Vision Sunday
Acts 20:28-35
November 27, 2022
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Background (Acts 20:35)
A. Today is Vision Sunday
1. Every year at this time, I share with you a set of goals for us all to reach as a church – a vision. I look at what needs to be done next year, and who should start doing it all
2. The Apostle Paul looked ahead and saw this century, this year, this month, this church…
3. And said, Ladies and Gentlemen
a. Don’t just come and sit in church… follow my example and, Come and serve!
b. Get busy serving the Lord Jesus Christ, and His precious people!
c. Learn the blessedness of giving, instead of only getting!
4. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
B. We had a great year as a church this year in spite of some very big obstacles
1. Patrick’s Day Parade – over 60 of us walked in the Ballincollig Parade
2. Men’s Camp – 68 men and their sons, in a place that only accommodated 45
3. Victory Youth Camp
a. 2 saved
b. Teens thoroughly encouraged and transformed even
4. Children’s Summer Bible Camp out on the green back in August
a. 5 saved
b. The best time ever!
5. 4 new believers were baptized
6. Church is back up to averaging 100 in attendance on Sundays
7. It was a good year
C. But HOW Does It All Get Done?
D. What Most people Think…
1. Most people just expect a church to just magically exist.
a. They don't know how it got there.
b. They don't know who started it.
c. They usually don't know who maintains it.
d. They don't care.
e. They imagine that the pastor opens up a dusty old notebook and just reads out something that was written a long time ago.
f. How do you think this church gets clean every week?
g. How do all the hymnals get placed back on every chair?
h. How do all the toilets get cleaned?
2. A lot of people expect that people just get saved automatically. Just find their way into church already saved and all “theological”!
3. They just expect that Sunday school teachers appear out of nowhere.
4. People expect the coffee cups are magically washed and spoons magically appear in the coffee area.
5. People come to church expecting it to be clean, and all the chairs organized, and all the hymnals in place.
6. They expect the music to be well rehearsed, and entertaining and convicting at the same time.
7. People seem to imagine that a church has no bills, and that the pastor just preaches for free.
8. That prayer is something that certain “religious” people do
9. And that soul winning is something that only the extreme zealots get involved in
E. The truth is…
1. To most people, a church is only enjoyed, if it is something that doesn't bother them.
a. But the truth is WE NEED to be bothered.
b. We need this church to be a place to serve the Lord in and through!
2. We were created FOR God’s pleasure, not he for OURS!
a. Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for THY pleasure they are and were created.
b. We were designed to serve the Lord, not our bellies.
c. We were saved to love one another, not just our families, and especially not the world we live in.
d. We are ALL called to reach our world with the Gospel – every Christian in here is commanded by the word of God to speak up, and stand forth, and declare the saving Gospel to the lost!
3. We were saved to serve the Lord! (1Thessalonians 1:9) For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in [EFFECT] we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
II. Message
A. What Did Paul See Ahead? (Acts 20:28-35)
1. A Lot of Work (Acts 20:28)
a. Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
b. He purchased our redemption, or forgiveness, our pardon with HIS death on the cross
c. But once we have accepted that salvation, there is a lot of work leading, feeding, protecting, warning, visiting, rebuking, encouraging Christ’s flock – that’s you
d. Overseeing the needs and spiritual growth of a group of Bible believers is a lot of work
2. A Lot of Dangers, and Dangerous Influencers (Acts 20:29,30)
a. Acts 20:29,30 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
b. Christians always face attacks from outside AND inside churches!
c. And it has happened all across the world – wolves have taken over churches and poisoned the Gospel, and defiled the flock and devoured their simple faith in Christ!
1) Preaching a zillion different gospels
2) Promoting woke theologies with women preachers and trans-gender teachers
3) Mocking the Bible and destroying the faith of people
3. A Lot of Tears (Acts 20:31)
a. Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
b. Troublesome times (just read history, especially church history)
c. Loads of disappointments – let downs
d. Health problems
e. People getting upset and leaving and staying bitter
f. Marriages not working out
g. Children growing up and throwing their life away
h. But also mixed with great blessings! Marriages that WERE saved, and children and teens who DID get saved and got right and stayed pure for Christ!
4. A Sufficient Bible (Acts 20:32)
a. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you [GIVE YOU OVER] to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
b. This wonderful old book!
c. It builds us up, and strengthens us, and shows us how to have eternal rewards in heaven!
d. Better than any pension! And Better than all the education in the world!
5. A Need For Us to Be GIVERS, Instead of Just Takers (Acts 20:33-35)
a. Acts 20:33-35 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
b. Did you notice what Paul just said?
1) I don’t want anything that other people have
2) I WORK flat out to pay my own bills – not relying on government entitlements
3) And I work… so that “I” have money to give away
c. WHAT? Yep! Why?
d. Because the greatest blessing in this life is in GIVING!
B. Examples of people in the Bible who gave and were comfortable giving and that they were blessed for giving
1. Jesus had great joy ministering and giving to countless numbers of people as He moved through crowds and through towns. He never owned anything more than the clothes on His back, yet He gave constantly, every day to everyone He met!
2. Paul seemed to believe that statement that it was more blessed to give than to receive. He lived Acts 20:35
3. Jesus in Matthew 10:8 said to his disciples, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
C. The Healthy Activity of Giving
1. There is a healthy activity that people are missing, and that activity is in the area of giving.
a. If all you do is make money, and hoard it, and accumulate it, and keep it safe… well, you've dug your own grave. That's all you've done and you will never be happy. No one has ever been happy thinking I need a little more.
b. But those of us who have decided to live by this principle “It is more blessed to give than to receive” know that what little we have, when we give it away, comes back to us in buckets of joy!
c. We all love receiving - Being given to. We enjoy it when people think of us
d. But according to the Bible, Jesus actually turned it around and said It is even more blessed to give.
e. Scientists have finally discovered that there a greater dopamine effect, a beneficial psychological effect ON THE GIVER more than the receiver of a gift!
2. Not Christmas giving. That's different.
a. Christmas giving generally is rightly called Guilt-Giving.
b. You give to your kids, and you give to your spouse, and you give to your parents to make up for lack of a relationship with them and to make up for past disappointments and failures that you are keenly aware of.
c. That's not giving. That’s OWNING!
d. Joining massive crowds in order to search for and find and pay large amounts of money to buy something to give to somebody that they may appreciate for an hour or less…
e. THAT is not giving. THAT is corporate manipulation! It is ABUSE!
3. Paul defines giving as YOU doing something for those who can never give back
a. When something, even money is just given away, and done, just for Jesus…
b. When you give away things simply out of love, just showing affection, making sacrificing personal time for another person, sharing emotion and compassion and care and concern and carrying their burdens…
c. When you do things that serve people’s needs...
d. When those things come from your life and are poured into someone else
e. And you get nothing back!!!
f. THAT is when you are giving!
g. And THAT brings the greatest joy!
4. Oh that you and I would seek to explore the blessing of giving!
a. You never lose when you give yourself and your time away!
b. Jesus promised in Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
D. So, If you want to be blessed, if you want to know joy, if you want to have a sense of worth and accomplishment as a CHRISTIAN…
1. Bless someone else. Serve people who are unlovely. Who are weak. Who can never repay
2. Be a friend, an older brother to someone, somebody's mom, dad, when they have no one!
3. Work a job to make loads of money to give away! Listen to Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. GREAT ADVICE!
4. Give your life away. Yes, Give your money away, but also your time. I’m serious!
5. And Invest your talents and time in church ministries!
6. QUIT HIDING BEHIND A PEW AND GET SERVING! Get involved in a ministry
7. If… you want the blessedness Jesus promised!
III. Application – Let’s Get to the Point
A. So, What should we all strive for in 2023?
1. And I mean “WE”
2. You know that we ARE supposed to be a body of believers – an assembled group of transformed lives that reflect the grace of God into a world without Christ.
3. A church is not a place for individuals to just come and hide
4. It is an opportunity for Christians to be a PART of a powerful team, not just sit and watch
5. But to give Jesus something back! To serve the Lord in every way possible!
B. What Are We Going to Attempt for Jesus Next Year?
1. Move from the Book of Acts to the Epistle to the Romans
a. We have studied verse by verse through the entire Book of Acts throughout this year
b. But in January, we will begin in the Book of Romans, verse, by verse, by verse!
c. And learn SOLID, absolute truths about ourselves, our culture, our calling, our relationship with God, and His relationship with us!
d. Will you make a commitment to be here every Sunday? So that I can feed you the life-changing truths of this Bible, line by line, not start and stopping like some of you live?
e. Don’t miss Romans like some of you missed Acts!
f. The ones you missed, you needed the most!
2. Develop all Christians into Disciplers
a. Endeavouring to train everyone to be able to answer the problems of life with Scripture
b. That’s what I have started on Sunday mornings here at 9:45
3. Develop our MEN into stronger Christian leaders
a. Godly leaders in their home
b. In this world
c. And in this church!
d. I cannot keep doing what I do every year without more men helping me
e. I am getting tired! And the work must keep going!
f. Example of Aaron and Hur and Moses… (Exodus 17:8-12)
1) Exodus 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
2) Exodus 17:9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
3) Exodus 17:10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
4) Exodus 17:11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
5) Exodus 17:12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
6) Every church needs men like that – “I” need men like that!
7) I don’t need butterflies and unicorns, I need GODLY MEN helping me serve others!
4. Win more people to a strong faith in God’s word, the Bible
a. We need to keep this the main thing!
b. Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to turn to Christ (Luke 14:23) And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house [HEAVEN] may be filled.
c. Will you all help? Not just a few!
d. Will you all start giving away a single tract a day?
e. Will you come and help talk to people on the doors on Saturdays at 1pm for an hour?
f. Will you come out on Fridays into Cork City for an hour, talking to people about their soul? It is an incredible time on the streets!
5. Train more of you to teach the Bible
a. A great teacher is only great if they have something to teach
b. We have the greatest truths to teach every generation
c. We are aiming to train more of you…
1) So that we can have more Children’s Church Classes
2) So that we can have a Teen Group again
3) So that we can have a College and Career aged group again
4) So that we can reach more addicts with God’s help
6. Start up a choir!
a. The church I started going to as a 17 year old had a huge choir
b. Out of 250 people, 150 were in the choir singing every Sunday morning!
c. What a church service
d. No drums, no bass guitars, no blinking lights, no fog, no swinging worship leaders
e. Just the voices of God’s people praising God together, with a piano and a few string guitars!
7. And start planning on buying a bigger building – Oh, have I got plans!
C. We also have so many other areas of ministry that you can help in
1. Coming early and setting up and Welcoming people at the door
2. Building Maintenance and Projects
a. We have a lot of things we will be building this next year
b. And will need helping hands, and expertise
3. Would you helpt with our big outreach events like:
a. The Patrick’s Day Parade – we need 50+ to walk in it – such a great testimony
b. Resurrection Sunday I want to build a huge Empty Tomb with a stone that rolls away to show Jesus is not there! He is alive forevermore!
c. Our yearly Men’s Retreat – we will take a good hard look at the life of Samson, and discover a greater strength than even he had!
d. We have a big 29th church anniversary in June, where a dozen people arre coming over from Washington State to help evangelise
e. Victory Youth Camp will focus on learning from Peter’s failures and transformation into the Christian dynamo that he became for the cause of Christ!
f. And Bible Club, where we will build a huge Space Station called Genesis and teach children that the heavens declare the glory of God, and that children are worth more than all the universe to God!
D. So, do you think YOU could help out in 2023?
1. If you don't decide to make the time and effort, then the devil will!
2. This is your church right – not just mine
3. I know you are ALL super busy – the devil will keep you that way until you decide to make a difference
4. Some of you already help in big ways
5. But those that help are not enough
6. There is a lot of work for all of us to do as a church
7. There is a lot of praying we need to do together on Wednesday evenings, right here
8. Yes, we could all just come to church and sit, and then go home
9. But we would miss the blessedness of giving our time, our heart, our monies, our talents, our lives to something that matters …
10. And this church WILL one day just die off, if we are not careful, simply because its people left things for someone else to do, besides them!
11. Tick off something on that paper I gave you at the start of the service
12. Put it in the green box as your gift to the Lord Jesus!
IV.Conclusion
A. None of us cannot do anything of eternal value without salvation. Without being converted. That’s why Jesus said, ye must be born again! It starts with HIM, not us!
B. We cannot serve one another and love one another without the constant filling of the Holy Spirit of God.
C. And we WILL not serve and love and give like we should until our pride is broken and Christ has become Lord of our life.
D. Are you saved?
1. Then live like you are a child of God!
2. Give like God is worthy!
E. If you have NOT gotten saved yet, please know that God already gave His best to you!
1. Will you now finally receive Christ!
2. Salvation is not what YOU do
3. It is JESUS in your heart and life! John 1:10-12