Title: God Wants Us To Be . . . A Church That Becomes A Community That Cares
Series: The Church God Wants Us To Be (Sermon # 6)
COPYRIGHT © Joe La Rue, 2008
February 17, 2008
Introduction
A. Max Lucado, in his book In the Eye of the Storm, tells the story of Chippie the Parakeet. He writes:
Chippie the Parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, blown over.
The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said ‘hello’ when ‘sssopp!’ Chippie got sucked in.
The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie—still alive, but stunned.
Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.
Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.
A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. “Well,” she replied, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore—he just sits and stares.”
It’s hard not to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . that’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.
B. I suspect that all of us here this morning have felt like Chippie at one time or another. Our dreams have been dashed, our spirits have been shattered, and our world has been turned upside down. And just like Chippie, we never saw it coming. One minute we were just singing away, and the next we had been blown over by one of life’s many storms. In spite of all our pious platitudes, the plain truth is this: life can be very, very difficult at times. And sometimes it can be more than we can bear alone.
C. Perhaps that’s why the Bible says in Gal 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:2, New American Standard Bible).
God knows that we need each other, to help us make it through this life. He knows that none of us is strong enough or self-sufficient enough to make it totally on our own. We might like to think that we are; but, when we are honest about things, we recognize that we are not that strong. And so the Bible tells us to help each other along, by bearing each other’s burdens. Or, as the New Living Translation version of the Bible words it, “Share each other’s troubles and problems.”
D. For the past several weeks we have considered what the Bible teaches us regarding the type of church God wants us to be. We began this series five weeks ago by noting that, when it is functioning properly, the church is the hope of the world. It is in the church that the sinners are saved, the lonely find friendship, and the outcasts find acceptance. It is in the church that hearts and lives are shaped for God’s glory. It is in the church that we find and live out our true life’s purpose. When it is functioning properly, the church is the hope of the world. And so we took the past four weeks to consider what type of church God wants us to be.
1. We saw that God wants the church to be a body of worshipers, who worship God in spirit and truth, which means with the right attitude and focus.
2. And God wants the church to grow in their faith and knowledge of Christ, asking “what would Jesus do?,” and then trying to live as He would.
3. We noted that God wants the church to be fully engaged in service, with every member using his or her spiritual gifts for kingdom-ministry purposes.
4. We saw last week that God wants the church to reach out to the world and share the good news of Jesus with others.
5. Today, we are going to talk about how God wants us to be a church that becomes a community. We are called to live in fellowship with one another. We are called to be a family. We are called to bear one another’s burdens.
E. Trans: This morning we are going to talk about how we can do that. First, we need to acknowledge that
I. In Order To Bear One Another’s Burdens, We Must Commit Ourselves To Care For Each Other
A. If we are going to be a community that bears one another’s burdens and is there for one another and supports one another and encourages one another and helps one another, we must make a commitment to be available to one another and for one another. We must commit ourselves to care for each other.
1. ILL: Perhaps you remember the story about David and Jonathan in the Bible. Saul was king of Israel, but he had disobeyed God, and so God had declared that He would seat David on the throne. And David was one of Saul’s servants, and had fought for Saul and won great battles for him. And so Saul knew he needed David, but he was afraid of him just the same. And so from time to time Saul would be filled with fits of insane jealousy and would try to kill David, and David would have to flee from Saul.
Saul had a son, though, named Jonathan. And David and Jonathan were friends. In spite of Saul’s jealousy and fear of David, Jonathan loved David and was committed to him in friendship.
And one day David came to Jonathan with a desperate request. He asked Jonathan to approach his father Saul and ask whether he really intended to kill David, and then let David know. Now, this had the potential to cause huge problems for Jonathan. Even though he was Saul’s son, it was not inconceivable that Saul would have him killed if Saul found out that he was spying for David and passing information to David.
I love Jonathan’s reply. The Bible says that he answered David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” (1 Sam 20:4, NASB). Whatever your need is, David, I will do my best to meet it. Whatever you need done, I will do my best to accomplish it. No matter what it may cost me, I am in this with you, David. I have committed myself to care for you. “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
2. Jonathan was living according to the rule the Bible gives us in Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Phil 2:3-4, NASB)
B. If we are going to be a community that bears each other’s burdens, we must commit ourselves to care for one another.
1. Many in this church are advanced in age. And with advanced age comes increasing health problems and problems getting around. And that means that within the next several years there will be members of this church who will either suffer health problems themselves, or their spouses will. And there be members of this church who will lose loved ones. We are called to help each other carry those burdens. But that means that we have to be committed that we will invest the time necessary to be there for those who are sick, and those who are hurting.
2. Similarly, we are going to attract a lot of younger families over the next several years. We are praying for that to occur; we are taking steps to make it possible; and I am convinced that over the course of the next couple of years God will bring many young families into our church. But that means that we will attract people who are at the stage of life where they may experience personal or family-related problems. Perhaps they will have rebellious children, and not be sure what to do to best parent them. Or perhaps they will experience the breakdown of their marriages, and not be sure what to do. Or perhaps they will suffer the loss of their jobs, and will experience all the confusion and fear that event causes. Or perhaps they will deal with the catastrophic illnesses and decline of their parents, and be torn up about that. We are called to help each other carry those burdens. But that means that we have to be committed that we will invest the time necessary to be there for those who are experiencing those burdens.
3. The Bible says: “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” (James 2:15-16, NASB). That means that it is not enough that we acknowledge when others are hurting. Mere acknowledgment does them no good! No, what’s needed is for us to take steps to actually help people when they are hurting.
a. Maybe that means a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry upon.
b. Maybe that means a helping hand for a person or family in need.
c. Maybe that means making a visit to a hospital room to bring encouragement and comfort.
d. But however it plays out, it certainly means that we make a commitment that we will care about each other, and be there for each other, and meet one another’s needs. And that requires us to make a time-investment in the other’s life. We commit ourselves to care.
C. Trans: Let me quickly share how we can make our church into the type of community that God desires us to be.
II. In Order To Bear One Another’s Burdens, We Must Position Ourselves To Care For Each Other
A. Right now, as our church currently is structured, that means such things as . . .
1. We pay attention to the prayer list, because that is where most of our public needs are communicated.
2. We visit those of our church family who are shut-in or ill. You know, maybe we could make a commitment that we will visit one person or family a month who is shut in or sick or for some other reason unable to get out or going through some difficult time. And if you aren’t sure who you should visit, please talk to me and we’ll get it figured out.
3. We become part of a church group, so that we can develop close relationships. Maybe that means joining the Sunday School class, or maybe it means becoming one of the children’s ministry workers, or maybe it means joining the ladies Bible study, or maybe it means joining one of the other ministry groups we will be starting over the course of the next year. But the point is that we need to be part of a group, so that we can share our burdens with each other. That’s easier to do when we are part of a smaller group.
B. Now, as the church grows, we are going to have to continually re-position ourselves so that we can care for each other. And I’ll talk more about some of the ways we will do that later this year, as we grow and reach a need to do things a little differently so we can care for each other.
C. But the point is this: whatever the size of the church—whether 40 people attend, or 40,000 people attend—God wants the church to be a community that cares. He wants the church to be a place where the Chippies of this world can come and experience acceptance and love and encouragement and support. He wants the church to be filled with Christ-followers who bear one another’s burdens.
Conclusion
A. Well, there we have it friends. The five characteristics that God wants every church to possess:
1. Spirit-filled worship, where the members of the church worship God with the right attitude, giving Him all their praise;
2. Christ-focused discipleship, where the members of the church strive to learn from Jesus by studying the Bible, so they can answer the question, “What would Jesus do?” and live their lives accordingly;
3. Kingdom-oriented service, where the members of the church use their God-given gifts and talents and abilities to serve the church and their community, thereby bringing honor to God;
4. Strategically-implemented evangelism, where the members of the church share Jesus with others by prayerfully telling those within their circle of influence what Jesus means to them, and focusing on the good news, and using the Sunday church services as an evangelistic tool; and
5. Community-building fellowship, where the members of the church commit themselves to bear one another’s burdens, and position themselves to do so.
Those are the five traits that the Bible teaches us that God wants every church to possess. Certainly, we want to possess them here at New Richmond Church of Christ.
B. As we close out this series, I want to encourage you to do two things.
1. First, look at that list of traits I just read through, on the powerpoint screen behind me. It’s also printed on the final page of your sermon notes. Which one, or maybe two or so, do you most need to work on? God wants all of us to be involved in all of these. Which one or two maybe do you really need to focus on? Can I ask you to prayerfully commit yourself to really working on them? Maybe you can keep this sermon notes page by your bed, and when you get up each morning you can pray that God will help you with it, and then you can take the steps necessary to actually improve whichever one or two it is that you are trying to improve. Will you commit to that with me?
2. Second, last week we talked about inviting someone to come with us to Easter services this year on March 23. I asked you to pray about who God might want you to invite. Now, I want to challenge you to take another week and pray about it some more. Pray for the person you are thinking about. Pray each day for him or her. Pray each day that God will make them receptive. Pray each day that God will give you the right words to say to invite them. Pray each day that God will give you the courage to do it. Pray each day this week, and come back next week when I will be preaching a very important sermon on the identity of Jesus, and I will give you some pointers for how you can invite the person you are praying for to come with you Easter Sunday morning.
