torah.  In other words, people had to believe, behave, then belong.  But God showed him, belong was first.  Belong, believe, behave.  Sure, it took a while for the rest of the Church to catch up with what God was doing, but in the end, they decided not to make it hard for Gentiles to know God.  The same holds true of us. We need to make it easy for children and families to know God.  We must increase our capacity – our mindsets, our skill sets, and the base of people ready to serve this generation. I am telling you that we can hardly handle the children we do have and I want to include so many more.  I want to include children of all kinds and that will take many more Life Changers.

It will take people in the classrooms, it will take people preparing snacks, it will take people building sets, it will take many people because …

I see a place where people driven approaches replace traditional activities and program driven approaches.  Methods are relational. Parents are equipped and trained to disciple their children as part of the rhythm of family life. Parents and children having fun together.

I see a place where children are highly valued.  The language, methods, and systems are not all adult centred but multi-generational.  And multi-generation is a word you will hear often. A place where kids are shown a lot of hospitality.

I see a place where there is new messaging for kids where entertainment, healing, and behaviours are simply by-products and not the focus of curriculum.

I see playgrounds, sensory gardens, magical entry ways, care teams, tutoring, sponsoring … I see what could be.

I see a place where all children belong: loud kids, active kids, kids with special needs, quiet kids, social kids, you name the kid – they belong.  They fit. They matter.

What I see will require Holy Spirit to increase our capacity. Right now, we are running the whole of Impact Kids with myself and 4 other Life Changers.  Impact Nursery has 3 adults and 2 youth.  Let’s change this.  Let Holy Spirit boost your vision.  Let Holy Spirit enlarge our capacity.

Children are not a distraction, not a problem to care for, not people-in-waiting.  They have unsurpassable worth. They are a gift to us all.  Every spiritual journey is equally important.  It is worth it.  They are worth it.  Jesus welcomed children into His presence.  He made time.  He made space.  He raised the level of importance of children in his cultural setting.  Let us do the same.

Let Holy Spirit boost your vision.  Let’s include masses of people, let’s prepare for a move of God by expanding our capacity.  Let Holy Spirit boost your vision.