Flipped Right Side Up Series

One church I know of has an endowment that keeps their doors open despite the fact that their attendance has dwindled down to a mere handful.

Isn’t it wonderful that they have that money? Isn’t it a blessing?

But because they have enough money to pay the preacher and hold services on Sunday, they feel no need to reach out to those around them with the gospel. There are no ministries besides Sunday morning worship. No Sunday School, no youth group – no need for either of them, since there are no young people – no Bible studies. Nothing.

There is no life in that church, no desire to grow – spiritually or numerically. Is their endowment a blessing or a curse?

If they didn’t have that endowment, what would happen?

One of two things: the church would die, or the church would realize that it needs to be THE CHURCH. It needs to do outreach, needs to find their mission, their purpose, needs to SEEK GOD and HIS help or they’ll DIE. But you see, they don’t really need God. They have an endowment. They can have a church that runs just fine without God.

So is it a blessing? or a curse?

A Tale of Two Guys

One Christian – we’ll call him Dave – struggles to make ends meet.

He is constantly praying that God will provide for his family. Dave knows his dependence on God and develops a deep and intimate relationship with Him. Despite the difficulties of his circumstances (or perhaps because of them) his life is run through with joy and laughter. When he says grace, he’s truly thankful, because he KNOWS that apart from the grace of God there wouldn’t be anything on that plate.

Dave is the kind of person people are just drawn to, even though his clothes aren’t particularly stylish and his car’s on it’s last legs. But he just has this “quality” about him. There’s a peace. There’s joy. When he says, “How are you doing?” he stops and listens for the answer. He cares about people.

Everybody loves Dave.

Mike is also a Christian.

He has a comfortable job, nice home, some money in the bank. He tries to get to church at least a couple times a month, but it’s hard because he’s got a LOT to do. He often works overtime and Saturdays, so he’s ready for a day OFF on Sunday. He reads his Bible when he has a few minutes, but he often finds it hard to concentrate. He says a few prayers for his family as he drives to work. He considers himself a faithful Christian, but doesn’t feel that he’s really close to God.

He goes to the same church as Dave, and like a lot of folks, he really admires the joy in Dave’s life, he wishes he could have that kind of peace and contentment. It seems like he’s always torn in a hundred directions. Dave has all the responsibilities he has, but somehow they don’t seem to weigh on him as much. He doesn’t know how Dave does it, especially with all the troubles and financial scrapes he’s been through.

What’s the difference between Dave and Mike?

Is Dave a “REAL” Christian and Mike isn’t? NO

Is Dave a good guy, but Mike isn’t so good? NO

The difference between Dave and Mike is this: