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KHCN - Kauai House Church Network

Casting a Vision

8/28/2021

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“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
(Proverbs 29:18 KJV)

 
If you’ve been following along, these past couple of weeks we talked about core values and purpose statements. Now that we have our values in check and have built our personal purpose statement, the next step is to cast a vision for where you want to get to in life. Where do you see yourself in 10 years, 20, 30? What do you want to accomplish? What will be your legacy? Will it have any eternal rewards or is it all temporary? Will it be a blessing for many, or will it be all about you? Your values and purpose are directly connected with your vision.  
 
Vision and goals are not the same. Goals are created by self and limited to what self can do. Vision comes from God and it will take faith and courage to pursue it. The meaning of vision is simply “to see”. But when speaking about vision in today’s context we are looking beyond what we can see in front of us to that which is unseen. 
 
What is seen is always practical; it is familiar territory, safe, and for the most part comfortable and predictable. But this is where life can become monotonous and lose its sense of adventure, meaning and fulfillment. The majority of people in the world live in this realm. What is unseen takes faith and courage. To step out and do something different is always uncomfortable. Why? Because it is unpredictable. As humans we need to know where we are going or what the outcome will be. Because of this, our vision is hindered, and we never really step out in faith. 
 
The new life in Christ has everything to do with faith, trust and vision. The new life in Christ battles against the fleshly desires of vanity, power, pride, the love for money and sensual pleasures, worry, fear and being in control; all of which cloud our vision. 
 
Life in Christ is abundant (Jn 10:10). Life in Christ is empowering (Acts 1:8). Life in Christ is victorious (Ph 4:13). Life in Christ is priceless (Ph 3:7-8). But life in Christ will cost you everything (Lk 9:23-26) and it is also unpredictable and uncomfortable (Mt 5:10-12, 24:9). That’s why we have so many who claim to be Christian yet never fully experience the abundant life that Jesus offers because our vision is still limited by the extent of our faith. Faith and vision go hand in hand. The question comes down to this: Do you trust God with your life? Or, do you trust only in yourself and your abilities?
 
As you cast a vision for your future don’t let your past blind you to all that God has planned for you. As Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind I press on towards the goal…” (Ph 3:13). He also goes on to say, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” (Ph 4:13). So go ahead, think big! Dream God-sized dreams! Slay your “Goliaths” of fear, worry and sin. Step out of the boat and walk on water!  The abundant life awaits you, just place your trust in Jesus, pray and cast your vision!
 
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

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Purpose Statement

8/21/2021

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Last week we talked about core values. Today we’ll talk about purpose. In the next few weeks we will look at vision, strategy and mission. These make up the personal philosophies that direct your life. It goes like this…
 
Your VALUES describe WHO you are
Your PURPOSE describes WHAT you do
Your VISION describes WHERE you are going
Your STRATEGY describes HOW you will get there
Your MISSION describes WHY you exist
 
It is important for us to know who we are and why we exist. Mark Twain said: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."

When we grow up as little children hearing that everything came as a result from a big bang and all life started from a single celled “amoeba” which eventually evolved through hundreds of millions of years to have what we have today, then everything has no real meaning or purpose. That opens the door to any teaching, thought or belief. This is why in God’s sovereign plan He sent Jesus to redeem a blinded humanity and to dwell in every believer by grace through faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit then reveals truth to the believer, and everything begins to make sense. Life takes on a whole new meaning and purpose. We begin to see how God created each of us out of love and for a purpose. Read Psalms 139 if you ever have doubts about life, who you are and why you’re here.
 
God’s word specifically gives us direction on how to live according to His plan and purpose. There are many verses that can help you build your personal purpose statement. One statement summarizes our purpose… “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1Co 10:31). Whose glory am I living for? My own or God? Another verse might be Matthew 22:37-40 where we find the great commandment to love God and love others. If all the law and prophets hang on these two verses, this must be very important. If so, then it would do us well to make loving God and loving others our purpose in life. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gave His disciples a commission before He left, saying, go make disciples of all nations, baptize them and teach them. In these verses we see three things: Go, Baptize, Teach. 
 
Making disciples of Jesus from every nation of people is a mandate to all of us. The first disciples went out baptizing and making disciples of Jesus. Their disciples did the same thing. The baton was passed from generation to generation. Now it’s in my hand. What will I do with it? What will our generation do with it? Well… what’s our purpose in life? If it’s just to eat, drink and be happy then we will probably never make the sacrifices to carry the baton and pass it on. Paul referred to life as running a race to win a crown at the end (1Co 9:24-27; 2Tim 2:5). Think of the Olympics. It takes focus, perseverance and purpose. This is what they do to win an earthly prize. What will we do to win the crown of glory for God?
 
Now take some time to write out your personal purpose statement.

Here's mine:
“My purpose is to love God and glorify Him with my whole being. As I go, I will love people and watch for opportunities to share Jesus with them so I can baptize and teach them everything Jesus commanded.”

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Core Values

8/14/2021

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What are core values? Values are what you care about most in life. If asked, many people would not know what their core values are. Little do we realize it’s our core values that get us out of bed each day to do what we do. Our core values are the driving force behind all we do. Our core values describe WHO we are as individuals. Our core values will differ from each other. However, our inner circle of friends will have similar values because we naturally gravitate to people with whom we have things in common.
 
Why is knowing about core values important? Because it helps us to understand who we are and how we can truly begin to know one another. We’ve all had that experience where someone you work with or see all the time just bugs you (hahaha, I’m just being honest). But then when you talk with that person you find out they are actually very nice. What you saw was their inner being, their core. Not all values are worn on the sleeve, that’s why after hanging out with someone for a while, you begin to see who they are. 
 
Differing values doesn’t make anyone less human. At one time in my life, my values were quite different from what they are today. Needless to say, my group of friends (my oikos) was different. It’s the same for every one of us. As life goes on, through different ages, seasons, circumstances and beliefs, our values tend to change, which means, the people we hang out with (our oikos) will also change. 
 
Core values are understood (and usually agreed upon) in all religious institutions, businesses, schools and governments. It would do us well as individuals to list and understand our personal core values. What drives you? What do you value the most in life? When you can answer these questions you begin to see who you are. 
 
WHO ARE YOU?
Here’s a fun exercise. Print this list of values. Look it over and circle the values that pertain to you. Then from that list highlight five of them that you value most. These five are your core values. These describe WHO YOU ARE.

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How to Share Jesus with Your “Oikos”

8/7/2021

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Sharing Jesus is fun! I love it when people want to talk about spiritual matters. It’s fun, simple, exciting and we never know what will come out of it. Sharing Jesus should never be seen as a burden or even an obligation. Sharing Jesus should be a natural outflow of your new life in Christ. However, way too often, in our zeal to share Jesus with others we may tend to be overbearing. We end up pushing people away rather than attracting them to see more for themselves. We’re always trying to “close the deal” instead of simply loving on people. Then it becomes awkward. Chances are we have all burned bridges in sharing Jesus with friends. Be patient. It's all in God's timing. 
 
Last week I shared some statistics. People want to talk about spiritual matters, but they don’t want to go to church to find it. People prefer to talk about these matters through relationship. This is a shift from the way we have done church for centuries. I believe God is moving behind this shift. This shift includes every believer sharing about Jesus in their circles of influence.  
 
Share Jesus Without Fear
PRAY – Pray for God to break your heart for the lost. Pray for your neighbors, coworkers, friends, family - by name, daily/weekly. Ask God to give you opportunities to reach out to them. Ask God to open their hearts to spiritual conversations and the gospel. Pray for wisdom on what to say, how to say it and when to proceed and stop.
PREPARE – Prepare your heart and mind. What is your vision, purpose and goals in life? What do you value most? Create your own personal statements of faith and live it. If exalting Christ, spending time with Him and building His kingdom, is at the bottom of your life goals and core values, then you have idols. Sharing Jesus will become a burden and distraction for you. Repent of it and get yourself right with God. 
PLAN – Brainstorm for ideas on building relationships with friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc. Plan BBQ’s, beach days, movie night at your house, lady’s tea, have coffee or lunch. Do these things with a group, on your own or as a family. You need to plan these and set dates and times or else in your busyness you will never do it. 
PURSUE – Pursue first in daily prayer, allow God to open doors then just do what the Spirit leads. It might be scary at first but remember you’re simply having a conversation with a friend. Steer to spiritual conversations and see if they bite. If not, don’t worry. Don’t be pushy and don’t rush. You want to build the relationship. Listen more than you talk. Always keep it sweet so you can continue with future conversations.

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          "They devoted themselves to the study of God's word, hanging out and praying together. They were in awe because of the miracles God was doing." 
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