We’re in our Faith-Full series, and today I want to talk about Vision, the Vision of Hope City Church.

God is faithful – He is faith-full – to not only provide a Vision but to provide the means to fulfill that Vision. As Hope City Church, I want to convey where we’re going, what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, because I want you to know that you don’t just attend a church; you attend a living, moving organism of the Kingdom of God that is going to impact the world!

We’re not just here to make a little dent in the neighborhood, I believe Jacobsville is going to be known as Hope City Neighborhood, and we’re going to see God’s goodness everywhere.

“14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.’” – MATTHEW 5:14-16 (NKJV)

Note that this is Jesus talking to His brand new disciples. This isn’t three years into His internship, with them about to graduate; this is brand new people. He’s telling them, “YOU are the light of the world.”

In the past, I’d read those verses as if I was reading it to Jesus and telling Him, “You’re the Light of the World.” That’s not the way to read it. Instead, imagine yourself being Jesus, speaking it to the disciples that you just called. The disciples didn’t have experience. They weren’t priests or even studying to be; these were rough men like fisherman and tax collectors. They were all kinds of people with different positions.

Jesus also told them, “YOU are a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.” No matter what you try to do to a city on a hill, you can’t hide it. It’s there and its light shines to everyone around. It’s the Kingdom of God saying, “I’m here for you; come up higher and come to me!”

In God’s Word, light always has the meaning of revelation. Hope City: let your light shine! This is why we’re here: We’re to shine, to be radiant, to be brilliant with the things of God so that when people see us, they see Him. We are able to step out and be who He’s called us to be. Why? Because if He’s called us to BE it, He’s empowered us to DO it.

That’s what grace is all about! Grace is that empowering capacity placed in us – through what Jesus did – to give us the strength, power and ability to step out and be who He’s called us to be and do what He’s called us to do. You should say, “I am a member at Hope City; we are moving forward in the Kingdom.”

Even if you come for the first time and say, “Man, I want to make an impact, I want to be that light, I want to learn how I’m that light”, then this is a place for you because we’re going to help you find that light in you and to you shine for others to see.

Of course, when it says to let your light so shine before men, it’s not so that they look at you and say, “Wow, you’re awesome!”  No, you shine so that people see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” See, it’s not about us getting the recognition.

I don’t care if we feed 5,000 people weekly through our outreaches and nobody says anything about Hope City.  That’s fine with me because it means we made an impact in 5,000 people’s lives. Currently, we serve over 120 people each week at our Pop-Up Grill. It’s about letting our light shine; it’s not about recognition or accolades. It’s about people going, “Thank You, God, so much…You’ve helped me today.”

Vision

If you look at our logo, the “H” is like a cityscape; it’s set on a hill. We’re that city. It’s not just in our logo; it’s in the very essence of who we are and what we do. When people see that, it’s saying, “This is where you need to go and find hope.”  If you’re lost, in darkness and despair, and you turn and see a city set on a hill that’s saying, “Come to me, all who need it…I have hope for you!”, that’s the place you’re going to want to go.

People will say, “I’m going to do everything I can to get there so I can see the glory of God and finally say, ‘Thank You, Father, for saving me! Thank You for giving me hope! Now I’m not doomed, in despair and depressed; anxiety has no place in me!  I can go to a place full of hope, a placed that can call me out of that and help lift me up, because I’ve struggled on my own. I need a city, I need a family, I need a group of people to say, “We are here for you!”’”

This is why Hope City exists!

God is faith-full to fulfill the Vision He’s given us. We are who He’s called us to be and we will not stop being that. We will not be ashamed or embarrassed by what we believe. We won’t hold back because society tells me, “Pastor John, you need to be a little more sensitive and politically-correct because people might get their feelings hurt.” I don’t care if you like me; I care that I do what God’s called me to do.

It doesn’t mean I’m going to be a jerk; it means that if I have to say something to you that’s corrective, it’s because I love you, not because I’m mad at you. I will not hold back in helping you be a light. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of Christians going around with baskets on their heads, covering their light because they don’t want to hurt or offend anyone. I’m going to tell them to take those baskets off and to let their light so shine!

We need to be bold and brave like Joshua. Hope City, be strong and very courageous! Never give up, never look back, never hold back, but keep following Jesus! When we follow Him – when we know that we are listening to Him – we will keep going in the right direction and impact more and more and more people.

It’s not just about growing our church numbers. I would love to see every chair in here filled so we’d have to bring more chairs in and have two or three church services; but, it’s more important that we all know who we are and then walk out who we are.

You may tell me that you’re more of a quiet and reserved person. But if being quiet and reserved causes you to not speak truth, that’s not who you are and you’re living in deception; you’re believing a lie about yourself.

Think about this: If it’s true about Jesus, it’s true about you. How is Jesus? How was Jesus when He was on the Earth? Was He really super-sensitive and didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings? No, He spoke truth. People loved Him and people hated Him and He was fine with either way. He wanted everyone to love Him, but He wasn’t going to change His message to bring more people in.

There are things we could do that would help our church grow in numbers, but that’s not who we are. It’s not about church growth, it’s about Kingdom expansion.

See, there’s things God’s placed in my heart and given me a Vision for. Part of why God’s given us the Holy Spirit inside us to lead and guide us is so we know, when we take a step, He’s able to say to us, “yes, you’re going in the right direction” or “no…that’s a good idea, but not a God idea. Do THIS God idea instead.”

Whenever You Talk Vision

I remember when we were coming up with Hope City’s Mission and Vision statements, I was talking to my wife, Shanti (my best counselor in the world!), and she said, “Vision will do two things: It will draw people and it will repel people…and you have to be okay with either.”

I’m not communicating our Vision just to attract a bunch of people; I’m casting out my Vision so people can say, “I want to be a part of that” or “I might have to get away from that because my desire isn’t to do those things.” Our desire at Hope City is that we fulfill the Vision that God has given us.

We want everybody to KNOW GOD, to FIND FREEDOM, and to DISCOVER THEIR PURPOSE so they can MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Why? It’s so people can step out and be that light and talk with someone else and bring them into the Kingdom so that those people can know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, and make a difference.

It’s so those people can say, “Wow! God’s so good! I’m going to tell you about Jesus! He set me free, He saved me, He totally turned my life from going the wrong way to the right way!  He helped me break this addiction! He helped break me of this compulsion! He helped me get free from the things of my past! He set me free so I can be who He’s called me to be! And I will not stop until I’m there! He can do the same for you!”

And then the next person says, “Man! I want to hear more about that!” so they get to know God, find freedom, etc., until we have three services and it’s crazy in here and people are going, “Wow…there’s so many new people in here that I don’t know what to do!”

(Just say, “Hi!” “Welcome!” “We love you!” “Glad you’re here!”)

I’ve got a vision on the inside of me that’s way bigger than what we’re doing right now. Let me impart to you just a little bit of it; I want to you start seeing what you’re part of. You’re on this train and might feel like you’re in the caboose – just along for the ride – but you play a vital part of the body here! You’re not here by accident.

WE WANT TO GO OUTSIDE OF OUR WALLS.  We start with our Pop-Up Grill and the outreaches we do here on our property.  But it doesn’t stop there. For instance, several of our church members put up a fence for one of our neighbors. We didn’t have to, but we did. It’s a light in this neighborhood and community to do things like that. Service projects. You’re going to hear more about those opportunities.  We start there and then move out from there, even beyond our country’s borders.

A Word About Whitestone Ministries

We support an orphanage called Whitestone Ministries, because it’s making a generational impact in Mexico.

Most third-world orphanages are indescribably horrible. Children are just a commodity. Places try to gather as many as they can into the facility (sometimes 500 in a place that should only sleep 200) so they can use those numbers to influence monies (which rarely get to the children). Whitestone Ministries is an exception to that.

Whitestone is located in Acuna, Mexico; they are without a doubt a shining light in the country, especially in the state of Coahuila. Whitestone has been asked to establish the model for all orphanages in that state. They only have about 40 kids in there. They have kids who, when they turn 18, don’t want to leave the orphanage; they want to become workers FOR the orphanage! They’ve seen what impact God’s love can have on them and their fellow-orphans.

Do you understand? Christian people are having an impact on a very secular nation, seeing God’s love making an impact. It’s not a just a bunch of kids hanging out; it’s a place that ministers to kids to show God’s love to them so they don’t feel abandoned and hopeless. They know they’re part of a family that loves them and that God loves them. They realize that God is the one providing an awesome place for them to come, live, stay and grow in His Kingdom.

They have 14 workers; one worker earns about $5,500 annually and considers themselves blessed. We want to help support it.

There’s other places too.  During 2022, Hope City people have been to Honduras, to Kenya and to Mexico.  In November, I’ll be going with Global Ventures to Thailand. Hope City sends people as representatives of who we are, to go to be light and shine for the Kingdom of God.

God is calling us to do more than what we’ve been doing! He’s called us to go to where people have never heard the Gospel before!

Why Talk About Our Vision?

This is part of our Vision, but I wanted to communicate at least some of it to you today.  Why?  Proverbs gives wisdom there…

“When there is no clear prophetic vision, people quickly wander astray. But when you follow the revelation of the Word, heaven’s bliss fills your soul.” – PROVERBS 29:18 (TPT)

The King James says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” When people don’t even know about a Vision, people cast off restraint, they go crazy and run amok. I don’t want you to perish, cast off or run amuck; I want you to stay on the train knowing where I’m going! Here, in the Jacobsville neighborhood, we’re going to see the Kingdom of God! We’re going to see this place change!

Don’t you want to have Heaven’s bliss fill you up? The way to do that is by following the revelation of the Word; that means you have to get into God’s Word and hear about who God is, what Jesus has done for us, and who He’s called us to be!

God loves you when you do wrong or do right. He doesn’t just love you when you do right; He loves you so much that he’s MADE you right. Your doing comes from your being made right. We don’t DO right to become right…you’ve been MADE right! Because of THAT, you can do right, live right, and be who He’s called you to be. You can say, “I may have done things wrong, but I thank You that You’ve made me right in Your sight and I’m going to keep pursuing You! I want Heaven’s bliss in my soul!”

We want to be one with God, seamlessly in union with Him so that when people see us, they see God.  The good news is, we’re empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what He’s called us to do.

City of Hope Resources

I want to let you know about a plan for the future: Hope City is going to have a second 501(c)(3) entity called City of Hope Resources. When certain entities want to grant money to other entities and they see the word “church”, a lot of businesses will hold back. City of Hope Resources is going to be an outreach of Hope City Church, so that when people come to us and say they have a need, we’ll be able to say, “We’ve got the resources for you.”

We are a City of Hope.

See, when Jesus fed the 5,000, the disciples had a few fish and loaves, but it wasn’t enough for everyone. Yet, what did Jesus tell His disciples? “YOU feed them.” He told the Body of Christ to feed them. The Church said, “Uh, we don’t know how to do that; we don’t have enough stuff.”

When Jesus said “you feed them”, right THEN the grace and power was given the disciples to feed the crowd. That miracle could have happened through the disciples if they would have obeyed His voice, stepped out and fed the people with the resources. Instead, Jesus ended up showing them what He wanted them to do in the future. He was saying, “Let me show you what you’re capable of when you follow My voice!”

He looked up to Heaven and He blessed the food. He said, “Father God, here’s our resources…do what You do with them.” Part of the problem is, we get consumed with OUR resources and it’s not enough. The Vision inside me right now is bigger than the resources we currently physically and tangibly have…but God’s bigger than all of that!

As we step out and start moving in that direction, the resources will come and the Vision will get fulfilled!

To watch the entire Sept. 18, 2022 message on which this post is based, CLICK HERE.