1 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,840 Following on from last week, we interviewed our small, small 2 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,000 group leaders like Tabby was just telling us, and we want to 3 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,800 start pushing into now about what it means to be in the 4 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,960 vineyard. Who are we? 5 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,680 Why are we now? Many of us know what it means to 6 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,040 to be in church. The Church of England, for 7 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,160 instance, the Baptist Church. There's many other mainstream 8 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:37,040 denominations that some of you have been part of. 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,520 But why are we here? The Vineyard. 10 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:44,000 I wonder what you thought first time you came through the doors. 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,200 Nice cheery team. Thanks, Jason. 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,360 Good job. Doughnuts, tea and coffee. 13 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:52,720 Does it make it worth getting out of bed for? 14 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,920 But more than that, understanding why we're Vineyard 15 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,040 and what's important about that. No, we're not just any old 16 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,440 church or another church. No, we're not the worst church. 17 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,320 No, we're probably not the best church. 18 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:09,960 You know, if you come from another church at some point, 19 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,000 you'll probably find that we do things very differently to how 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,640 you may have done in the past. And there's a reason behind 21 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:17,400 that. You know, we're not King's 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,880 church. We're not the Methodist, even 23 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,440 though we've got a beautiful building they built. 24 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,120 No, we're not Ealing Pentecostal. 25 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,560 Now we love all of those guys, but we're not them. 26 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:32,560 We're a Vineyard church now. We love unity across the wider 27 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,280 church. But when you come here, you're 28 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:39,280 joining a Vineyard church. Now we can't come to a Vineyard 29 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,160 church and say I don't like the way they do that and try to 30 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,360 change it. Now we have a unique DNA for a 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,560 reason. And the way we do church goes 32 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,840 back to the very beginning of the Vineyard. 33 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,320 You know, when we've been round church a while, it's easy to 34 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,280 default into some familiar Christianese phrases, isn't it? 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,040 Oh, I love Jesus. I go to church, I serve on a 36 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:08,160 team, I go to small group. But have you ever stopped to 37 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,240 really ask yourself, what is the church? 38 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:17,080 What is this specific expression of the church that we call the 39 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,560 vineyard? Now some of you sitting here 40 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,920 today, now you know our DNA intimately. 41 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:26,960 Now you've been around the block, you know, you know the 42 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,440 stories and you carry the history in your bones. 43 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,120 But for others of you in here, that you're just discovering 44 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,880 this family. And like any family, to truly 45 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,840 understand who we are and where we are going, we have to look 46 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,320 back at where we've come from Now. 47 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:48,160 We need to understand our family history now, our core values, 48 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,560 and the mandate that God has placed upon us as a movement. 49 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,400 Now, when we talk about the Vineyard, we often describe 50 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,480 ourselves as empowered evangelicals. 51 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,480 But what does that mean now? It means we intentionally seek 52 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,880 to live in what we call the radical middle. 53 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,720 Now, historically, the broader church has often experienced 54 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,120 attention. On one side you have the rich, 55 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,280 deep evangelical tradition that holds tightly to the authority 56 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,600 of the Word of God, sound doctrine and the pursuit of 57 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,760 Christ like character. And on the other side, you know 58 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,000 you have the Pentecostal and charismatic traditions that 59 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,520 embrace the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, prophecy, 60 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,640 divine healing. But in the vineyard, you know, 61 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,200 we don't believe you have to choose. 62 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,840 Now I've found that John Wimber famously observed that you have 63 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,200 all the Word, all the Bible, and no spirit. 64 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,200 You dry up. If you have all the spirit and 65 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,360 no word, you blow up. But with the spirit and the 66 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,960 Word, we grow up now. We seek to blend the absolute 67 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,840 best of both traditions. Now we are people of the Word 68 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,480 and the spirits. You, if you've been around the 69 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,040 last few weeks, you'll have heard this use of phrase. 70 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,880 You know, we are naturally supernatural, meaning we 71 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,760 desperately want the power and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 72 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,520 But we want them without the hype, without the religious 73 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,840 theatre, and without the weirdness. 74 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,920 Now we want to minister simply, authentically, and we're loving 75 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,240 hearts. And we don't think that we are 76 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,880 the whole Stew. As John used to say in God's 77 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,320 great steward of global church, the vineyard is just the turnip. 78 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,560 Now we give a unique flavour to the whole, but we deeply love 79 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,280 and respect the rest of the body of Christ. 80 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,400 But to understand how we got this DNA, we have to travel back 81 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:46,480 to the 60s and 70s in California. 82 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,440 Now out of the hippie subculture, a massive spiritual 83 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,400 awakening called the Jesus People swept across America. 84 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,200 Young people desperate to experience God after finding no 85 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,000 real satisfaction in drugs and rock'n'roll were powerfully 86 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,320 coming to know Jesus. Now out of this move of God, 87 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,920 Calvary Chapel emerged. And from Calvary Chapel, a soft 88 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,880 spoken, unassuming leader named Ken Goloksson planted the church 89 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:20,680 in West in Los Angeles in 1974. Now believing that God had 90 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,720 instructed him can name this loose fellowship of churches. 91 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,640 The vineyard drawn from Isaiah 27, where it says in that day a 92 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:33,520 pleasant vineyard, sing of it. I am the Lord, am its keeper. 93 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,120 Every moment I water it, lest anyone punish it. 94 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,760 I keep it night and day. I have no wrath. 95 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,560 Would that I had thorns and briars to battle, I would March 96 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:46,360 against them. I would burn them up together, 97 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:48,640 or let them lay hold of my protection. 98 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,560 Let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me. 99 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,320 And also John 15. I am the true vine, and my 100 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,560 Father is the vine dresser. Every branch of me does not bear 101 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,360 fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he 102 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,400 prunes that it may be that it may bear more fruit. 103 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:10,200 At around the same time, God was getting a hold of a man you hear 104 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:11,880 us talk about a lot, John Wimber. 105 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,280 Now he was not your typical polished pastor. 106 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:18,880 He was a beer guzzling, chain smoking pop musician from 107 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,200 Keyboards in Las Vegas for the playing. 108 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,720 Sorry, Keyboards in Las Vegas for The Righteous Brothers. 109 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,520 Now his marriage to his wife Carol, it was on the brink of 110 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,720 divorce. In an act of sheer desperation, 111 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,880 they both separately cried out to God that they didn't even 112 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:38,320 know at the time. God met with them and John 113 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,000 Wimble walked away from his music career and he took a job 114 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,520 in a factory, plunging himself into a Quaker LED Bible study 115 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:47,600 where he surrendered his life to Jesus. 116 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,960 As John began reading the Bible for the very first time, he 117 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,400 didn't read it through the lenses of religious tradition. 118 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,160 He read it like a job description. 119 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,480 He read about Jesus healing the sick, casting out demons, 120 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,600 raising the dead. Sir John went to the leaders of 121 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,400 his church with that very sincere question, when do we get 122 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,760 to do that? And as many of you have heard 123 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,000 this story from us before, they explained to him that they don't 124 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,120 believe in those things, but they didn't actually do them 125 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,440 anymore. Those miracles, he was told, 126 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,520 were just for the early days of the apostles. 127 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,080 And he was devastated. And he said to them, you don't 128 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,360 understand. I gave up my career for this 129 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,600 when I worked for the devil. I got to do the devil stuff. 130 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,960 If I'm working for Jesus, I want to do what Jesus did. 131 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,080 And God used that hunger. Over time, through diligent 132 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,120 study of Kingdom theology and through dramatical, dramatic 133 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,280 personal experiences like seeing his own son, Sean Megraxy, 134 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:52,080 healed from hundreds of bee stings. 135 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,160 And after a desperate prayer, prayer, John's paradigm began to 136 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,200 shift. In 1977, John and Carroll 137 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:00,840 started the church in Yorba Linda. 138 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,480 They worship intimately, and John began training average 139 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,640 everyday people to pray for the sick. 140 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,360 And a turning point came on Mother's Day in 1980, Johnny 141 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,080 John invited a young hippie evangelist named Lonnie Frisbee 142 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,880 to speak at evening service. And after a simple message, 143 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,120 Lonnie looked at the congregation, mostly young 144 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,920 people under 25, meeting in the gymnasium and said the church 145 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,440 has been offending the Holy Spirit for a long time, but he's 146 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,840 getting over it. Come Holy Spirit, and heaven 147 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,400 broke loose. The Spirit of God fell on that 148 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,640 gymnasium. People were weeping, shaking, 149 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,040 speaking in tongues and encountering God's raw power. 150 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,920 And the Vineyard movement as we know it was ignited. 151 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,960 By 1982, John's Church officially joined Ken 152 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,280 Gullickson's network and the Association of Vineyard Churches 153 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,640 was born. But this wasn't just an American 154 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,160 story. The fire couldn't be contained. 155 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,840 In 1981, John Wimber brought a team of teenagers to the UK, 156 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,000 visiting Anglican churches in Chorleywood and York. 157 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,360 Despite the traditions of the Church of England, these young, 158 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,720 untrained teenagers climbed over pews and communion rails to pray 159 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,360 for the sick. Blind eyes were opened. 160 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:27,800 A girl with polio was healed, the viable sparked and and the 161 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,840 profound impact of these visits influenced leaders like David 162 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,240 Pitches, David Watson, you know, eventually giving birth to 163 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,360 massive UK movements like New Wine, Soul Survivor and the 164 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,360 Alpha Course. Now it is right in the middle of 165 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,000 this stirring environment that God began to move in the lives 166 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,240 of a couple called John and Elena Mumford. 167 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:53,040 John was a simple classical Church of England curate and was 168 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,040 initially highly sceptical, thinking that he might just 169 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,680 endure and probably correct this charismatic nonsense. 170 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,360 But in 1982, David Watson gave John a piece of advice before a 171 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:08,880 study trip to the US. Whatever you do, don't come back 172 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,680 from America until you've met Wimba. 173 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:16,120 Take any advice. John wrote a letter and flew to 174 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,320 Los Angeles to find the Anaheim Vineyard. 175 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:24,480 He arrived in a suit tie, his rolled umbrella and briefcase, 176 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,160 petrified that he'd stumbled into a cult. 177 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,800 But Wimber warmly welcomed him, noting that they had received 178 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:36,400 his letter and decided that if this guy turns up, we'll know 179 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,040 it's the Lord. And John Mumford was captivated 180 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,240 by what he saw. He'd never seen ordinary people 181 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,720 ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit, Noor had he 182 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,560 experienced 20 minutes of such beautiful, riveting and intimate 183 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,120 worship. John's wife, Eleanor, met Wimber 184 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,920 a year later when he visited London, and she, too, was 185 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:59,320 profoundly shaped by his teaching on the Holy Spirit and 186 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,680 his winsome, constant practise of praying for the sick hung 187 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:05,880 going for more. The month has eventually moved 188 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,080 to California and worked for nearly 2 1/2 years on the staff 189 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,240 of the Anaheim Vineyard, watching and learning directly 190 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,520 from John Wimber. During their time in Anaheim, 191 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,120 they began to sense God called him to plant a Vineyard church 192 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,960 in UK. It wasn't an easy decision. 193 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:23,120 Now. John initially resisted, 194 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,880 admitting he'd responded to God's call by sticking his 195 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,320 fingers in his ears and going La La, La La la. 196 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,800 I don't know if it rings true for any of us now. 197 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,920 Even John Wimber was hesitant at first, writing to all the others 198 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,920 that he wasn't all sure that it was the Lord's will for the 199 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:42,400 Mumfords to come to the UK. However, after God specifically 200 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,600 confirmed the call to the Mumfords 33 times through 201 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:50,120 scriptures, pictures and strangers, they took a massive 202 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:54,040 leap of faith in 1987. Giving up their housing, 203 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,960 traditional church and status and their main source of income, 204 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,440 John and Ellen moved back to the UK following God's clear 205 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:05,200 instructions not to defend themselves, not to recruit from 206 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,440 other churches. They planted the first European 207 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,360 Vineyard Church right in the front room in Southwest London. 208 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,840 God honoured that obedience and it laid a foundation of 209 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,040 multiplication that has now grown into this massive family 210 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:21,720 of churches across the UK and Ireland. 211 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,840 I mean who would of in their wildest dreams because of that 212 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,600 step of obedience thought the we would be here now. 213 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,040 The impact that it's had on minor Lisa's life because of 214 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:38,040 their obedience and so many stories in this church because 215 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,840 of what God has been doing from Wimba all the way through to the 216 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:46,280 Mumfords and beyond. But what is a Vineyard church? 217 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:52,280 I want to explain it with this simple visual tool that we call 218 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:57,040 the Vineyard person. Now, this isn't a picture of you 219 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:03,920 or me as individuals, nor is it an exhaustive theological 220 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,600 statement of everything the global church believes. 221 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:12,040 Rather, it's a simple reminder of our unique family history. 222 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:17,560 It's a symbol of the values that direct us as we move forward 223 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:21,640 together, representing what a local vineyard is called to be. 224 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,960 So if you look at the screen, you'll see my amazing drawing 225 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,360 the stick figure. Just be glad I didn't do it by 226 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,360 hand. So let's build this stick man 227 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,280 piece by piece to understand what it means for our church. 228 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:41,680 The base, the Bible, everything begins with the ground that we 229 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:45,200 stand on. The base of the Vineyard Person 230 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,840 is the Bible. As evangelicals now, we believe 231 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,680 the Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit. 232 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:56,120 As Two Timothy reminds us, all Scripture is God breathed and is 233 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,960 useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training of 234 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,440 righteousness. The Bible is our final and 235 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,320 absolute authority, our Plumb line for how we live and 236 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,680 practise our faith. We are rooted here, the mound, 237 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,400 the Kingdom of God. The person stands on the mound 238 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,280 representing the Kingdom of God. The Bible tells the story of 239 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,120 God's Kingdom and understanding his theology is the engine of 240 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,440 the vineyard. Now when Jesus began his 241 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,440 ministry in Matthew 4, He preached the good news of the 242 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,080 Kingdom and He healed every disease. 243 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,520 Now we believe we live in you already and not yet. 244 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,560 The Kingdom of God has broken into our world through Jesus, 245 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,960 bringing healings, delivering deliverance and salvation. 246 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,600 Yet it's not fully consummated that we still experience 247 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,280 sickness and death until Jesus returns. 248 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:50,240 We live in His tension, boldly praying for miracles while 249 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,560 trusting God's sovereignty when we don't see them. 250 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,560 The legs, worship and compassion. 251 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,360 The two legs that the vineyard person stands upon allow the 252 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,680 church to move forward. Worship. 253 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,040 Luke 10 calls us to love the Lord your God with all your 254 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,960 heart. Worship is our absolute highest 255 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,400 priority. It's not the warm up for the 256 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,600 sermon, it is the main event in the vineyard. 257 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:22,480 We don't just sing songs about God, we sing songs to God. 258 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:26,320 Intimacy is our goal, as you may well have just found out. 259 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,680 Compassion that when we truly worship that we encounter the 260 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,680 presence of Jesus. And when you encounter Jesus, he 261 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,440 leaves a deposit of his heart inside of us. 262 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,200 Now, Matthew 9 says that when Jesus saw the crowds, he had 263 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,560 compassion on them. Compassion is not just feeling 264 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:52,120 sorry for someone, isn't unction, nor a holy compulsion 265 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,880 to express God's mercy and justice to a broken, hurting 266 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:01,960 world. Worship leads to compassion, the 267 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,520 body, the fourfold mission of the local church, the torso, the 268 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,320 vineyard person represents the functions of our local church 269 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,520 community. We're called to be 4 things to 270 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,200 our town, a hospital. Let's be honest, many of us come 271 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,680 to Jesus and stay in that place of a terrible state. 272 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,240 Those of us who've walked him for years, but we still carry 273 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:25,680 wounds. We've still not been healed. 274 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,280 Jesus said it is not a healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 275 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:34,200 The church is a place for the broken to find healing, 276 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:38,040 forgiveness, and restoration through the power of the Spirit. 277 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,880 With a school, we want to equip you for life. 278 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:43,680 We aren't here just to lecture you. 279 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,400 We're here to train you. 2 Timothy says the Scriptures 280 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,800 equip us for every good work. Now we want to teach you how to 281 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,800 read your Bible, how to share your faith, how to pray for the 282 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,880 sick, and how to navigate the complexities of life. 283 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,600 We're a community, a house, Ephesians 2 says. 284 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,520 We're being built together into a dwelling place for God by the 285 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:08,720 spirits. No, we're not a social club. 286 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,520 No, we're a spiritual home. We're bricks being mortared 287 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,160 together through love, relationship and small groups, 288 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:18,760 creating a place where people truly belong. 289 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,800 We're an army, not a military army of destruction. 290 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,280 It's a spiritual Peace Corps. We're an army that seeks to 291 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,560 educate, build, heal and bring relief. 292 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,360 As Isaiah 61 declares, the Spirit of the Lord has anointed 293 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,800 us to bind up the broken hearted and proclaim liberty to the 294 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,760 captives. We are reclaiming territory that 295 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,880 the enemy has stolen. The arms of the vineyard person, 296 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,960 church planting and church development. 297 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,640 The arms of the figure reach outwards signify our desire to 298 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,320 reach the wider body of Christ and the world. 299 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:00,200 Church planting the vineyard is a multiplication movement that 300 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:04,160 we believe the best way to reach new people for Jesus is to keep 301 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:08,000 planting new churches. We want to identify leaders, 302 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,200 train them, and send them out to start new communities of faith 303 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,600 around the country, around the world. 304 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,560 Church development, you know, we don't exist in a vacuum. 305 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,280 We seek to maintain unity with other churches in our town, 306 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:25,360 serving them with generosity. We also want to call the a wider 307 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:29,400 church back to Christ, reminding ourselves that this is his 308 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,200 church, not ours, and championing the ministry of the 309 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:39,080 Holy Spirit everywhere. The head, Jesus is above it all. 310 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,840 Jesus is the head of the body. Colossians 118 makes it clear. 311 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,960 He organises us, He leads us and he holds us close together. 312 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:54,920 And lastly, making disciples and equipping the Saints inside the 313 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,840 head is the Great Commission. Making disciples and equipping 314 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,200 the Saints. Matthew 28 commands us to go and 315 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:02,680 train everyone we meet in this way of life. 316 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:07,200 Our ultimate goal is not just to gather a crowd on a Sunday. 317 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,040 Our goal is that everyone gets to play. 318 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,560 You don't have to be a professional pastor to do the 319 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,160 work of Jesus. We want to train you to hear 320 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,680 God's voice, to lay hands on the sick, to advance the Kingdom in 321 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,040 your workplace, your school, your home. 322 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:29,360 But for now, I want to return to one of those legs, worship. 323 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,520 Because everything we do, the hospital, the school, the 324 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:38,840 compassion, the church planting flows out of our worship and 325 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,800 within the vineyard. We hold tightly to five specific 326 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:45,440 worship values. Intimacy, accessibility, 327 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,880 integrity, Kingdom expectation, and passion within our worship. 328 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,120 Intimacy as our primary destination. 329 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,120 It's not a musical style, it's the posture of a surrendered 330 00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:00,320 heart. Accessibility means we create 331 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:04,240 environments where anyone from any background can walk in and 332 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,760 meet with God. Integrity means we desperately 333 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,920 want the songs that we sing on Sunday to match the lives that 334 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:16,520 we live on Monday. Kingdom expectation means we 335 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:20,960 genuinely believe that while we are singing, God will break in 336 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,840 to heal, deliver and perform miracles right here in the room. 337 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,320 And passion is your authentic fire in our hearts where we're 338 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,640 celebrating in joy or crying out in deep sorrow. 339 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,920 So what does this all look like for us tomorrow? 340 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,400 What does this look like when we leave this building today? 341 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:49,520 The worship in its truest form overflows into mission. 342 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,280 Now we breathe in the presence of God when we gather here, but 343 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,800 we must breathe out the love of God when we walk out of those 344 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,520 doors. Now, being a Vineyard person 345 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,000 means our worship doesn't end when the music stops. 346 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,760 It means we take the intimacy we find in the presence of Jesus. 347 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:13,880 We let it fill us with compassion. 348 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:19,600 And then we step into our office, we step into college, we 349 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,760 step into our neighbourhood as an outpost of the Kingdom of 350 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,640 God. It means when our colleague is 351 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,560 sick, we don't just say, I'll keep you in my thoughts. 352 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,320 We gently ask, can I pray for you? 353 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:38,000 And we ask the Holy Spirit to come. 354 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,640 It means when we see injustice, poverty or loneliness in our 355 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:49,120 city and we don't look the other way, we step into the gap 356 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,560 because we're part of an army bringing in a year of God's 357 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,200 favour. It means we embrace the radical 358 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:02,840 reality that God's grace has us covered, has uniquely designed 359 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:07,400 each one of us. Not just me stood up here, not 360 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:12,360 just Lisa, for all of us to do the stuff of the Kingdom that 361 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:14,160 we've been preaching on for the last few weeks. 362 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,960 Now. God is eager to be experienced. 363 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,320 The Holy Spirit is moving. The fire that started in the 364 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,920 living room in California that crossed the ocean to the UK is 365 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,760 the exact same fire that God wants to fan into flame in this 366 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,120 room today. So as we draw this to a close 367 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:36,280 today, I wanted to take a step back from the stick figure, the 368 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:40,360 history, and the structural categories and ask the ultimate 369 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:42,960 question. Why does any of this matter? 370 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,480 Why should we care about understanding why we're in a 371 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:49,560 Vineyard church? Or fundamentally, why we should 372 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:51,720 we choose to be committed to church at all? 373 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,320 Now our world out there is hurting. 374 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,840 And if we look at the raw reality of our society, the 375 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,600 single greatest epidemic grip in our communities right now is an 376 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,480 overwhelming, crushing loneliness. 377 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:14,760 People are isolated, drifting and starving for anything real. 378 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,920 And we face a distinct choice. We can shut our doors and we can 379 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,120 say I'm all right, Jack, or we can choose to be part of the 380 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:28,640 solution. You see, we were never designed 381 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,840 to be Lone Rangers in our faith. We are what the Bible calls the 382 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:37,080 ecclesia, the gathered ones. The church isn't a spectator 383 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:42,160 sport we tune into like an episode of Gogglebox then, nor 384 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,480 is a casual social club to check off when it fits our weekly 385 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,560 schedule. It's a spiritual home where the 386 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,440 natural and a spiritual are permanently threaded together. 387 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:53,240 Now I can't emphasise this enough. 388 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,640 We don't stay at home on a Sunday morning because we don't 389 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,760 feel like coming now. This is way bigger. 390 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,920 How we live our life now has an impact on our eternity. 391 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:13,400 In One Timothy 6, Paul tells us that when we do good, serve and 392 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,240 live open handed lives together, we are laying up treasure for 393 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,960 ourselves as a firm foundation for the coming age. 394 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,080 So it may take hold of the life that it's truly life now. 395 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:28,560 Let's call this what it is. The Western idol of extreme 396 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:33,200 individualism has lied to us. It's told us that our faith is 397 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:38,240 purely private and a church is an optional extra if the bed is 398 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,280 too warm or the weather's not nice. 399 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:45,480 The lie is exactly what our society is starving for. 400 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,480 Connection. Now, every single time we push 401 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:52,520 past our feelings and we choose to anchor ourselves in this 402 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,640 room, we're breaking a cultural stronghold and sowing a seed 403 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,000 that echoes straight into eternity. 404 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,640 What we do in this room on this morning, building the 405 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,040 foundations of the age to come. This is where real life begins. 406 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:12,640 Now, when we sit together, share food, fix a neighbour's washing 407 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,120 machine, chat over the fence with a cup of tea, It's not just 408 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:18,920 physical activity. It's deeply, profoundly 409 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,640 spiritual that we need the church. 410 00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:24,320 Because trust grows out of relationships. 411 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,400 Relationships build trust, and trust builds a community that 412 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,000 can hold the weight of a broken town. 413 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:37,200 The the local church, living as a true spiritual family, is 414 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,000 quite literally the hope of the world. 415 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:45,000 But within the wider global body of Christ, God has given us a 416 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,080 specific lane to run. In the vineyard is the turnip in 417 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,120 the Stew. We deeply love and respect and 418 00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:54,520 partner with the 50 other churches across Darlington. 419 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,320 But it is vital to know why we are here as Darlington Vineyard, 420 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:03,040 because our unique family DNA determines our culture and our 421 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,520 strategy. Though we are empowered 422 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,080 evangelicals intentionally pursuing the radical middle, we 423 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,760 refuse to choose between the Word and the Spirit. 424 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,440 We anchor our lives on the absolute authority of the Bible, 425 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,880 but we are actively expect the raw, moving presence of the Holy 426 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,960 Spirit to break in into our all in worship. 427 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,200 We're called to be naturally supernatural, carrying the heavy 428 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,640 high voltage of heaven into the ordinary spaces for High Road 429 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,880 and beyond, without the religious theatre and hype or 430 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,040 weirdness. Now an identity means we 431 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:41,360 understand our unique calling to be a hospital for the broken, a 432 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:45,280 training school to equip you a relational home and a mobilised 433 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:49,200 army to bring relief. So how do we move from just 434 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,560 holding a load of head knowledge to actually living out this 435 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:57,520 radical life of faith? It comes down to a dynamic 436 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,440 personal choice to move towards the centre, to move towards 437 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,840 Jesus. It means stepping past the 438 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,680 posture of a baby bird waiting on a Sunday to be fed little by 439 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,280 little, and instead stepping up to take responsibility for the 440 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,760 family now. Connected means committed. 441 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,320 And if you're on a shared mission with us now, I want to 442 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:22,000 challenge you to radically invest in four ways. 443 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:28,080 Commit to Sundays, make a relational choice to prioritise 444 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,200 gathering corporately and we breathe in the presence of God 445 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,240 together so we can breathe out His love. 446 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,600 On Mondays. Commit to a small group. 447 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,360 Sundays are for the large celebration, but small groups of 448 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:44,520 the relational mortar sets in. It's where trust is built, mills 449 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,840 are shared, and we're sure that loneliness doesn't stand a 450 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,440 chance in our myths. Commit to serving. 451 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,680 We believe, evident we have, that this mission needs each and 452 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:57,160 every one of us to be involved. You don't need a pastor title to 453 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,000 do the works of Jesus. The Saints are called through 454 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,360 the work of ministry. Speak to any of our team leads 455 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,480 now, whether it's Hospitality, Kids, Welcome, Media, PA, the 456 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,880 Cafe Hope and Glory where we're so desperate for people to keep 457 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,080 those doors open. Tippy Toes and Grow Baby come 458 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,160 alongside Hand crafting and Tuesdays and Fridays wherever it 459 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,800 is. Step into the adventure of 460 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,440 serving once a month and it's never too early. 461 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:25,840 Your healing comes when we step into serving. 462 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,080 Commit your finances now. We believe it's a fundamental 463 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,440 and biblical part of our worship to give our money back to God 464 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,240 just to turn the electricity and gas on. 465 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,440 Keep this building open every month cost us over 4000 lbs. 466 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,240 Our average monthly outgoings are around 17,000 lbs. 467 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,600 And again, like serving, we truly believe that if we all 468 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:54,200 come together, live as Jesus asks us to sacrificially, the 469 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,240 resources are in this church. We're everything that we're 470 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,720 called to now. When we live with radical 471 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,680 generosity and set up regular giving now, we aren't funding 472 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,040 bricks and mortar. We're invest investing in seeing 473 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,640 a broken lives completely transformed. 474 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:14,800 Now Lisa and I, we can't do this alone, nor do we want to. 475 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,160 No, we want to be a faith filled, big thinking, risk 476 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,160 taking, genuine loving community that puts it all on the line, 477 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,760 trusting in an unstoppable God that He is building his church. 478 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:30,400 Though. Let's not leave this spiritual 479 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:34,360 house a mess. Let's refuse to sleep with our 480 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:38,200 oil in our flasks. Let's keep our Holy Spirit and 481 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,720 tie up. Listen to the nudges. 482 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,480 Let's go out and do the stuff of the Kingdom and our workplaces, 483 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,480 our schools, our neighbourhoods. Though we want to be sharing 484 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,760 stories of lives transformed. Though we want to be taking 485 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,040 those risks of saying, can I pray for you? 486 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:57,880 You know, I believe in a God who heals. 487 00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,880 Do you want to come out for a cup of tea? 488 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,320 Though we want to be sharing those stories as we reach out 489 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:04,400 into our communities.