God’s Purpose & Vision for His Church
Today may turn out to be one of the most important
days in the history of the Rose Hill congregation!
I’ll admit that’s a pretty bold statement to make, which
means now I have to back it up. Actually, the pressure
is not just on me. I’ll tell you who is going to
determine whether or not this is an historic day for RH.
Look to your left/right. It’s all those people and you
too! In other words, it’s up to all of us to determine
what this day is going to turn out to be.
This morning going to talk about… We’re going to talk
about the work that God wants us to do, and then I’m
going to try to inspire us a bit to have a great vision for
the future of this church family.
As I would define it…
Purpose = where we should be going; what God
wants us to be and do
What read about Scripture about work of church
Vision = how we plan to get there; It’s the ideas,
goals, dreams we have (and God has for us) as we
seek to accomplish the work God has for us to do
God’s Purpose
Important to recognize God determines purpose…
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails,”
Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, its
builders labor in vain.”
Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “I will build My church.”
Throughout Scripture God has shown us His purposes
for His church…

1 Corinth 15:58 (may be good general statement)

Ephesians 4:11-16 (purpose is actually plural)
There is obviously a lot of places in Scripture that tell
us about the purposes God has for us as His church,
about the variety of work that God has called us to do.
Many have summarized all these things into 3/4/5 basic
areas of work.
For now, I would summarize into 5 specific purposes
God has for us as His church:
1. To love, worship, obey and glorify God
Mark 12:30 to love the Lord your God with all your
heart/soul/mind/strength
John 4:23-24 to worship God in spirit and truth
John 14:15 to love God + keep His commandments
Romans 15:6 to glorify God with one accord
Ephesns 1:22-23 body of Christ in subjection to Him
Ephesians 2:19-22 to be a temple of God
Ephesians 3:21 to glorify God
2. To share the gospel with those who are lost
Matt 24:14 to preach the gospel to whole world
Matt 28:19 to make disciples and baptize them
Mark 16:15-16 to preach the gospel and baptize
Acts 1:8 to be a witness of Jesus to all the world
Ephesians 3:10 to make known the wisdom of God
Colsns 1:27 to make known the riches of God’s glory
1 Peter 2:9 to proclaim the excellencies of God
3. To love, edify, and care for one another
John 13:34-35 to love one another as Christ loved
1 Cor 12:25 to care for one another
Galatians 5:13-14 to love and serve one another
Galatians 6:2 to bear one another’s burdens
1 Thess 5:11 to encourage + build up one another
Hebrews 10:24-25 to stimulate one another to love
+ good deeds; assemble to encourage one another
1 John 4:7-21 to love one another as God loves us
4. To help each other grow and mature spiritually
Matt 28:20 to teach all things Christ commanded
Galatians 4:19 to form the character of Christ
1 Peter 2:9 be holy nation for God’s own possession
John 17:21-23 to be united as one in God + Christ
Ephesians 4:3 to preserve the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace
5. To be a blessing to those in need
Matt 22:39 to love your neighbor as yourself
Matt 25:34-40 to help the needy and hurting
Mark 10:43-45 to be a servant like Jesus
Acts 6:1-7 to care for widows in need
James 1:27 to care for widows + orphans in distress
That’s God’s purpose for church.
These 5 things summarize the work we’re called to do;
that’s what we’re here for.
Now let’s talk about vision…
God’s Vision
Not only does God have a purpose for His universal
church, He also has a vision for each church.
God has a purpose that is common and necessary for all
of His church worldwide. But vision is something that
is perhaps unique to every individual congregation.
Now it’s important to notice that God’s purpose for
every church is the same (all these things we’ve been
looking at). But God’s vision for various individual
churches may vary…
Depends on the makeup of the congregation
The people, their location, their strengths
Their passion, their determination, their zeal
Their willingness to work, to give, and to sacrifice
Depend on how important to reach out to others
and do the things might be necessary to grow
Some churches will dream big and be more
committed to their vision
When churches dream big and are fully committed to
their vision, I think that’s when God’s vision is big
too!
Let me share something with you, and see if you don’t
think this might be God’s vision of what a church
should be like...
God has a vision of a church with Jesus Christ as its
leader, its center, and its Lord; a church that praises the
Father for the gift of His Son in the power of the Spirit.
God has a vision of a church in this world, that reaches
the lost, grows in faith, and serves the Lord and others
together; a beautiful foreshadowing of the eternal,
redeemed community who will someday live forever
with Christ and each other in the world to come.
Don’t you like that? Wouldn’t it be great if that’s the
kind of vision God has for us at Rose Hill?
I believe w/all my heart that it can be God’s vision for
us…
If we will have the passion, the determination, zeal
If we will have the willingness to work, to give, and
to sacrifice
If we are willing to do the things necessary to grow
Depend on how important to reach out to others
Depend on how big we dream and how committed
Depend on our faith and our vision on what we
want this church to be and do
Alright, this is where we get into…
A church that is truly a house of worship. Where prayer
is priority, praise is paramount and worship is more
than a service or song. A church with a burning desire
to know God’s word and to live it out.
The Inspirational Part of the Lesson
A church unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; one
that shouts God’s word from the rooftops, and whispers
grace in the ear of a world in need. Where love is real,
and everyone is invited to experience it.
According to the dictionary, a vision is: “a thought,
concept, or object formed by the imagination; a
manifestation to the senses of something immaterial.”
A church for all people, where racial differences fade in
the light of brotherhood; where the rich worship beside
the poor, where the aged join hands with the young;
where the skeptic finds reason to believe, and the
believer finds reason to rejoice.
You see, I really think we should dream big and come
up with a grand vision for the future of Rose Hill.
We just need to live by the faith we talk about so much.
In other words, maybe we can’t literally see it yet, but
we’re looking forward to it believing it can really
happen!
And that’s why vision and faith go together…
Look at this next slide…
A church where families grow strong; where couples
find each other and fullness of life in Christ; where
children are treated as blessings, not bothers.
To us, faith is what it says in Heb 11:1… “the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
A church where youth are discipled in a manner
befitting future kingdom leaders; where marriages are
mended, and victims of broken homes find a forever
family; where older people find new purpose.
But here’s something we need to remember:
A church that stands up for the cast down; whose
mission takes it outside the four walls of comfort,
taking Jesus to its community, its region, the dark
corners, and the ends of the earth.
A church that communicates the old, old story, in bold,
creative ways. Where spiritual gifts are engaged, and
buried talents are employed in the King’s service;
where the Body of Christ is made visible.
We might sometimes struggle in our faith. We might
sometimes be hesitant about things we cannot yet see.
The vision that we’re hoping for and longing to see?
God already sees it!!!
To Him, it’s just as plain and clear as it will be when it
all comes to pass. God sees where we’re going to be
next year, and in 5 years, and in 20 years.
We just need to see it too!
I really believe that God is just waiting for us to finally
have that great and clear vision of what He wants done,
and then be ready to go forward and get it done.
When we finally get to that point, I believe that’s when
God is ready to give us the victory and make it all
happen!
And so we need to ask ourselves: Can we dream that
big? Do we have faith to fulfill it?
Do you remember the Tower of Babel?
Genesis 11:6 God said, “Behold, they are one people,
and they all have the same language. And this is what
they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose
to do will be impossible for them to do.”
Do you realize what God said here? He didn’t like
what they were doing, but this was a magnificent tribute
to man and his ability to have a vision,
to plan it out and to follow through
and do whatever he sets his mind to do!
God knows we’re capable of doing great things.
He created us with everything we might ever need to
accomplish whatever we set out to do.
We already have a great building
When we need a bigger one, we can build it
Plenty of very talented people
When we need more money, we can find it
Godly elders who love the Lord and this church
probably more than most of us realize
Good-hearted deacons work hard serve this family
Young, good-looking, enthusiastic preacher
Colossians 1:6,23 gospel had been proclaimed to all
creation throughout all the world
How can you explain it?
Philippians 4:13 They were able to do all those things
through the strength given them by Jesus Christ!
1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God
was [the One] causing the growth.”
Colossians 2:19 The body of Christ “grows with a
growth that is caused by God.”
How else do you explain what the Macedonians were
able to do in 2 Corinthians 8? The Bible says they were
in “a great trial of affliction” and in “deep poverty.”
And yet they gave “an abundance of riches” to help
others. In fact, they gave so much that the Bible says
they gave “beyond their power and ability.”
How could they do it? Same answer: with help and
strength from an all-powerful God.
They decided to do their very best with what God had
given them, and then God added more! More power +
more ability beyond what they could do on their own!
I believe God has ways and means beyond our finite
understanding to bless churches that decide, determine,
and with purpose of heart, glorify Him with a grand
vision of what they can do and be for the Lord.
Notice in all these slides I’ve kept the heading the
same: God’s Vision
OK, so you have an enthusiastic preacher , but I want
you to know I love you so very much, and I truly
believe that together we can do some great things for
the Lord!
Because He has a great vision for this church here.
He’s just waiting for us to raise our vision up to the
level of His?
If we want to create a grand vision of what we want
Rose Hill to be, then we can surely make it happen!
Are we ready to do that? Will we seek to make our
vision as high and noble as God’s vision for us? It’s up
to us, each one of us, to make it happen.
And guess what? As great as we are on our own…
We’re not on our own, are we? God goes one step
further: He promises that He will add to our power…
His own divine power! How else can you explain it?
How could 12 ordinary, uneducated, untrained men (by
the way, lose 1 and add a last minute substitute) and
still turn the world upside down…
Acts 2:41 3000 souls were added
Acts 4:4 number of men who believed was 5000
Acts 5:14 multitudes of both men + women added
Acts 6:1 number of disciples kept increasing
Acts 6:7 number of disciples kept on multiplying
Acts 9:35 all who lived in Lydda and Saron turned
to the Lord
As we close this morning, maybe you as an individual
need to step out in faith…