"A Drive-Thru Mentality"

Over the last several weeks I’ve been preparing to preach on Abraham out of Genesis.  One of the things that caught my attention was the distance that Abram (Abraham) traveled from Ur to Canaan, which was somewhere in the range of 800-900 miles; as the crow flies its around 500 miles.  If you look at it from this perspective the distance from New Orleans, LA to Memphis, TN is just shy of 400 miles.  How many of us, if we were called to get up and go somewhere without knowing the destination would?  Abraham did.  And how many of us would continue to go after 100 miles…200 miles…500 miles…800+ miles?  Abraham did, all because God commanded him to go.

Genesis 12:1 (HCSB)

12 The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

One of the things that impresses me when speaking of Abraham is not only his faith, but his patience.  How often do Christians today have a “drive thru mentality”, that we want what we want and we want it in our timing.  But what the bible teaches me over and over again is that God wants His children to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and temperate; God also wants His children to be patient.

There are many verses in the bible that speak of the patience of God,

Psalm 86:15 (HCSB)

¹⁵ But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.

There are, as well, verses that speak to the patience of those who put their faith in Him.

Romans 8:24–25 (HCSB)

²⁴ Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

Everyone who calls God “Abba” Father through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ is to be a person not only of faith, but of patience—not only in our waiting for the return of Christ, but in the “meantime” as we deal with the situations and circumstances of life.  And in these times we are to be faithful and patient to the plans of God for our lives regardless of the distance, time, or circumstances we face during our journey through life. 

 

It's Time

 

I just started reading Thom Rainer’s “I AM A CHURCH MEMBER”.  In the first chapter He tells of two church members, Michael and Liam, who have differing views of the Church with respect to the overarching purpose of it.  Liam viewed the church’s effectiveness in his life by what it would give to him while Michael’s view was completely the opposite; he saw the church as a place for him to give, to contribute, to build, and to invest.  From these two differing positions the story ends with a question, “Why do we have such different perspectives?”

Out of this story Rainer proposes that differences such as this have led to a weakness of and failure, to some degree, within the Church as he states, “congregations across America are weak because many of us church members have lost the biblical understanding of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.  We join our churches expecting others to serve us, to feed us, and to care for us…God did not give us local churches to become country clubs where membership means we have privileges and perks.  He placed us in churches to serve, to care for others, to pray for leaders, to learn to teach, to give, and, in some cases, to die for the sake of the gospel.  Many churches are weak because we have members who have turned the meaning of membership upside down”.  Rainer goes on, “It’s time to get it right.  It’s time to become a church member as God intended.  It’s time to give instead of being entitled”.  With that I add a hearty Amen.

Rainer gives some numbers to back his position with what is happening within the local church today, but it is really a systemic problem for the Church at large.  And from these issues there is a ripple effect that channels out into the mission field of which Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, so poignantly spoke as he delivered the closing message of the SBC in Houston, TX (Will Southern Baptists Be Great Commission Baptists: Six Marks of a Great Commission People).  

All Christians are called to a life of service and sacrifice by Jesus Christ Himself.  The church, as an edifice, was not intended to be a palace of pampering nor a lair of leisure.  The church is a harbor for sending.  The church is a place where men, women, and children learn that they are the “church” the body of Christ and in that they have been charged with the high calling of going into the lands, both near and far, not to be served, but to serve with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If Christians will not live it nor share it, who will?  In his address to the Convention, Dr. Akin quoted the Baptist theologian Carl F.H. Henry who said, “The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.” 

Are well compelled by Christ to live Christ and be a true servant, to share Christ as an ambassador for Christ?  What does the Church mean to us?  How does the Gospel motivate and move us?  Whose kingdom are we building and to a greater point of introspection, whose kingdom are we tearing down?

John 3:29–30 (HCSB)

²⁹ He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Going back to the words of Thom Rainer, “It’s time to get it right.  It’s time to become a church member as God intended.  It’s time to give instead of being entitled”.  It’s time to give, it’s time to grow, it’s time to go, it’s time to glorify.  It’s time!

 

Fishers of Men

"Fishers of Men"

According to a recent study of church-going American Protestants, the #1 thing that Christian churchgoers struggle with most is sharing Christ with non-Christians.

John Wilke in August of this past year wrote an article titled, “Churchgoers Believe in sharing faith, but most never do”.  In this article he reported on a recent study conducted by LifeWay Research found 80 % of those who attend church one or more times a month, believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, but 61 % have not told another person about how to become a Christian in the previous six months. 

In an extensive discipleship research project focused on measuring spiritual maturity in individuals. LifeWay Research found eight biblical attributes consistently evident in the lives of maturing believers. Of those eight, "Sharing Christ" has the lowest average score among Protestant church attendees. 

From the very beginning of His earthly ministry we find Jesus exhibiting the practice of evangelism—of calling people to Himself.  And the reason He was calling them was in part to a “job”, but more importantly Jesus was calling them to salvation, by putting their faith and their lives in His hands.  A truth that we must always keep in mind is that if Jesus calls and we follow, He has done so not only to give something to us but as well to make something of us.

Matthew 4:18–22 (NASB95)

The First Disciples

18 Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

19 And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.

22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

  

In this passage there are three things to note for Christians:

1. We're to be followers of Christ.
2. We're to be fashioned by Christ.
3. We're to be fishermen for Christ.

1.      We’re To Be Followers of Christ.

Jesus spoke much about our following Him.  The word “follow” occurs over 90 times in the Gospels.  Following Christ means we make Him Lord of our daily lives, seek out His promises and claim them, seek out His commands and obey them, and offer ourselves as living sacrifices for Him (Rom. 12:1–2).

2.      We’re To Be Fashioned By Christ.

“... and I will make you.” As we follow Christ, He in, on, and through our lives to be more like Him.  Christ cuts away and carves into us so that we become not what we desire, but what He desires.

Illus.—A school teacher who was bypassed for a promotion went to her administrator and complained, “I have twenty years of experience, and you promoted someone who had only been teaching five years.” The administrator replied, “No, you don’t have twenty years of experience. You have one year of experience twenty times. You’re still teaching the same things and in the same way you did your first year. You haven’t grown in your profession.”

Christ wants us to grow, to develop, to become effective representatives of Himself and for Himself.

3.      We’re to be Fisherman for Christ.

“...I will make you fishers of men.”

In Paul’s letters, he said that those he had won to Christ were his crown and joy, his trophies of grace. (1 Thess. 2:19-20)  When we look at the church (local) who do we see.  Are there any who were outside the church and have come in by our faithful efforts?  Is there anyone with whom we have shared Christ and seen God work in them the gift of salvation, which is eternal life in Jesus Christ?  It's not to brag, boast, or pridefully flaunt in our efforts and abilities, but rather to give glory to God that He first saved us, but also that He has chosen to use us as instruments and tools for His glory to see that others come to Him by the power of the Spirit through the person of Christ.  

Never forget that if Jesus calls and you follow, He has done so not only to give something to you but as well to make something of you.   If you are a follower of Christ you are called to be a fisherman for Christ.