On Starting Five New Congregations

In this message from Mark 9:30–37, David Platt encourages his church as they seek to plan five new congregations.

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Transcript

Honoring McLean’s Founders

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You are listening to David Platt Messages, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author, and teacher David Platt.

The New Testament Pattern Of Multiplying Churches

Antioch: Where Christians Were First Named

Sent By The Spirit To Plant Churches

SPEAKER_01 0:09

I want to ask you just a simple question. You don't have to answer it out loud or raise your hand, but just think about this question. I'll put it here on the screen. How many of you in any way have been impacted for good by McLean Bible Church? And if you have, then your life, whether you realize it or not, has been impacted by the person I'm gonna put here on the screen. His name is J. Albert Ford. And he, along with five families, almost exactly 65 years ago, decided to start McLean Bible Church. So this is from a press clipping, April 1, 1961. It says the McLean Bible Church will hold its first services at 9.30 a.m. Sunday in the Chesterbrook School on Kirby Road in McLean, Virginia. Beginning Easter Sunday and every Sunday thereafter, there will be a weekly service, a nursery at every service, and a heartfelt welcome. So that was almost 65 years ago. Let me just ask, how many of you were not born as of 65 years ago? Raise your hand. Okay? And then keep your hand up if you were not born, or how many of you have moved to Metro, D.C. sometime in the last 65 years? Raise your hand. Like that's that's most of us. Do you realize you can put your hands down? God was at work through his people starting a church 65 years ago in the city that would impact your life and my life today for good. A church where, think about it, many of you have come to know Christ. In addition to countless others over the years, under the leadership of J. Albert Ford, then Pastor Alan Gardner, then Pastor Lon Solomon, and so many other leaders and members and a church where so many of us, include myself in this, have grown and are growing in Christ in ways far beyond what those five families and this pastor ever could have asked or thought. Praise God for his grace in them and through them. And here's the beauty: this is not just you and me. This is the story of every single follower of Jesus, every single Christian in the world. We all came to know Jesus because at some point people went out and planted churches that would spread God's love in Jesus to us. This has been the story of every Christian in history. I want to show you this. This is a story we're all a part of. So get ready to turn in your Bible a little bit. It all started in Acts chapter 1, when Jesus looked into the eyes of eleven disciples and told them, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And right after Jesus said this, he ascended into heaven. And these eleven disciples gathered together with about a hundred other followers of Jesus, they devoted themselves to prayer. And in the next chapter, Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit came upon the people in that room, just like Jesus had promised, and they all started speaking the gospel in different languages. And Peter, the same fisherman who led down his nets in Luke 5, and Jesus said, You're going to spend your life fishing for men. Peter stands up, he shares the gospel with a crowd of people. And you go all the way to Acts chapter 2, verse 41, it says, Over 3,000 people put their faith in Jesus. And a church started in Jerusalem that day. Then, so now fast forward, go with me to Acts chapter 8. Because by Acts chapter 8, the only known church was still in Jerusalem until Stephen is stoned for sharing the gospel. Watch what Acts chapter 8, verse 1 says. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. They were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And those who were scattered went about preaching the word. So these followers of Jesus scattered from the church in Jerusalem now to Judea and Samaria, just like Jesus had said in Acts chapter 1, verse 8. And then turn over one chapter to Acts chapter 9, verse 31, where we read this summary statement. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Do you see what's happening here? Again, just like Jesus had promised, the gospel spread from Jerusalem. Church starts there, Christians scattered, the gospel spreads in Judea and Samaria, and the church is multiplying. Now keep going to Acts chapter 11. Look at verse 19 in Acts chapter 11. We pick up the story, those who were scattered because of that persecution that arose over Stephen in Acts chapter 8 traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word of no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists, or the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church back in Jerusalem. They sent Barnabas to the church at Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad. He exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church there and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. So get the picture. Now the gospel spread not just to Jewish people, but to Gentiles or Greeks, specifically in Antioch, where a church is planted, and it's the first place that the disciples, followers of Jesus, are called Christians. Now, one other place, keep going, till Acts chapter 13. Turn over there where we pick up this church in Antioch. It says, in this church there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, who we've already heard about, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manan, a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul, who we've also heard about. Now watch this. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I've called them. Then after fasting and praying, they lay their hands on them and sent them off. So get the scene. They're in a worship, prayer gathering, they're fasting. God speaks and says, Set apart two people, Barnabas and Saul, for the work. And the work he's calling them to is to make disciples and multiply churches. This is the point where some people might say, well, wait a minute, like the New Testament commands us to make disciples, but the New Testament doesn't command us to multiply churches. Why are we talking about church planning? And to that I would respond, multiplying churches is the entire story of the New Testament. Watch this work that they go out to do. So the church lays their hands on Barnabas and Saul, sends them out. Fast forward to Acts chapter 14, verse 21. At the end of this journey, so this is talking about after Derby right here. It says, when they had preached the gospel to that city, had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Ecodium and to Poseidon Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every what? Church. There were churches in all these places with pastors, elders who were shepherding those churches with prayer and fasting that committed the Lord them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Every church in all those places, they're starting new churches. This is how the gospel spread throughout the known world in the first century. It was followers of Jesus going out from churches to start new churches that would spread the gospel in more places among more people. And this is the same story that has continued for 2,000 years to lead to this church. This is how the gospel came to you and me. So the question is, are we gonna let the gospel stop at McLean Bible Church? Or are we gonna let the gospel spread through McLean Bible Church? By sending people out and starting new churches? By doing what Christians have done for the last 2,000 years. You think about it, we live in a city right now with about six million people, depending on where you draw the lines of Metro DC. And according to the most recent research we have, over 87% of those people are not in a church. That's nearly five and a half million people around us right now who are not connected to Jesus and his church. Do you think there's a need for more churches to reach more people in our city?

unknown 9:44

Yes.

Will The Gospel Stop Or Spread Here

Start 5: A Vision To Multiply

The Dead Sea And A Life With Outflow

Stories From Acts That Fuel Sending

Your Life Is God’s To Spend

Obeying The Spirit And Raising Senders

Anticipation For What God Will Do

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Absolutely there is. Now, here's the deal. My purpose today is not to explain exactly how we're gonna start five new congregations over the next five years. Some of you may already be thinking, okay, let's just do the math. Like maybe we're gonna start one new location every year for the next five years, but that's not it, because there's actually no specific five-year plan for how we're gonna do this yet. We want to be as open as possible to the Spirit's leadership in the days ahead. Whether that means starting new NBC locations, starting brand new churches, churches in different languages, maybe some combination of all of the above. Maybe the Lord leads us to do more than five, but we're saying, let's pray as a church. Say to God, we want to multiply. And to be clear, even in saying multiply, some of you might be thinking, is that is that pastor code for like market expansion? Is this like building a brand? What are we doing? The answer is we want to do what Acts 9.31 is talking about. Multiply. We want to be a part of churches planting, churches planting, churches that are spreading the gospel to more and more people and more and more places. This is how we're describing it in the Start 5 part of our 2030 vision. Together, we are committed to starting five new congregations in the DMV so more neighbors are within reach of a gospel-centered church family. We don't want to be just like one bigger MBC. We want to see all kinds of churches being planted and partnering together to plant all kinds of other churches for the spread of the gospel across our city. Now, all that leads to two truths that I want to share with you personally about how this part of our vision as a church relates to your life right where you're sitting right now. So I want to bring this whole story and this part of our church's vision directly into your lap because you might be tempted to think, oh, okay, so this is what you guys are gonna do, or some leaders in our church are gonna do, but really doesn't relate to what's going on in my day-to-day life. But that is not true. And listen, I I know, I get it. Some of you are here today and you're walking through hard days, and a sermon on church planning seems so out of touch with where you are, but it's not. And here's why. Imagine going through these hard days you're in right now without the gospel, without the hope of Jesus for you, without the strength of Jesus in you, without the promises of Jesus to you. We're talking about our city where multitudes among five and a half million people around us are experiencing hard times today without any of those things. Surely God has not given us gospel grace for the hardest days just to keep to ourselves. All the more reason if you're going through hard days to precedence, say, I want to make sure anybody who's going through hard days knows the hope that's found in Jesus alone. So that leads right into this first truth. Let me show you how this picture in the Bible that we're seeing and this part of our vision as a church relates to your life. I'll put it up here on the screen, and it'll require some unpacking, but just follow with me. You can't experience life if you're dwelling in the dead sea. You cannot experience life if you're dwelling in the Dead Sea. So let me explain what I mean. I was showing you those maps around Antioch, then traveling all the way back down to Jerusalem. Well, if you zoom in on Jerusalem, you'll see a body of water right to the southeast of Jerusalem called the Dead Sea. And you know why it's called that. Because no animals, no fish, and no plants can live in it. You know why? Because it has no outlet. All it does is receive water. And that water stagnates there. Which means the only water the way water can leave is through evaporation, which means the water it leaves behind has a super high salt count. It's nearly ten times saltier than the ocean. It's dead because there's nothing flowing out from it, and life depends on having an outlet. So here's the picture. If we're just a bunch of Christians who come together and receive more, focus on ourselves, then we will miss out on God's design for his life to flow not just in us, but through us to more and more people in more and more places, in ways that are life-giving for those people and are life-giving for us. Can you imagine being a part of this worship gathering in Acts chapter 13? Gathering together with the church one day, one night, you're seeking God, you're setting aside food, and then all of a sudden, we don't know how this happened. Was it an audible voice? Whatever it was, it was clear. The Holy Spirit spoke. Like you were there, you heard it. This voice, the Holy Spirit, God Himself saying, Set apart for me these two people for this work to which I've called them. And you gathered around that brother, those two brothers who you love and you care for. You put their hands on their shoulders, you prayed for them, you gave them a huge hug, and then you sent them off with whatever support they needed. And in the days to come, you prayed day and night, individually, around your dinner table with your family. Every Sunday you gathered as a church, you're praying for Barnabas and Saul, you're waiting to hear back from them, and then finally, months later, word gets around they're coming back. They're gonna be back at the gathering this Sunday. And look at what Acts chapter 14, verse 24 says. They passed through Posidia, came to Pamphylia, when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Italia, and there they sailed to Antioch. They're coming back home, or they had been commended to the grace of God for this work that they had fulfilled. Watch this. When they arrived, they gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, how he'd opened the door of faith to the nations, to the Gentiles, and they remained no little time with the disciples. Oh, can you just imagine the stories they told? Well, we can imagine because we read about them in Acts 13 and 14. Imagine them talking about how, as we were praying for them in Cyprus, they got there, and the governor asked them to share the gospel with them. And there was this crazy demonic magician who was trying to keep the governor from believing in Jesus. And God struck the magician with blindness, and the governor ended up coming to faith. Then they went up to Poseidon Antioch. Literally, the whole city gathered together to hear the gospel, and tons of Gentiles placed their faith in Jesus. Then they almost stoned Paul at Iconium, but God saved them. Then in Lystra, there was this guy crippled from birth. God healed him. He stood up and walked. Everybody in the city was shocked and amazed. But then some people from another city came and they attacked Paul, actually did stone him this time. They dragged him out of the city. Everybody thought he was dead. But he wasn't. Paul got up, he kept going to the next city, Derby, where another church started. And as you're listening to this, your jaw is on the ground. You're like, this is amazing. And you're realizing, I've I've got a part to play in this story. Like I've been praying for them. I gave some of my salary to support them. I'm part of what God's work, part of what God's doing in all these different places. Do you think that would be life-giving for you? Absolutely, it would be. God's design for your life is not to dwell in the Dead Sea. Or just think about the difference between a lake and a river. Like, where do you want to be here? Like dammed up like a lake? Or don't you want to personally be a part of a flowing river bringing new life to new places? Don't you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself? Beyond yourself, beyond what even you can see. Don't we want to be a part of something bigger than just us? This is what it means to be a part of a big Kingdom of God. And you can't experience life like that if you're dwelling in the dead. See. So let's pray for the river of God's Spirit and God's word and gospel and grace to flow through us in new churches that will be life-giving to others and life-giving to us. Which then leads to the second truth. Your life is God's to spend for the spread of his church. I want to unpack this in two parts. So, first, your life is God's to spend. I could just put a period there. And we would have basic Christianity. So, to be a Christian is to trust God in Christ with your entire life. For those of you who may be exploring Christianity, the good news at the center of the Bible is that God has made all of us to experience life in relationship with Him. The problem is we have all turned against God and tried to live on our own according to what we want or what we think is best according to our plans for our lives. The Bible calls this turning from God and His good plans, sin. And our sin separates us from God, which is why we experience all the pain and hurt and heartache that we do in this world, because we're separated from God. And if we die in this state of separation from God, we'll spend eternity experiencing the judgment that our sin before a holy God deserves. But the good news of the Bible, and the greatest news in all the world, is that God has not left us alone in this state of separation from Him. God loves us so much that He has come to us in the person of Jesus. And Jesus has lived a life of no sin. And then even though he had no sin for which to die, he chose to die on a cross to pay the price for sinners. And then three days later, he rose from the grave in victory over sin and death. So that anyone anywhere, no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, no matter how far you are from God, if you will simply turn from yourself and your sin and trust in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life, God will forgive you of all your sin and restore you to relationship with Him for all of eternity. That's what the Bible means by the gospel. Good news. It's the greatest news in the world. So when you meet a Christian, a true Christian, this is the decision they've made. They've turned from themselves and their sin and trusted in Jesus as the savior of their sin and the Lord of their life. Which means that a Christian no longer calls the shots in his or her life. Christians belong to God gladly. Because they know that God knows what is best for their lives. So, Christian, this is just a gentle reminder then. That you are not Lord anymore of your life. And that's the greatest thing that ever happened in your life, to realize that. So if you are still making plans for your life instead of trusting God's plans for your life, you're missing the whole point of your faith. That's the essence of sin. To say, I'm gonna do what I want to do instead of what God is calling me to do. Your life is God's to spin. And this may sound like, well, that's a major commitment. Like this is mature Christianity. Not true. This is elementary Christianity. That's the whole place where it starts. Look at Luke 9, 23. Jesus said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. All, anyone. This is where it all starts. Deny yourself, die to yourself and follow me wherever I lead you. So your life is God's to spend, period. But keep going in a lot of the picture we're looking at here for the spread of his church. So we've now seen how over the last 2,000 years, God's been multiplying his church by calling out and sending out people from one church to go and plant another church. What we read in Acts chapter 13, verse 2. Set apart from me, Barnabas is all for this work to which I've called them. There's a lot that that verse means. One of the things it means is in any worship gathering, any gathering of God's people, at any time, God could speak and say, I'm setting apart you and you and you to go here or there for the spread of the gospel and the multiplication of the church. And to be a Christian means to come into every gathering saying, Here am I, send me. It would make no sense, right? Based on what we just walked through in the gospel, what it means to be a follower of Jesus, to come into a gathering and be like, I don't know, I can't go there. Is Jesus Lord of your life or not? You trusted him to save you for the next 10 trillion years, and you're not trusting him to save you for the next few years here? It makes no sense. It's a total denial of your faith, of the essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Your life. It's God's to spend for the spread of his church. To be a Christian is not to get out of hell free and live however you want until you get to heaven. It's to say, here's my life, spin me. Wherever you want, however you want. And so, when you read Acts 13, may your response not be, well, I'm not going to a prayer gathering because I don't want him to call my name. No. You go to prayer gatherings because you want to make sure if he's calling your name, you hear it. Because you want to be a part of whatever he wants to do to spread his church. And we do this for each other. Like I'm thinking, if I'm a member of the church at Antioch and I hear set apart me for Saul and Barnabas, I'm thinking, are we sure? Maybe he said Sam and Barnabas. Like, because I mean Saul, like, he's amazing. Like he wrote most of the New Testament. Like, I'd I'd like for him to stay here. And and Barnabas, like, everybody loves being around this guy. Like, he's such an encourager. Like, and and then yeah, Sam and Barnabas, like, I mean, they're good guys, but yes, we gladly send you guys out and we'll keep Saul and Barnabas. No. No, the Church of Antioch is showing us something here. You don't negotiate with the Spirit of God. You obey the Spirit of God, whatever He says. He knows things you don't know. And so we've got to learn from the Church of Antioch here that the success of our church will not be determined by our seating capacity, but by our sending capacity. It will not be determined by who or how many people come into our buildings, but who and how many people are going out from our buildings to spread the gospel in the world. You think about the church at Antioch, praise God, they were looking beyond Antioch. Like the success of the church would reach places far beyond what they would ever see. Throughout the known world, all the way to today. And I I came across one pastor talking about this moment in Acts 13, said that moment, that prayer gathering resulted in a missions movement that would make Christianity the dominant religion of the Roman Empire within two and a half centuries, would yield over a billion adherents to the Christian religion today, with a Christian witness in virtually every country of the world. And 13 out of the 29 books of the New Testament were the result of that moment. I read that and I have great anticipation for what God will do in and from our gatherings over the next five years, if we're all saying, spend us, God, for the spread of your church and your glory in the world. Only heaven can measure what will happen from that. So let's not live limited by what we can see. Let's see the Holy Spirit of God supernaturally direct us in the days ahead in ways far abundant than far abundantly more than all we could ask or think.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

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