Last week, I talked about churches that reach out and are ‘other focused’ … and churches that, unfortunately, are ‘inward focused’ and truly live for themselves. The truth is, what we’re doing here was never to be about us. The Church is all about Christ and his vision and mission for us as his Body. If you remember, we were also encouraged in this direction by words from Bishop Jung (spoken at AC 2013): “We are not a church geared for survival, but a church that reaches out to a world that needs Jesus Christ!” Again, how are we going to be that church?
This week, folks, we continue the 2-part series on “10 BIG THINGS”—10 big things that Jesus said … and we too often forget. How important is it, once again, to not only hear what Jesus says but put it into practice? Well, listen to what God’s word says through James, the brother of Jesus (1:22-25, NLT):
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” – James 1:22-25 (NLT)
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. … and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” How many of you want to be truly blessed in your life? Many of you have, but to what extent? God wants nothing short of his very best for you … but we must become doers of God’s word! So, what is it this week that we need reminders of? The things Jesus said … and we too often forget? Let’s begin here (and some of these might just surprise you!):
WE NO LONGER REMEMBER THAT WE ARE COMMISSIONED TO THROW PARTIES FOR THE UNDESERVING AND UNDESIRABLE. When I was on staff and doing youth ministry in Janesville, we used to call these ‘Jesus parties’ … when we’d intentionally have an event that involved serving others out of love…
If you’re still not quite sure what a ‘Jesus party’ is, let me share Jesus’ words from Luke 14 (12-14) with you:
“Then he turned to his host. ‘When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,’ he said, ‘don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.’”
That’s a ‘Jesus party!’ It’s a party for those who are near and dear to Jesus’ heart! It’s a party thrown in honor of those who are very special to Jesus. “He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord,” scripture says in Proverbs (19:17). The closer we are to Jesus, the more such ones will matter to us, too. (If you haven’t read Tony Campolo’s The Kingdom of God is a Party, then get a copy and read it; Tony has a way of hitting us between the eyes with a 2×4 of God’s love!) Next…
WE CONVENIENTLY FORGET THAT ‘JESUS SAVES.’ We know he forgives and we love to sing about that … but what gets pushed to the back burner all too often is the fact that God sent Jesus for the primary purpose of saving sinners … and that needs to be our business, too!
Matthew 1:21 & Luke 2:11—from the beginning of Jesus’ life—begin to talk about the very purpose of Jesus’ life—why he came to us. And they read this way:
As the angel was speaking with Joseph about what was to happen with Mary, he said this (Matt. 1:21, NLT): “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
And when the angels were speaking to the shepherds just outside of Bethlehem, the conversation went this way (Luke 2:11, NLT): “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” There’s a reason that Jesus was called the Savior, or the Messiah (A messiah is a saviour or liberator of a group of people….).
We, who devote ourselves to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and so forth, sometimes think we’ve fulfilled our assignment. Not even close! We fail people when we give them bread, but keep silent about the Bread of Life who can meet their true—eternal—needs, fill their deepest hungers and heal their greatest hurts! Let’s not forget why Jesus came, folks—ever! Next,
WE FORGET THAT, WITH JESUS, CHANGE IS THE NORM. In Luke 5:36-39, it says:
“Then Jesus gave them this illustration: ‘No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.’”
In this section, Luke presents new wineskins as Jesus’ pattern for his disciples:
Strong…
Flexible…
Faithful…
Growing…
And so forth…
But, we do love our ‘status quo,’ don’t we? Physicists call it ‘inertia’—the tendency for a body to go on doing whatever it’s doing at the moment, moving or remaining stationary. Always remaining the same would be the ‘status quo’ of whatever your reality is…
Jesus does not play this game with us, though. He is forever calling us out of our comfort zones, away from our customary methods, into new ways of seeing and doing and achieving. No one unwilling to constantly be changing and adapting can follow Jesus for long… Don’t forget that for Jesus … CHANGE IS THE NORM! Also…
WE KEEP FORGETTING THAT THE OBJECT IS NOT TO KEEP RULES. Paul says to the church in Corinth (2 Cor. 3:6b, TEV): “The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.” The object—in other words—is obedience to the Lord, not slavishly keeping the rules. Many of Jesus’ well-intentioned followers miss the fine line between those two…
You don’t have to look too far to see examples of what Paul is speaking of here. Just drop into a legalistic church and hang around for a few weeks. I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be heartbroken over the rule-keepers who ‘omit the weightier matters’ in order to ‘tithe mint and dill and cummin’ (Matt. 23:23), like the Pharisees did…
If you’ve ever been around some communities of faith who are a bit legalistic, you’ve seen this kind of thing. I heard a sermon illustration once about some Amish neighbors who had some interesting ways. One man disinherited his sons for buying a car. Yet, that same man would hire a car and driver to transport him to the airport in Nashville … where he’d hop a plane and fly all over the world! Do you see now how the spirit of the law kills?
To the legalists who were twisting God’s laws into shackles for their neighbors, Jesus said (Mark 2:27), “…‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.’” I say today, without fear of contradiction, that every church in the land has members & leaders who need constant reminders of this—THE OBJECT IS NOT TO KEEP THE RULES! Finally,
WE KEEP FORGETTING TO READ ALL THE WORD AND NOT TAKE A VERSE OR TWO OUT OF CONTEXT. “Here a verse … there a verse” comes to mind. And I’m going to confess today that I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to this. We do love our verses, don’t we? They fit so neatly on bumper stickers… They fit so neatly in our tweets…
Folks, here’s a good example of what I’m talking about. Do you remember what Jesus said in Luke 9:3? If you’re a missionary, I’ll guarantee that you probably do. It says this: “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes.” Clear enough, right? Wrong…
At first glance, it seems that Jesus is saying that Christian workers should live in poverty. Not long ago, a distinguished Christian columnist quoted Luke 9:3 as the basis for that very thought—expecting poverty from Christian workers. However, unless you read all of God’s word, you’d never know that Jesus reversed what he said in Luke 9:3 … in Luke 22:35-36, where he said:
“Then Jesus asked them, ‘When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or extra clothing, did you need anything?’ ‘No,’ they replied. 36 ‘But now,’ he said, ‘take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!’”
It’s an easy mistake to make, unless you’re a diligent student of God’s word! Something had changed … and Jesus says so; it was a different time that called for a different command. All of which proves, once again, that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor God’s ways our ways (Is. 55:8)…
Having said all of this, I still believe this to be the truth all too often: We like our religion easy and palatable, comfortable and undemanding, with instant rewards and no room for outsiders unless they quickly become like us! Yet, that’s rarely the way God works (those desires coming from our sinful/self-centered nature). Remember what James said: “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. … and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”
What ‘Next Step’ do you need to take today? It may be time for us to look into our spiritual mirror … and ask God what it is that he sees in our reflection. Folks, the only way we’ll ever become the church our bishop envisions—a church that reaches out to a world that needs Jesus Christ—is to be ‘doers of God’s word!’ How do we do that? Here’re 3 steps we all must take at some point in our walk with God…
Step #1: Read God’s word (which implies we’ll make the time to do just that)…
Step #2: Learn to study God’s word (i.e. meditate, etc.)…
Step #3: Learn to apply God’s word (which comes from preaching/teaching)…
Once we learn to live God’s word in our everyday lives, becoming ‘doers of the word,’ we’ll be on our way to being the church our bishop envisions… And I believe God’s desire is for that to be a reality right here in Ridgeway/Dodgeville, Wisconsin … and beyond… Won’t you join me in these ‘next steps’?