Core Values at New City Fellowship

Spiritual Means

Prayer - Worship - Promise - Weakness - Trials

1. Perspectives on Worship

   "Jesus declared, 'Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem..... Yet a time is coming and is now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.'" John 4:21-24

   1. True worship is praise and adoration to God from the heart of a person who has understood and experienced the reality of their sins being forgiven through a relationship with Christ

      This is at the core of worshiping God in "spirit and truth" - from the heart, with all deception removed; having seen our sin and having experienced God's grace in Christ.

      The "form" of worship is now secondary. Worship at Jerusalem and the Temple is done away.

   2. True worship is rooted in Reconciliation. The reconciliation of people to God, and of people to other people.

      Though "form" is not the primary issue in worship, it is still a reality. All human beings are created within a cultural framework that expresses cultural forms, including forms of worship.

      Part of our joy in worship is to creatively see those diverse expressions of worship redeemed and reconciled under Christ and the truth of God's Word.

   3. True worship involves the movement of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of God's people that enables them to be transformed into the image of Christ by their worship of God. This transforming work of the Spirit is called "Freedom."

      The "freedom" of the Spirit's work in worship normally takes place through planning and structure that is yielded in humble dependence to the Spirit's Sovereign direction and guidance.

      The Biblically revealed structures that bring this freedom of the Spirit include preaching, singing, praying, the Lord's Supper, baptism, the reading of Scripture, shouting, clapping, lifting hands to God, dance, music and all other clearly revealed commands and examples related to
      worship in Scripture.

   4. True worship is both from the individual heart but also corporate in nature. God's people are meant to join together in a united, mutually beneficial celebration of God's salvation.

      All our worship ought to have the effect of encouraging and strengthening the body of Christ.

2. Philosophy of Ministry: Feeding Our Faith on The Promises of God
   1. God wants us to know Him as the God who makes and keeps promises.

      He makes promises because of the goodness and love that are the very nature of his character. The entire physical/spiritual world-universe is dependent on God and cannot exist or sustain itself on its own. God's decision to create a dependent world binds him to his promise to sustain and care for it. Because He is good, he will follow through to care for the earth Genesis 1:2; Col 1:15-17; Rev 4:11; Psalm 24:1; Isaiah 40:25-26. After the fall into sin, God made another promise -His commitment to save, redeem and restore mankind and creation. God has bound himself to his promise to accomplish our salvation, as well as fulfilling all the (almost) countless attending promises he makes to us as his children. He has made these promises because he is good and loves to do so. We are as dependent on Him keeping his promise of our salvation, as we are for the sustaining of life itself. Genesis 3:15, Genesis 9:8-11 and Genesis 12:2-3, Genesis 15:14-17; Isaiah 49:13-16, Isaiah 49:22-26, Isaiah 51:1-3 Matthew 1:1. Genesis 12:1, 2Samuel 7:11-13; Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:31-33, Ephesians 1:18-23; Revelation 5:6-13

   2. God wants us to trust Him as the God who can and will fulfill his promises.

      What is really "on the line" in the fulfillment of God's promises is not first of all, our faith, but the very character of God Himself. Genesis 15:9-21. Cf. Hebrews 6:13-20.

   3. God will keep his promises because He is good- not because we are good.

      God's determination to love freely, not our "goodness" in deserving his promises, is the source of his follow through for our salvation and the fulfillment of his promises. cf Isaiah 57:14-19

   4. God will keep his promises because he has the power and wisdom to make sure they will be fulfilled. Exodus 3:13-22

      When God declares himself to be the God of Promise, Moses asks the initial question, "What is your Name?" Meaning: who are you that you make such promises? Who are you that you can do such a thing as this? God's answer: "I AM WHO I AM". Meaning: I will be who I will be. I have all the power, all the wisdom, all the presence, and all the character to do whatever I say I will do.

   5. We need to know our faith does not activate God's promise, as if he will do nothing in the world unless we "let him" or "help him" through our faith. What our faith does, is allow us the freedom and privilege to enter into and enjoy the unfolding of God's promises in the world. Many in Jesus' day did not believe. He "could not" do miracles in those places. Why? Because he chose to make the condition of our personal enjoyment of those miracles our own faith. However, that did not stop him from doing more miracles than could even be written down. Compare James 4:1 ff
   6. The context of all the promises of God are related to the fulfillment of God's Covenant (His "Promise") purposes.

      The many individual promises in Scripture are not a collection of random promises for us to pick and choose among to try and get God to meet our needs as we assess them. Our needs will be taken care of, profoundly. But we need to know that all the promises are moving us, and our circumstances toward the fulfillment of God's purposes, as described in the major Covenant Structure of Scripture. There are seven major elements to God's Covenant relationship with us, that all the other promises of God, in effect, support.

      Genesis 3:15; Luke 3:23-37; John 3:16; John 17:1-3 The promise that God's salvation- the complete restoration of all things- would come through Adam's Offspring and would defeat the work of Satan and restore us to the joy of fellowship and life with God.

      Genesis 8:21 ff cf. Luke 12 & Matthew 6 The promise that God would sustain the created world, no matter how evil men behave. Part of that "sustaining" is taking care of our physical needs.

      Genesis 12:1-3; cf. Galatians 4:22 ff The promise that God's salvation would bless all the nations of the earth specifically through Abraham child (Isaac) born of "promise"- who was a type of the "Promised Son"; and that God's people are also children born of promise.

      Exodus 20 (Ex & Lev) Deuteronomy 30:11-14, cf Romans 10:4-10; Romans 3:27-31, Romans 6:15-18 The promise that God would teach us Justice and Mercy through the Law, only to be lived out by receiving righteousness as a gift through faith in Christ.

      2Samuel 7:16; Isaiah 9:6,7; Luke 1:31-33; Rev 1:4-7

      The promise that Adam's Offspring, who would be Abraham's Seed, would also be the Son of David, and as such would be exalted as The King of all nations and would rule throughout history to establish justice, mercy and humility in the hearts of men (the establishment of God's kingdom rule and reign).

      Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:24-27; Acts 2:32-39 The promise that God himself would do this work by the power of the Holy Spirit in the very depths of our hearts, and change our very nature from being people who disbelieve and disobey God, to those who love him and seek to obey him.

      Isaiah 65:17ff, cf Romans 8:19-21; Revelation 21:1-4 The promise that he will complete this renewal and restoration and take creation and our lives even beyond the garden of Eden, to a place where sin can never enter again, the earth and all the universe will be restored, and we will live forever in the Presence and fellowship of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

   7. Our understanding of the promises is often tainted and obscured by our sin, Satan's lies and the deceptions of our various cultures. Therefore we need to constantly re-submit our minds and our understanding to God's Word when things don't look right to us; and, constantly ask God to deepen our understanding of what the promises are and are not telling us.
   8. Understanding what the Promises of God are Not (compare Exodus 3-6) Because God promises to work his salvation, that doesn't mean we won't struggle with doubts. Compare Jeremiah's prayer recorded in Jeremiah 20:7-18 Or that others won't oppose the work of God in their unbelief, with real, costly opposition. Or that we will always like how he fulfills his promise. Even Jesus said, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass...." Or that others will be able to see beyond their discouragement and hear the promises in a way that brings hope.
   9. So, does God actually promise much?

      If you want freedom from sin in this life- freedom to love and know God, freedom to love one another and the amazing hope of living together in the life to come with God and his people forever and inheriting the earth and all things in Christ - yes.

      If you want an across the board, blanket freedom from pain in this life - either any personal pain or the pain associated with the suffering and cost of loving sinners in a sinful world - no. Satan can lie to you all day long and tell you how "unloving" God's promises are, and how he really doesn't have your best in mind; and in the end he can leave you forever disappointed with God, unwilling to learn from the things you suffer; unwillingly to freely enter into the sufferings of Christ for the sake of God's love in other people's lives; and basically controlled by a root of bitterness. Hebrews 12:1-3 But in the meantime, God will still be fulfilling his good promises throughout the earth, and his love will be there for you to enter into and enjoy any time you are ready to start believing him. This calls for a very "grown-up" faith.

   10. Learning to Believe the Promises of God requires an act of humility. God never rebukes his children for having questions. He sometimes rebukes us for the way we ask them- in humility, or in arrogant unbelief - but the problem is not if the questions arise. The real issue is where you go with them. Do you resort to your own understanding, or, do you start by coming back to God to re-learn and to deepen your understanding of what it is God has actually promised us as his people. This is an act of humility because it means surrendering our "right" to interpret life on our own. It means we acknowledge that we can't trust our own mental processes to come to the knowledge of the truth. It is a return to learning good and evil from God, as we were created to learn it at the beginning. Isaiah 66:2
   11. The effect of believing the Promises of God is nothing less than a participating in the Divine Nature.

       Such faith increases enjoyment of our fellowship with God that leads to a life of praise and worship and love and obedience. Believing the promises of God gives us hope for the present situation. Every new crises is not new cause to doubt God's love, but a new opportunity to see his faithful promises unfold. If we know God is at work today, we will start looking at our situations through his wisdom instead of our own, and begin learning to see and enjoy his promises already being fulfilled now. Believing the Promises also brings hope for the future. As we see God more clearly working in the present, it will increasingly make us a people of hope for the future. God has given us Christ, and with him - all things (Romans 8:32), and if we are increasingly seeing the unfolding of God's promise now, then what does the future hold? If we are learning to love more now, learning to enjoy God's love more - not despite, but even through the trials and difficulties of life, then what hope do we have, whatever comes tomorrow? Just greater love - Romans 5:1-5. And that hope is sure, because God has promised and already told us where things are headed- to the restoration of all things and to a life forever with God. It also brings endurance through trials. Paul says we can endure when we know the outcome is good. And how do we know? By faith in God who keeps his promises. Romans 8:18-25 It also increases our confidence to risk our lives for the Kingdom of God. It produces the liberty to die daily; to hold all created things loosely; to not grab after power; to freely enter into the sufferings of Christ. 2Corinthians 3:12-4:15

3. Philosophy Of Ministry: Boasting In Weakness

   "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2Corinthians 12:9-10

   1. God has always been committed to the ingredient of human weakness as a core part of the demonstration of his power to save, and, as an exclamation point to the very nature of his grace.....from Abraham and Sarah and the birth of Isaac (an impossible age), to the defeat of Jericho Joshua 6:30 (walls collapsing to the sound of shouts) , to Gideon's 300 vs. 100,000 Midianites Judges 6-7 , to David with his sling shot 1Samuel 17:45-47, to the birth and life of Jesus Christ in a manger; fleeing human authority; considered an illegitimate child; penniless & homeless; despised and rejected; finally dying on a Cross, to you, the Church of Jesus Christ on earth today.
   2. From all the Biblical examples in Scripture, the kind of weakness it is telling us to boast in seems to be this : Any point of human frailty or weakness- any event, any set of circumstances, any outward manifestation of the human condition in any sphere or area of life (excluding that which is sinful)- which helps demonstrate that God's work of salvation simply cannot be attributed to human strength, but must be the result of God's power being graciously and freely poured out on his people.
   3. The point in our lives where God delivers us at the place of weakness most clearly demonstrates for ourselves and for others the nature of God's powerful work of salvation freely extended on all our behalf. It also aids in promoting a humble, confident faith to trust God's grace and salvation all the more and results in the freedom to boldly follow a path of obedience in love even when our weakness and inability is evident.
   4. God's power is perfected in our weakness precisely because this is the arena most suitable to demonstrate how his grace and mercy work in a fallen world - the free blessing of God's salvation for those who could never achieve it on their own.
   5. The reason God's power is not demonstrated at the point in our lives where we sense our own strength is simply because that sends the wrong message about the Gospel, and leaves us and others more open to idolatry and its fruit -disobedience. Boasting in self, in human achievement, in human endeavor - whether it is a boasting in acquired economic power or productivity, or educational prowess, or artistic expression, or anything else - as the source of our deliverance for any aspect of life, aids the kind of destructive, sinful pride which seeks to make us independent from God and is the core problem of sin that ends in harming ourselves, harming others and even seeking to harm God. That kind of boasting helps turn these good gifts from God into idols that we are attracted to, to rely upon to provide the security, deliverance and confidence for life we are meant to get from faith in God alone.
   6. The opportunity for boasting in weakness emerges constantly, because no matter what we do, human weakness has a tendency to break out all over the place. The freedom for the child of God is to acknowledge the presence of his/her frailty and cast himself/herself upon the Lord with great confidence, in faith, for God's intervening grace to take a situation that would "humanly" and "naturally" bring defeat and/or despair, and look to God to bless it with his saving Presence, and bring glory to Himself out of it.
   7. The Scriptures do not call us to boast in weakness in a way that excuses irresponsibility. Nor do the Scriptures encourage us to "pursue" weakness as a goal in itself - as an attribute that has a saving value (as some would do with poverty); that is, "for our sake", that we might gain a sense of self-righteousness. Rather, as we seek to serve God and lay down our lives as living sacrifices and seek His kingdom and seek to endure everything for the sake of God's people, our weakness (and the weakness of others) will emerge and along with it, the opportunity for believing God's power to graciously meet us there and see His power clearly demonstrated. We are called to be willingly to endure that, for Christ's sake. And not just endure it, but even learn to delight in it.
   8. A true understanding and laying hold of God's free grace is the hardest thing for believer and unbeliever alike to grasp. How God blesses us with his glory - the context and the avenue in which it takes place - is a crucial means of convincing others that this glory of God's grace is for them as well.
   9. All this requires a reshaping our thinking about life.

      We need to look for this "pattern" in small, everyday ways (it can revolutionize the "frustration factor"), and then these lesser issues will heavily influence our perspectives on weightier matters - large movements of history that we are caught up in and a part of.

      "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ....For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.... But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore as it is written, ' Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord" 1Corinthians 1:18-31

4. Philosophy of Ministry: Trials

   "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" James 1:2-4

   1. Our intellectual knowledge frequently outstrips our experience. In a good way, it has to. But deep learning, the biblical growth of our faith, does not take place just when we have intellectual knowledge. Real growth takes place when we actively believe our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father for all he is and all he promises, and out of that context of faith, new obedience emerges and our character is changed. Trials are the means God uses to work that growth in us.
   2. Persevering in the midst of trial is the normal means of growth for God's people from Genesis to Revelation. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the people of Israel - read Deuteronomy 8:1-5; every man, woman and child will face trials in this life. Persevering through trial is how Jesus Christ himself matured and learned obedience. He is the Captain of our salvation and we follow him. Luke 3; Hebrews 2:10-11, Hebrews 2:14-18 ; Hebrews 4:4-5:10 In fact, what we really see is that the Spirit will intentionally lead us into trial.
   3. We have the freedom to embrace trials because our faith is strong enough (that is the nature of the faith God has given us). The fear that the trial will destroy us, and even destroy our faith, is part of the lie that Satan wants us to buy into. God says your faith is a gift from Him, and it is able to endure, and all the trials will do is refine it 1Peter 1:3-9
   4. When we persevere and see God deliver and discover that our faith will not fail, that in turn gives us a great hope. That hope will not be disappointed, because we know God's love is faithful and real. Romans 5:1-5
   5. The freedom to endure the trial also comes from the "rest" God provides us right in the middle of the trial. This is Paul's statement in 2Corinthians 4:16. This is where renewal takes place cf. 1Peter 1; Hebrews 4:1-13
   6. Recognizing that trial is the way to maturity, and not a roadblock, means we don't worry about looking for the quick fix. You must take the approach of being willing to stay in the trial until you see God accomplish his purpose. Perseverance means the presence of pain is not necessarily the signal it is a time for you to quit; it is often the time you are about to become the most teachable. Hebrews 12:7-11 It also means we do not try and remove the trials for other people: the great goal in life is not to produce a trial free environment: it is to see people's character shaped and molded by God.
   7. What make up these trials? James says it: all kinds of things. The stupid, sinful, rebellious things people do, as well as the incredibly evil, destructive things people do, as well as all the "natural" problems of living in a fallen world - sickness, disease, etc. , as well as the great spiritual oppression and opposition Satan brings against us.
   8. We want to be a church that gladly embraces these trials and does not shy away from them as being part of the very necessary ingredient to maturity.

      That doesn't mean trial is all there is to life, and there is no rest. There is rest. But trial and suffering, because we love our neighbor, is in fact an ongoing part. The "rest" comes right in the middle of it:

      "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." James 1:5-8

   9. God is after shaping your character. He is committed to teaching you to believe Him, to know his love and obey Him in new and deeper ways. The heart of God's wisdom for us is in the midst of trials includes teaching us where and how he wants to change us; greater wisdom on how to love others and how to love God, instead of loving self. Philippians 3:7-11
   10. We need to know that "wisdom" is ours as a free gift. God grants us wisdom freely, without finding fault. Many of the trials we experience are of our own doing, and even the ones that aren't end up with a significant element of our own sin in the mix. The good news is when you go to God to ask for wisdom, he does not measure it out according to your sinlessness; he doesn't hold your sin against you. You are His son/daughter, who is loved and completely righteous in his sight and He is glad you have come and will generously give you what you need.
   11. In order to gain and benefit from God's wisdom, you must have a humble heart of faith. Genuine faith does not require the total absence of any shadow of doubt. Faith actually exists "over against" doubt. However, you can't feed, nurture and buy into your doubt. If you give yourself over to doubt you won't get the wisdom you need, because you won't be listening to God; you will be listening to your circumstances and the self-justifying character of your sin nature. Believing God to give you wisdom means you humble your heart to listen. Humbling involves quieting; it involves turning away from the noise of unbelief and pride and sense of injustice. God's first message is for you to be still, so he can speak and you can truly listen.
   12. Believing also means you acknowledge God's Word as true. Even if you don't understand how it works, how it applies, how it fits. You must start with the premise that His Word is true and that he will over the course of time teach you how it applies through the work of the Spirit in your heart and mind. The final affirmation of its trustworthiness is Jesus Christ Himself who loved you, died for you, and lives for you

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