Write the Vision, Run With It

I see I've got my fans back today. Just two of them. The children are going to go to their classes this morning to hear more about Jesus, to know what it is to follow Jesus, to be loved by him and to be known by him by Him. Today, we're going to continue our series that we started back to the vision. Back to the vision, you'll know if you've come for the first time today that this is linked in too much with a popular series of films called Back to the Future and we've entitled this series Back to the Vision. The vision for the church started in 1985. This is why this is such a good illustration to use with the Back to the Future series because there's a lot in that about going back to 1985 and we're going back to 1985 not to look nostalgia but to look forward with hope and expectation that God who started something will conclude it and finish it and so this series is called Back to the Vision and today we're looking at Time Circuits on. Time Circuits on. Some of the little phrases in the film if you know the film well, Time Circuits on and particularly looking today at Habakkuk chapter two and Nehemiah chapter two as part of our focus on Back to the Vision 1985. So the big idea today is this that a vision that lives in one person's head moves, a vision that starts in one person's head moves nobody but when we write it, when we share it, when the whole church get a hold of it, then we can move on to an owned destination together. And so it's vitally important when we look back to the vision in 1985 when the church was founded that after we take a hold of what God said back then we've been looking at over the weeks, we look at that and we say this is something that we together can own and see the destination fulfilled in the name of Jesus because we believe whatever God gives us God has purpose in fulfilling that not just fit but more importantly for the benefit of the community's neighborhood streets and the city that we come from that God can bring about his purposes. Do you know the the enemy has many purpose none of them are good none of them are healthy none of them will actually also a sense of being only what God speaks into our hearts can produce fruit and life and well-being. In the movies back to the future the DeLorean car is particularly important you know this is the car with the the wings for doors an amazing car worth a lot of money if you buy one today the DeLorean can literally go anywhere in time but it goes nowhere until a destination is typed into the time circuits you remember dark in in the films vaguely jet of the future he types a date a day a year exact because the truth is unlimited potential plus no destination is a very expensive car I'll say it again unlimited potential this is a car Delore unlimited potential plus no destination is a very expensive car I'd love one of these cars and about you but I wouldn't want it just parked in my driveway I need a destination where with it right otherwise there's a very expensive parked vehicle how many of you know in our lives drift is the default you know we have to do lots of things every day things like brush our teeth wash ourselves get dressed get ready have breakfast go to work whatever it is we've got in our day we've got things we have to do every day right we have to do those things what about a bigger purpose than simply the things we have to do every day of our lives how many of you know it's boring just to do the same thing every day and a lot of things I don't about you but a lot of things become default we just get on and do them they've become part of our our life structured in in such a way we don't even have to think about it we just do it right but the things that are going to bring about purpose and change both for us and those around us they take deliberate action see destination is a decision . I don't do it every day to brush my teeth to you. It's automatic. I just do it. If I get in the car, don't think about changing gears and putting the clutch in the air. If you know it, it's not a decision I make, it's automatic. It's brain memory. It happens. It's default. But what about the things I have to purpose to do? I have to make a decision to do those things, right? God has got a purpose in my life individually, which we have to make a decision about every day into the purpose of God that He asks for my life. And so it is true corporately as well. Default is the default. It will just happen. How many of you know we're not called to be phatastic? You know, faith, well, what will happen? Biblical mandate. The biblical mandate is He is a lamp to my feet. He purposes each step that I should walk in. He gives enough light for me to see the next step that I need to walk in to find and to to move into the destination that God has for me. Drift is a default. Decision is a decision. How many of us can hand on heart say that often in our lives we find that default of drift happening? But to truly live we have to make decisions, decisions, decisions. Decisions, decisions, decisions. They can be scary, can't they? Decisions, decisions. See it's easier, isn't it, to do nothing than to make a decision, right? But I mean if you know that anybody that's ever done anything useful has made lots of wrong decisions on the path to that. I mean we could name so many famous people that have got it wrong so many times but they've got up and they've gone on. They refuse to allow the scariness of decisions to hold them back. But we can trust the Holy Spirit to lead us and to guide us and to open up or to shut doors in our lives. God just wants us to put one step in front of the other, to make the decision to move forward, to grab a hold of his purposes and not shrink back because we can trust God by the Holy Spirit to lead us and to guide us because the Bible promises us he will do that. God promises the paraclete walks alongside us, the Holy Spirit walks along with us, he leads us and guides us. He's the constant friend to shut a door or to open a door and make decisions to move forward. Psalm 119, 105, your word is a lamp unto my feet. We can truly trust the Spirit to illuminate the need that we need to touch, however scary that may be. This drift default can be true of us corporately too. And if you know there's no church that plans to drift, no church that decides to drift. It happens by default. As a church as corporate people we can be busy, we can have a full calendar, we can have good activities but no type to endate on the time. No destination decided upon. No indication of a destination that can be achieved. Of course we know don't we, the activity is not necessarily direction. We can be busy about lots of things and be aware. This is why it's important as a corporate body of believers that we align ourselves with a vision, a corporate vision, because if we all have individual visions that can't fit into the corporate vision, lots of activity but going are going nowhere. This is why it's really important for us at the church to take a hold of some of the biblical mandates that God has put on us from 1985. Which is Isaiah 58, 9 through the 12, where it talks about building up what's been broken. It talks there about leading the hungry, helping people that need freedom in their lives. How many of you know that's the call that Jesus put on us anyway? And so we direct ourselves, we do food bank, we do community camps, we do appeals for the council, we do all sorts of things in order to make a difference to fulfill the mandate that God's given us. So there is destination, there is a typed in date. This is what we're out to achieve in God and we put our energy behind those things. Many of you may not realize this, but every day, almost every day we pick up waste food from supermarkets and it's put outside for people to be able to take it and utilize it. Almost always in the morning it's gone. Almost always everything's gone. There might be a few French loaves left maybe. But almost everything goes every night because people are in need and we want to help people in their situations. Two weeks ago we remembered the vision which Jo shared with us two weeks ago. We positioned ourselves for power, needed food, helped us to fulfill what God has mandated us. This week we set the destination together. The first thing is this, let's type in the date. If you look at Habakkuk 2, verse 2, it says, "Then the Lord replied, 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time, it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it, for it will certainly come and will not delay it.'" So, there are instructions about the vision. Write it plainly, write it plain, so that people can read it. See, vision that isn't written down, carried, writing down vision turns abstract ideas into a clear physical roadmap that dramatically increases focus. It increases our accountability and the likelihood of success. So, when we write it down, when we write down what God has said, we are more likely to find the roots through to it quicker, or certainly. It's no longer something out there, it's something tangible that we can grasp the hold of. A written vision acts as a daily help in us to filter out distractions and distract. We are distracted by things in life, aren't we? You have a written down vision, you know, maybe on the morning, just a short statement that says what God has called us to be. How many of you know that can keep you focused? Because I think most of us look in the mirror at least once a day. So once a day at least we can remember that we are focused on what God has mandated us with. Look again at Habakkuk 2 verse 3, it says, "Though it linger," the vision lingers. How many of you know that's true? We've been at this 40 years. "Though it linger," a written vision survives delay. See, not to clarify the word that God spoke then didn't expire, it simply lingered waiting for the runners who would run with it. Have we got any runners today? Who are runners amongst us today? Come on, there's got to be some runners. And at the back there. It's waiting for the runners who will run with it. People are behind it. We hear what God is saying to us and we will run with it. The original Hebrew word translating haka, can you say that? Haka. Got to get a little bit in your throat. Haka. That's a Hebrew word. And it simply means in our English to wait. But how many of you know sometimes that word wait can be passive, it can sound boring, it can sound stagnant, stagnant, but haka carries a very different energy in the original Hebrew language. It means to be eager, to be active, to be expectant, to be confident that what we are waiting for is coming. This is the kind of, though it linger, wait, this is the kind of wait that the Bible is talking about here, this eager expectation that God is in the business of bringing about what He promised. Haka has precise timing, it could be like an ambush coming, suddenly it appears, you're holding your position, the timing is perfectly calibrated behind the scenes, how many of you know God knows the times and the seasons. Haka carries the idea of piercing or enduring, applying a weight that isn't necessarily delay, isn't necessarily easy, but it's an endurance that counts into a human desire for control. Now we're not like that are we? We're not control freaks, right? Right? You know, we're not controllers are we? Haka cuts into that need to control, that desire to control. It cuts out some of the diversity and character while we wait. What's this all about? God is saying, "Listen, though it tinker, though it linger, wait for it. Be expectant. But notice that in the waiting, expectant, hopeful waiting, that God is carving out a matureness. God is carving out within us a character that's worthy of what he's called us to." The waiting is actually a good thing, right? You don't look too convinced. The waiting is a good thing, wait expectantly for what God is about to happen. When God says to Habakkuk, "Though it linger, hark off for it." He isn't saying waste your time because it's never going to happen. He's saying anchor your soul full of expectation because the outcome is all set in stone. Wow, I like that. Wait for it because God is saying it's coming. Determine the destination, the time, the date is already set in the time of the circuits. It's coming. You know what gets written down gets remembered. What stays vague gets forgotten by Tuesday. That's why making notes on the Sunday by the way is a good thing. You've got your smart device out taking notes. It's a good thing. You know why? Because come Monday or Tuesday, what's been said this morning will just have drifted away. Taking notes helps us remember what God said to us. Write the vision, make it plain on tablets that He who may raise the so vision in one person's head moves nobody but a vision written down plainly makes the number two. Everyone reads the dashboard. Now my two seventeen and eighteen says and I said to them, you see the trouble we are in, Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the war of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me. The king had said to me, they said, let us start rebuilding so they began this good work. In the movie Back to the Future, Doc set the time and date. They all read on the dashboard that was set in motion. They all saw it. They saw the date and the date of the nation set on the dashboard. In Numai 2, Nehemiah surveyed the ruins at night, but nothing got built. Listen, nothing got built until the vision went plural. They all needed to get behind the declared vision. It . It wasn't just for the messenger Nehemiah, it was for everyone. The vision birth back in 985 wasn't just for the leaders then, or the leaders now, it's for all of us. See, nothing really amazing gets built unless the vision goes plural, unless there's a sense in which we all catch hold of it, a sense of togetherness in what God has called us to. Notice the pronouns in the biblical passage there. Come, let us rebuild. Let us start building. See, the vision moved from Naomi as heart to their hands. And that's vital. And what an absolute joy today to be able to see. There's so many of us are active in serving the vision God has given us. Let us start rebuilding. In fact, the death in display isn't hidden from the passengers. Everyone in the DeLorean saw the time on the dashboard. They all knew where they were going. Could every person alive finish the sentence at Alive exists too? By the end of the day, the hope is yes. Everybody will be able to say "alive exists too" dot dot dot. It's a new statement to encapsulate the vision needs rewriting with prayer and reflection. But it could be that I can have a stab at it this morning. And this is not a finished sentence, you just stab this morning. Alive Church exists to be a repair of broken walls, transforming communities from our doorstep world and anchoring the light of Christ's knowledge so that our entire city experiences Christ's peace and His prosperity. That's a stab this morning. Wouldn't it be great to have a statement by the end of our series where we can say, "This is the Word of God and the Word of God." Oh yes, the Word changed a bit. The statement's not the same as it was then, but this is what God said to us as a church. But the vision becomes plural or it dies. Number three, no silent passengers. In the car, everyone's going where the time circuits. The only question is whether they own it or fight it, right? How many of us know, the way, the silence is not an agreement. If I've been in a team meeting where somebody comes up with something, this is what I believe we should do, maybe at work, it could be a church team, it could be anywhere, and some people, yeah, behind that, other people are silent in the team, right? That's your sh*t's agreement, but they want to say so. It will allow silence to be the first thing. Make people, you know, nicely of course, but make people say whether they stand with that decision. Because we've grown it, or we've fight it. Every team, every ministry reads off the same dashboard. This is the Sunday service at Alive Church. You team, revive calf, welcome, toy appeal, food bank, waste food collections, whatever team we might find ourselves in. That's a sense of agreement. That's a sense of agreement. As we all see the destination together, no separate departments with separate goals, but together with one mission, the repair of broken walls, transforming communities from our doorstep world. By the way, your personal vision, your doorstep world has a typed in date too. What would reach out, what would reach look look like in your doorstep world, in your streets, in your community, in your workplace? Good idea to pray and name it and to write it down. What would it mean to see God do something where you live? Remember, it's not the pastor's vision, it's the members' watch. The church's vision is what members carry together. It's exciting when we're all enlist. It's rewarding when we carry the vision together. The destination on the time circle isn't an abstract city. It's our doorstep world reached. It's a city bus named by name. Why don't we stand together? For a challenge. No amen's then I see. The challenge is write it if you want to see it. Write it if you want to see it. This week, what am I challenged with? What can I start to do to reach out from my doorstep world with that vision of repair of broken walls, transiting communities from doorstep world? Where can I start? Teams within the church. How about considering this month the car, get the vision to the destination date? We need to write it down. We need to write it down. Just add part in this so that we can run with it. It's back to the vision and it's forward for the city. Come, let us rebuild and may our answer be the same as theirs. Let us start rebuilding. Let's pray. God, we anchor ourselves today in the vision that you have given us. Stand our watch and wait with eager, active expectation. Hark our waiting for the expectation for the fulfillment of your promises over our humanity. We refuse to wait in the waiting knowing that your timing is perfect and your word will not fail. Help us God to read the vision and to run with it, to realize the power of togetherness in our serving your purposes. God, our prayer today is that you would make us true repairers of broken walls. Anchor the light of Christ deeply into our lives, our homes, our workplaces and our city of knowledge. Transform our community, Lord, from the inside up where there is division, bring unity, where there is poverty of spirit, mind or resource, bring supernation and breakthrough. Lord God, pour your peace and prosperity over the entire city of Norwich. Let your shalom peace flood every street, every school, every business, every neighbour until the transformation is undeniable for all to see. Make a person build a son so that we may build others up in Jesus' name. Can you say amen today? My head's about for a moment longer and eyes are closed. Maybe the vision you need to see is to know Him personally and to be known by Him, to be loved by God, and to know that the barriers between you and knowing Him are dealt with. The sin that we've done in our lives, the wrong things, the shame, that we carry. Those things could be forgiven of us. And not only that, the God heal us and make us brand new people. We're in a relationship with Him. I want to say a short prayer that invites Him to come into your heart and into your life. To forgive your sin and to make you right with God. And to give you the power to live for Him. And by His grace to give you a vision of His purpose for your life. Shall we pray this prayer? I'm going to start with this Phil. Just put your name there. And then when we get to the end of the prayer, I'm going to say Amen. We're going to pause before we say Amen. Just for you to consider. When you say Amen, you say God do this. Just do this Lord. And God takes that seriously. My name's Phil. I acknowledge that I need you. I need your forgiveness and your grace. I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son and that He died on the cross of my sins. And you raised Him to life again on the third day. And that He is alive today seated at the heart of your throne. Right now, I choose to open the door of my heart and my life and invite Jesus into the Lord and my Savior. Lord, forgive my sin and my shame and my guilt. Wash me clean, Lord God. Fill me with your holy spirit. Guide my steps from this day forward. Help me to walk in your light and let your eternal peace take root in my life. Amen, pause for a moment. Have you really meant that prayer today? Just so Amen. Amen. Just what I had to remain bowed is I said that prayer and meant that prayer today. Just where you are, raise a hand. I simply want to acknowledge it. You can put it straight back down again. Anybody today? Father, thank you for our time together. And Lord, as we go out from this place, God, we pray your blessing over each other. In Jesus' name. Amen. [Music]