Let’s read
Psalms 69:7 Passion for your house has consumed me. NLT
Last week Sam talked about the Church and the tension the local church faces in North America. The tension is that God’s kingdom and our world’s kingdom are opposed to each other. That means that what our world values and cares for is the opposite of what God values and cares for. And that gap is widening. So how do we attract people to the Church without watering down the truth of scripture? That’s the tension. Sam was transparent and said, I wish that Jesus Christ and The Gospel were the main attraction that people focused on today but unfortunately, when we point to Jesus and The Gospel, it’s often met with, ‘Yeah, but what else do you have for me?’ It’s almost like Jesus overcoming death isn’t enough, we must make it more exciting.
It seems like today, because of our culture and people’s disinterest in Jesus, the Church is required to do lots of exciting things to attract and, for lack of a better word, ‘entertain’ people. And if you have a bigger budget to hire talent, shoot off fireworks, and entertain people, you have a better chance to draw a crowd. The tension would be, you can get a crowd but at the end of the day, you must ask, are we just moving Christians from church to church and are we making disciples of Jesus who fully surrender their lives to Christ?
The opposite of this is true too. Think of a much smaller church with a lesser budget, unable to hire talent, doesn’t shoot off fireworks, is less able to entertain people, and has less of a chance to draw a crowd. The tension would be that you struggle to get a crowd so, at the end of the day, you must ask, how can we attract people and make a difference in our community?
Have you experienced that tension? Let me give you non-Church example. My daughter is dating a hockey player. We have a great time when we watch him play his home games. It’s in a smaller venue and there are probably 100 at the game. Now compare that to a couple of years ago. Our family was able to get half-off tickets to a Flyers game. The game was sold out, 21,000 people. It was a lot more exciting with more people, fire shot from the scoreboard, the music, the food, all of it, so much more exciting. If you compared the two, they were different, but in both places, we watched the same sport, hockey. Personally, watching my daughter’s boyfriend play hockey means a ton more than the big exciting pro game because we are in a relationship with him.
This tension is so real, that how people respond to it is impacting Church leaders. The church leaders I speak with share with me, the tension is wearing them out. Last fall I was at a farewell dinner for a pastor friend of mine in the Lancaster area. He was stepping away from being the leader after twelve years. I was able to spend time with him later and I asked, ‘Everything is going so well in your church, why are you stepping away?’ He said, ‘Because no matter what you do for the people in church, it’s never enough.’ How people respond to that tension wore him out. That’s why Sam said, I wish that Jesus Christ and The Gospel were the main attraction that people focused on today but unfortunately, when we point to Jesus and The Gospel, it’s often met with, ‘Yeah, but what else do you have for me?’
Let’s read what Jesus did when He visited the temple.
John 2:13-17 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” NLT
That’s intense. Why did Jesus’ passion lead to Him to physical violence? Because the leaders were making it hard for people to be with God. There was so much activity, and so much business, it was making it hard for people to be with God. To make matters worse, they were ripping people off. You see, the Temple was the only place you could go to be with God and be forgiven. It was the religious law to go to the Temple and offer sacrifices to be forgiven. As people came to the Temple for forgiveness, people were exchanging Roman money for Temple money and yes, they added a sure charge. People were selling cattle and doves at a much higher price. All of this was too much for Jesus. This passion for what the Temple was supposed to be rose inside of Jesus. Jesus had to do something, and He did.
Have you ever wondered what Jesus would do if He visited your church?
Please hear me. The point of the Church hasn’t changed. It’s the place where people can sense God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing. No matter the size, denomination, style of music, or how you dress, it’s the pace where people can sense God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing. No matter if you feel excited or a little dry sometimes, it’s the place where people can sense God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing. As we live in a world that opposes God and what God values and cares for, we are the place that offers God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing.
Let me ask you, is that how you view Church? A place where you sense God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing? Put another way, a place where you experience love, acceptance, and forgiveness from your spiritual family?
Today I wanted to talk about the Church, but I struggled to put this talk together. Like Sam last week, the reason I struggled is that I realized that the moment I talk about ‘the Church’, people can mentally turn me off and zone out. To give you an analogy, it would be like how my kids respond to the lawn being mowed. They know someone has to mow it, it’s just not them. When I talk about mowing the lawn, they kind of turn me off and zone out because that’s not their job, that’s my job.
When I say ‘the Church’ people can turn me off. Why? Because when I say ‘church’, people think, ‘That has nothing to do with me. They can think, ‘No matter what the pastor says about ‘church’, it doesn’t apply to me. Church needs to be fixed by someone and that someone isn’t me. So, when the pastor talks about ‘church’ that’s someone else’s problem.’ We just don’t see our value. We fail to understand that God wants to work through us.
Let’s stop here and ask this question. Do you believe that God wants to work through you to build His Church? Let me ask you a more detailed question. Do you believe that God wants to work through your imperfect, sinful, selfish, wounded life to build His Church? Do you see your value, and do you believe you matter? The reality is that Jesus is inviting us to build His church but we can push that away because we don’t see our value.
The whole point of Jesus choosing the disciple He chose; Jesus was letting us know He builds His church through ordinary people. One of the things that religion has done that has hurt our understanding of the Church has been to make the disciples into Saints. They were incredible people and deserve to be honored in heaven, however, because we have made them Saints, we have forgotten how ordinary they were.
Judas was a traitor. Peter was impulsive. So impulsive, he passionately loved Jesus and passionately denied knowing Jesus. Thomas was pessimistic and doubted Jesus’ resurrection. The brothers James and John were selfish and prideful. How do we know? They wanted to elbow the other disciples out to get the better titles around Jesus. Matthew was a hated tax collector who ripped people off and hung out with the worst of people. The disciples were a bunch of ordinary people who were filled with their own junk.
Who did Jesus invite to be His disciples? The ordinary, untrained guys who were a mess. Think it through, who did Jesus not invite to be His disciples? The religious, trained, and refined spiritual leaders of the day. Now to be clear before moving on, they all sacrificed their lives and deserve honor. But we must understand who they were when they were invited to be disciples. This is so important to understand because God is inviting you to build His church.
Peter explained what God is up to.
1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10 As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you – from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. MSG
When you read that, does that excite you and you think, ‘Cool, God wants me, I’m in, how can I help?’ Or do you read that and think, ‘Ugh… that’s not for me, I’m too much of a mess, that’s for someone else.’
To be very transparent with you, this frustrates me. People don’t see how much they matter. People do not see, understand, and live out what God has done for them. We can act like we don’t matter. It’s like we are wounded, God heals us, and we continue to act like we are wounded. I want you to remember what happens when you ask God to forgive you. God forgives you. God gives you the righteousness of Jesus. God places His power inside of you through the Holy Spirit. If that is true, and it is, how then do we continue to act like we don’t matter? How do we back away from helping the Church and think, ‘That’s someone else’s problem?’ Living out what God did for us means, we build His church.
I think there are several reasons, I want to talk about three, why we push our high calling away. Please hear me, you are chosen by God to do His work and speak for Him.
The Charlie Brown Syndrome.
Do you remember the Charlie Brown cartoon? Do you remember that Lucy calls him a ‘blockhead’? And the other kids said he couldn’t do anything right. What happened? Charlie Brown had low self-esteem. And it’s the reason so many people like the character Charlie Brown because people connect with a character having low self-esteem.
The Charlie Brown Syndrome is real. Even though Jesus defeats death to give us a new redeemed and empowered life, we push it away because we have low self-esteem. It’s like we never accept what Jesus did for us.
Indicators of low self-esteem. Lack of confidence. Feel like a victim in life, I am powerless to change. Compare themselves to others and conclude they don’t add up. Worry and doubt – a lot. Difficulty accepting compliments. Constant negative self-talk like, ‘I’m a loser, a failure.’ Poor outlook of the future. Being a people-pleaser. Easily offended. Believe God just puts up with them.
Is this you? Do you have the Charlie Brown Syndrome? Jesus defeats death to give you a new redeemed and empowered life, do you push it away because you have low self-esteem? And when we read scripture that says you are chosen by God to do His work and speak for Him, do you push it away thinking, ‘That’s not me, that’s for someone else’?
The Martha Syndrome.
In scripture, two sisters had to get ready for a big party. The sisters are known as Mary and Martha. Both sisters handled the party prep differently. Mary just wanted to hang out with Jesus. Martha felt the pressure of what it meant to host a party. She became so overwhelmed by it, that she was comfortable telling Jesus what He needed to do for her.
Luke 10:38-42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” NIV
The Martha Syndrome is feeling the pressure of life so much so that we have no time for God while at the same time, we are telling God what He needs to do.
Indicators of a too-busy life. Living off of other people’s spirituality. Scattered, fragmented, reactionary, and uncentered. Physically, spiritually, and emotionally tired always feeling like you are not enough. Existing with only a one-inch-deep spirituality. Not very intentional in pursuing Jesus. Struggling to stop our ‘life on the run’ but never doing anything about it. Prayer life is telling God what you need Him to do for you.
Is this you? Do you have the Martha Syndrome? Jesus defeats death to give you a new redeemed and empowered life, do you push it away because you are too busy? And when we read scripture that says you are chosen by God to do His work and speak for Him, do you push it away thinking, ‘That’s not me, that’s for someone else’?
The Goldilocks Syndrome.
Do you remember Goldilocks and the Three Bears? She eats the porridge, sits in the chairs, and sleeps on the beds. In that process, she struggles to find what she likes. The Goldilocks syndrome in church is, nothing is ever quite right.
You know, starting and leading a church has been fascinating. One of the greatest lessons you learn as a pastor is that nothing you do is ever enough or right. Here are a couple of examples. No matter the start time of the church, it just isn’t the right time. One time a family asked what the next teaching series was. We said, ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ Jesus’ first sermon. They sighed, slumped their shoulders, and said, ‘Oh, that’s it?’ They left soon after that. For two years, we met on Saturday nights. A family left because they said, ‘They couldn’t meet on Saturday because it messed up their day of rest.’ I didn’t point out that Jesus went to church on Saturday. When we met in the school, we were told, it didn’t feel like a church, so people didn’t attend. Now that we have a building, those same people still don’t attend. People would go to a jamming rock concert at the Giant Center then attend church and say, ‘The music is too loud.’ No matter the time or date we hold events, it just never quite fits.
The Goldilocks Syndrome leads people to complain because the church just isn’t quite perfect enough.
Is this you? Do you have the Goldilocks Syndrome? Nothing is ever quite right. Jesus defeats death to give you a new redeemed and empowered life, do you push it away because the Church isn’t quite right? And when we read scripture that says you are chosen by God to do His work and speak for Him, do you push it away thinking, ‘That’s not me, that’s for someone else’?
If you are a Goldilocks, I would want to say, ‘Hey Goldilocks, God works through imperfect people, imperfect churches, and even you.’
The point of the Church hasn’t changed from Jesus’ day. It’s the place where you sense God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing. Put another way, a place where you experience love, acceptance, and forgiveness from your spiritual family. God wants to take each of us, like living stones, and build His Church. We are each chosen by God to build His Church.
The problem is, we can conclude, that’s not for me. That’s for someone else. I have the Charlie Brown syndrome. I have low self-esteem, I don’t see my value so, I can’t. I have the Martha syndrome. I feel the pressure of life, so I don’t have time for it so, I can’t. I have the Goldilocks syndrome. The Church isn’t quite right, I can’t.
I have a few questions. Do you see yourself today? Charlie Brown, Martha, or Goldilocks. Do you view church like my girls view mowing the lawn? That’s someone else’s job. Do you have a passion for church so that people can come and experience God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s healing? When we scripture that says, you are the ones chosen by God for the high calling, does that inspire you? If everyone made the decisions you made about church, what would your church look like?
Let’s close with the words of Peter.
1 Peter 2:9-10 You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you – from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. MSG