Do You Like Mushrooms? Part 2 of 2
I Peter 2:4-12
Pastor Ryan Akers
Me- (Recliner Chair) This is my favorite place. Comfortable, it fits me. I know this chair. To get a different one would be unthinkable. It would be stiff and awkward. It would not feel right. But at the end of the day this is where i love to be because it allows to just sit back and breath. Relax even for a minute from my busy life.
We- We lead busy lives. There is no denying that we have a million things to do today, but we know that when we come home that is where we can relax, open a soda sit in front of the TV and just veg out
Young or old we are busy- Dance, gymnastics, school, sports, karate lessons, cheerleading, FFA, girl scouts and boy scouts.
It’s become increasingly hard for us to put everything that needs to be done into our schedule.
Role of man and woman have changed- crazy busy wear different hats. No longer a time where the man works and the woman stays home. Now we just throw in a pop tart and we are out the door. We have instant everything and we just don’t have time for anything for any more.
“If only I could just sit down for a minute, if only I could get there. (reach for recliner make really dramatic)
Even when we get to relax our mind starts wandering- locked doors, curling iron plugged in?-never ending cycle
Now I know what your thinking, “Oh great here is another sermon where the pastor is going to tell us to slow down and stop doing all this stuff that we want to do. That we need to use our gifts and we should be serving here in the church and be on the board or volunteer for ministries and that we should be here every time the doors are open and that coming to church and being a part of the church is what should be most important.”
Actually I am going to tell you something closer to the opposite of that. The church is a place where believers are intended to come together, worship together, encourage one another, ask questions about God and faith. It’s a place where we should find opportunities to serve where we are most passionate.
Church is the spiritual recliner
I’m not up here today to tell you to quit doing anything you are doing. I don’t want you to and it’s totally unrealistic to believe that you would or should. You see I think the modern church philosophies have strayed from what God intended.
Church gets frustrated with its own people for doing things they love to do.
I think where the church has made the mistake is that they believe they have to compete with the world by giving you tons of stuff to do. They believe that in order to be successful that you must be busy and have 300 ministries that affect every single age group and every single problem that people could possibly go through.
Church feels it has to be attractive so they…
*big loud services/shallow preaching
*Activities inward focused
*Expect you to be here every time doors are open- smile on your face, ready to serve- How could you call yourself a real Christian? How could you choose the world over God?
People too busy with life and school so they begin to make a choice- can’t quit job, can’t quit school- so you quit church Why would you want to go some place that makes you feel guilty because you missed an event? Or because you don’t tithe or you don’t serve?
What if I told you that the most successful church is not driven by 300 hundred ministries but 1 ministry?
And through that one ministry when done correctly you would begin to see a change in people that not only showed them how to grow in their walk with Christ but actually got them excited about church again. Where you couldn’t wait to be here each and every week to worship God, to be energized to pray together and you couldn’t wait to tell others about where you go to church and you couldn’t wait to tell others about this awesome God we have.
Where this one ministry started to impact your life so much that you not only had no problem choosing God over everything else you couldn’t ever imagine not choosing God over everything else. That would be awesome.
God- When our savior died and rose again he desired a church like this one. A church that is totally focused on one thing. Him. And it was the role of the church, which is a body of believers, to have Christ as our foundation. And everything we do as a church was to be driven towards expressing his love to others through pushing each other and serving others. It comes down to loving God, loving people, following Jesus.
God intended for his church not be a place focused on being busy but a place that is focused on Christ himself. Right now you might be thinking, “duh, don’t you think I know that my first love should be Jesus?” Yes I do. I know that you think your first love should be Jesus. But did you know that Christ wants you to make him your first love not just when you are here amongst other believers. His desire is that we could learn how God could be our first love in our normal everyday crazy busy lives.
And it is the role of the church not to make you feel guilty for living your life outside of this church or having fun outside of this building but it is our job to learn how to experience the joy of Christ in every part of your life. It’s our job to help each other learn how to take Christ every where with you.
I think God wants you to do all the stuff that you do, yes even the fun stuff like hunting and fishing, because if your always here how can you ever share God’s love? If you’re always in a Bible Study how can you ever share that knowledge with others? Jesus didn’t say Go to church and spend time with all the believers all the time. He said, ‘Go and preach. Go and serve. Go and share my love with others.’ It is the sick who need a doctor not the healthy.
To do this we have to start by allowing Christ to be our first love, our foundation.
I Peter 2:4-12
Christ is our living cornerstone. Peter a rock that sits on the cornerstone. We are the small pebbles that help build His church.
Vs. 5- we become a living stone the moment we believe in Christ as our Savior
Vs. 5- offer sacrifices- His people live in obedience by offering holy sacrifices that please him- worship, time, money
Vs. 7- rejected by his own people: John 1:11, “He came to his own people and even they rejected him.”
Today we live in a Christ rejecting world- it is more important that ever that we learn how to take Christ with us into this world so that we may do everything we can to withstand temptation and trials.
Vs. 8- If our lives are not walking with Christ we will stumble and live in disobedience.
You- God desires that you make him the first love of your life. He should be your foundation. When that happens then you begin that process of becoming the mushroom eater, the risk taker. Someone who is willing to not just be in church all the time but someone who is willing to take the church to the people. Go into all nations and be the light of Jesus. Speak to all who will listen then come back here and be encouraged, be energized, be refreshed and renewed and ready to go out again into the busy world ready for another week of doing His work.
We- To accomplish this task we must remember that as a church we can’t let ourselves become busy. We can’t do things that cause us to make people busier than they already are. We can’t be so program focused or growth focused that we forget to be God focused. God’s intention was to see the church succeed through one simple ministry(small groups- Acts 2). One simple program, clearly laid out in the bible, clearly practiced by Christ and adopted into the early church and that clearly needs to be incorporated today in our 21st century modern society. To accomplish God’s purpose it requires us to be a mushroom eater. To be a risk taker. To step out and change what we’ve grown comfortable with, but if we let God move then 1, 3, 8 years from now you will see the fruit that God promised if we remain obedient. Come tonight if you’re ready to be a risk taker if you’re ready to become a mushroom eater for Christ.
