You Can Plant Churches that Obey Jesus

You Can Plant Churches that Obey Jesus

 Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “A Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters.  I was involved in my first church plant when I was 23 years old. I have been involved in church planting on five continents over the past 41 years. So I pay close attention to new churches and new methods to plant churches.  But many times when church planters talk about the churches they are planting they emphasize matters which are important, but not essential.  If you listen to experienced church planters you will hear them talking about many important issues related to how to plant a church.  They talk about where to meet and what kind of music to use in worship.  They talk about how to invite people and how to increase attendance at worship services.  They talk about how to emphasize their denomination’s doctrine or how to appeal to certain cultural or demographic groups.

All of this is important, but none of it is essential. You are a village church planter.  You have just started to plant churches.  My hope for you is that you will be able to tell the difference between what is important and what is essential. Here is what is essential in church planting: make disciples of Jesus Christ. This is what is essential for your new church: It must be a church of people who obey all that Jesus commanded.  It must be a church of disciples and of disciple makers. This is essential.  Many other aspects of church life are important, but what is essential is that your church obeys Jesus.

My brothers and sisters, if you understand and accept this word of encouragement, to plant churches that make disciples, your church will be worthy of honor. If you do many important works, but fail to help your church obey Jesus, you will have missed the mark.

I want you to know that I believe in you. I believe that regardless of your age or your education you can tell the difference between what is important and what is essential. Now is the time to lay the foundation in your church. Not the physical foundation for a building, but the spiritual foundation of obedience to Jesus Christ. You know what Christ has done for you, how he gave his life for you so that you could have a new, eternal life.  You know that He alone is worthy to be the Lord and Master of the Church. You know that He is worthy not only of worship, but of obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”  You can plant churches that obey Jesus. That is what is truly essential.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

E2-23

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters  #ChurchesthatObeyJesus #ObeyJesus

GROW IN OBEDIENCE

 GROW IN OBEDIENCE

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters.”

Growth is a good thing. We love to see plants grow and animals grow and people grow. I have been growing a garden. It’s wonderful to watch seeds sprout and show their first leaves. When the true leaves appear, that is another good sign. When my okra plants grew and formed strong stems and big leaves, I was happy. Then I saw the big yellow flowers. Soon the Okra pods began to appear. In just a few days I cut them and cooked them. Growth is good.

The apostle Peter tell us that as Christians we should grow and develop. He said, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

One of the most important roles you have a village church planter is the role of cultivating growth in lives of your church members. When babies grow, they get bigger and stronger and more intelligent. In the same way, followers of Jesus must grow. Your job as a village church planter is to help your church members grow in knowledge and faith and obedience.

So teach them the stories of the Bible. Teach them the stories of Jesus. Help them to know more and more about Jesus. When we watch a baby, we can tell if it is growing by measuring its length and its weight. But how can you tell if followers of Jesus are growing in knowledge? By listening to the answers they give when you lead a Bible Story Fellowship. When they give wise answers, you will know that their knowledge is growing.

Followers of Jesus must grow in faith and in their obedience of Jesus. We have said many times that it requires faith to obey Jesus. If we do not trust Him, we will not obey Him. But if we trust Him, we will obey him more and more. Your job as a village church planter is to help your church members know Jesus better, so that they trust him more and obey Him in greater ways. Let me say that again: Your job as a village church planter is to help your church members know Jesus better, so that they trust him more and obey Him in greater ways.

You have already seen growth in their faith and obedience. Rejoice in that growth. You can expect to see more growth. Keep teaching, keep modeling the way. Keep encouraging more faith and more obedience. The best is yet to come!

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

E2-21

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #GrowinChrist #GrowinObedience

Abiding in Christ

Abiding in Christ

 This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  

In my last message I shared about the necessity of having a proper view of oneself, to have a “sane estimate” of your abilities (this was Romans 12:3), to avoid thinking too high or too low of yourself, and to give both your personal strengths and weaknesses to the Lord.  

Today I would like for us to look at John chapter 15 as we discuss Abiding in Christ.  In verses 4-8, Jesus tells his disciples and us to “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

If we are to have a proper view of ourselves, we must always keep in the forefront of our minds that we are absolutely, completely dependent upon Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Apart from Him we can do nothing.  What does “nothing mean here”?  It means NOTHING.  We are branches; apart from the vine we wither, fail to produce fruit and eventually die.  

On the other hand, Christ tells us that if we remain in Him, we will bear much fruit; we will have our prayers answered; and we will demonstrate that we are Christ’s disciples.  In Andrew Murray’s book, The Believer’s Absolute Surrender, he makes the bold statement that “Absolute dependence upon God is the secret of all power in work.”  

A second thought from this scripture is that the life of the branch is not only of complete dependence but also deep restfulness.  How can this be?  Think of this.  Which part is doing all the work?  I would suggest that it is the vine and its root system.  Branches receive their nourishment from the vine.  Branches have no work to do other than to stay healthily attached to the vine.  Bearing fruit is the natural outcome for branches that are attached to the vine and receiving its nourishment.  

We will continue our thoughts on Abiding in Christ in our next message.  Until then, continue to receive the nourishment of God’s Word and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit within you.  As you do, it is natural that you will produce fruit for the Kingdom.  

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

If You Love Me You Will Keep My Commandments

 If You Love Me You Will Keep My Commandments

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters.”

Why do we obey our leaders? Why do we obey our teachers in school? Why do we obey an employer or a policeman? What motivates us to obey those who have authority?

Many people obey because they are afraid. Fear is the motivation for their obedience. People are afraid if they do not obey the policeman, he will arrest them and perhaps put them in jail. Some small children obey their parents because they are afraid. They think they will be punished if they do not obey, so they do what their parent says. Students in school obey their teacher for fear that if they do not obey, they may be expelled from school or exposed to ridicule and shame. Fear is a strong motivator. Many, many people obey those in authority over them because of fear.

We are followers of Jesus. Jesus is not just our savior, He is our Lord. As followers of Jesus, why do we obey him? Are we motivated by fear? Are we afraid that if we don’t obey him, we will be punished? What motivates us to obey Jesus?

Jesus taught his disciples to obey his instructions. He said to his followers, “If you love me, keep my commands.” “If you love me, keep my commands.” When Jesus said this He showed himself to be a very different kind of leader. The leaders of this world motivate their followers by appealing to fear. “If you do not do what I say you will be punished. If you do not do what I say, you will be put to shame.” Jesus did not use this tactic. He said, “If you love me, keep my command.”

So the first question is, “Do you love Jesus? Do you love his teachings? Do you love the way he treated people? Do you love the way He gave himself up to be crucified so that you could be forgiven? Do you love the way his uses his power and authority to bless others rather than to serve himself? Do you love Jesus? If you love Jesus, keep his commandments. If you love Jesus teach the members of your church to love Him too. Don’t motivate them with fear of punishment or fear of shame. Motivate them to obey Jesus because Jesus is worthy of their love. When we obey Jesus, we show our love for him. Teach you people to express their love for Jesus by obeying his commands.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

E2-20

· #EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #LoveJesus #ObeyJesus

MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS

 MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS

       

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters.”

As a student in the New Village Church Planting Program, you have learned to tell God’s big story from start to finish. A critical point in that story comes when God calls Abram. You can read about it in Genesis 12. God says some amazing things to Abram. He says, “I will bless you Abram, I will make your name great. You will be a blessing.” Then God says the most amazing thing of all. He says to Abram, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Wow! God loves the whole world. He wants to bless all peoples on earth. And He has a plan to bless them, starting with Abram.

Abram was a man just like us. He was loyal to his immediate family and He was loyal to his clan. But it seems quite clear that Abram was as surprised as anyone else to learn that God wanted to bless all peoples on earth.

God loves people from every tribe. Every tribe. He loves people who speak every language. Every language. He loves people from every country. Every country. And he wants them to be saved. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

So it should not have been very surprising to the 11 disciples when Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” They heard what he said. They remembered his words. But they spent most all of their time evangelizing Jews and only Jews for the first years after Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Why didn’t they take the Good News to people of other tribes and other languages? We don’t know. But we do know that it’s just easier to tell the Good News to people who look like us and talk like us and who eat the same kind of food we eat.

But Jesus says, “Make disciples of all nations.” Remember that command. And take action. Who are the people in your village who are different? Maybe they are members of different tribe or maybe they speak a different language or come from a different part of the country. Pray for them. Ask God to save them. Ask him to show you how to find persons of peace among those people who are different.

Remember, God wants to use you to make disciples of all nations.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

E2-19

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #AllNations #MakeDisciples

HAVING A PROPER VIEW OF ONESELF

HAVING A PROPER VIEW OF ONESELF

This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Romans 12:2-3 reminds us that we are “not conform to the pattern of this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

In JB Phillips’ translation of verse 3, he says, “As your spiritual teacher I give this piece of advice to each one of you. Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities …”

Over the years I observed that the “pattern of this world” (vs 2) is that people tend to

gravitate toward one of two extremes when it comes to their self-image. Some see

themselves as totally inadequate and falling short. They do not feel capable to do very much for themselves or for Christ’s Kingdom. They fail to realize that “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13).

On the other hand, some people tend toward I call “legends in their own minds”. They think more highly of themselves than they ought (and frequently more highly than they really are!).

With such an inflated attitude, they are likely to be overly confident in themselves and not as dependent as they should be upon the Lord. Such people forfeit the Holy Spirit’s assistance in their lives, and they frequently leave a negative impression upon others.

As VCP leaders, I encourage you to “have a sane estimate of your capabilities”. Know your personal strengths and weaknesses, and give both to the Lord. Thank Him for the strengths and abilities He has given to you and offer them up to Him to use as He sees fit.

Be also willing to acknowledge your weaknesses that you may especially depend upon the Lord in those areas. Paul, the Apostle, said in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

MAKE DISCIPLES

 

MAKE DISCIPLES

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A Word of Encouragement

for Village Church Planters.”

As a Village Church Planter, you are quite familiar with Jesus last command to

go and make disciples of all nations. In fact, one of the reasons you became a

church planter was because you wanted to obey Jesus by making disciples and

by starting churches full of disciples.

The New VCP Program emphasizes that a disciple is an obedient follower of

Jesus. Your training is organized around obeying the seven Basic Commands of

Christ and teaching others to obey them as well. So you have prayed for the

village where you are planting a church. You have made new friends and

shared the Good News. You have invited people to repent and put their trust in

Christ. I can’t tell you how proud I am of all that you have done. You are on a

good path. Keep up the good work!

Now you are teaching new believers to be baptized, you are helping them

demonstrate love for God and for their neighbors. In the same way you teach a

small child to feed himself with physical food, you are helping these new

believers feed spiritually on God’s word and to pray every day. You are making

it possible for them to participate in the Lord’s Supper just like Jesus

commanded. And you are teaching them to give generously. Well done!

When I got to this point in my early church planting experience, I was happy. I

really felt like I was making progress. But I had a hard time trusting new

believers to actually make disciples. They seemed so young. They seemed to

need to grow so much in faith and in understanding of God’s word. But Jesus

said, “Teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” And one

thing he commanded was to make disciples. So as a church planter it was my

job to teach new believers to make disciples. I struggled with that task. And

maybe you have too.

For now, let me just encourage you this way. Remember, you are not the only

disciple maker in your new, little church. There are church members who will

touch lives that you could never reach. God wants your church to be full of

disciple makers. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry. Just pray. Tell the Lord that

you will obey his command. Tell him that you will teach others to make

disciples. Then watch as He opens doors for you to do just that! Trust Him to

fill your church with disciple makers.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

E2-17

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters