The Church's call to "multi-generational" impact...
Today we’re beginning a new series we’re calling IMPACT. When God created Adam and Eve, he gave them a mandate (a command, a missional directive). Genesis 1:28 says, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it…”
We can think of God’s command to “be fruitful and increase in number” in terms of multi-generational impact. God commands us to enlarge the footprint of his kingdom, on this great earth. If you are a parent, God commands you to produce “godly” offspring. Not just to have babies, but to parent well, and raise your children in the Lord to be sons and daughters of your Father in Heaven. It’s a tremendous honor, and (often) a terrifying responsibility, to raise “godly” children in this world. Lakeside is a church that comes alongside parents. We want you to parent well.
But we shouldn’t think of “multi-generational impact” in terms of physical childbearing alone. There are people who for many reasons, cannot make babies… but who adopt, and step-parent, or coach and mentor, or teach and encourage children so a child grows from infancy into complete maturity in Christ. You don’t need to feel shame because you cannot or have not birthed kids. You aren’t disobeying God. God hasn’t cursed you. God hasn’t robbed you of never being able to feel blessed.
Here is what I’ve come to believe: God gives everyone children. Sometimes he gives them through you and sometimes he gives them through others. But this is what I love about God’s Kingdom. Opportunity to raise up “godly” offspring, for multi-generational impact, abounds. Probably the least significant part of the equation is “how” that opportunity came about (whether through you, through someone else).
How can we get involved in "multi-generational" impact?
There is opportunity everywhere, what are we going to do about it? How can you make a multi-generational impact? If God has put a call on your heart, you can foster a child, and create a temporary refuge for a child to feel loved, learn discipline, and experience healing. If God has put a call on your heart, you can adopt a child, and welcome them into your home. You can help another couple adopt a child. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to adopt. We have young couples at Lakeside with the desire/energy to adopt, but what young couple has that kind of money? If you have resources and want to help a young couple adopt, we’ll connect you to opportunity.
How can you make a multi-generational impact? If you love babies… if you love preschoolers… if you love elementary age… if you juniors, seniors, or young adults… get off the sidelines, talk to one of our ministers. There are opportunities at both Lakeside but also in our community for multi-generational impact. In fact, there is always more “opportunity” for multi-generational impact than there are “obedient” people. The tragedy isn’t so much “not birthing babies” as “not having a multigenerational impact.”
This fall, we urge you to get involved in a small group. Groups begin after Labor Day. They meet different days of the week, all around the area. Lee School, which is literally on our doorstep, has just about as many classrooms as we have small groups. Lee School is unique because it has an entire wing dedicated to students with special needs, to whom their providing life skills training. I was also surprised to learn that Lee School will has a dozen homeless students attending this fall.
Here is our plan: This Fall, we want to pair our small groups and our Sunday classes with teachers/classrooms at Lee School. (a) We want to give teachers appreciation gifts. (b) We want to write notes of encouragement to students, and occasional bring snacks for classes. (c) We want to provide basic supplies for classrooms. (d) Lee school does monthly events—so we’d love small groups to help staff some of these events. (e) We’re going to be collecting donations for the Lee School food pantry. (f) We’re hoping to provide weekly mentors to help students socially, or with reading skills. (g) If you love Trivia, we’re going to host a trivia event here at Lakeside on September 22 to help Lee School start a reading program. (h) The backpacks you’ve provided have already been a tremendous blessing. There is plenty to get excited about this fall at Lakeside.
The Church's call to "multi-cultural" impact...
God’s command to “fill the earth and subdue it” refers to multi-cultural (multi-national, multi-ethnic) impact. When Adam and Eve, in Genesis 3, were driven from the garden because of their sin, they were expelled into a very dangerous, untamed, unsubdued world. The same with Cain. Perhaps you remember the story of Cain in Genesis 4, how Cain, out of jealousy killed his brother Abel, because Abel offered the better sacrifice to God. As punishment, Cain was “driven from the land” he’d always known and expelled into a world filled with violence. He was concerned that whoever found him would surely kill him.
For that matter, consider Noah’s predicament in Genesis 6. Human beings, and their offspring, were increasing exponentially! But tragically, the human race, and people’s sons and daughters, weren’t increasing in godliness. God looked upon the earth and saw how great the wickedness of the human race was becoming, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. God regretted that he had made man, and his heart was troubled. Noah was the only person God could find on all the earth who was righteous! Everyone else was corrupt/violent.
There is a temptation that we would live in fear, in the world. But God called Adam and Eve, their son Cain, Noah and his family, to walk in faith. God put a mark on Cain, so that nobody would harm him. If God would put some mark on Cain, how much more willing, would he be to put his mark on us? Ephesians 4:30 tells us that through faith we have been “sealed by God’s Holy Spirit.” Like the ancients, we have nothing to fear, as we serve God and walk with God in the world.
As believers, God wants us to face down the danger and subdue the earth. Face down violence. Face down wickedness. Face down unrighteousness. Face down anger, bitterness, and ungodliness. Face down racism and hate. Face down murder and violence. Face down greed and corruption, abortion and the killing of innocence. Face down sexual immorality, pornography, human trafficking, and every form of oppression. Face down the Evil One, and the powers and authorities subject to Satan. Face down the strongholds that give refuge to evil in God’s world.
How can we get involved in "multi-cultural" impact?
We have fifty men signed up for Kingdom Men groups. They are studying a book by Tony Evans. The first line of his book reads, “A Kingdom man is the kind of man that when his feet hit the floor each morning the devil says, ‘Oh [crud], he’s up!’” We have no reason to be afraid. We have no reason to be timid or apologetic. We have no reason to compromise the mandate God has given us, to build His kingdom.
Why? Because when we walk by faith we can have every confidence God is walking by us. And if God is walking with us, the devil is being driven out before us, the earth is being subdued before us, the earth (every tribe/tongue/nations/culture) are being made subject to God’s purpose and plan. We’ve got small groups, we’ve got men’s groups, we’ve got women’s groups… and women mentoring women. The greatest thing we can do this fall is yield to God’s purpose/plan for lives, this church!
The Church's call to trust the "multi-sufficiency" of God
The statement in Genesis 1:28 that “God blessed Adam and Eve” refers to the multi-sufficiency of God. You won’t find that exact word in the dictionary, but its totally a legitimate word. “Multi” just means many, more than one, multitudinous! The Bible says God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. God has enriched us in multitudinous ways so that we can be obedient on every occasion… faithful to speak, faithful to act, faithful to give, faith to complete the goods works he’s prepared for us to do from the beginning of time.
In Genesis 1:29-30, God told Adam and Eve, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And I love the little tag the Bible adds to the end of Genesis 1:30, that reads, “. . . And it was so.”
Why is it that we’re always fixated on what we lack? Psychologist observe that people have a psychology of “scarcity.” We have exceedingly, abundantly more resources (blessings, wealth, means…) than people throughout history could have ever imagined, but less known to ask for. Yet what do we do, we measure our lives not by the abundance of what God’s has provided but by whatever we think we lack.
How blessed are we? We have homes, cars, material possessions galore, idle assets, buried wealth, discretionary cash, professional degrees, networks of relationships, circles of influence, social media status, safety, security, health, mobility, digital superhighways, excess food, excess clothing, untapped potential, untapped power, untapped spiritual gifts, underdeveloped skills and abilities, hidden talents… and what are we fixated on??? We’re fixated on what we lack more than what God has exceedingly, abundantly provided!!!
I know, it’s all so mind blowing, but where God leads God provides what’s needed. I saw a blog the other day where some guy said, “Wrong. God doesn’t always provide where God leads!” His point was that the Apostle Paul shed tears serving God. He served in hunger and poverty. He was beaten and ship-wrecked, and all these things. But whenever Paul mentions his hardships in his letters, it’s never to complain, nor express doubt in God, but to rather accentuate the multi-sufficiency and faithfulness of God to bless and provide everything that’s “needed.”
How can we trust the "multi-sufficiency" of God?
In Philippians 4:12-13 Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
When have you ever walked in faith, serving God… and God’s not provided? No maybe you didn’t experience a windfall, but did God strengthen you? One of the most challenging stories in the Bible is the story of Macedonians. They were a group of believers who experienced “severe trials” and “extreme poverty.” Yet they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability! Their faith welled up in rich generosity. They exceeded in giving more than anyone would have reasonably expected.
So what was their secret? They knew the multi-sufficiency of God! Paul explains it this way in 2 Corinthians 8-9: whoever sows sparingly reaps sparingly. Whoever sows generously will reap generously. God loves a cheerful giver. God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Paul tells us that the God who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and you generosity will result in praise/thanksgiving to God. We don’t just have grace, we all-surpassing grace. God doesn’t just bless us with gifts, he blesses us with indescribable gifts!
Nobody who sincerely walks in faith concludes, “Wow, God left me high and dry…” When you spend yourself for God, God fills you up, he never leaves your stomach empty.
I want to take a few moments to explain what we hope to accomplish over the next few months. Small groups, and ministries for all ages, officially kick off September 10th. We’ve developed a mini-campaign this Fall, to challenge Lakeside to become a church of Impact. On Sunday September 10th, we’re going to begin a survey of the book of Acts, in the New Testament. The book of Acts vividly describes how the early church impacted her world relying on the presence/power of God’s Holy Spirit. So the question for us will be what can we learn… and more importantly… what can we do, to be a church of impact (not just like, but like) the Early Church.