Part 1: The Big Picture

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We Are Family: God's People. God's Mission.  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  40:14
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Mike Hanafee and Clete Bontrager from Restore Church in Detroit, Michigan are our guests today on EFCA Church Multiplication Sunday. Clete shares the story of Restore Church and Mike preaches from Revelation 7. Eternity is about God being glorified for his salvation by all peoples. Jesus wants this to happen now and gives clear marching orders to us to make multiplying disciples.

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So this morning before I introduce Mike and cleat, would you pray with me and let's pray that the Lord would continue to create and plant and grow more churches. So that more people might know Jesus and multiplying a maybe. I don't know what I'm interested to let spray what that means for our church. Does that mean planting more church is planting a campus someday multiplying our services? How how do we multiply it? So that more people meet Jesus Christ you pray with me a Sprite or the send Father. We thank you for Jesus and Lord where his church he's the senior pastor and they're under his leadership in his protection and he gave us a clear command to go and make disciples of all Nations. At the Baptist them in the name of the father Son and Holy Spirit teaching them to obey everything you commanded it in Jesus you promised as we do that to be with us. Jesus you also told us to pray that you would send more and more workers out of the Harvest field. So we pray for that today in the form of churches that you would raise up and plant and grow and nurture more and more churches, especially in North America where they're needed Even in our area. We think of Detroit as well as we hear from am I complete this morning?

34 not even just for the Free Church, but for churches that preach and teach the gospel in general that there would be more and more churches so that more and more people Jesus would meet you. Give us a passion for that. I pray for wisdom even and

wisdom and vision as a church family for us. What does that mean? Would you ignite that in our hearts even today of what it would look like to see many more people from our community has come to know you Jesus. You're our only hope we're all saved by grace. Give us a passion and a heart to bring others along with us. Floor Lift us up to you. We know you're the one who does the work we do it we can you do the rest and that we pray all of this than in the strong name of Jesus. and everyone said Hey, man, I'm introduced at first energies cleat Bontrager cleat when you join me on stage and a cleat and Mike Mike hanafee are here from restore Church in Detroit this morning. I need free church has planted how long ago is restore planted. 2012 2012 and Detroit and their training a guy to plant a third Church in the suburbs of Detroit and I'm just going to turn it over to you to tell the story of restore and then I'll let you introduce Mike and I'm going to go sit with my wife cuz I never get to do that during worship service sound good right there.

Thank you. Pastor Josh him a few weeks ago in Detroit's and just thankful for what God is doing in this area. I was born at Elkhart General not too far from here and you probably never heard my last name Bontrager. My neighbor across the street says, oh, you're my little Amish boy in the hood of Detroit. And so how does a guy with the last name Bontrager end up in Detroit? Only God Only God. My dad was Amish and so I've Got Roots all over this area. Got an uncle everybody from Kokomo on up to Shipshewana to Goshen Elkhart in this whole area, but pleased to be here today thankful for what God is doing in this neck of the woods so to speak.

It says then they gathered around him and ask him Lord. Are you at the time going to store the kingdom to Israel? He said to them it is not for you to know the times are the dates. The father has set by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my Witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea Samaria and to the ends of the Earth bees vs. Have been quoted many times at missions conference. It's a church multiple type places in A lot of our focus on the ends of the Earth. Are they not we do a really good job in America of sending missionaries overseas, but what about to Samaria maybe in your area. A lot of people want to move out of but don't want to move into and that is what Detroit is a place that was two million people that now has around 600,000 people a mass Exodus. Some people would say a brain drain has happened there and I don't know if you seen pictures but quite a Devastation in that City, but God called us in 2010 the hanafee family in the Bontrager family out of Portland Oregon new chapter in our life and that was to move to the inner city of Detroit where you could buy a house for $500. Yes. I bought a house for $500. Cross the street for $800 how many of you can say you could do that here, but God had us go there. So we made a trip early that year in February. The troit looked devastated. Nobody was out. It was cold. We drove around with our psychologist right that we are crazy. Or should we really move here? And so God had us in Detroit by the end of that year living there spring of 2011. We started having cookouts at our house to where we are about 60 to 80 Neighbors coming on Friday nights to are cookouts. Just having a good time getting to know the neighbors getting to know the neighborhood on Saturday. We put up these soccer nets on an old tennis court that was abandoned and we would play indoor soccer on these tennis courts, and then have Bible studies with the kids. We started Vision casting meetings for people that had heard about us that were interested in our homes. We started every other week services in our home one week that we didn't have a service. We visit another church in the area so that we could know the context of Detroit, but also to show we're not just about our kingdom Thurman of Detroit and the for Sunday we would do a project in the neighborhood. We had a free garage sale don't ever do that. It was crazy. People were swarming Gathering stuff getting mad at people that were trying to take their stuff. It was we needed security. We did Ali cleanups. We helped people older folks that needed help with their properties. We cleaned a part that had been virtually abandoned for years and we had enough people coming by the time 2012 hit that we needed a place to meet. So we had started what we called discipleship groups. We had three of them going and those were in houses but no house can hold the amount of people we had come in so we clean the park riots actually start. By God's grace that whole summer 2012. It did not rain what time during our services and you know how it loves to rain in Upper Indiana and lower Michigan service ended every time if it was to rain we saw God use those time in the formation of a church because we weren't in the four walls and our people understood that church is more than just a time or a space to gather but God provided in September a post office an old abandoned post office that we could meet in. And you know what the cost of that was $15,000 we could have sold stamps out of that post office because everything was in it the bulletproof glass that the teller behind everything the desk the safes everything was in it $15,000. So we bought it on a Friday and this was the end of September is getting chilly. We started meeting there on a Sunday. It was a beautiful thing. We had a building now. Then we looked at the building went. Oh my goodness. We have a building now. And needed so much work because it was a post office. But God really brought people along and churches to help us Transformer. We still got a long way to go. It's 112 7 years. We've got a little bit done. We have a lot done, but we need a lot more done but we take it one chunk at a time because we're not in that thing. God. God has blessed us. So many times along the way he's brought Pastor Charles to our church is one of our pastors now, he went through an internship with us. And so now there's Pastor Mike myself and Pastor Charles. We have a man by the name of Nick Lee who's in our Elder Apprentice program. You'll be one of our pastors if God provides a clear path that he actually is running Dexter grinds. I said, what is Dexter grinds? That is a coffee shop that 3 years ago was In our neighborhood by some folks out of Kansas City that wanted to do ministry in Detroit. Well, About a year-and-a-half ago. They called us and said we are losing money will no kidding coffee shop in the hood who would have thunk and we need to either shut this down or sell it to you guys said okay, how much do you owe on everything? They said 15000. So guess what we bought a $15,000 comes up very often when we talk about restore church. So now who's going to ship is running a coffee shop that is given us a lot of leeway a lot of Headway into the neighborhood. We have a meeting space that we don't have a lot of that. We can utilize at coffee shop. Our state rep has office hours in the coffee shop. So people in our area can now come and meet their their state representative. What a Thing God has done in that. Pastor Josh mentioned that we have planted a church. Tyler Sinclair was one of our pastors for a couple years with the intent of going out and planting a church. He planned to Cornerstone Church a few years ago. And the Beautiful Thing is we now have a granddaughter church cuz he is now planted a church in Southwest Detroit and it's awesome to see how God uses multiplication in ways. We had no clue that God would plant the church in Southwest Detroit that quickly We also now have a church planning intern that is going to plant in Garden City in the name of his name is OVI and it's going to be cool and inner city church. Hopefully planning a Suburban Church. Usually you hear it the other way around but we want God to get the credit for it because only he could pull off something like that. Would you pray for us going to my comment and bring the word of God? What would you pray for us in Detroit? We have had a wonderful 9 years in Detroit. His work. We've seen salvations. We have seen people baptized. We have one lady who was when we met her on drugs live two houses away from that Park where we started the church and here she heard a group singing so she came out of her house and started joining our services and we saw God do a miraculous work sort of like the man on the video in her life. We seen those transformation, but we want to see more And so would you pray for that? We will pray for you that you will see people come to Faith in Jesus Christ Mike. If you'd come this is why he's bald and I have gray hair because we're brothers in Christ. And I love this man dearly but they'll let me pray for you that you deliver the word of God to us this morning for Pastor. Mike gear that you would just bless him make you step out of the way of your word. But Proclaim it boldly God. I pray that Hearts would be changed to either love you more or come to you for salvation God. I pray that you would bless this church that you would bless my cure this morning in Jesus name. Amen.

Is that better that we go? Hey, good morning. Really between what Pastor cleats Sheridan's at great video. I don't really have much to say so I'm Josh. I'm not going to go to 3. I'll go to 1 instead. Okay. Alright.

I want to take a picture so I can share my church family. So what I want you to do is want you to raise your hands everybody raise your hands. Yeah, let me do one of those long sideway shots. See I knew you could raise your hands, okay? And now I can say I appreciate a charismatic church. So beautiful beautiful real quick. Right there Susan we are we are obviously a large family. I am a church planter in the inner-city, which means I have to stretch my dollars. Show to stretch my dollars to take my wife out every so often. I I met a gentleman named mr. Groupon. And Mister Groupon connected me. You can move past those. Okay, cuz we're just going to get distracted.

To the very first one for the preaching part that be great.

That sounds great. Thank you so much better than Howell or something with bounce Swanky place at the top of the rencen. You've heard of the Red Sand and Sea Glass towers and the Waterfront of Detroit. This restaurant was on the 73rd floor. Incredible food only got like three bites. They put it on a strange shaped plate that looks like we got more yet to go to McDonald's and eat 7 cheeseburgers before you went but it was a great meal apart from the stunning view being seated across the table from me my wife. I wish you was here, too. to hear that

one of the most incredible things about that meal on the 73rd floor of Coach, Insignia is I was looking out the entire expanse of the great city of Detroit 143 square miles. I was lifted above the that the vacant houses and the garbage strewn Corner Lots in and all the Brokenness with all the videos lifted above it and I can see with one Fell Swoop the entire expanse of the City Grand River over here Gratiot Avenue. They're all across the city into the suburbs. And what I saw was the big picture of the city and quite frankly was the first time ever seen the city in that way though. I'm from the area and it was exhilarating it gave me a deeper heart for the city.

I want us to just briefly climb the Towering Heights of Revelation chapter 5 as we had it read Revelation chapter 7 because it's those towering Heights. We see the big picture of what eternity is all about. And what we should be about to just want to show you from this powerful text. What eternity is all about. What we should be to Eternity is about three things go with me cuz it where we from people talk back when you preached they might not even say what you like, but they're at least talking back. Okay, so feel free to do that.

Eternity first of all for you if you allowed to go types as doxological. No words eternity is about God being glorified. The word. Doxa is the New Testament word for praise praise were that we sing the doxology doxology praise God from whom all blessings flow. The Old Testament word for Glory is the work of which relates to the penis or the heaviness of something and I can say is first of all eternity is all about the way ninis the glory of God being put on display and they're just a few brush Strokes to communicate in Chapter 7. John writes that he saw a great multitude. I don't know if you've ever been in a great crowd a stadium. I know this is a Godly church cuz I saw one with the Michigan shirt somewhere around here. There you go. Yes, so a hundred and ten thousand right and then you've got that colt University down the road Notre Dame. I don't know how many they are. Right but there's something when you see everybody come together for a common purpose, right? And then it says they were standing a great multitude that no one could number but they're standing. Standing communicates respect getting their stuff together when a senior ranking officer Stepped On Deck the first person who saw that guy would they yell at the top of their lungs the first step in the squad Bay and then you see in their hands.

You can read it. Call branches may be a modern equipment to be like thunder sticks. You know, how to bug you. I'm sorry. Call ranches communicate royalty. Remember Palm Sunday and victory on top of that. They're not standing there. Just sort of mouthing words in the dark.

He was a boy to same thing that we might do for and iPhone release or a ball game or maybe a barn-raising around here me that's what happens right right is excitement passion, but I don't want to leave the chapter 4 more brush Strokes about eternity being doxological. If you were to go back to that chapter. You would find that there's a throne. And all that thrown the almighty himself is seated. And then in front of the throne Apartments, the almighty of seated, there are four living creatures will come back to them. But they're 24 Thrones these Elders these beings and they have these gold.

Communicate son little quaint little scene of being at Grandma's farm and drinking some sweet tea under oak trees in a rainstorm. No, no, no, no.

It's like saying atomic bombs are going off everywhere. And then you get to the praise band this praise band. Well pretty much like crazy pants today. Frankly are weird. Okay. Alright, you know skinny jeans and all that they were I didn't see any up on there. So people wear wool hats when it's 70 degrees outside. Okay. What is this kind of a weird praise band? They got six wings in the oven. And here's what's on Heaven's top 40 list. They cry out day and night. Holy holy holy is the Lord who was and is and is to come. And I don't have time to develop this more other than to say first of all, Heaven is about God being glorified for his weight Inus.

But he is Holy Holy Holy we would scratch our bald head and wondering how in the world. Could I ever become near and dear to this? Eternal Transcendent God. I mean you touch your mouth when you die.

You bring strange by Roper newest Temple done extinguished. Eternity is about God being glorified in his first of all, holy of the second thing. I want to see is eternity is soteriological which is a fancy way of talking about salvation eternity. In other words is about God being glorified.

his salvation

if you belong to the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ, and you are in glory. You are not going to look to another person and say man. This joint is sweet. I love it up here. Know how I got here. How did you get here have no idea but I love it up here. No, no. No, here's the point. I'm trying to make no we are never ever going to forget why we are privileged to be in the presence of the almighty now and forever. Revelation chapter 7 makes that clear when it says salvation. What is that? He's to say before became a Christian. What does it mean to be saved is something going to happen to me? Yes. Yes. I deserve the righteous wrath of God. Because my life has been in the fence outside of Christ to God the Bible says all we like like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. Salvation though. It says going to be singing. That's another song On Heaven's top 40 list.

Stuffed animal that you have at the end of her bed. When they heard lamb what cable and mine was the Old Testament sacrificial system, right? Josephus the ancient Jewish historian said that they would sacrifice so many lambs during the Passover season that the brook Kidron would run red with the run off of with the blood of the sacrificial Lambs a few more brush strokes and chapter 5 as we heard it read There is a scroll. Basically you might describe it as the title deed of the universe. And like many Wills they cannot actually be Unleashed in executed until the person who wrote that will passes away. And that's one of the elders said me to take the scroll and open it seals. John Begins the week not because he's having a Hallmark moment. All right. The weight of this and let me just say that as a side note that two men here a man that is always crying probably has some issues but a man that never sheds a tear probably have some issues as well. John weeps over the situation.

For the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered and prevailed in his open able to open that scroll. And so what we need to ask what is it if he did to conquer the Prevail so that he is able to open the scroll the title deed of universe. And to me verse 12 of chapter 5 may be the most compelling scene you could ever see in your entire life. standing Before the Throne in front of Publix the almighty sits and the four that men that Crazy Praise band and the 24 the spotlight swings and he says I saw a lamb standing as though it had been what Train, obviously, I saw a lamb standing is Bill had been Swank. What's the point the point is this he was slain now, he's standing he's crucified now. He's risen. He was dead but not weave alive. What I'm trying to tell you is we are never ever going to get over while we are near and dear to the Eternal transcended. God namely the sloth. Revelation chapter 5 had his resurrection force people to me. That's powerful that's going to Forever.

You are price of God right now. Eternity number one is. Doxological. It's about God being glorified number to its soteriological about God being glorified for his salvation. Now third of all, it is Multicultural. about God being glorified Forest salvation All Peoples Revelation chapter 7 verse 9 could not make the point any plainer when it says people from every nation tribe language and talk and it's a it's a it's a refrain that occurred from 7 * a different forms throughout the Book of Revelation. But you know, the word nation is the word f na C in Greek. Does that sound like a word that you're familiar with? What word? Ethnicity. Yeah, you get the point. Eternity is about God being glorified by people from every Walk of Life. And think about how beautiful it is how beautiful that will be the stunning variation in that Revelation 7-9 internal company, man. I'm going to come to all the potluck. So incredible.

God's tapestry listen to me is not some doll monochromatic industrial carpet. If you ever worked in a factory. I'm talking about the vendor comes on Monday and gets another carpet and all that beautiful that God is knitting. And that mosaic has been is being woven together on the loom of Gods. Intentionality and sacrifice intentional again that one expression says salvation belongs to our god salvation belongs for another words. complete author of Salvation everything if you're in Christ, it's because the father chose you before the foundation of the world on your great great great. Great. Keep on going back Granddaddy's I Jesus came a security Redemption by the shedding of his blood on the cross and his resurrection and the spirit brought you and I love to put it this way the father saw you the son bought you

And by the spirit, you are caught and brought home. This was intentional doesn't Jonas a Salvation Belongs to the Lord that required it. It's all God. It's all God. And it's intentional. And it's sacrificial and I know already made this point, but it's just I just want to I just really wanted emphasize this point. He says and Revelation chapter 5 verse 9 for you were slain. So strong. What's the what's the word I'm looking for. Is that a pretty word for you were slave and by Blood you purchased for God people from every nation tribe Kindred and tongue eternity is about God being glorified for his salvation by All Peoples. Go with me on that. That was supposed to shoe leather on that's okay. Let's bring it down.

Jesus wants that now. Actually, this is part 1 of songs. We sang this line is it called The Lord's Prayer better called the disciples prayer because they were asking him how to pray. He didn't give this to them as a formula but that's what model and he's told them that we should pray your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. What what's it like in heaven? We just went through that Forest salvation by All Peoples and Jesus gave us some pretty clear marching orders. You don't need no great understand the Great Commission, right? Go into all the world and make disciples and it in the in the verse that Pastor cleat red just really clarifies Acts chapter 1 verse 8. He told them that you will be my witnesses to the ends of the Earth. So it was very clearance and you go to the book. Which people make fun of me for hot often to my sermons people not preaching on acts. I prefer to actually just such a powerful book. What you find in the book of Acts is that the gospel cross has so many different barriers linguistic barriers cultural barriers religious barriers.

barriers Mike Johnson commentary on the book of Acts began in the Jewish capital of the world capital of the world Jerusalem and with the gospel going to the Pagan capital of the world at a time wrong. Here's how it happened. There are two kinds of churches you might say to church models. The first church model is the Jerusalem model. Can you remember what happened Pentecost? They had a pretty good lunch today. I would say 3000. Okay, I don't have anybody ever been part of a church at lunch with 3000. That's pretty cool. them so next chapter 1 verse a don't hunker down right but

Hunker down my move out. What happened? Army come on. They had a great lunch that you had a long stay like that. So, you know there was staffing needs to fill and there's a building program and the staff. And there's men's and women's Ministries. And what is the Church of Jerusalem did not move out.

It became more about.

snow emergency for mission there was complacency with the status quo of got it already done. God never intended for us just to reach within we are equal then we are to care for each other cells where the body with the family of God, but He never intended for us just to reach in but ultimately reach in so that we can more strong in the struggle. We reach out. Never intended for us to become a wax museum. Where we just look to the past and we need to celebrate the path of Bilbo's Ebenezer's with rocket remembrances. But he really wants us to look to the Future. Well Jerusalem, they didn't do that. God is never the author of sin, right? Forgot is absolutely Sovereign over everything. He says I'm The God Who declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying my account social stat. I will accomplish all my will we just saying that nothing can stop God? So God reaches into his arsenal of sovereignty and he pulled out one of those old-school pineapple grenade and grab the cop in his teeth and pulls it out and throws that persecution grenade wide church address the what happens. That's that's exactly the word. It says they scattered and they scattered what scattered with them the gospel did now you march on down to the church at Antioch was crazy. They did not have a church growth consultant on retainer. They didn't even have a Twitter account. How did they even do anything? No, social media, no resources nothing. But by conservative estimates the church at Antioch was responsible for planning between 20 and 25 churches. With impact to this very day.

In a sense, we could all Trace our spiritual spiritual lineage to that church planting movement that started out of Antioch.

I think I think the Lord. When he sees a church and a movement that is willing to hold resources and people Loosely for the sake of multiplication. I think he says Now that's the church. I really want to invest in and he gives some more resources and some more people.

What kind of church would you say that I hope I say it right while I see is I may just just hanging out with Josh it became clear to me that this church has an Antioch heart. And I just started looking around your website and I love I love your your your valleys man. Those values all all about all those valleys. It's all about Jesus. That's why we exist. That's right. God wrote it all down where people of the book for people of the book even though it's not culturally popular palatable what God says is true, but all people matter not people that just, you know route from my same football team. That's like that in my spirit. Okay? All right. All people right? They are all people really matter. We all need friends. I mean God is about people's like the guy said I love Ministry just not people. I'm into like what you know about people it's about reaching people for Jesus and no sacred cows because here's the deal what happens is we let sacred cow get in the way from reaching out and this happened in the Bible in Acts chapter 10 in women Cheyenne cuz I'm going hunting tonight. I'm really excited bowhunting. Okay, and this is a hundred. This is a Hunter's favorite passage of ever won. The angel said to Jesus said rather. 2 Peter rise kill and eat like that's the greatest versus entire scripture, right? Okay least this time of year. and what a Peter say

and he actually had some biblical warrant because under the old Covenant with Jesus fulfilled there were kosher and non-kosher Foods. And you really had to go straw with him, right and then had to go stroller the church in Jerusalem to let them know. Hey those old Covenant walls which are getting in the way of reaching Gentiles that In the story of God, but now they passed away their Obsolete and my point from that is if a church. That actually had walls that had biblical warrant the old Covenant were slow to drop those walls. How much more should we be aware of Lenny walls creep up over time that maybe don't have difficulty with the book sets with the book says we have to distinguish between traditionalism in Traditions. Not bad. Once it gets in the way the truth and biblicism Josh's heart and I'm getting the sense for your heart to make a difference. I'm hearing about people from different walks of life in this area coming the faith in Jesus Christ, and I just want to pray now that God will do nothing. But put the pedal to the metal and pour some high-octane gospel fuel in your furnace has a man. Father it is been a joy and privilege to share the word this morning or we thank you that we are going to Forever glorify you for saving us and they do so in an amazing company a grand Mosaic a people from every name.

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