Sermon Brief
Date Written: August 04, 2009
Date Preached: August 09, 2009
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Murder and Robbery in the Fellowship!
Sermon Title: The Apathetic Believer!
Sermon Text: 1 Cor 9:19-27 [HCSB]
Introduction:
About 3:20 AM on March 13, 1964, Kitty, a 28 yr old mgr of a bar in NYC came home to her quiet neighborhood, parked her car and began to walk the 30 yds or so from the pkng lot to her apt.
She noticed a man at the other end of the lot and he started for her, she tried to run to a police call box but he overtook her and attacked her and began to stab her.
She began to scream and lights went on and windows opened up, and one guy even hollered from his window, “Leave that girl alone!” The attacker coolly walked away, and when the commotion had died down, the windows closed and lights went back off, so the attacker returned and attacked again. This time she screamed even louder and more lights came on and more windows opened.
The attacker decided to leave and left Kitty bleeding in the parking lot. Somehow she crawled from the pkng lot to the door of her bldg, but much to her terror, she saw the attacker coming back for a 3rd time… this time he finished what he had started, he killed Kitty.
The 3 attacks took a total of about 30 min and during those 3 attacks not one single person had come to her defense. There were no heroes in her bldg or any bldg around her even tho’ over 30 people who were interviewed said they saw the attack happening. And the sad thing was that these people were scared to even call the police. When they were finally called they arrived in less than 2 minutes.
Those interviewed said things like, ‘I didn’t want me or my husband to get involved!’ One man even said he was just too tired to call the police. Of those interviewed many said they did not come to her aid because they were afraid, but some simply did not have an answer.
As a pastor I see this happening all the time from another perspective… spiritually speaking in neighborhoods all over our country! I believe this type of attitude is a direct reflection of the church today! Now while I don’t think there are any of us here this morning that would sit idly by while such a brutal attack was happening… we do it all the time from a spiritual perspective.
Did you know that every 15 seconds in our country a person dies and goes out into eternity and the sad fact is that 3 out of every 4 who die in our country today, die without Christ in their heart…without a saving knowledge of our Savior!
What can we do to stem this terrible tide? Well, we cannot stop death, but what we can do is help those who are going to die be prepared for eternity when they do…
In looking at the church in America today we have to be honest with ourselves; we have become soft and ineffective on so many issues and things of substance within society. The church used to be a stalwart rock standing against evil and battling the Enemy, but statistics bear out that we are no longer standing strong…
Did you know that 9 of every 10 SBC churches are what we call plateaued or declining in their attendance, which is nothing more than flowery words for dead and dying churches.
Did you know that the SBC has baptized less and less over the past 3 yrs and this past year was the lowest total since 1987 and that a majority of our SBC churches are not even baptizing one person every year.
If we sit back and look at the big picture we have to admit that our church today has become apathetic to the condition of the lost and to the needs of the world around us.
I will be the 1st to admit that there are pockets of believers on fire for God, some churches doing what they are called to do, but for the most part the church in general has lost the zeal we once had for salvation of the sinner, and we seem awfully content just to sit in our pews and bide our time till Jesus comes again!
This is NOT the church Jesus describes in Matt 15 when Jesus said, “…the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…”, and what Jesus meant was that the church was marching AGAINST evil not defending itself and sitting back… we are supposed to be on the offensive!
Now last week we looked at that believer who’s actions can tear apart the fellowship of a congregation, but today I want us to look at that believer who’s INACTIONS can likewise do the same thing…tear at the very fabric of our fellowship and service to God.
James tells us that if we see a need and have the ability to meet that need, and we don’t… then that is a DEAD FAITH… he goes on to say that the person who claims fellowship but lives with this dead faith is living a lie and that will hurt and tear down a fellowship of believers.
Now I don’t think that we have any members sitting here this morning that are here to intentionally destroy our fellowship and steal the joy of our people. But I do know that there are those here who do not like the leadership, disagree with how things are being done and are generally discontented with things…
But the problem with our churches today is not discontented believers, but one of the largest problems we face is INACTION on the part of believers. You see the world sees the church and sees our people sitting on their hands and NOT doing anything to reach out to the world… and we are written off as phony and irrelevant.
Social issues HAVE to be a concern of the church and we do have to seek to help those in need but our main focus and our main ‘commission’ from our Savior is to share HIS Gospel. But how can we share HIS Gospel of love, mercy, grace and forgiveness, if we are not showing those characteristics in our lives!
The world sees the church abdicating its role as a social change agent, and that tells them that we do not care about them! Now as a church I believe we CAN change the world, but for it to be changed they have to be willing to listen to us and hear our message.
For them to be willing to listen… they have to know how much we really care. There is an old proverb that goes like this… “They don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care…”
The message of the Gospel is a powerful, life-changing thing, but before they will listen to this message… we have to know that we are living our lives in tune with that message! If we desire to share the love and salvation of Christ with the world, they must 1st see it demonstrated in our life… we must live out the love, before the world will buy into the love!
The shootings at Columbine HS in April 1999 were a tragedy and the 2 young men who did it were great fans of the shock rocker Marilyn Manson. Just weeks after the shootings, Manson was scheduled for a concert in Iowa.
The media was gearing up for massive demonstrations against having this concert and against Manson himself. A local youth minister chronicled the amazing events tied to this event!
He tells how churches decided that instead of protesting against the concert and Manson that they decided that they would change these peoples’ perception of what a Christian was TRULY like. Their perception was that Christians were mean-spirited and judgmental, but they vowed that they would show the love of Christ in very open and practical ways to those who attended the concert… here are some of what they did.
Churches banded together in prayer and scheduled church prayer services for the night of the concert.
On the day of the concert, church volunteers showed up at the arena to pray with those in line… asking them if there was anything they could pray with them about…no judging, just prayer.
They revealed the love of Christ by passing out over 100 pizzas, 1200 cans of soda, freshly baked cookies and hand made turkey and ham sandwiches to those in line…waiting for their tickets.
After the concert one local youth group had collected about $200 and they offered to pay for the parking of those who attended.. when asked why, they simply replied, because we love you!
2 live reporters (one outside/one inside) continuously throughout the concert kept referring to the wonderful atmosphere outside the arena and how many had expressed the sentiment that it was better OUTSIDE than in where the concert was taking place.
So how did this effort pan out? Here are some of the results of that night of showing the love of Christ:
3 people gave their life to Christ that night
1 person decided NOT to go into the concert, preferring to stay outside with the people who had shown care and love to him.
Another was quoted as saying, “Wow! Pizza, this is great! Marilyn Manson never gave me anything!”
Even on the Marilyn Manson website following the concert they admitted, “Hey maybe these ‘Christians’ aren’t as bad as we thought!”
About 1 hr into the concert, Manson suddenly flew into a rage and left the stage not to return.
Summarizing the entire situation we could come to the conclusion that the day started out with the Marilyn Manson fans believing that Marilyn Manson was super cool and great, and Christians were mean and irritating! However, for many, many of those who attended the concert that night, they left with the thought that it was actually the Christians who were super cool and great and it was Marilyn Manson who was irritating and mean.
So often, as a church body, we react harshly to things we don’t agree with… our posture is to be critical and demand them to cease and desist, and so the world sees us as combative and confrontational.
When we reveal to the world that we care, hearts are changed and minds are moved. But if we just sit on the sideline and do nothing, our INACTION shouts louder than we can ever imagine! So therein lies the problem… the church suffers when inaction and apathy rule the day!
What is the cure for apathy within the church? This morning I want us to look at the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 9:19-29 and what he teaches about ridding ourselves of apathy and inaction! About how we can become relevant and ‘real’ to the world around us! Look at this with me…
19 For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law [a] —to win those under the law. 21 To those who are outside the law, like one outside the law—not being outside God’s law, but under the law of Christ—to win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, that I may become a partner in its benefits. 24 Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Paul is teaching us that the cause of Christ is what things are all about. We all are called by God to teach and spread His word and to share the Love of Christ with the world around us.
We are not called to coddle other believers, we are not saved to sit in the pews or on the sidelines, we were not reconciled to God to rest on our laurels… we are called to get in the game… to be ACTIVE in our service to Him!
This morning I want us to look at this passage and see how we can battle and defeat the INACTION and APATHY that can and does tear down the church and steal the joy of a fellowship.
In the 1st 5 verses we see Paul revealing his great desire to do whatever it takes to share Christ with those around him:
19 For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law [a] —to win those under the law. 21 To those who are outside the law, like one outside the law—not being outside God’s law, but under the law of Christ—to win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, that I may become a partner in its benefits.
Understand here that Paul is NOT deceiving these people, but he is actually revealing his heart and how important the message of Christ is for the lost! His desire is that others come to know Christ and he is going to do whatever he can within the law of Christ to make that happen!
When we look at this we can see Paul’s heart… his dedication to God’s calling! Paul placed what he was called to do above the desires of his own heart! Paul was willing to conform to the situation at hand to reveal the love of Christ to whomever God had placed in his path…
In these verses we see Paul doing what he needed to do to reach who he was with:
To the Jews he became a devout Jew and even made a Nazarite vow in the temple (Acts 21)
To those under the Law, Paul observed all the traditional festivals and customs and traditions…
To those outside the Law, Paul did not observe the traditions, festivals and customs…
Basically what Paul is saying here is that he was going to use whatever means that were available to him to reach whoever was placed in his path. This does not mean that Paul in any way adopted any type of lifestyle or condoned any lifestyle that was contrary to the law of Christ.
Paul did NOT say that to the adultery he became an adulterer or to the thief he became a thief. Paul’s assertion here was NOT a no-holds-barred approach but it was a willingness t do anything he could within the constraints of the law of Christ… Paul was bound to Christ as he openly professes at the beginning of every letter he penned.
Here we find that Paul is not interested or tied to the traditions of man and he refused to be bound by them, but what drove him was the calling of Christ on his life to share Christ.
Paul lays out a broad sweeping principle that he applied to evangelism and reaching the lost and it was, “… I have become all things to all people, so that I may save some…”
Paul’s broad sweeping principle of becoming all things to all people translates to a love for the lost… for a care about those who need Jesus! It means that he was willing to do what it took to share Christ with those around him…
This is one of the main failures of the church today, as it is my contention that most (not all, but most) believers are willing to sit on the sidelines and never get involved in sharing their faith…
What I am saying is that most within the church today have lost their sense of urgency when it comes to leading the lost to Christ… their hearts are no longer burdened by the knowledge that people are dying every day without Jesus in their lives. It seems as if we don’t believe that they are going to hell… or worse… we don’t CARE that they are going to hell.
These believers have come to the point where they no longer can see what CAN be done, but simply see what they believe to be as what CANNOT be done!
Many of us here would never be caught dead in certain places because we are uncomfortable there and because we don’t want to hurt our witness. But let me shock you this morning… I don’t want you to think that just because someone is in a bar, or some other hang out that you cannot speak with them about Christ!
There may be a time when you see me coming out of a bar or some other place you may think I don’t need to be… but I can guarantee you that I am not there to party… but I am there to share Christ and that the Lord has led me to that place.
“But Bro Bobby what about your witness, what would others say?” I would have to say that there is some good merit to that question, as our witness is vitally important! However, this is why we are called to live a holy life… live a life beyond reproach… that is why our witness has to shine forth in HOW we live each and everyday!
This approach to evangelism… by meeting people where they are… is the Jesus approach to evangelism because Jesus went where the sinners were! And that is that ONLY way we are going to reach our community… to go where they are! We are here to love them and share Christ with them… not to judge them!
Jesus was willing to hang out around the people that the religious leaders of his day had discounted and deemed NOT worthy because they were considered evil and unclean… but that is what a sinner is… unclean! We cannot shy away from our call to be witnesses for Christ and to Go out into the world sharing His love!
Jesus was highly ridiculed for His willingness to reach out to those who were deemed unclean… people like prostitutes, tax collectors and the generally ‘unwashed’ in the eyes of the religious leaders.
I believe that in the church today we tend to stay away from those sorts of people. We know that they need the love and salvation of Christ in their lives, but we avoid being around them. We know that we are called to share His love, mercy and grace with these people, but we sit idly by…
It seems as if we don’t want to get our hands ‘dirty’ when it comes to the ministry of the Gospel, and I am here to tell you that you cannot serve God and avoid getting your hands dirty from time to time… we are called to reach those whose lives are stained with sin… our hands will get dirty!
Ministry is something that is going to make you uncomfortable at times, but we are called to do it anyway! God has called us to GO, not sit on the sidelines! It is my impression today that far too many believers are UNWILLING to Go forth because:
It may conflict with some preconceive or pretaught tradition and they are afraid of what others may say…
It makes them feel uncomfortable because it takes them outside their comfort zone
They fear rejection and failure
These believers refuse to go and we find them using the excuse that they do not want to hurt the witness of the church, but Paul says, if it does not violate the Law of Christ… we should go, regardless of our discomfort!
You see our ultimate purpose in this life is to please our God… to serve Him as a witness of Christ to the world. We HAVE to be concerned on how the world sees the church… and that is why we must LIVE out the love of Christ in our actions as well as our words!
Why? well you may be the only Jesus some people will ever see! If so, what ‘kind’ of Jesus are they seeing? Do they see the judgmental, pious and critical Jesus? Or do they see the Jesus of Scripture who reached out and loved the unloveable? Are you the follower Christ has called you to be?
But Bro Bobby you keep saying “The Law of Christ” can you tell me what that is? What does Paul mean when he says, “the Law of Christ”? I believe if we look in the book of Rom 13:8-10 we can see a very vivid description of the Law of Christ as described by Paul:
8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment—all are summed up by this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.
Paul reveals here that our obligation is to love each other, not to judge them. He lists some commandments that we use to judge and condemn other people, but what Paul is saying here is that judgment and condemnation are NOT our jobs… but reconciliation IS! Paul is repeating the commandment of Christ to love God first and foremost and then love others as you love yourself…
You want to be obedient to the Law of Christ? Love God and love people! This is the law of Christ! Jesus lived this out in his life and ministry here on this world and we must be willing to live as He did…
Jesus was willing to go anywhere and do what it took for the Kingdom and bring people to salvation. Jesus crossed cultural lines, violated societal taboos, and broke with the traditions of man when they impeded His mission for the Kingdom! He was branded a heretic by the religious leaders, but that did not bother or dissuade Him from his task.
And here Paul is simply doing the same thing… he was willing to do what it took to bring others to Christ. The question this morning is are you going to remain in your apathy or are you willing to get out and DO WHAT IT TAKES to win some for Christ?
In these next 3 verses Paul refers to the discipline we must have to enable us to be the kind of witnesses we need to be:
24 Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air.
It may seem as if Paul is advocating a carefree and easy approach to ministry and evangelism but what Paul is actually teaching takes a great deal of spiritual discipline and restraint. Paul uses the analogy of a world class athlete who is willing to dedicate himself to the task at hand!
It is the attitude of a champion… someone willing to succeed by sacrificing what needs to be sacrificed to obtain the goal. There is a single minded determination that compels them to drive fwd.
A champion is willing to train, not just train for training sake, but train with a purpose of putting that training to use in competing in the event! They are willing to drive their bodies to places they never believed they could reach… willing to push their physical limits and strain their mental borders to the point of exhaustion…all to win the prize!
Here Paul draws the connection btwn the attitude of a physical champion and the attitude of a spiritual champion! When we see this in the light of the Law of Christ, the implication of this verse is staggering for today’s church! It reflects that we are not ‘champions’ for Christ because we are not willing to take on the attitude and work ethic of a champion.
And because we won’t take on that attitude, we are not willing to actually DO the work needed/required and when we come to that conclusion we end up doing absolutely nothing and sitting on the sidelines of our faith… riding the bench [so to speak] all because they simply don’t want to work.
BUT if any believer is willing to discipline themselves to strive for the kingdom will also win a prize, but their prize is NOT temporary like the wreath Paul speaks about for the earthly champion… but theirs is a heavenly prize worth more than we can ever imagine… Are you willing today to do the hard work of the ministry; are you ready to discipline yourselves to the service and calling of your Savior?
Finally this morning, we find Paul giving believers a great illustration on what that discipline should look like, let’s look together at v.27
27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Paul disciplines himself and brings his body under strict control so that God can use him…wherever… in whatever situation! It did not matter where… or what… Paul was ready to serve! Paul tells us he does this so that he is not disqualified!
We have all watched the Olympics and have seen athletes disqualified from time to time, for straying out of their lane or dropping a baton… and are disqualified…
What we know about this is that when these athletes are disqualified… it does not make them NOT be athletes any longer? It simply means that they are disqualified from that particular event. Let me try to explain…
The Greek word that Paul uses here for ‘disqualified’ actually means to be disapproved of after a period of testing. There have been many throughout the yrs to take this verse out of context and use it to say that this is proof that you can lose your salvation, and they all base it on this word ‘disqualified’, but here is an aside to help you to understand what Paul is speaking about here…
This phrase and stmt made by Paul is NOT referring to salvation on his part but on his service to the Kingdom. Paul doesn’t want God to disapprove of his service… Paul speaks in the verses above of the ‘prize’… we are all running to win the ‘prize’ and we must understand that there is a DEFINITE distinction here that helps us to understand and know that salvation is not what Paul is addressing…
You see, salvation, is NEVER referred to in the Gospels as a prize that can be striven for and won. So what we have to realize is that salvation is a gift and NOT a prize, it is freely given and cannot be ‘won’ by our actions!
And here Paul is speaking about our actions IN CHRIST… the deeds we do AFTER we have come to know Christ as Savior! Paul is speaking about his desire to be pleasing in his actions toward God… and that he does not want to get a ‘disapproving’ glance from God because of what he has OR has not done! Paul strives to be the workman God has appointed him to be…
The reason for his analogy here is that Paul understood the goal of what God has called us to do, and he understood that salvation of the lost IS the focus and main goal for the believer! His point is that his actions focused on winning the lost to Christ and that he was willing to do what is needed to see that happen!
Now, ask yourself the question: Are you living a life that receives an ‘approving’ glance from your Savior? Or do the things you do or DO NOT do ‘disqualify’ you from your heavenly prize? We need to discipline ourselves to know our purpose and live out our calling…
We are called by Christ to bring others to the saving knowledge of Christ…
We are called to share the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus…
We are called to show and reveal the love of Christ thru our actions and our words…
Are you an apathetic believer? Are you one who sits on the sidelines? Are you a member who refuses to get into the game? OR
Are you an athletic believer who is willing to get in the game regardless of where the Lord puts you… you are just willing to serve!
This morning you have heard how INACTION can be a great problem in the fellowship of the church and how Apathy can destroy a fellowship and you have also seen how the Apostle Paul instructs us so that we can avoid such a fate…
I call on you today to step out and come and give your all to the Savior… give Him all your apathy and inaction and ask Him to infuse you with His encouragement and excitement for the Kingdom. Allow God to reinvigorate your heart for the purpose of the kingdom.
What does your life look like to the world around you? Do people see a loving, caring Christian who is all about loving others? OR do they see a judgmental and divisive believer who is negative about all things?
We want to be that believer that shows the mercy and grace of God… we are called to be His witness and a reflection of Him in this world! Are you today?
As Bro Steven comes I want to ask you to stand…[invitation here]
