WEBVTT 00:00:00.420 --> 00:00:09.939 Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:14.519 A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here. 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:21.800 And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:29.940 And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good, they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it. 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:34.820 Which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word. 00:00:35.659 --> 00:00:44.679 I mentioned last week that we're taking a break from our series in the book of Judges and we're turning for five weeks to our Grit and Grace Generosity Initiative, 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:48.039 which is really just a focus on the vision and future of our church. 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:53.019 You hear the words generosity initiative, you may immediately think, well, this is going to be a series about money. 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:56.260 The reality is our church is not about money, our church is about a mission. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:01.500 We just happen to need money to accomplish that mission, but we need it for our mission. 00:01:02.199 --> 00:01:05.459 And so we're going to talk about that mission and our vision for our church. 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:11.219 Last week we looked at Matthew chapter 5, where Jesus talks about the church as the city set upon a hill. 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:14.159 And he says, you are the light of the world. 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:19.739 And so we talked about the fact that the church is the place that shines God's light in a dark place. 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:24.439 The church is a place that shows God's rule and reign on this earth. 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:29.599 The church is an embassy, represents another country in a foreign land. 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:37.719 And so for this week, the next four weeks, essentially, we're going to be talking about how it is that we want to be a faithful and effective embassy. 00:01:38.679 --> 00:01:46.359 One of the challenges and joys of this church that we talk about is that we are a church that constantly says hello and constantly says goodbye. 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:53.959 Of course, if you're here with us every summer, you know we send off military families and we receive military families. 00:01:55.260 --> 00:01:59.879 And so this can feel at times maybe like you're running a company, right? 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:01.840 And you pour all these things into people. 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:07.039 And the moment, you know, you've come to that investment, they leave and head off for another company. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:13.060 Losing members, right, that move to other churches in other parts of the country, other parts of the world. 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:18.400 And so the question we're going to think about this morning is how do we embrace losing? 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:25.479 How do we embrace saying goodbye so that other people will gain? 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:30.840 How do we embrace our loss and others' gain? 00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:33.980 It's with that I'm going to invite you to turn with me. 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:38.240 We're going to be looking in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 5 through 9. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.140 You can turn with me in your worship guide. 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:43.180 You can turn in your Bible. 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:45.460 You can turn on your phone. 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:48.740 No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word. 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:52.439 And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:56.660 And it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. 00:02:57.320 --> 00:03:01.240 And so that's why we read now 1 Corinthians 3, starting at verse 5. 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:01.760 5. 00:03:01.760 --> 00:03:01.800 5. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:04.340 What then is Apollos? 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:05.879 What is Paul? 00:03:06.820 --> 00:03:10.719 Servants through whom you believed as the Lord assigned to each. 00:03:11.500 --> 00:03:16.280 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:23.860 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:30.020 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive the wages according to his labor. 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:33.040 For we are God's fellow workers. 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.200 You are God's field, God's building. 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:42.040 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:48.360 Our Father in heaven, we praise you and thank you this morning that we are your field and your building. 00:03:48.660 --> 00:03:54.140 That you are at work in your church, growing and sustaining and providing. 00:03:54.620 --> 00:03:57.460 We thank you that you've been at work in this church in that way. 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.780 We ask for your continued faithfulness and provision. 00:04:01.420 --> 00:04:08.219 And we ask especially as we come to your word this morning, that you would do what you've already promised to do, which is to speak clearly to us. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:14.680 And we ask that you would help us to be able to listen and hear and understand and believe. 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.480 And most of all, we ask that you would show us Jesus. 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:22.360 That we would see his holiness and power and glory and love and authority. 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:25.920 That we would grow in our love and affection for him. 00:04:26.400 --> 00:04:28.579 We'd grow in our reverence and our all for him. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:30.720 We'd grow in our obedience to him. 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:34.819 And we ask these things grateful that we don't have to earn them or deserve them. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:35.920 We know that we can't. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.920 And so instead, we simply ask for them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:04:40.400 --> 00:04:40.680 Amen. 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:55.939 In 2010, a group of researchers published their findings that they had discovered from studying over 100 astronauts and cosmonauts. 00:04:55.939 --> 00:05:05.180 They wanted to know, okay, what effect does it have on a person long term when they have spent time away from the earth, when they've spent time in space? 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.220 How does this change them as people? 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:10.439 One person described the study this way. 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:14.639 They are looking for the effects of outer space on inner space. 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:23.019 If you leave the globe and you get to look down at our earth from outer space, what does it do to you? 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:23.819 How does it change you? 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:26.959 And you'll look and you'll see this on page 8 of your worship guide. 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:28.939 It summarizes their results in this way. 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:38.800 Upon returning from space, astronauts are less focused on individual achievements and personal happiness and more concerned about the collective good. 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:43.300 This reaction is known as the overview effect. 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:47.620 In other words, astronauts gained perspective. 00:05:48.759 --> 00:05:51.899 We might say they gained perspective in a very literal sense. 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:53.799 They saw the big picture. 00:05:53.919 --> 00:05:55.239 They saw the big picture of the earth. 00:05:55.239 --> 00:06:02.079 And they realized in relation to all of that how small and tiny and insignificant they actually were. 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:05.219 I've told you all before of my trip to the Grand Canyon. 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:11.199 And my main thought when I looked out on the Grand Canyon is, wow, I am really tiny. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:15.539 Astronauts, they have the same reaction. 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:24.360 And so when they come back to earth, it actually has this long-term effect on them, how they think about the world as this entity and how they think about their place in it. 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.960 One astronaut from Apollo 14 named Edgar Mitchell said this, 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:48.879 How did being in space affect those astronauts and cosmonauts long-term? 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:54.479 Being out in space gave them a true and right perspective on the earth. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:57.340 They saw the big picture. 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.420 They understood how things related to each other. 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:09.000 Paul here, in this passage, is writing to the church in Corinth, which would be in Greece, modern-day Greece. 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:14.480 And he is telling them, Look, you have lost sight of the big picture. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.080 You do not have the perspective that you need. 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:23.639 He is writing to a church that is experiencing conflict and division. 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:27.000 That is one of the main things that Paul addresses in this letter. 00:07:27.159 --> 00:07:34.839 And one aspect of their conflict and their division is that they have separated into tribes based on different teachers that they like. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:37.019 And so that is why he says in verse 5, 00:07:37.419 --> 00:07:39.560 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.159 The reason he says that is because people in that group have separated into Team Paul and Team Apollos. 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:50.340 Paul, being the author of this letter, the apostle, of course, is the one who has taught them so many things. 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.100 Apollos is actually another famous preacher from the early church. 00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:56.280 You may remember him from Acts chapter 18. 00:07:57.500 --> 00:07:59.900 Priscilla and Aquila had to pull him aside and say, 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:02.360 Hey, you are a great preacher, but you do not know everything. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:03.600 Can we catch you up to speed? 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:07.920 Presumably after that, Apollos continued to be effective in ministry. 00:08:08.080 --> 00:08:09.620 He was well known for his preaching. 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:12.580 The problem is that these people had missed the point. 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:17.819 They had decided, you know, we're going to belong to Apollos because he's the one who helped us believe the gospel. 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:22.379 And somehow, this was causing real division and strife in the church. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:27.519 In fact, that shows up earlier in the letter here. 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:31.279 He says in verse 3, which we didn't read, 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:34.379 While there is jealousy and strife among you. 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:38.120 So it's not just that they have different preachers that they like. 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:41.559 It's that this has caused this great conflict in the church. 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:46.620 And so they have missed something important that Paul wants to call their attention to. 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:48.700 Paul is reminding them, 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:55.860 Look, you need to zoom out and you need to see the entire globe. 00:08:56.820 --> 00:09:01.120 You need to zoom out and see the entire church. 00:09:01.780 --> 00:09:07.120 You need to zoom out and understand what it is that we're actually trying to accomplish. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.400 Paul is begging them to have the overview effect. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:12.559 He says, Let's look at the whole situation. 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:17.179 Each church, each person, yeah, they have a particular role. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.559 But that church and that person have the same mission. 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:26.159 That church and that person are working towards the same goal. 00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:28.699 And so we're going to move backwards here in this passage. 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:31.779 The last verse we read is verse 9, which says this, 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:34.139 For we are God's fellow workers. 00:09:34.699 --> 00:09:37.699 You are God's field, God's building. 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:39.959 So Paul is reminding them, 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:42.679 This thing that you're working on, 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.559 This is God's. 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:47.539 It's not yours. 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:52.699 Not only is this thing that you're working on God's and not yours, 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:55.600 There's actually only one of them. 00:09:55.839 --> 00:09:57.039 Notice what he doesn't say. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:01.419 He doesn't say, You are God's fields, plural. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.919 He doesn't say, You are God's buildings, plural. 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:09.139 No, you are one field and one building. 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:10.559 And so there is one goal. 00:10:11.079 --> 00:10:13.519 Every church has the exact same task. 00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:18.059 When another church wins, that means that you win. 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:21.919 And when you win, that means that another church wins. 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:22.219 Why? 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:24.100 Because there's only one field. 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:27.860 And you all are working in this same field together. 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:31.160 And so when you get caught up in what your role in the field is, 00:10:31.180 --> 00:10:33.639 You have lost completely what's happening. 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:36.519 You're out of touch with reality. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:40.040 When you're talking about Team Apollos versus Team Paul, 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:44.879 You're forgetting that Apollos and Paul are working for the same kingdom. 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:49.700 Forgetting that Apollos and Paul are working for the same goal. 00:10:49.700 --> 00:10:52.300 Paul also hits on this in verse 6. 00:10:52.920 --> 00:10:57.440 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:00.940 In other words, don't pit us against each other. 00:11:02.280 --> 00:11:03.520 We've got one task. 00:11:04.560 --> 00:11:07.259 Paul and Apollos, hey, we're both working in the same field. 00:11:08.140 --> 00:11:10.060 We're both trying to get the same result. 00:11:10.780 --> 00:11:12.520 And guess who that result belongs to? 00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:13.580 It doesn't belong to Paul. 00:11:13.780 --> 00:11:15.360 It doesn't belong to Apollos. 00:11:15.520 --> 00:11:17.400 It belongs to God. 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:20.840 So there's no need to be territorial. 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:21.299 Why? 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:24.379 Well, because there's only one territory. 00:11:25.439 --> 00:11:28.199 There is only one field. 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:30.939 I asked you at the beginning, 00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:36.620 How do we embrace losing so that others gain? 00:11:36.620 --> 00:11:40.299 One answer is this. 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:44.500 If we see the big picture, we realize we're not losing. 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:49.220 If we see the big picture, when we see the big picture, 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:52.759 we know when we say goodbye, when we lose, 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:56.659 we're sending that person to work in the same field. 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:00.600 That field belongs to God. 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:05.200 Verse 9, you are God's field, God's building. 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:09.279 Paul doesn't just tell them here, though, 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:11.980 that there is one mission, one purpose, one field. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:16.740 He also reminds them that this should lead to great humility on their part. 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:20.000 If this is God's field and not their field, 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:23.500 if it is one field and not multiple fields, 00:12:23.800 --> 00:12:27.220 what does that tell us about those who work in the field? 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:32.920 Well, Paul helps us understand in verse 7. 00:12:33.060 --> 00:12:34.899 He gives us this dose of humility. 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:39.519 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything. 00:12:42.180 --> 00:12:44.560 One commentator says this. 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:48.940 Ministers are merely farmhands. 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:52.560 We might say that about Christians and churches in general. 00:12:53.160 --> 00:12:56.580 We are merely another outpost. 00:12:57.220 --> 00:13:00.720 We are merely another place in the same field. 00:13:01.180 --> 00:13:06.840 We are merely another setup gardening God's church. 00:13:08.800 --> 00:13:10.660 It says the same thing in verse 5. 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:12.759 What then is Apollos? 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:13.300 What is Paul? 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:18.120 Servants through whom you believed as the Lord assigned to each. 00:13:20.160 --> 00:13:21.440 Yeah, you're just farmhands. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.280 God needed a farmhand here. 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:25.940 He needed a farmhand there. 00:13:26.880 --> 00:13:28.320 Apollos is farming one section. 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:29.660 Paul is farming another. 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:32.240 You think you're a big deal? 00:13:34.140 --> 00:13:37.180 Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything. 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:41.060 That is how big of a deal you are. 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:48.379 And how do you take hold of that? 00:13:49.359 --> 00:13:51.759 Well, you catch the bigger picture. 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:54.799 You see the bigger vision. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:56.139 And when we see the bigger vision, 00:13:56.679 --> 00:14:00.959 we realize we are not as important as we think we are. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:06.300 You and I are just waterers in God's field. 00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:13.240 You and I are just people who go out and pick weeds in God's field. 00:14:14.660 --> 00:14:17.580 Now, if there's a great crop, who gets the glory? 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:21.259 The weed picker or the person who owns the farm? 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.300 All the glory goes to God. 00:14:27.300 --> 00:14:30.639 Verse 7, only God gives the growth. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:36.420 There was a space shuttle commander named Jeff Ashby. 00:14:37.300 --> 00:14:40.879 And he talks about how his first time in space changed him forever. 00:14:41.060 --> 00:14:45.360 He circled the entire globe in 90 minutes. 00:14:46.560 --> 00:14:49.100 So in an hour and a half, he saw every single continent. 00:14:50.040 --> 00:14:50.820 And he said this, 00:14:51.180 --> 00:14:55.720 seeing how fragile the little layer is in which all of humankind exists, 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:58.300 you can easily, from space, 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:02.100 see the connection between someone on one side of the planet 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:03.759 to someone on the other. 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:07.740 And there are no borders evident. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.820 This is on page 7 of your worship guide at the bottom. 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.899 When you get to see an overview of the earth from outer space, 00:15:16.379 --> 00:15:21.759 you realize you share a common identity with all human beings. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.740 We might say this, 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:29.360 when you see that God's kingdom is one field, 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:35.259 you realize you share a common identity with all churches. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:39.240 When you realize that God's kingdom is one field, 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:43.480 you realize you share a common identity with all Christians. 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:46.159 So it's not just that we are servants. 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.419 It's not just that we're merely weed pickers and waterers. 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:54.879 It's that we're weed pickers and waterers working together towards the same goal. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.580 And you saw in the video before the worship service this morning, 00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:01.819 we talked about multiple times when we say gospel hub, 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:05.640 we're talking about the fact that we're constantly receiving people and sending them out, right? 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:09.800 When I think about a hub, I think about an airport hub like DIA up in Denver, 00:16:09.900 --> 00:16:11.580 one of my least favorite places in the world. 00:16:15.520 --> 00:16:16.700 What does a hub do? 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:19.500 It takes in so many planes, right? 00:16:19.560 --> 00:16:22.600 It fuels them out, fuels them up, and then it sends them out. 00:16:23.400 --> 00:16:26.240 Now, all airports do this to a certain extent, right? 00:16:26.260 --> 00:16:29.780 But a hub does it on a whole other level. 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:38.159 We talk about being a gospel hub at this church because we, like every church, receive and send, 00:16:38.819 --> 00:16:43.659 and this church does that on a whole other level. 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:48.379 We have five military installations here in town. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:53.399 We are constantly saying hello, and we're constantly saying goodbye. 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:58.879 We have planes constantly coming in and constantly going out. 00:16:59.079 --> 00:17:00.620 What do we want to do with those planes? 00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:04.579 We want to be a gospel hub. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:08.519 We want to fuel those planes the best way we can. 00:17:09.639 --> 00:17:14.819 We want to maintain those planes so that they are ready for the next stop on their journey. 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:22.179 We want those planes to even be at a whole other level than they were when we received them. 00:17:22.399 --> 00:17:29.339 We want them to be able to go to the next airport even more prepared, even more fueled than they were before. 00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:31.960 That goes along with other parts of our vision. 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:33.559 Why do we need robust discipleship? 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:35.740 There's a lot of reasons we need robust discipleship. 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:41.900 One of them is we want to do the best job we can in the two to four years that we have someone. 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:46.180 We want to be an effective embassy. 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:49.319 We want to be an effective hub. 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:59.900 Now, when we talk about these things, it's important to remember there are some of us who don't get sent out. 00:18:01.700 --> 00:18:03.720 There are some of us who are not military. 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.059 In fact, there's been times in our church where people have said things like, 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:07.500 Well, what about the rest of us? 00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:13.579 And Paul answers that clearly here, verse 6 and verse 7. 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:19.059 Verse 6, I planted, Apollo swattered, but God gave the growth. 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:23.299 God needs different workers in his field. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:25.740 God needs people who go. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.620 God also needs people who stay. 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:33.000 We might rewrite verse 7 this way. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:37.539 So neither he who goes nor he who stays is anything. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.039 But God gives the growth. 00:18:43.460 --> 00:18:47.339 We want our church to be a place where God gives the growth. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:52.339 We want to be effective farmhands. 00:18:53.380 --> 00:18:58.279 We want to be people who do the best job we can watering and weeding. 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:08.500 And we want to remember that when we send people out from this church, we are sending them out to another place in the same field. 00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:17.480 When it comes to verse 6, there are going to be times where we plant and others reap. 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:22.460 And we've talked about this as a leadership in this church for a long time. 00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:26.519 That we've heard stories of other churches where someone comes in from the military and they say, 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:27.339 Oh, you're in the military. 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:31.019 Well, we're not going to consider you for leadership because we're going to lose you really quickly. 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:32.559 Our investment is not going to pay off. 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:38.880 Verse 9, you are God's field, God's building. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:44.180 No matter what investment we make, it will pay off. 00:19:44.860 --> 00:19:46.020 It may not pay off here. 00:19:46.340 --> 00:19:47.380 It pays off somewhere else. 00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:51.160 This church, our goal is to be a gospel hub. 00:19:51.540 --> 00:19:57.720 If we plant and someone else waters and another church sees the growth, praise God. 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:05.940 Our goal as a church is that when other churches receive those that we send out from Cheyenne Mountain, 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:10.160 the group that I affectionately refer to as our Cheyenne Mountain alumni, 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:20.180 that those churches would rejoice because they know that that person is coming from a hub where they were fueled and trained. 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:26.740 They know that that person was equipped for the next level of leadership. 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.160 That's our vision as a church. 00:20:31.259 --> 00:20:36.500 Our vision is that we would be a faithful gospel hub sending and receiving. 00:20:37.660 --> 00:20:41.579 By the way, you might notice that the symbol for gospel hub is not an airport. 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:42.640 It's actually a fountain. 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:45.539 Fountains also receive and send. 00:20:46.360 --> 00:20:50.279 What do you call a fountain that doesn't receive or send at all? 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:54.059 It's just a stagnant pool. 00:20:54.059 --> 00:21:01.440 Brothers and sisters, we want this church to be a place of life. 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:05.440 We want it to be a place that is sending and receiving. 00:21:05.940 --> 00:21:08.519 We want it to be a place that's training and equipping. 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:15.559 We want it to be a place that cares well for the people God gives us for as long as he gives us to them. 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:23.179 And if someone else sees the growth, praise God. 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:28.779 You are God's field, God's building. 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:35.960 We talked last week about the challenges that this church has faced over many years. 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:41.059 In fact, last night I had dinner with Dina Stewart, which very few of you probably know that name. 00:21:41.180 --> 00:21:43.759 She's the widow of our founding pastor. 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:50.500 And Dina shared with me some of the stories from the early years of Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:55.119 And I told her, yeah, this story that you just shared with me, that's why we call it Grit and Grace. 00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:59.220 Because it's been hard for this church to last for 27 years. 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:03.940 And, praise God, we've made it for 27 years. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:05.319 Why? 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:09.839 Because God gave the growth. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:15.379 Why is our church growing right now? 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:20.919 Because God gave the growth. 00:22:24.939 --> 00:22:28.899 Why are we moving forward in mission with great confidence? 00:22:30.899 --> 00:22:34.039 Because we know that God has not just given growth in the past. 00:22:34.659 --> 00:22:37.720 God is the one who will give growth in the future. 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:42.960 And so it's an exciting time to be a part of Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:46.079 That's why we're focusing on our vision. 00:22:46.220 --> 00:22:48.259 That's why we're having this generosity initiative. 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:50.880 We want to be faithful in shepherding that growth. 00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:55.160 I talked to you earlier, I asked you, what do you call a fountain that doesn't send or receive? 00:22:55.360 --> 00:22:57.900 It's just a stagnant pool, probably nasty things growing in there. 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:01.720 What do you call an airport that is understaffed? 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:06.039 Yeah, a lot of answers. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:07.279 Chaos. 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:08.519 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:23:09.180 --> 00:23:10.019 Chaos, right? 00:23:10.900 --> 00:23:13.279 We want to be a well-staffed hub. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:20.600 We want to be a place where we have the resources we need to fuel up the planes God sends us. 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:25.360 We want to be a place that has the resources we need to repair and care for those planes. 00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:31.700 We want other churches to know those planes will be better off after they've been here with us. 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:32.880 How do we do that? 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:36.340 We need the staff to run this hub. 00:23:36.339 --> 00:23:38.659 And so that's why we're doing Grit and Grace. 00:23:38.659 --> 00:23:44.199 Our goal is to move forward, to continue to be a gospel hub, to be a faithful embassy of God's kingdom. 00:23:44.439 --> 00:23:48.059 To do that, we want to bring on a second full-time staff member. 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:51.519 Problem is, our money right now is tied up in our mortgage payment. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:24:06.680 We are looking to reduce $800,000 worth of debt to eliminate our almost $8,000 a month mortgage payment and redirect that towards the ministry of being a gospel hub here in Southwest Colorado Springs. 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:09.420 We want to do that with great hope. 00:24:10.580 --> 00:24:14.480 Because we know that he who plants and he who waters are nothing. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.860 But God gives the growth. 00:24:17.820 --> 00:24:21.320 And we're praying that God would give the growth in this situation. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:22.480 We're inviting you all to give. 00:24:22.560 --> 00:24:23.660 We're inviting you to be generous. 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.340 Not because we're about money, but because we're about a mission. 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:33.279 And we want to be faithful and effective in that mission here in Southwest Colorado Springs. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:37.660 And our hope is this, that God is at work in our work. 00:24:38.879 --> 00:24:44.500 Our hope is, as one person has said, that God's work establishes our work. 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:47.639 God has brought us the growth. 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:51.359 And now it's time for us to take the next step. 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:55.180 The next step in our story as a church. 00:24:57.319 --> 00:25:00.220 We want to raise up leaders for the global church. 00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:03.779 We want to be an equipping church. 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:06.360 We want to be a good sending church. 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:13.980 We want a second pastor who's going to help us put together a discipleship plan that we would fuel our people well. 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:15.860 We want to grow. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:19.019 We'll talk in a couple weeks about robust discipleship. 00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:24.460 We want to be a place where people are trained and equipped in the whole counsel of God. 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:27.860 So that's why we're inviting you all and challenging you. 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:28.620 Join us with it. 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:30.759 Join us on this journey. 00:25:31.979 --> 00:25:35.379 Help us be good waterers and planters. 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:47.919 Many years ago now, a man named Andrew Peterson wrote a song called Planting Trees, which is on the back of your worship guide. 00:25:49.199 --> 00:25:49.919 Part of it is. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:53.319 And it captures much of our vision of a church. 00:25:53.419 --> 00:25:56.199 He talks in the first verse about planting a tree. 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:57.000 They chose a spot. 00:25:57.059 --> 00:25:57.740 We dug the hole. 00:25:58.360 --> 00:26:00.480 We laid the maples in the ground to have and hold. 00:26:02.360 --> 00:26:03.539 And then he says this. 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:13.539 So many years from now, long after we are gone, this tree will spread its branches out and bless the dawn. 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:16.339 That's our dream as a church. 00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:16.980 That's our vision. 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:22.579 That we would plant trees at Shine Mountain that would bless people we haven't met. 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:27.559 That we would invest in people who would lead in other churches. 00:26:28.399 --> 00:26:36.920 That we would equip and raise up leaders in God's field, those who plant in water, we'd send all over the world. 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:37.400 Why? 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:42.480 Because verse 9, we are God's fellow workers. 00:26:42.660 --> 00:26:43.560 You are God's field. 00:26:44.140 --> 00:26:45.100 God's building. 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:47.279 Let's pray. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:53.880 Our Father in heaven, we praise you and thank you for your faithfulness to this church. 00:26:54.560 --> 00:27:00.400 And we ask boldly that you would continue to sustain your embassy here in Southwest Colorado Springs. 00:27:00.620 --> 00:27:02.019 This outpost. 00:27:02.120 --> 00:27:03.640 This colony of the kingdom of God. 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:07.600 And we ask that you would free us from competition. 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:11.360 And you would help us to see our role in supporting your church. 00:27:11.360 --> 00:27:14.040 Whether we see the fruit personally or not. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:19.140 We do it because the great love that we've received and the work that we know that you're doing. 00:27:19.340 --> 00:27:24.560 That it's not up to us, but it's up to you who honor our faithful and imperfect efforts. 00:27:24.840 --> 00:27:26.400 Because we know that you give the growth. 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:29.420 And we ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:27:29.840 --> 00:27:30.080 Amen.