GET THE SEED OUT OF THE BARN

GET THE SEED OUT OF THE BARN

16^th Anniversary Sunday

October 7, 2018

ME: How does this impact me?

When I drive students on school trips in our bus or a van, there are some ground rules: 1. No Corn-nuts; 2. No fingernail polish or remover; 3. No asking, “Are we there yet?” or “How much longer?” They could ask, “Where are we going now?”

YOU: What does this affect you?

During the month of October, we take time to talk about where we are going. You will hear from all the members of our staff as we give you a pic of where we believe God is taking us. We may not be able to say how long it will take, but hopefully, we will all know when we get there!

Let me summarize some previous vision talks…

2013: It’s all about young leaders. We need to identify them, train them, empower them. The first step is to elevate them to leadership positions. We want to raise our current deacons to elders and bring in a whole new group of young, energetic leaders for their input and energy. We need to raise young ministry leaders and value their creativity and talent. We need to look at the church and the community through their eyes.

2014: I compared RF to the core values of the band programs I had over the years:

1.  Everyone is a starter.

2.  We are only as good as our weakest player.

3.  We live or die as a group.

4.  We set yearly goals.

5.  We had a division of responsibility and authority.

2015: We were challenged to launch out into dark places and look for needs to fill.

2016: We looked at three goals as we begin our third seven-year period: 1. Retire the mortgage; 2. Structure for longevity; 3. Transition to new leadership.

2017: Pastor Galen Woodward challenged and encouraged us to increase our capacity and fulfill the purpose God has called us to and to live out the dream we had 15 years ago.

2018: What is in the future? I want to take us to a prophetic word from the Lord that speaks directly to our destiny.

GOD: What does the Bible say?

We looked at chapter 1 of this book last week; now we want to look at chapter 2.

Haggai 2

¹ In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: ² “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ³ ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? ⁴ Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’

⁶ “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; ⁷ and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁸ ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ⁹ ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

YOU: How can you apply this?

First, verse 3, RF may not be everything you need it to be.

It is perfectly OK for you to feel that way; no church is perfect.  If you ever find a perfect church, don't join it because you will mess it up! Eugene Petersen says, "A church is a collection of sinners and they have a sinner for a pastor!"

All I ask is that if you are disappointed with something, come and tell us; and bring three suggestions as to how we can make it better, along with an offering to help pay for it!

Be like the guy who came in to see the pastor and said, "Pastor, the commode in the ladies bathroom is leaking again.  I hope you don't mind, but I have already contacted three plumbers, got three bids, scheduled the work for Monday, and I will pay for it on the spot. Since I got such a good deal, I'm gonna go ahead and replace all the commodes in both bathrooms in the main building."

Second, verse 4, help us fix it.

1.     Go to work.

2.     Don’t fear.

3.     God is with you.

Third, verse 7-8, our greatest days are ahead!

1.     His Glory, His manifest presence will be here.

2.     The Glory will be greater than it has ever been!

WE: What we can do together to help the Glory fall?

The Promised Blessing

 ¹⁸ ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it: ¹⁹ Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.’”

1.     The seed is still in the barn.

a.     Get it out and plant it!

b.     We work and God works with us!

c.     If we plant, a harvest will come!

Haggai 2:19 (NLT) I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.

2.     Four types of seed

a.     Grapes

b.     Figs

c.     Pomegranates

d.     Olives

What do they represent? I don’t know. Ask God to reveal it to you. Sometimes I think we strain to find a spiritual meaning in something when the obvious answers are right in front of us. Allow me to make four obvious applications.

1.     What. All these fruits are symbols of abundance. But you will not have abundance when the seed in the barn! What is laying up in your barn that you could plant?

2.     Where. In the church? In the neighborhood? In the community?

3.     Who. Who could you be planting in?

4.     When. Now? In due season?

There is seed in this church that has not yet yielded fruit. It will! God will bless it; don’t give up hope and faith!

We could talk and argue all day about why this happened or didn’t happen or whose fault it is.  A great leader says it this way… Let’s stop looking back and asking “Why?” Let’s look forward and ask, “Why not?”

CLOSING Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV) Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills!