S3E10: Calvary Chapel: Its Essence and Identity-Generations and Hope

Well, hey guys, just want to say thanks for having me. I'm so glad to be a part of this group. You guys are a big blessing to me. ⁓ my name's Jared. I get to talk about chapters four and five in Calvary Chapel, its essence and identity. And I'm gonna jump right in. So chapter four ⁓ talks about how we engage with every generation, especially engaging with the next generation. I like how Wayne Taylor said on page 52. How Pastor Chuck believed in what God was doing in us, the youth at the time, and that helped us believe in it too. And I like that. The importance of showing others that you believe in what God is doing in them. This not only encourages them to press into God even more, but it also reminds them to give God all the glory for the work that He is doing. A second quote I wanted to share is on page fifty three. Where it says, I never imagined God would do so much through simple obedience, a hunger for his word, and a commitment to raising up the next generation. But that's exactly what he did, and he is still doing it. And I think one of the greatest hindrances to reaching and engaging with the next generation is when we raise the bar. And so the first point on our notes is don't raise the bar. You see, we look at the youth of our day and we think They're not ready. They're not spiritual enough, or they're not experienced, or they're just simply too different. And that type of thinking will not only keep the next generation away from your church, but it will also feed your own pride. Because you forget that you were probably all of those things when God first called you. If you're like me, then when God first started using you and calling you, you weren't super spiritual or experienced. You weren't a perfect fit with others, but that was a good thing, because you quickly realized that whatever work God did, he got all the credit for. I love how Paul says in First Corinthians chapter one, verses twenty seven through twenty nine, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised God has chosen. And the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. You see, God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. One of the things that makes us Calvary Chapel is the belief that God can use anyone. We're not qualified by years of experience or by a master's in divinity or by our ability to communicate. We're qualified because Jesus saved us and then equips us. To serve him. And that means if God could use us, he can also use others. If God wants to take the weak, the broken, the average, and fill them with his spirit and use them for his kingdom, then may we not raise the bar by adding man made prerequisites. We want to love others, encourage them, and give them ways to serve. This chapter gave us a few practical ways to reach the next generation. And here's the first one. Remember their biggest need is Jesus. The world's biggest need is not entertainment or comfort or even community. They need a savior. They need to be rescued from hell and from their sin. So in Calvary Chapel we preach the gospel again and again and again. We show them how much Jesus loves them. despite what evil they may have done. We also show them why they need Jesus, despite what good they may have done, and we continually invite them to follow Jesus. You see, since we're all sinners, Jesus is our common need. Every person from every decade needs the gospel. And so it not only applies to all of us, but the gospel also unites us together in Jesus. So when we keep coming back to the gospel, It helps foster unity across the generations. Another way that we engage every generation is to simply teach the word simply. God promises that his word will not return void, and so while we may have a gift to communicate and apply God's word, we don't rely on our talents or our wisdom. We rely on the power of God's word. When we teach verse by verse through Scripture, we show people that That we don't just claim God's word is powerful, but we believe it. We rely on it and we stay rooted in it. We give them an example that they too can follow, to see that God's word is for them, it's for everyone, so that we can all know and follow God. Here's the next way we engage every generation. Don't try to clean the fish before we catch them. I love that analogy. I took it straight from the chapter. It means we don't expect people to clean up their lives so that they can come to Jesus. Instead, we expect people to bring their sin and their brokenness to the cross and let God do the work of cleaning them, transforming them from the inside out. We have a young family that came to our church a couple years ago and they had never been to a church before. They had some weird beliefs. The husband loved to make people feel uncomfortable, and he would often come to church hung over. We did our best to love them, to answer their questions. We invited them to join a small group Bible study, and after several months it was a surprise when all five of them jumped up and said, We want to get baptized today. We saw God softening the husband's heart, and we saw the family bearing good fruit, and so I invited the wife to serve in our children's ministry. At first she was excited, but then when she read the application, she realized that our volunteers can't partake in in drugs. She said they regularly use recreational marijuana, and we explained why we have this standard. We celebrated the growth that God had already accomplished in her family, and we invited her to reapply when they were ready to make this change in their lives. Well, fast forward almost a year, just a few weeks ago, the husband told me they finally gave up marijuana after smoking it every day since they were fourteen years old. At work, His co workers call him preacher because he's always talking about Jesus. And his wife's parents recently got baptized as well. It's been amazing to see God's work on this family over the past two years, but I don't think we would have witnessed it if we tried to push them too hard and too fast. I think we would have gotten ahead of the Holy Spirit, and we would have been failing to show the grace that God has for all of us. I'm amazed at how God has cleaned up this family. But I don't want to get in the way of the Holy Spirit trying to do his work on my timing. The last point in reaching every generation is to invite them up. What I mean is we can't just talk about how God wants to use them. We need to give them real opportunities to serve, opportunities to even lead. Sometimes this means intentionally leaving a void, so you can invite someone else to step up and serve in a new way. If we really believe God wants to reach every generation, then we also have to believe that God wants to use every generation. And so invite them to step up, train them, equip them, and encourage them and celebrate what God does. Some of you know my story that I've recently taken over the lead pastoral role at a church that's 30 years old. The founding pastor gradually stepped down and began to lead from behind and put me out front. He was excited for me, he humbly worked with me, he made it clear to the body the direction that we were heading, and when it came to non essential decisions that we disagreed on, when he thought I was making mistakes, he shared his wisdom, he prayed for me, and he surrendered control. He let me lead as I kept seeking the Holy Spirit, and he trusted God to work it out even when he thought I was wrong. I pray that I can transition one day with the same humility and grace that he did for me. It begins with a culture of inviting others to step up and serve, and then get out of the way of what God is doing, and trusting that he'll take care of it. Now chapter five talks about how we live in anticipation of Christ's return. As Calvary Chapel, we believe the Bible teaches the rapture of the church before the tribulation. Which means not only will Jesus come back for us one day, but it could happen at any moment. Therefore, since Jesus could take us home today, tomorrow, or any time the Father chooses, we must be ready so that we can hear those words well done. Here are a few practical ways that we can live in light of the return of Christ. Number one, we remember that God's view of success is faithfulness. You see, the world looks at numbers or accomplishments or influence, but God looks at obedience. Did we do what he said? You see, God's not going to judge you asking, did that person get saved? But he will judge you by asking, did you share the gospel with them? God won't ask you, did your church plant thrive for decades? Instead, he'll ask you, did you go when I sent you? It's all about faithfulness. Did you do what God said and did you do it for His glory? If so, then you will be found faithful in God's sight, and His opinion is the only one that matters. Here's the next point. We must live for God's kingdom alone. We don't live for an earthly kingdom. We don't allow the temporary to distract us from the eternal. This means we don't allow politics to distract us from the mission of feeding his sheep. This means we don't hold on to our own titles or roles or traditions. If God wants to use someone else, he will. And who are we to try to cling to the past? This even means that we hold the name Calvary Chapel with open hands. We appreciate what God has done through this movement, but our obedience is to Jesus, not any other name. It's all about his kingdom. Not ours. The last point I wanted to highlight from chapter five is this. We prepare for Christ's return by planning for the future, but living for today. You see, if we only lived for today, then we would fail to raise up younger leaders. We would fail to prepare our churches for a lifetime of following Christ. On the other hand, if we only lived for the future, we would fail to have a sense of urgency for the gospel. We will be tempted to make excuses for delayed obedience. We may even find ourselves making excuses for our sinful or worldly behaviors, because we forget that today might be the day. So, whether you're in a season of abundance or in a season of trial or somewhere in between, may you stay faithful to God's calling, may you keep resting in his strength, and may you always be ready to meet. The Lord. Let me pray for you. Lord, I thank you for these friends, these men who long to follow you and serve you. And Lord, we just ask that you would fill us afresh with your Holy Spirit, that you would equip us and lead us to reach every generation with your gospel and to be ready for your return any day now. God, would you be glorified in us and through us? And would you bless this time of discussion in Jesus' name? Amen. Now my favorite part. Let's discuss. I would love to hear from you as you look at these discussion questions what stood out to you? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? What's one of your favorite ways to engage with every generation? What does the eminency of Christ's return mean for you personally? Who are your Timothy's? Who are you calling up to serve in ministry? And what are some practical places that you might invite them to start serving in? We don't want to rush ahead of the Holy Spirit in someone's life, but sometimes we do need to call out sin. So how do you balance this? At what point do you rebuke in love as opposed to patiently waiting for the Spirit to change them? Number six, are you tempted to compare your ministry or calling with others? Do you let the opinions of others determine your next step? May you be faithful to follow the Spirit's leading, even when it seems like it's not working or you're all alone. And last, since Christ's return is any moment now, are there any areas of your life where you've been lax? When He returns, you want to be found serving Him rather than serving yourself. So now it's your turn. What do you have to say?