Step Out in Faith
This Sunday is not an ordinary Sunday at Cities Church. There is something different and significant happening today, and it’s not the Twin Cities Marathon. Today, October 6, 2024 is the first worship gathering of Horizon City Church in Winter Garden, Florida. Last Sunday night, Kenny Ortiz, a former pastor of Cities who many of you know, along with his wife Malaina and 20 other individuals, covenanted together as a new local church for the first time.
Pastor Kenny, during his time at Cities Church, had 2 main goals: One was to get married, which he did in 2020, and the other was to plant a church. Last summer we commissioned out Kenny and Malaina to Florida to begin the process of church planting. And this morning, they are having their first worship service as a church. And probably right now! Kenny is preaching from Hebrews 1 proclaiming that: (in his own words) “Jesus Christ is superior to all other prophets and all other claims to truth.”
What happened last Sunday night and what is happening this morning in Florida, is of eternal consequence. And that is not an overstatement. Jesus loves the church and it is His priority: He founded it, He rescued and purchased it with His blood, and He identifies very intimately with it… To persecute the church is to persecute Christ. The church is His body. The church is His bride.
And seated at the right hand of the throne in heaven, Christ Jesus recognizes the existence of the local church. He knows them by name. He is the Chief Shepherd over the pastors who are the under-shepherds of His flocks, and His churches.
This should blow us away. That King Jesus, knows of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. That He knows of Horizon City Church in Winter Garden, Florida. Christ promised that He would build His Church, and Horizon City Church is a fulfillment of that promise.
And God fulfills His promises, as faithful men and women step out in faith, and lose something to gain something else, to gain someone else. And that is why today is of eternal consequence, in St. Paul, MN, and in Winter Garden, FL. Today, to any who receive Jesus, He will rescue you from the wrath that is to come and will give you the right to be children of God. Sons and daughters who worship Him in Spirit and in truth, and will one day be in His glorious presence, overflowing with joy for all eternity.
I have 2 exhortations for us as a church this morning:
Simply, remember Kenny and Malaina, and pray for them.
Be willing to step out in faith for the Glory of God and for the good of others.
This could mean asking a coworker what they think about Jesus, or it could mean starting a new Community Group. It could mean praying to go with a future church plant. It could mean praying about leading a church plant. It could mean praying about starting a Christian school, or business, or non-profit. It could mean being open handed to God calling you overseas to live in an unreached or unengaged area of the world.
Be willing to step out in faith for the Glory of God and for the good of others.
Would you Pray with me?
Father, there are many things that entangle us from living a life of faith and trust in you. We can be paralyzed by fear or worry. We can want to be in control and know the outcome before we act. We can love comfort, and do everything in our power to keep it. And when these things happen, we are not living by faith, we are not trusting that you are for us, and that you are with us.
Father, help us see the sins and idols that entangle us, and keep us from being fruitful. That keep us from trusting you and following you. As you reveal these things, grant us the grace to confess them to you now in the moment of silent confession…
Father, would you strengthen us by grace? As we have confessed our sins, you have taken them already, you paid for them on the cross, there is no more work to be done. So as we seek to follow you, to step out in faith for you, may we not be pushed forward by guilt, but drawn forward by your grace and love and fellowship with us. Cleanse us and call us into the work of building your church in all the world.
Let it be so Jesus, Amen.
