SERIES: IT: Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It
(freely adapted from Craig Groeschel’s It: How Churches and Leader Can Get it and Keep it)
“YOU SHARE IT WITH OTHERS”
SELECTED SCRIPTURES
OPEN
We’re continuing on this morning in our series: IT: Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It. The first message was “What is it?” We defined it this way – “It is what God does through a rare combination of certain qualities found in his people.” Those qualities are: 1. A passion for his presence 2. A deep craving to reach the lost 3. Sincere integrity 4. Spirit-filled faith 5. Down-to-earth humility 6. Brokenness.
Our second message began a study of the traits that marked churches that had it and for us to learn how we can develop those traits in our congregation The first trait was a God-given, God-breathed vision and we said that “You Can See It Clearly.” The second trait was the importance of teamwork and we said that “We Experience It Together.” The third trait was innovation and we said “You’ll Do Anything For It.” The fourth trait was about sharing the gospel because ‘You Want Others to Have It.” Two weeks ago we looked at the principle that failure is necessary to success and we said that “You Fail Toward It.”
Today’s message is also about sharing. When you have it, “You Share It With Other.” You don’t hoard it. You can’t hoard it because when you do, you lose it. Some ministries and ministers only look out for their own interests. They become inwardly focused and fail to be kingdom-minded. Kingdom-minded churches share it with other churches and ministries.
MESSAGE
Jesus taught the principle of being kingdom-minded in Mt. 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” When you are focused on kingdom-wide issues and not just congregational issues, God provides for your need.
God will not let a ministry keep it for very long if they won’t give it away. Keeping it to yourself is a sure way to kill it. And those ministries that don’t have much of it often work hard to guard what little of it they have. What’s funny about it is the more you try to hoard it, the less of it you tend to have. The more you are willing to give it away, the more of it God seems to give.
The key question when your kingdom-minded is, “How can we do more for the glory of God together?” Our concern should not be what can we do for ourselves but rather what can we do to build God’s over-all kingdom? That means, “What can we do globally to build the kingdom?” That means, “What can we do across our nation to build the kingdom?” That also means, “What can we do locally to build the kingdom?”
Most of you would not disagree with our contributions to mission-work across the world and also the work that is done with out support in this nation. Most of you are glad when we join together with other independent Christian churches in fellowship meetings. But how do you feel about working together with other congregations in our town?
17th-century Puritan preacher Richard Baxter lamented, “Is it not enough that all the world is against us, but we must also be against one another? O happy days of persecution, which drove us together in love, whom the sunshine of liberty and prosperity crumbles into dust by our contentions!”
We are part of the Restoration Movement. We began as a movement who desired to unite all believers not around human-made creeds but around the Bible. One of our slogans was: “We’re not the only Christians; just Christians only.”
For some reason since that time, we have become segregated and territorial. We have divided ourselves from others who profess Christ. I’m not saying that we should drop our distinctive doctrines and just melt in with one denomination or another.
What I am saying is that segregation from other believers was not part of Jesus’ original plan. On the last night of his life, we find Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Listen to a portion of his prayer in Jn. 17:20-23 – “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Jesus said in Lk. 11:17 – “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.”
Have you ever asked yourself, What would happen if churches really worked together? Vesta Kelly said, “Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.”
The more possessive and competitive we are, the more divided we become. Virtually every ministry I’ve ever known that had it was not divisive. The leaders were kingdom-minded.
A kingdom-minded ministry is one whose leaders care more about what God is doing everywhere than what God is doing in their own ministry. A kingdom-minded ministry is generous and eager to partner with others to get more done for the glory of God.
It’s hard to have it without desiring that other ministries succeed. When you have it, you know that it doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to God. He gives it. And since it is his and not yours, you’re willing to share it.
Those who have it know it is not about them. It is not about their congregational name. It is not about their youth ministry or children’s ministry. It’s not about their logo or website. And it’s not about any one human being. It is about Jesus. There is no other name under heaven more important than his name. It’s all about him.
Sometimes, I look at other congregations and feel pity for them. Maybe their attendance is extremely low or they’re struggling with internal difficulties. I’ve found myself praying for them: Lord, help this congregation to grow in number or help them in their difficulties.
God has confronted me at those times with this question: Would you be excited if their growth exceeded yours? My honest answer was … no. It’s not that I didn’t want them to succeed. I just didn’t want them to succeed more than me. It all boils down to the fact that I was territorial, insecure, and self-centered. I was not kingdom-minded. I was more interested in growing my kingdom than God’s kingdom. God will not bless that kind of mindset. Someone said, “Before we can say, ‘Thy Kingdom come,’ we have to say ‘My kingdom go.’”
The self-centered ministry generally loses it. And the kingdom-minded ministry seems to attract it. John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” Churches with it model that kind of behavior.
Napoleon Bonaparte made a comment about the church leaders of his day. He said, “I am surrounded by priests who repeat incessantly that their kingdom is not of this world yet they lay their hands on everything they can get.”
Not only is our kingdom not of this world, to build our own kingdoms is the grossest of sins. I have had to repent of my own thoughts. I have had to ask God to make me more kingdom-minded. God will not bless a ministry that is only concerned with itself. We need to repent and ask God to give us a heart for others and kingdom-mindset.
Someone said, “When your ministry is small, people ignore you. When your ministry is growing, people are
jealous of you. When your ministry is large, people hate you.”
Being kingdom-minded, we should do the opposite. When another ministry is struggling, we should pray for them; provide them with whatever help we can. When another ministry is growing, we should celebrate their victories. When another ministry is large and has significant resources, we shouldn’t be afraid to utilize their help and aid.
One big help that we received was from the Marshall First Christian Church. When we decided that we wanted to do Kids’ Club and orient that ministry around an after-school program, we didn’t know what we were doing. But the Marshall church already had an after-school program in place. We decided to ask them for help.
I made an appointment with their children’s minister, Stacey Smith, who also runs their after-school program. Stacey gave us all the information we needed about state regulations. He also gave us copies of all their forms: registration forms, sign-in sheets, information for parents and kids participating in the program, and etc. I can honestly say that we wouldn’t have been as successful so early in our program without the help we received from Stacey and the Marshall church.
APPLICATION
The big question for us today is, “What can we share?” In Acts 20:35, the apostle Paul quotes Jesus as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” What is it that we can give away? What do we have that we can share with others in this area and around the world? How can we work together with others to further the kingdom of God?
Some of you are thinking: We’re just a small congregation with not many people and not many resources.
What can we do? The answer is: probably more than we’ve ever considered.
I personally share my sermon work with others in a sermon-study group. We have a group of guys who meet together to share ideas and direction. Sometimes we preach the same series together in our individual congregation. Other times, we preach different series’ but still share the messages with each other that we preach in our individual congregations. I also publish my sermons online at Sermon Central.com. I have many part-time ministers who are bi-vocational who send me thanks for sharing my work in study so they can use it in their ministries. I’m grateful for the work of others that have directed my preaching across the years and I share these messages as an expression of gratitude for those who have helped me.
Many of us have time. Now, I know that many of you are going to say that time is a precious commodity for you. You don’t have much of it to give. But I’m sure that if you would re-asses your calendars and decided that kingdom-mindedness is important, time is not that much of an issue.
What about ideas? Sometimes a ministry just needs someone with a different idea. I know that most of us have probably said at one time, “I think I could come up with a better idea than the one they’re using now.” Let’s put those ideas to work for the kingdom.
Some of you have talent in certain areas. It might not be in singing or teaching but you do have some abilities in sewing, cooking, maintenance and building skills , and various other areas. Some of you are just good at encouragement and support. Put those to use for the kingdom.
We have a building. We only have people in it for a few hours a week. Aren’t there some ways we can offer up our building to others to build the kingdom?
How about building the kingdom in our community? We already participate in the community ministry of the food pantry by giving out of our mission fund to its work. Can we get some volunteers together to go help in the distribution of food two times a month? We also have the opportunity for our food pantry to be able to serve more people more times a month but that involves more volunteers. Anybody stepping up?
How about working together with other churches? Maybe we could get together with the other congregations around town and do some service projects together? Help some folks who need work done around their homes but can’t afford to pay someone? Maybe do some work together to build up our community. We’ll do much for the kingdom of God working with others than working against others.
Maybe we could join together with some other churches next summer and do a community-wide VBS program. It’s working well in other towns. If we joined together to lift up Jesus rather than our own ministries, we would attract some local people to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Maybe we could join with some other churches and do some concerts or parenting classes or biblical financial education or whatever. Maybe we could have some community worship time together at Christmas or Easter.
Here is the prime principle to remember: Whatever you have, remember it is not yours. It belongs to God. And he wants you to give it away. Then watch as God stretches it, multiplies it, and spreads it around!
CLOSE
Many of you have probably seen the movie, Bridge Over the River Kwai. It is based on true events that happened during WWII with British, Australian, and American POWs who were forced to build a railroad bridge for the Japanese.
Ernest Gordon wrote a book about life in one of the Japanese prison camps that helped in the building of the bridge. It’s called Through the Valley of the Kwai. He tells that life in this camp was horrible. It wasn’t just the treatment of the POWs by the Japanese that made it a horrible place. It was how the prisoners treated each other. They would steal from each other. The law of the jungle prevailed. But one series of events changed everything.
The Scottish soldiers developed a buddy system. Their buddy was called their “mucker” and they believed that it was up to each of them to make sure their “mucker” survived. One Scotsman, named Angus McGillvray, had a mucker who was dying. Everyone else had given up on him except Angus.
Someone stole Angus’ mucker’s blanket. Angus gave him his own blanket, telling him he had found an extra one. At mealtime, Angus would give his rations to his mucker, again telling him that he had been able to scrounge a little extra food. Angus was going to do anything and everything to see that his buddy got what he needed to live.
But as Angus’ buddy began to recover, Angus collapsed and died. He died of starvation complicated by exhaustion. He gave his own food and supplies to his buddy. He even gave his own life so that his “mucker” would live.
Jn. 15:15 – “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” Angus’ acts of love and unselfishness made a huge impact on the prison compound.
As word spread about Angus’ death, everything in the camp began to change. The men began to focus on others and of giving themselves away. They brought their talents together – one was a violin maker, another an orchestra leader, another a cabinet maker, another a professor. Soon the camp had an orchestra full of homemade instruments.
They developed a church called the “Church Without Walls” that was so powerful and so compelling that even the Japanese guards began to attend. The POWs created within their compound a university, a hospital, and a library system. Everything was transformed. All because one man decided to give all he had for his friend. And what happened there in the valley of the Kwai is an awesome illustration of the potential unleashed when you share what you have.
God shared his only Son, Jesus Christ, who shared what he had so that we could have abundant life here and eternal life in heaven. Are you willing to share your life with him?
