Download JUNE 11, 2006 - Morrisville Community Church

JUNE 11, 2006
FANAFI
JOEL 2:28-32; ACTS 1:1-11
I.
A Vision for Peace
A. “God, do something!”
1. Each of us has a dream of living in a world of peace, a world free of war, hatred, injustice
and oppression, and a world filled with love, mercy and compassion
a. We dream of the day when God’s promise of a just and peaceful world becomes
a reality
b. Throughout the Scriptures, we hear the echoes of God’s promise of that day
when nation will not rise up against nation, when people will no longer have a
need to train for war, when swords will be beaten into plowshares and spears
into pruning hooks, when the wolf will lie down with the lamb and natural
enemies will become friends and live together in peace
c. In a world so full of conflict as ours is, that dream is ever more urgent
d. We’re anxious for God to fulfill God’s promise, yet we wonder if that kind of
peace is ever really possible
2. Part of the problem in our culture today is the way we look at this dream
a. Even among people of faith, this dream is God’s dream for the world
b. Our vision for peace is based upon promises God made a very long time ago
c. Since God made those promises, it’s God’s responsibility to fulfill them
d. So we are waiting and watching, hoping and praying, for God to act in some
cosmic way to rid the world of evil and create this world of peace
e. And since it has taken such a long time for God to act, we wonder if God really
exists and if religious faith is nothing more than a hoax
f. Even if we do still believe that God does exist, we have serious questions about
whether God cares
g. If God exists and God cares, then God would act to fix all that is wrong with the
world, so we sit and do nothing, waiting for God to act
B. Power to Do Something on Behalf of God
1. The God whom we worship is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, loving, gracious,
compassionate and forgiving
a. This the Bible, God’s word of revelation to us, makes perfectly clear
b. Since God created all things and is in charge of all things, God has the power to
step in, in some grand cosmic way, and fix things
c. But another point that the Bible makes, and perhaps this is the point we so often
miss, is that God chooses to reveal himself, God chooses to make God’s presence
known, God chooses to work in the world through people
d. That’s what this book is all about—it’s about how God is present in the lives of
the people God created and the marvelous things God can do through people
who are willing to trust God in faith, follow where God leads, and make use of
the power that God gives
2. The prophecy of Joel is one of the many places that speaks God’s promise of a cosmic
salvation and the creation of a world with perfect peace
a. The beginning of that coming day of salvation is marked by three important
elements: the pouring out of God’s Spirit on all flesh, the announcement of
cosmic signs, and the promise that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.”
b. The implication in this passage is not that God is going to suddenly appear in all
God’s glory and instantly make everything right
c. The implication is that God will be present and powerful in the lives of people
and that we human beings have a significant role in making God’s dream a
reality
d. A world filled with justice and peace, a world free of warfare, hatred and
oppression, a world filled with love and the knowledge of God is possible only
as we partner with God to make it happen
e. The Spirit of God is associated with the gift of power, a power given to each and
every one of us
f. It is the power to bring new life and to transform the whole of creation
g. The success of God’s dream for the world depends upon how well or how poorly
we use the power God has given to each of us
II.
Fulfilling God’s Vision
A. The Impact of the Pentecost Event
1. God’s vision for the world began to become a reality shortly after the death and
resurrection of Jesus when God poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost
a. In our text from Acts, in which Luke tells of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Jesus
again affirms the ancient promise of God, and lays out for his followers a plan to
bring God’s dream to reality
b. That plan is summarized in the acronym that is the title of this sermon—
FANAFI—Find a need and fill it
c. As Jesus prepared to depart from his disciples, he gave them instructions on how
to find a need and fill it as his representatives on earth
2. All successful ventures begin with a dream—a dream that is envisioned by a leader and
shared with others
a. Dreaming big enables others to see a different future and alter their present to
make it a reality
b. Jesus had given his disciples a vision—a dream he called the kingdom of God
c. That dream disappeared, no doubt, when Jesus was crucified, but on the other
side of the empty tomb they now saw what was possible: a people restored and
brought to new life through the power of God’s saving love
3. Jesus had instructed them about the kingdom, and it was the vision that had driven Jesus
a. But Jesus saw the kingdom as a long-haul process, while the disciples were
looking for short-term success (v. 6)
b. Jesus refocuses their vision by reminding them that their energy shouldn’t be put
into speculation, but into action (v. 7)
c. That’s why Jesus spent his time teaching the disciples how to live in the
present—how to love, heal and change the lives of those around them through
the power of his Spirit
4. Ironically, many followers of Christ continue to expend their energy looking up to
heaven, waiting for God to do something about this mess we’re in, waiting for Christ to
return and either fix things or take us out of this world rather than engaging in the world
around them
a. When Jesus ascended, the disciples were standing there slack-jawed, staring at
the sky until the angels appeared and shook them out of their stupor
b. The message was clear: They weren’t supposed to spend their time looking up
into heaven, but looking out to the needs of the world
c. This is the purpose for why they were left behind
d. They were left behind to continue Christ’s work in the world rather than
yearning to be taken out of the world
e. They were to be driven by visions of the kingdom of God breaking in on the
present world rather than merely focusing on “getting to heaven”
f. Ultimately, the FANAFI needs of the world won’t be met by arguing over
Christian doctrine
g. They will only be met as we engage others with the love of God in Jesus Christ,
and follow Jesus’ vision and example through the power of the Spirit
B. Planning
1. Any vision needs a plan to achieve it
a. Once we’ve identified a need, planning is the way to fulfill it
b. Dreams don’t become realities unless there is some good planning involved—
every dream needs a strategy
c.
2.
After giving his disciples a vision and training them for it, he also gave them a
plan for making it a reality
d. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon them,
empowering them for their work
e. That work would involve an outwardly focused strategy of taking the story of
Jesus and the vision from a local to a global scale
f. Their focus would begin with telling the story and sharing the vision with the
very people who had seen Jesus crucified (Jerusalem), then move out to the
surrounding area (Judea), progressing to even the natural enemies of these
people (Samaria) and, ultimately, to the “ends of the earth”
An experience with Jesus was not something his followers could keep to themselves
a. So compelling was the vision and the person of Christ that these simple men and
women left their homes and went traipsing around the world telling stories,
sharing their dreams, and meeting the needs of people in a world where no one
else seemed to care
b. They offered hope and meaning to people’s lives, the kind of hope and meaning
they could get from nowhere else
c. And they gave practical help to those who were in need
C. Implementation
1. Every dream needs a plan to bring it into reality, but even the best laid plans are useless
if they are not implemented
a. In the very early days of the church, the FANAFI plan was easy to implement,
but as the church moved from a small grass roots level to the status of a major
corporation, this find-a-need-and-fill-it principle went out the window
b. In the struggle for position and prestige in the world, and the false sense of
power those things give, the church lost its grip on the only true power that can
transform people’s lives and bring peace to the world
2. Consider this: If the gospel means “good news,” then why is so much of the world’s
news so bad?
a. If Christ is the “Prince of Peace,” why is peace so badly lacking in our day and
time?
b. If God’s vision is for a just and righteous world, why is there so much injustice
and why does God’s vision of the world seem so very far away?
c. What would it take to make more good news possible, to foster a spirit of peace,
and to end injustice and oppression?
d. Whatever it is in this community, this state, this nation, in the world that breaks
your heart and the heart of God—that should be your FANAFI focus
e. That is the place where we can begin to make God’s dream a reality
3. The bottom line of the early church is that they had something that people really needed:
a story of hope, a plan for loving everyone, and a compelling way of life
a. What they offered was not a product but a person: Jesus Christ—living and
active and powerful in and through them
b. The world needed the good news about him then and we surely need it now
c. The only way for peace to come and for God’s vision to be realized is for each of
us to find a need and fill it, day after day after day
d. Instead of waiting for God to intervene and fix things or rescue us from the trials
and tribulation of living in this world, we need to use the power God has given
us
e. It’s a small step, but no journey ever begins unless we take the first step