craigmanderson

LOVE HONOURS #4AM

IT’S MY CHURCH

JOSH 6:1-7

Now Jericho [a fenced town with high walls] was tightly closed because of the Israelites; no one went out or came in.

² And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho, its king and mighty men of valor, into your hands.

³ You shall march around the enclosure, all the men of war going around the city once. This you shall do for six days.

⁴ And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns; and on the seventh day you shall march around the enclosure seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

⁵ When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn and you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the enclosure shall fall down in its place and the people shall go up [over it], every man straight before him.

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.

⁷ He said to the people, Go on! March around the enclosure, and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.

The people of Israel have been walking around in the wilderness for 40 years! That’s a long time! Now at long last they get to make the second attempt to enter the Promised Land. Imagine their feelings right now. After such a long time waiting and such an uncomfortable passage through the wilderness they didn’t want to fail this time. The Promised Land was still a land flowing with milk and honey – a good land, but there are giants!

So I guess the feeling was determination but not a little trepidation. The worry about whether we can overcome was real; it was palpable. They were excited but they were fearful also. We have a Promised Land to enter into as well! Our promised land is souls saved, lives changed, miracles and community impact – a church that continues to grow and multiply planting other churches. That’s exciting for us as Christians. However there are giants in our promised land also.

Everybody marched and everybody shouted. As this bible reading showed, the people were to take the fortified city of Jericho first. To look at Jericho from the outside was frightening. Very high walls and very thick walls. It looked impossible. But God had a plan. God always has a plan. March around the walls six days then seventh day seven times and on the last time Shout! This story was so important to set up Israel for future victory. God said everybody marches and everybody shouts! This way, in the future every single Israelite has personally witnessed God’s miraculous power to overcome impossibilities.

In this church we have a promised land and we also face a giant. Our giant is financial. Let me share with you our journey so far.

Our church began in 1994, we moved from two rented buildings to our Mill Park Location at the corner of Plenty Rd and Centenary Drive in 1998. We bought the building for a very low price in 2000 and stayed there till we sold in 2010. Moving into this building was a step of faith as our building costs went from $40K to $140K overnight.

Over the four years in which we have been in this building, we have grown. However this has mostly been growth among youth and young adults, which is great but it adds very little to our revenue base. We have secured tenancies to assist us by paying rent.

Thank you for being a giving church. This step we are taking is essential for the continuation of the church into the future but it is not the complete solution! We must, as a church, take the challenge and meet it head on. The answer lies in growing the church, and being faithful in our giving. What motivates us as a finance committee overseeing these decisions is not paying for a building, but reaching lost people. To do that effectively, we must have a home, a place to bring people. A place to service the community.

JERICHO

We are just like the children of Israel facing Jericho as in the story we read today. I believe that God gave me this picture for our church for today.

There is a Promised Land in front of us in terms of souls saved, lives changed, miracles and community impact – a church that continues to grow and multiply planting other churches. But there is a giant. For us the giant is finances. God asked all the men of war to march around the walls of Jericho, God asked all the children of Israel to shout when the time was right. God made the walls fall down flat and gave the people the victory.

The vision in front of us is exciting, what we have seen and achieved in the last four years is remarkable, but our future victory depends on all of us rising up to embrace the challenge. The answer lies in growing the church and in faithful giving. If we choose to walk in faith – it is bread for us, we can overcome, the giants are like grasshoppers in our sight; but if we walk in unbelief we will fail to enter in like the first generation of the children of Israel who walked in the wilderness for 40 years until all those who chose unbelief died out and new generation arose.

I am asking you all to join Me and Chris, John and Marita and the leaders of this church in stepping up. Will you be part of the answer? You may well ask What can I do to help in this situation?

This is what I am asking of each and every one of you.

1. Decide – This is my Church – I want it to grow and prosper and I am going to do all I can to make that happen.
2. Pray – Believe with us for God’s provision firstly for souls saved and people added to the church and also for His provision for us all.
3. Bring others to church. Invite, Invite, Invite. Help grow the church by inviting others. In July we will be training and equipping the congregation on how to share their God story and how to initiate conversations that lead to witnessing opportunities.
4. Be faithful in your giving.  When we play it safe, we limit what God can do. He asks us to see our giving as a seed. It is sown into the good soil of the kingdom and it multiplies for provision and blessings.

Today you have an annual report summary in your hands outlining the main points of the church financial position.

Next week we will have our annual AGM on Sunday right after the morning meeting in the kid town room

If you have any questions about today’s announcement or to do with any financial matters please ask Me or John or any one on our Finance Committee.