Can the Community Depend on Shipps Baptist?
Jonah 1:4-6
Not too long ago, I read a statement I have not been able to get off my mind ever since. You may recall it and then again maybe it didn’t sink in to your mind.
Here’s the statement:
If Shipps Baptist Church were to close its doors tonight, would this community feel that they had lost a great asset or would they never even notice that we were gone?
§ Have we been such an influence in this community they would miss having us here?
§ Has your neighbors been affected by our church because of the ministries we have in serving their needs?
If you were to poll this community what do you think would be said about Shipps Baptist Church?
§ What would be said about you as a member here?
§ What would be said about you as a Christian?
My heart hurts for this community. When you view the people on the streets and you see the fast pace traffic as it goes by – what are these people thinking?
Who can they count on more?
The city council
The Youth league sports coaches
The schoolteachers
…Or Shipps Baptist Church?
I am afraid to say that the only thing tying us to this community is the fact that our building sits on property that just so happens to be in the community.
Because when it comes to serving this community –
I am afraid that we have a failing grade.
But the encouraging word is that all that can change tonight! We can leave this service with a mindset of doing whatever it takes to reach this community for Christ.
My prayer is that before long, this community will see Shipps Baptist Church as a blessing to their families and businesses rather than just a church building where people gather for a weekly service.
The Story of Jonah
The scriptures we will read from tonight will be very familiar to you. Not only is this a popular story but I have already preached several messages in and around the life of Jonah.
Tonight a different thought from a familiar bible character.
Read Jonah 1:4-6
In 2003, a Gallup poll indicated that almost half of U.S. adults do not have "a great deal" of confidence in organized religion.
Moreover, the same year, a Barna Research Group study reported that a sample of non-Christian adults ranked evangelicals tenth out of 11 groups evaluated, rating them one place above prostitutes.
Clearly, the Church has an image problem.
People in the community are tired of hearing about church – they are ready to see church.
Don’t tell me you care about me – show me!
Don’t say you are a church – be a church!
Don’t look at me like you care – show me you care
I see in this scripture a picture of the current day church in the life of Jonah. There are attributes that he carries in this first chapter that describes many churches today.
Your job tonight is to determine if Shipps Baptist Church is no way like Jonah or are we just like him?
Before we look at Jonah – let’s setup the story by looking at the other characters.
Those poor, poor sailors. All they were trying to do was their job when they got caught in the middle of a storm.
Not just a wind blowing, raining “fear for your life” storm but a raging storm between God and a man running from his responsibility.
Setup:
Jonah was told by God to go to Nineveh and preach against their sin. He did the exact opposite and went to Tarshish.
He has boarded a boat full of sailors and is on his way right out of God’s will.
We pick up in our reading where God has caused a great storm to hit right where the boat is sailing. The boat that is carrying several lost sailors and one backslidden preacher.
There is nothing else worse that will cause a raging storm in your life that that of housing a man that is currently out of God’s will.
§ His home life will be miserable
§ He will be hard to get along with
§ He will want one thing while God wants another
It is a very serious matter when you find yourself out of God’s will.
But let’s look at these sailors in what they did when they found themselves in the middle of a storm. I will also prove to you from scripture we are talking about sailors who are NOT followers of God.
1. They begin to pray – verse 5
The bible says, “Every man began to cry unto his own god”
There is nothing like a good storm in your life to cause you to fall to your knees and begin to pray.
While counseling folks who have been in storms it did not take us long to see that their prayer life would definitely increase when they were in such a mess.
And you wonder why we have so many?
I feel that its God many times just wanting us to fall down and talk with Him. If you only talk with Him during storms, then you can expect more storms.
His goal is to have a relationship with you that include one-on-one conversation.
Now we are talking about non-believers falling down and starting to cry out for help.
The world around you does the same thing.
§ 9/11 – people everywhere started praying
§ During World Wars – churches held prayer meetings specifically praying for the situation
§ Nothing will cause a mom or dad to fall on their knees than to have a sick child.
§ Others will cry out to God for help when they have a loved one looking at death eyeball to eyeball.
That is the world I am talking about.
But the sad side of this is that I just described many Christians.
They profess to know Christ but they wait on talking with God when things get out of their control.
“I will go to church, preacher but don’t ask me to do anything during the week.”
“I will do whatever you need me to do from 10am – 12 noon but don’t ask me to come back and don’t ask me for another day”
Which leads me into what the sailors did next.
2. They started overthrowing their cargo –
They were making the ship lighter by getting rid of their belongings…
They were facing a life or death situation so they started getting rid of things that they could live without …
They saw things in their life that was weighing them down…
Sounding familiar?
When your ship starts going down you will quickly find things in your life that were nothing more but a hindrance.
What you thought was important to you was simply getting in the way.
God is trying to use you to reach this community but you are weighted down with obligations and “things” that are occupying your time.
“Preacher, I’ll come to church on Sunday morning but please don’t ask me to come and do ministry any other time… I am too busy!”
§ “The kids have ball games”
§ “I have cleaning to do”
§ “You are asking too much to have me come up here on my off time to do ministry for the church.
First of all – I am not asking, God is!
Secondly – You expect God to be with you all the time… why can’t He expect the same from you?
§ “I work during the week and this is the only time I can spend with my family”
“that’s important too right?
This is a life and death situation –
People living around this church are living on borrowed time and their eternal destination could very depend on you wanting to do ministry or sit at home on the couch.
3. They turned to the Christian for help –
They went to Jonah to see if he could help them during this storm.
We have a community who is crying out for help wanting someone to see them in their time of need.
We can’t wait on First Baptist to help them
We can’t wait for the Church of Christ to help
We can’t wait for any other churches to come through…
This is something that God is calling Shipps to do!
“All they want is a hand out”
Let’s hand them Jesus!
“They will never attend services”
Nowhere in the scriptures did Jesus ask them where they went to worship before he touched them. He saw a need and met it!
“But we don’t have enough money in our account”
§ Money given each week is not our money!
§ It’s kingdom money and when you give or don’t give – that has nothing to do with Shipps but everything to do with God.
§ So withhold your money from Shipps but you are withholding from God!
And guess what?
I know where the money came from that we have in the bank now and He is the same God who owns it all – so we can always go back to Him and ask for Him to provide what we need.
So the sailors did what the world is doing today – they turned to the Christian for help.
Here’s the church test…
Here’s the attribute of Jonah that I want you to compare Shipps Baptist Church with….
Are you ready?
Do you know where they found Jonah?
Do you know where they found the Christian while they were going through a storm?
- He was asleep! Verse 6
I have to echo what the sin filled sailors said:
How is that you can sleep when Shipps Baptist has families living around us that are not in church…
How can you sit in your own houses when your neighbors are without Christ?
“But preacher, I have talked with them before and they were not interested?”
I sure am glad that God didn’t give up on me as easily as we give up on others.
Many people in the bible could stand today and tell you that their main problem in their walk with God was the day they fell asleep!
Samson – lost his life due to falling asleep
1st Thessalonians 5:6
“Therefore, let us not sleep as do others…”
What are some other quick notes to take from this story?
§ Storms come to everyone (believers and nonbelievers)
§ It was nonbelievers that had to tell the Christian to pray
§ When God is trying to get your attention, the lot will always fall on you
§ If God can use a backslidden preacher to reach Nineveh – What can he accomplish with you and me?
